at some point i'm going to have to stop wearing this parka as often as i do in cold weather because of the fear of completely destroying it. it is nearly 60 years old. this particular parka was manufactured in 1952 for the korean war.
called "fishtail" for the split at the lower back that looks like a "fishtail". each side of the split was to be tied between the legs, to the bottom front of the parka to decrease draft in severe weather.
mods got ahold of them in the early 60s as cheap coveralls to wear around town when riding scoots or just chilling. covered up those neat carnaby st. shark skin suits so well in the foul british weather.
in southern california, i get to break this out maybe for a few months a year because the weather never really gets cold enough to justify a jacket that when layered properly is rated to something like 40 below zero.
if you are into these old mod parkas, look for them on ebay, and look for the real wear as there are fakes being made in china. real m-1951s in good condition are now going for at a minimum of a few hundred bucks and up to around a grand or so in england and japan. i should have bought every one that i could get my hands on while i was in high school as the local army surplus store used to sell them for like 40 bucks back then and had tons on the shelf. pretty rare beast now.
next, i want a genuine british navy convoy coat from wwii (not Wii jackass).
icons. period.
No comments:
Post a Comment