-
The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.
For me it falls into the broad A2-inspired category on account of the collar, one piece back, hip length, and two front top flap pockets (as opposed to say the angled pockets of a Harrington). It's not an A2 obviously, but if the A2 had never existed, perhaps this jacket wouldn't have been designed in exactly the same way? Thinking in broad terms here.
Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 25,166
- Location
- London, UK
Flapped patch pockets, a shirt collar and blouson length even with a zipper did not start with the A-2.
Here's a 1920s kids jacket from another thread.
Cool, thanks for the picture! Do you think it's fair to say regardless that those jacket attributes are, in the popular imagination of the present day, most associated with their manifestation in the A2, even if they didn't originate with it? I'm wondering what else I could have named the thread to convey the same message succinctly.
No, not at all. When I'm wearing a wool zippered jacket with big patch pockets, absolutely no one associates it with a pilot look. And I'm talking general audiences, not clothes enthusiasts.
If anything people assume it's a hunting jacket, which in some cases is accurate.
you mean
Indiana Jones wears A2?Filson putting "bomber" in the product name is a meaningless indicator in terms of how people generically use these terms in real life. The full product names for various Schott and Vansons are similarly bizarre. Like the 519 is called the 50's Motorcycle Jacket but it's not especially 50s style and other jackets in the collection are closer to their 50s models. It's just for sorting merchandise.
I've worn wool jackets like the one in your post in public many times; if I get any comments or questions, they are always about outdoor wear, shooting, etc.
I get "bomber" comments when I wear a G-1 or MA-1, sure. Note that the MA-1 doesn't have patch pockets!
At a company like Filson, would product names not likely come from a marketing department making decisions based on market research? It would surprise me if they themselves would refer to their product names as meaningless indicators with so much at stake as to how the product is then perceived by the consumer.
Maybe the disconnect you pointed out is a reflection of a company's priority to sell its product? Product names are chosen presumably not based on assumptions regarding how the consumer will perceive the product, but on whatever sells the most units. Over time, the latter shapes the frame of reference of the former until the two ultimately become one and the same, perhaps?
Maybe the disconnect you pointed out is a reflection of a company's priority to sell its product? Product names are chosen presumably not based on assumptions regarding how the consumer will perceive the product, but on whatever sells the most units. Over time, the latter shapes the frame of reference of the former until the two ultimately become one and the same, perhaps?
Featured products
-
John Lofgren Monkey Boots Shinki Horsebuttt - $1,136 The classic monkey boot silhouette in an incredibly rich Shinki russet horse leather. -
Grant Stone Diesel Boot Dark Olive Chromexcel - $395 Goodyear welted, Horween Chromexcel, classic good looks. -
Schott 568 Vandals Jacket - $1,250 The classic Perfecto motorcycle jacket, in a very special limited-edition Schott double rider style.
mumpy
Practically Family
- Messages
- 553
Tenderloin wool jacket, there are a few variations and colours. You can find them very cheap through Japan.
mumpy
Practically Family
- Messages
- 553
Don't worry about it, the title makes perfect sense. The point is understanding and communication, I don't care where the pattern comes from or if a gorilla used to wear it in 1500s.
ABCD
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,462
Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 25,166
- Location
- London, UK
Probably not the A2 for the average person on the street. Those of us who recognise an A2 as such are really a minority of enthusiasts. Within that, there probably are hose of us whose first reference point for something like an Aero Waterfront is "a wool A2". Otherwise, it'll vary depending on what pop culture reference points different people have.
I suspect it'll very a lot with geography. Here in the UK, 'bomber jacket' is a term that I regularly hear used to cover everything from an Irvin to an MA1, via the Schott 184SM. I think likely an Aero Waterfront would be commonly regarded as a bomber here if it was in nylon, or a plain colour wool. The checked wool would most likely see the average person refer to it as a "lumberjack jacket" here - probably the nearest sociological equivalent of calling it a 'hunting' jacket in the US in terms of that being what the plaid pattern calls to mind for a lot of folks.
Definitely frame of reference will be the thing here. No different than whether people look at med in a brown fedora reference Indiana Jones, the Godfather, or Clint Eastwood.
you mean
An A2-style jacket was the start point for the Indy concept. They very quickly decided to move away from knits, though - partly to demilitarised the look, but also for practical reasons, as there was concern a waist knit would foul on the gunbelt and whip. I wouldn't be surprised if Ford was grateful for the lack of knits for the additional airflow that afforded, given the hot weather location much of Raiders was filmed in.
It's interesting how SEO has driven changes to product nomenclature in recent years. It also happens in academic publishing, where you get dozens of different text books with the same title because the publishers all want them to show up fast on keyword searches.
Kids jackets needed pockets for mittens so they wouldn't loose them, and knit cuffs to prevent gaps between the sleeves and mittens. Maybe the A2 was inspired by a Mom knitting mittens and cuffs for her kids. Adding pockets because she was tired of the kids always loosing a mitten and having to knitting another one.Flapped patch pockets, a shirt collar and blouson length even with a zipper did not start with the A-2.
Here's a 1920s kids jacket from another thread.
Early bombers in 1912 wore tweed suits. They carried bombs in their lap and tossed them over the side of the fuselage. Basically they were hand grenades.
Similar threads
