Post War Sears Hecules Jackets

[ton312]

Looks big enough. Low adjustments? Yes, I see them.

Yeah it has the waist level adjusters. If you think your photos and videos didn’t make me buy it...you’d be wrong. LOL. I’ve only had two other Hercs. A barnstormer like yours which blew apart and a car coat with a mouton collar. These shorter styles are really my favorite. This one looks like it could be another project. Hopefully not more than a big drink of conditioner. Part of the fun though.

 

[tmitchell59]

I’ve painstakingly brought this Herc back from some pretty rough condition with the help of Dena. My intention is to sell off all but this jacket, the Bates and the Goodgal and add one more Herc to the collection. There is something about these Hercs. They are truly magnificent jackets!
View attachment 249874 View attachment 249875 View attachment 249876

Here is the adjustable cuff pictured on your jacket.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Fascinating Terry, what strikes me whenever I see these is -

A $28 jacket in 1948 has a rough equivalence of $300 today.
Average length of 26 inches seems long, given the average height of five feet nine.
Nylon stitching for strength/nylon lining for life.
Plastic lined top pocket for your pipe and tobacco.

 

[tmitchell59]

Fascinating Terry, what strikes me whenever I see these is -

A $28 jacket in 1948 has a rough equivalence of $300 today.
Average length of 26 inches seems long, given the average height of five feet nine.
Nylon stitching for strength/nylon lining for life.
Plastic lined top pocket for your pipe and tobacco.

The post war jackets advertise Nylon lining/stitching. Windward even had it on their label. I noticed today that later in the 50s that some jackets have a Rayon quilt lining. Must have been a difference in cost/price.

 

[Monitor]

A $28 jacket in 1948 has a rough equivalence of $300 today.

So turns out a good jacket was always somewhat pricey. I wonder if Hercules was even then considered to be one of the top makers or simply a higher quality OTR brand. Those prices are pretty much the same as what Buco was going for at the time.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Eat your heart out Rin Tanaka . . . It's threads like this, with such great photos and tidbits of interesting information, that are the real meat here on the Fedora Lounge! Yet again, thank you, @tmitchell59 for taking the time to photograph and share your knowledge and collection with us.

 

[dannyk]

Eat your heart out Rin Tanaka . . . It's threads like this, with such great photos and tidbits of interesting information, that are the real meat here on the Fedora Lounge! Yet again, thank you, @tmitchell59 for taking the time to photograph and share your knowledge and collection with us.

I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot lately but this is worthy of it again. I just want to echo @Benny Holiday and say thank you thank you thank you for all you provide around here @tmitchell59 Youre a wealth of knowledge and your collections are amazing. And this is one of the reason why I love TFL and spend my time here over other forums. I feel like we take the time to appreciate and explore the history, and the fashion. Not just one or the other. And for the most part people are considerate and friendly.

 

[Seb Lucas]

So turns out a good jacket was always somewhat pricey. I wonder if Hercules was even then considered to be one of the top makers or simply a higher quality OTR brand. Those prices are pretty much the same as what Buco was going for at the time.

It would be interesting to compare this price with, say, a Harris Tweed sports coat, which was also considered causal wear back then.

Notice the various weights on them. Does that suggest 2.5 oz or 3oz?

 

[Will Zach]

I am super-happy I bought one of these square-pocket/stovepipe sleeve Hercs from Terry. I relined with a warm liner and can't wait for winter.

 

[Steffan Postaer]

50s

https://goo.gl/photos/BaxpBUheCefpGA9JA

View attachment 249840 View attachment 249841 View attachment 249842

I own this exact jacket. Same everything. Can you tell me it's age/value and any fun facts - I could not find your pricing info on thread. Much appreciated. Steffan

 

[itsallgood]

Here are the horsehide jackets in the Sears 1952 catalog:

 

[ProteinNerd]

So turns out a good jacket was always somewhat pricey

Pricey?

$300 is an absolute bargain for a new jacket today, most of the new stuff here is approaching $3000 these days....where are you shopping @Monitor

 

[Seb Lucas]

itsallgood - wow, the quilted lined surcoat is the same jacket worn by George Clooney in Leatherheads, bad film, great jacket. I always wanted one of these and although Belstaff made a slightly bland copy, and I've seen a few originals on eBay, I never knew what period it came from. The movie is set in the 1920's, the jacket came thirty years later. 5 pounds, six ounces. 3oz, I guess.

Here's the Besltaff copy



The movie version

 

[Monitor]

Pricey?

$300 is an absolute bargain for a new jacket today, most of the new stuff here is approaching $3000 these days....where are you shopping @Monitor

Well... Yeah, but that's our stupid jackets that cost a lot and true, Hercules wasn't such a big deal back then. They were OTR, catalog order maker which would make them today's Wilsons or Levi's. I just checked, most regular models by Levi's are around $300, same for Wilsons. But that's still a lot of money that not many people could afford to spend on a coat. It's what second hand Vanson's sell for today and people still haggle and complain. It's good money.

I'm sure you had to pay a lot more if you wanted something bespoke back then, though I still don't think it was ever even close to what we're paying today.

 

[cloudylemonade]

Looks good on you!
On me it looked too Bolero. That's why I wish someone would do a repop.....like 25" long instead of the 23.5" that mine was.
It would be great in the Vicenza black.....
are you reading this CloudyLemonade? (wink, wink)

We actually made these for many years, from the late 80s until around 2004 I think. It somehow dropped off our radar. We think we may still have patterns for this, if you're interested email me at holly@aeroleatherclothing.com and refer to this thread and we can look into it for you.

 

[Seb Lucas]

We actually made these for many years, from the late 80s until around 2004 I think. It somehow dropped off our radar. We think we may still have patterns for this, if you're interested email me at holly@aeroleatherclothing.com and refer to this thread and we can look into it for you.

View attachment 249967

I used to love that pattern. I think I remember these at Aero too.

 

[tmitchell59]

Eat your heart out Rin Tanaka . . . It's threads like this, with such great photos and tidbits of interesting information, that are the real meat here on the Fedora Lounge! Yet again, thank you, @tmitchell59 for taking the time to photograph and share your knowledge and collection with us.

Thank you I'm glad you enjoy the post!

I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot lately but this is worthy of it again. I just want to echo @Benny Holiday and say thank you thank you thank you for all you provide around here @tmitchell59 Youre a wealth of knowledge and your collections are amazing. And this is one of the reason why I love TFL and spend my time here over other forums. I feel like we take the time to appreciate and explore the history, and the fashion. Not just one or the other. And for the most part people are considerate and friendly.

Thank you, I am glad to share and glad to have somewhere to do it!

I am super-happy I bought one of these square-pocket/stovepipe sleeve Hercs from Terry. I relined with a warm liner and can't wait for winter.

I'm happy that you like that jacket. I look forward to cooler days too!

 

[tmitchell59]

I own this exact jacket. Same everything. Can you tell me it's age/value and any fun facts - I could not find your pricing info on thread. Much appreciated. Steffan

The jacket pictured is a mid 50s Horsehide motorcycle jacket. I heard tell that Sears branded motorcycle jackets were the biggest seller. As a huge national retailer this makes sense. They offered a variety of styles including jackets made by Buco for a short time in the 50s. This pictured jacket is the most common style during the 50s and went into the 60s under the Sears Oakbrook label. Most in this style were labeled as horsehide. Other styles were produced in Steerhide. They are as well made as any jacket from this era. They show up on ebay. The Oakbrooks are much more common and they are steerhide.

 

[Monitor]

The jacket pictured is a mid 50s Horsehide motorcycle jacket. I heard tell that Sears branded motorcycle jackets were the biggest seller. As a huge national retailer this makes sense. They offered a variety of styles including jackets made by Buco for a short time in the 50s. This pictured jacket is the most common style during the 50s and went into the 60s under the Sears Oakbrook label. Most in this style were labeled as horsehide. Other styles were produced in Steerhide. They are as well made as any jacket from this era. They show up on ebay. The Oakbrooks are much more common and they are steerhide.

Terry, do you know how is it that the style for the D-pocket motorcycle jacket remained pretty much the same throughout the different eras and manufacturer? Did Sears had the rights on the style / design?
I was never quite able to figure out how did the transition from Hercules to Oakbrook happened, as the jacket remaining very similar.

 

[tmitchell59]

So turns out a good jacket was always somewhat pricey. I wonder if Hercules was even then considered to be one of the top makers or simply a higher quality OTR brand. Those prices are pretty much the same as what Buco was going for at the time.

I'm sure you had to pay a lot more if you wanted something bespoke back then, though I still don't think it was ever even close to what we're paying today.

I think most bespoke leather in the past years was associated with Police (uniform) jackets and custom made Deerskin jackets. There were a host of small and big operations throughout the USA doing just that. The San Francisco bay area was home to several small shops and some larger factories. Southern California had a share in this trade. Most of these concerns are long gone.

The quality of Catalog jackets and "other" jackets is somehthing I have considered, Even the quality between different catalog labeled jackets is interesting.