Old A-2 Style Jacket - Can I tart it up?

[Mr. Scratch]

Hi, brand-spankin' new guy here.

Okay, picked up this very worn A-2 style at the flea market a couple weeks ago. I'm guessing it is late 40s or 50s. It is a civilian model, with hand warmers and no epaulettes. It's pretty heavily worn (more so than appears in the pics), with some holes and degraded seams under the arms, and a bad relining job. I'm currently in the process of getting it properly relined and restitched, and epaulettes added.

I really like the authentic hard-worn appearance of this coat, but I'm assuming it has no real value. What I'm thinking of doing is having copies of my grandfather's squadron patch sewn on, and having the nose art from his B-25 painted on the back. Before I do so, I just want to make sure I'm not committing some kind of criminal vintage garmentcide that I will be forever shunned for. Do I have a green light for the bells and whistles?

 

[aswatland]

Your jacket would appear to date from the 1940s. Personally I would not mess with this jacket apart from replacing the knits and the lining. It needs some leather conditioner and when it is relined the holes could be carefully patched from the inside. I would not put epaulets on it, or sew on a squadron patch as these were never originally part of this jacket. You could buy a good repro A2 and have a squadron patch sewn on and perhaps painted on the back, as many jacket enthusiasts do. Just my opinion, others here may have different views. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[Inusuit]

It's your jacket.

Just my opinion, but I'd think that new epaulets would not blend well with the "patina" of the original jacket. I agree with aswatland, leave out the epaulets (couldn't have spelled that on my own), get it patched from the inside before it's re-lined, replace the cuffs and bottom knit. After that, it's your call. I wear my vintage stuff and am not too concerned about future collector value. Do what floats your boat.

 

[Mr. Scratch]

Just my opinion, but I'd think that new epaulets would not blend well with the "patina" of the original jacket. I agree with aswatland, leave out the epaulets (couldn't have spelled that on my own),

I had the same concerns, but my leather specialist says she thinks she can match up the color of the original leather reasonably well, and that after that it is a matter of applying abrasives and mild chemicals to get the epaulettes to blend in. Hmm.

I agree with aswatland, leave out the epaulets (couldn't have spelled that on my own), get it patched from the inside before it's re-lined, replace the cuffs and bottom knit.

I'm lined up for the lining and repairs, the cost of which is probably more than the jacket is actually worth. I was going to leave the knits, as they seem to work well enough while having the same worn appearance as the coat. You guys think they ought to go?

After that, it's your call. I wear my vintage stuff and am not too concerned about future collector value. Do what floats your boat.

I'm a litle bit concerned about collector's value with the things I pick up, but I'm assuming here that this jacket doesn't have that much. My priorities are:

A) Avoid creating an anachronistic Frankenstein monster (and would the handwarmers make it count as such?).

B) Avoid trashing a vintage coat that someone else might consider valuable in it's original state (again, I'm assuming the condition of this coat means it would have little collector value, but I'm open to being told how terribly wrong I am.)

 

[Mr. Scratch]

Your jacket would appear to date from the 1940s. Personally I would not mess with this jacket apart from replacing the knits and the lining. It needs some leather conditioner and when it is relined the holes could be carefully patched from the inside. I would not put epaulets on it, or sew on a squadron patch as these were never originally part of this jacket. You could buy a good repro A2 and have a squadron patch sewn on and perhaps painted on the back, as many jacket enthusiasts do. Just my opinion, others here may have different views. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Thanks Aswatland. The reason I wanted to go with this particular jacket for the SQ patch is because it really has the patina of a 60+ year-old jacket. I want something that is very convincing at first (and second) glance, and while I've seen some very nice A-2 repros, I haven't seen any that I would have thought for even a moment were the real deal, due to the lack of convincing wear and aging. Setting aside the handwarmers, epaulettes and the lack of collar snaps, the cut and condition of this jacket passes the antique sniff-test (both figuratively and literally ) that I'd look for in a real WWII A-2. Figuring in the handwarmers/epaulettes/snaps problem, however, well, thats the quandry.

 

[aswatland]

Thanks Aswatland. The reason I wanted to go with this particular jacket for the SQ patch is because it really has the patina of a 60+ year-old jacket. I want something that is very convincing at first (and second) glance, and while I've seen some very nice A-2 repros, I haven't seen any that I would have thought for even a moment were the real deal, due to the lack of convincing wear and aging. Setting aside the handwarmers, epaulettes and the lack of collar snaps, the cut and condition of this jacket passes the antique sniff-test (both figuratively and literally ) that I'd look for in a real WWII A-2. Figuring in the handwarmers/epaulettes/snaps problem, however, well, thats the quandry.

Why not buy an original, wearable A2? Then you would have a real A2 which would have a 65 yr patina.

 

[dr greg]

exactly

I agree, why ruin what is a perfectly fine vintage jacket with ephemera that wasn't there in the first place? Restore it by all means, but really, ebay is full of fake 'flyer's jackets' which would have just as much cachet as that once you're done poncing it up. DON'T DO IT: remember stonewash jeans?

 

[Mr. Scratch]

Why not buy an original, wearable A2? Then you would have a real A2 which would have a 65 yr patina.

Whew.

A variety of reasons. The foremost being availability and expense; I haven't haunted the A2 market, but it seems that original WWII A2s in even beat-up (but wearable) condition seem to run in the $600+ range...as opposed to the $10 I spent at the flea market ($150 if you calculate the cost of reseaming, repair and relining) on mine. Add to this that most original A-2s that I've seen seem to be in the 30ish size range, having been worn by the skinny early post-teenagers freshly malnourished from the (previous) Great Depression. Finding one to fit my 40-year-old, 6', 210+lb "well-fed" frame would likely be a challenge, and if I did find one it would no doubt be valued at a premium precisely because it could be worn by today's big-assed old men.

Secondly, I'm a militaria collector, and while I'm not above wearing a piece of actual WWII militaria in my daily life (ie. a Soviet Army-altered German belt buckle), I must first insist that it be common or near-worthless junk that I won't mourn as it becomes shabby and beat-up from my daily abuse. If I did have an original issue A-2, I'd be afraid to wear it around except on special occasions. More importanly I'd be Danged to Heck if I'd then sew repro SQ patches onto a real A2 jacket. I don't know that my grandfather's squadron (the 446th Bombardment SQ) ever actually issued insignia patches as none of them appear on their A2s in the photos, so my likelihood of finding a genuine 446th patch is extremely low. I'm really just looking for a cool authentic-looking jacket that has some historical signifigance, that I can also wear around all the time as a light casual jacket without having to worry about what happens to it. My flea market find more or less fits this "beating about" criteria, while a genuine A-2 would become yet another precious dust-collector in my closet.

So as much as I'd love to take your advice on this one - and I really would, as I'd love to have a real WWII A2 - it probably isn't a practical consideration this time around.

 

[Peacoat]

Leave the epaulets off and patch it if you want to. Your Grandfather's unit patches would be a good fit, otherwise I would say no epaulets and no patches. First thing though, get some Pecards!

 

[omar]

do it!

I've done a couple jacket projects along the lines you're thinking about; my general rule is if the jacket has any historical value, I won't touch it. There must have been millions of "almost there" A-2's made, and some of them are perfect fodder for what I call "fantasy jackets". Monkeying around with something that is well on it's way to oblivion shouldn't ruffle anybody's feathers; and hey, it's your's now, and should be happy with it, or why have it in the first place; GO FOR IT best wishes, Omar