The Deck Jacket thread.

[CatsCan]

Will, I have a navy blue Bronson N-1, which is too snug for me since I gained. It is size 40. It fits me, 6'2' and 172 lbs with a T-shirt or light sweater. I would consider it as a size small when you want it loose fitting or size M when you want it more slim fitting. Can take measurements, if you want. It is a nice dark washed and faded navy colour, dense jungle cloth, good quality (not the one that had lost its fur). Pile is 80% wool, 20 Polyester. It has a distressed U.S. Navy "painted" on the back along with a number. Looks really realistic like a well worn navy piece. The colour is hard to be photographed with a smartphone. But it is a nice faded dark blue. Although it looks distressed, it is only artificially distressed, it is practically unworn.

 

[breezer]

Winter in Europe is kicking my soft Florida ass, if any of you got an N-1 in 38 or 40 for sale, let me know, I could use one just about now...

View attachment 568807

https://www.marrkt.com/products/vintage-marine-nationale-parka-5?_pos=1&_sid=5291f6ec6&_ss=r

 

[Bfd70]

^cool

 

[realgone]

They all look good on you!
Almost surprises me how good the Pike Brothers looks on you.
Had you also altered the sleeve width at your Pike Brothers? If so, did they manage to get the seams like they were before, don't know how it is called, but I mean those two parallel rows)? My Pike Brothers is the only of my N-1s that I only put on in front of my mirror only to find it wrong all over. I have overdyed it with gray and the colour now is almost perfectly matching well preserved originals I have seen. It is just that something in the cut is strange. I am still wondering what to tell my tailor to get it right. It is wide and big enough (oversized for me) to alter things. At the moment I tend towards slimming the sleeves tapered to a more snug cuff, taking the chest in at the pits about an inch each side and reducing the curve of the armhole and thus "re-setting" the sleeves right. It will probably make it more rectangular instead of barrel or trapezoidal shaped. I am also contemplating about replacing the liner with Steiff Schulte Alpaca. Meanwhile I have three other N-1s to wear. But the Jungle Cloth shell and construction of the Pike is the best I have seen and handled. Such a brilliant cloth. If it only had not all the other issues.

Cats

Thanks! I just had them trim and hem the sleeves an inch shorter. Nothing fancy. the wrist cuffs are in a good spot, but the sleeve length was still long. It's as if this jacket was cut for a small body with very long wrists.

 

[realgone]

Very nice, all three of them.

Surprised, how well you pull of a size medium PB when you wear a 40 in the RMC. I have the later in 44, and the PB in ‚large‘ looks like a potatoe sack on me.

The RMC is the best fit, for sure. And it's the only one I bought new in person. It's odd, the PB is the smallest of the three. It was one of the waxed PB versions. I'm not sure if they had a different pattern, or it's due to the extra thick lining. I do love it though.

 

[CatsCan]

Another pair of interesting photos of men wearing US Deck Jackets, with a surprise.

This photo is said to show five German U550 crew members who had been saved from the sea after the sinking of their Uboot, on Bord USS Joyce, 1944. From the hairstyles and beard styles this is plausible. They seem to have been provided with dry US Naval clothing, since their own were soaked. They were obviously treated well. The story goes, that the 12 survivors carried on a deep friendship with US Joyce crew members for decades after the war, including mutual visits with families. A wonderfully human story.

Service for the one German U550 crew member who was rescued from the sea but died soon after. It is touching to look at the faces of the sailors. They did not wrap him in a Reichskriegsflagge but the Stars And Stripes. From the faces I believe, I can tell, this was regarded as honorable treatment.

I wonder if those Germans were allowed to keep their Jackets but I doubt. The Survivors were delivered to authorities in Ireland as POW. There is a documentary movie about the discovery of the Wreck of U550 with interviews of survivors still alive by 2012 and also with family members as well as interviews with surviving members of the USS Joyce and USS Peterson and the U.S. merchant tanker SS Pan Pennsylvania. The latter was previously sunk by torpedos fired from U550.

Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. All wars end some day and enemies can become friends.

Cats

 

[TartuWolf]

This one looks incredible

 

[CatsCan]

Yeah, but it looks too tight in the chest on him, doesn't it?

 

[TartuWolf]

Looks a bit yeah, but it's more about how it feels I guess. And TJ is not clueless about sizing, I don't think he would wear it so long if it was the wrong size or felt restricting.
The more I look at it the more it's clear that this exact jacket is my new dream green leather jacket and my new dream deck jacket.

 

[Brandrea33]

Winter in Europe is kicking my soft Florida ass, if any of you got an N-1 in 38 or 40 for sale, let me know, I could use one just about now...

View attachment 568807

Definitely not flip flop weather lol. Bundle up!

 

[CatsCan]

Looks a bit yeah, but it's more about how it feels I guess. And TJ is not clueless about sizing, I don't think he would wear it so long if it was the wrong size or felt restricting.

don't know... but I see how the front part is pulled in folds towards the pits and the shoulder corners riding up when he tries to put his hands into the pockets of this jacket (on the other hand most leather jackets slightly pull up when one lifts his arms). Can't help but thinking it's too tight or leather is just not the right material for this type of jacket cut. Some jacket cuts are just not ideal for thick leather. Maybe the N-1 is one of them. The M-65 on the other hand is working in a leather version, because of the bi-swing back. A flat single piece back like on the A-2 benefits from a wider cut to prevent being too restrictive in arms movement. Although I think this kind of feature would totally ruin the silhouette of an N-1, it would be worth a try. Kind of mixing features of M-65 (upper back) and N-1 (rest). My impression is, this jacket as it is looks fantastic but would get little actual wear on me.. interesting N-1 version it is indeed.

 

[breezer]

this brand is local to me here in Glasgow - they are a bit late to the N1 game, but its a great looking jacket all the same. Mid range price wise, but manufactured in Europe.
https://finniestonclothing.com/collections/new-arrivals-1/products/n1-deck-jacket-1

 

[theeprimitivesound]

I think the jacket TJ is trying on is just stiff and new, and maybe he doesnt wanna crease it too much as hes just showing you what it looks like on.

 

[Bfd70]

In my opinion he tends to wear jackets on the tighter side. Saw a reel on the gram that made the leather n1 look soft as sheepskin. Otherwise it seems like an uncomfortable tank.

 

[CatsCan]

And even if it was comfortable, alone that it does not look comfortable would make me hesitant to wear it. Everybody must think : how the hell can this guy tie his shoe laces?

 

[CatsCan]

It reminds me of some H&M jackets I once bought, where the sleeves were attached in an angle, that made the jacket look fantastic but once you put it on, you could only walk around like Eddie in Piece Of Mind.

 

[ton312]

This one looks incredible

That’s a cool f’ing jacket.

 

[CatsCan]

After I had done quite some research to find out why the sizing of N-1 Jackets is sometimes a task on it's own and why modern replicas can look so much different on us than what we use to see in old pictures from Navy personnel wearing these jackets, I thought I'd share some insights here.

Following are measurements of a lot of vintage N-1s (only the 1940s) I picked from various sources on the web. Most are taken from japanese archives (like mushroom), where they took exact measurements from every single piece, some were deadstock or at least mint, many unwashed, used but in very good condition.

Next are measurements from some modern replica brands. Note that Pike Brothers, Bronson and Buzz Rickson are taken from their official size charts. RMC and Freewheelers are taken from re-sellers, that gave measurements for the availlable single item.
It is evident, that vintage N-1s follow a different pattern in their sizing, e.g. shoulder width and chest width are not changing proportionally, but relatively. Some brands follow this pattern, like Bronson, Buzz Rickson, Freewheelers. Some are going their own route (RMC, Pike Brothers), Pike Brothers being on the extreme side. Pike Brothers just go up in steps with the same spacing (shoulders 4 cm per size up, chest 4 cm per size up, considering a bigger difference between chest and shoulders than on most originals and other brands, it is really quite a bit off from all others and all vintage originals).

As a good example, if you compare Pike Brothers with Originals, most originals in middle sizes like 40 have roughly a chest to shoulder difference of 10 cm or less. Pike has a difference of 14 cm ! Originals are longer proportionally while Pike Brothers is short. This is why their proportions are off for slender builds like me (and Breezer). They have a barrel fit, broad and short. I have begun to modify one of my PB's N-1s (reducing the sleeve, tapering the sleeve (successfully done), reducing chest width (yet to be done), changing the colour (successfully done with gray overdye), now comes the liner part, I will change it for 100% Alpaca (found a good source, quite cheap, old ladies coat, very nice quality).

Note that I filled in all numbers as I found them, say: most are in cm, some are in inches, some are given in inches as well as in cm. It was a lot of work, folks, but it kind of gave me peace of mind.
I made some .jpgs from the charts I created. For better comparison I put all measurements in the same order: shoulders, chest, sleeve, back length. Back length is almost always measured without collar. Sleeve is almost always measured from shoulder seam to cuff. Chest is pit to pit. Note that Bronson gives the chest circumference, for better comparison just divide by 2.

Hope this helps to understand the differences in sizing and helps to find out which brand is closer to the originals proportionally and which brand is re-designed for a different fit.

Happy Holidays for all of you!

Cats

 

[thatoreoguy]

OK, So I bought the Bronson ( experimental) higher end lining. N1

Really happy with it so far. With their boxing day sale it was about $160usd and while I'm still in love with RMC. This jacket is amazing for the price.

I have widish shoulders( 19inch, 32 inch waist) and was recommended the 42. It fits quite well I usually wear just a tshit since its pretty warm. even in -15/20.

I have a bit a shoulder poke but that's just my life without wanting to wear tents.

Here are pics. ( I am wearing a pull over and t shirt)
PS experimental just means it has gun hostlers spots under the armpits( pictured)

 

[CatsCan]

Looks good! To my knowledge what Bronson calls experimantal is likely refering to the first stage in the model evolution of the originals. The first original "khaki" N-1 still had the loops under the armpits and the fur liner down to the cuffs of the sleeve it had inherited from the older blue version. In this logic both, the blue N-1 and the first khaki could be called "experimental". The later wartime N-1 had no loops and the fur lining ended where the knits were attached. In this variant the N-1 stayed pretty much the same until the early 1960s.
If your Bronson has the fur down to the cuffs then they are following this evolution in their own naming logic. Their "experimantal" A-2 is modeled after the first version of original A-2s that still was made with "Jungle Cloth" as outer shell. The final version was made from plain weave fabric. This is at least how I try to explain myself Bronson's logic with their names. A few years ago they simply called them 1st, 2nd and 3rd model N-1 (they did not make the A-2 at that time).

Wear it in good health!

Edit: What the loops were actually designed for never occured to me. Some wrote, the idea behind was to have something to hang them spread out for better drying. One crazy theory said you could use them to attatch the jacket either to your belt or to your Rucksack when on shore. Never believed this, though. It is however likely that they were believed to be necessary when the jacket was worn in the whole N-1 sytem, so together with the bib. The suspenders could be fastened there to prevent them from falling off your shoulders when kneeling down. If this is true, it seems that the reality proved that they were not needed at all.