Vintage Police Uniforms

[Astrobeej]

I see a lot of folks into military uniforms, but not so many that are interested in what Golden Age police wore! I cobbled together this beat cop costume for a film I'm working on:

The only thing that is really from the right era is the Sam Brown belt and holster. The jacket and pants probably date back to the 60s, but are pretty close to the few photos I've been able to find. The hat and patches are contemporary. The hat badge is real. I have no idea when it was made, but the design hasn't changed much since they first started wearing them. The badge is a replica of the correct design.

One of these days I'd like to replace the pants with a pair of jodhpurs for an 40's motorcycle cop!

Beej

 

[Fletch]

You look almost like Bill Elliot, the "Singing Cop" of WEEI, Boston.

 

[Mike Cash]

You look almost like Bill Elliot, the "Singing Cop" of WEEI, Boston.

I enjoyed rooting around and reading many of the articles about Bill Elliot. Thanks for the link.

 

[Brosinle]

I miss the days when officers always wore hats, like they do in the big cities still. (And please, no baseball hats on a regular police uniform.)

 

[Fletch]

Policing is less civic and more military these days. Black has replaced blue, SWAT pants and skinheads the old tie and peaked cap. The individual officer may reflect a helpful guardian of community, but the iconography of the uniform has gone very much in another direction.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I remember a few years back when LA had a new chief of police who actually stated the LA police would wear their hats again. A few months into his job that was thrown out the window and he himself stopped. I guess it was pressure from the ranks.

 

[dr greg]

not Liza with a Z

I feel I can be pedantic on this forum and not be taken the wrong way: it's a Sam Browne with an E, and apparently there's a controversy over whether or not you Yanks invented it
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-uniforms/sam_browne.htm

 

[Baggers]

I feel I can be pedantic on this forum and not be taken the wrong way: it's a Sam Browne with an E, and apparently there's a controversy over whether or not you Yanks invented it
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-uniforms/sam_browne.htm

That's quite all right Dr, I my self feel the urge at times. If the knowledge is to be passed on, it must be spelled correctly at least. It's small details like this that make the difference. As for who invented it, I'll give the nod to the man it was named after since he at least was able to put his stamp on it.

Cheers!

 

[Story]

I cobbled together this beat cop costume for a film I'm working on:

Looks good!
Can you tell us more about the film?
Independent production?
Will there be a SF screening once it's done?

 

[Fletch]

Maybe there's no film...maybe he just wanted to do it and have a plausible alibi

 

[Fletch]

Not Liza with a Z
...it's a Sam Browne with an E

I dunno about where you are, Doc, but over here a man that mentions Liza and Sam Browne belts in quick succession is apt to make other men a little, uh, nervous.
NTTAWWT, of course.

 

[Astrobeej]

Looks good!
Can you tell us more about the film?
Independent production?
Will there be a SF screening once it's done?

Sure! The film is called "The Smiling Man", and it's an hour long noir-ish detective story set in San Francisco, 1948.

We're hoping to be wrapped up by the end of January. There will definitely be an SF premiere party, venue to be determined, but you can bet there will be an announcement here.

I've been wanting to start a thread where I can share more info, but since I'm new here I wanted to settle in and get a sense of which department would be best for that before going hog-wild.

Beej

 

[Astrobeej]

I feel I can be pedantic on this forum and not be taken the wrong way: it's a Sam Browne with an E, and apparently there's a controversy over whether or not you Yanks invented it
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-uniforms/sam_browne.htm

Thanks for the info, doc. I was unsure on the spelling, but I've always assumed they were a British invention.

Beej

 

[dr greg]

Gest appearance

I dunno about where you are, Doc, but over here a man that mentions Liza and Sam Browne belts in quick succession is apt to make other men a little, uh, nervous.
NTTAWWT, of course.

The only time I ever saw Liza Minelli was courtesy of the fact that she was appearing with Frank Sinatra and Sammy in Dallas, where I bumped into Joan Collins on the stairs while I was lounging about.
The fact that most fans of hers are light in the slipper matters not one wit to me, and her finest work in Cabaret deals with a time and fashion that definitely falls within the purview of this forum surely. Just as well I didn't mention my whip and monocle.
BTW I am also mourning the loss of James Brown..where does that fit?

 

[Story]

What's the revolver you've got in the holster?

 

[metropd]

almost all departments city county or state have peaked caps aka service caps pershing or 8 point to wear on patrol. Most cops are sloppy dressers when not in uniform so their sloppy dressers in uniform. if you read the lapd uniform regulation the hat policy is optional except must be worn at all times on foot patrol, crowd control, formal functions, or when ever the watch commander deems neccessary. Although happily enough I've seen police officers po1-po3 wearing it as a choice when they did not have to. i am in the cadet program in SD and like a recent uniform trend in CA my chief highly encoureges you to wear your peaked cap on patrol. In LA Their quite a couple patrolman who choose to wear the cap because the think it is very professional. I always wear one. our service caps our the pershing style round on the edge with no points. I think I look great and since i always wear one with a tie even on hot days my seargent always favors me. Many departments on the east coast still make you wear every time you step out of the squad car. LA is getting stricter on the hat policy since I see more cops wearing them on patrol. Once I pass the academy and become a cop I will wear it every second I am on patrol.

 

[Orgetorix]

I miss the days when officers always wore hats, like they do in the big cities still. (And please, no baseball hats on a regular police uniform.)

This reminded me of the Wodehouse novel where Bertie Wooster (or one of his British friends) gets canned for insulting a police officer while he's visiting New York. He complains that the officer looked like a postman, and wonders what's wrong with a country where they don't dress their policemen in "proper helmets!"

 

[Les Gillis]

Tulsa PD

The Tulsa, OK Police Department has some good photo's on their website. You have the same look as the Officer Pictured in the 1930s.
He probably has breeches and riding boots on like most of them wore back then.

http://www.tulsapolice.org/history/index.html

Les

 

[Fatdutchman]

Now that you have the uniform, can you do a terrible fake Irish accent? Don't you know all policemen are Irish?lol

 

[Astrobeej]

What's the revolver you've got in the holster?

It's a very cheap .357 Magnum replica.