Swedish M36 wool army tunics at SOF from £5 !!

[Edward]

Edward,

By 'early war', I'm assuming you mean the 1940 style rather than the 1936 or 1943 (the dates are unofficical and arbitrary in any case).

Yes, the Swiss trousers are similar but in a heavier fabric and much cheaper, but without the fishtail back. Expect to pay 25 GBP for unissued Swiss originals and twice that for reproduction 1940 German field trousers.

Yes, that's exactly what I mean, the 1940 field trousers with the straight ankles, as opposed to the pulled-in, fastened ankles of the later war versions.

fftopic: What was the difference with the 36 trousers? I had previously speculated that the straight ankle options, akin to more 'normal' civilian trousers, were a hangover design from the prewar period which gave way to the fastened and pulled in ankles, which would be more useable in a combat environment. I may be utterly off on that, though.

 

[H.Johnson]

Yes, and the buttoned belt loops on the later trousers for an equipment belt.

 

[BellyTank]

The corresponding Swiss trousers are more civilian in appearance. Straight cut with pleated waist. They have an internal ankle cinch that doesn't show when not closed up and no map pocket(s). Fabulous loden material too. I swear by mine.

I have Swiss trousers, in a blue-grey, WITH high fishtail back AND button-gathered ankles. I think these are my best woolen surplus trousers.
Very dense, felt-y/loden-esque cloth.

I have seen the straight legged Swiss trousers on the surtplus market recently.


B
T

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

I have Swiss trousers, in a blue-grey, WITH high fishtail back AND button-gathered ankles. I think these are my best woolen surplus trousers.
Very dense, felt-y/loden-esque cloth.

I have seen the straight legged Swiss trousers on the surtplus market recently.


B
T

A question about trousers. Could be a waist 36 a real 36 (example: 36 levis 501 are a XL)?. Are straight or wide pants?. I have a jacket wiht the number 104 (104 cm-42 inches breast?) and fits me like a Large.

 

[Metatron]

Just ordered one of these with the intention of converting it to a 'hunting' or 'leisure' jacket with the addition of some football buttons. Will update with progress.

 

[Metatron]

Thought I'd share my own experience with the Swedish tunic for whoever might be interested.

My jacket arrived in seemingly deadstock condition.
Others here have praised its' virtues, but I will add that it has a plethora of pockets which are very capacious and easily fit a paperback with room to spare.

Furthermore, the high armholes, while slightly tight on the armpits, give your arms incredible mobility.

Original label:




Military collar insignia which I removed. The stitching is so tight and minute that this took some effort with the seam ripper. However the felty nature of the wool makes it easy to mold and the holes readily disappear after the application of water.




I was going to follow the advice here to use football buttons to alter the look of the tunic, but decided against them as they are stem buttons like the original military ones, so I tried to use something which would further counteract the military nature of the
jacket. Regular brown/tan mottled buttons.
I also molded the collar to give a more carefree appearance:




I removed the back pockets. I wasn't sure if this would be worth it, but my effort was rewarded: Firstly the coat looks way more flattering without them, and their removal revealed a 'halfbelt' line of stitching which adds a bit of interest to the back.
Marks left by the pockets again readily disappear after the application of a few drops of water, and gentle rubbing.




My goal was to roughly imitate vintage leisure and hunting style coats such as these:










Not sure how convincing it is in this regard, but I believe it is now a little less drab looking, and I might have
found my new favourite winter coat.