Bush Jackets

[PADDY]

Leather buttons on a bush jacket...?

Would leather buttons be appropriate for a true 'bush jacket?' As surely they would rot and when you throw your jacket into the river (or washing machine - these days!) the buttons (which aren't cheap) would just fall apart [huh]

But they do 'look good!' Any advice or suggestions (as I have a pile of buttons that would fit the bill, but not prepared to sew them on 'if' I have to have the jacket dry-cleaned all the time).

Cheers, PADDY.

 

[Mike K.]

Paddy, here is a photo of an original bush jacket that uses leather buttons.
I agree that machine washing might damage them, but you could probably wash your jacket on a gentle cycle and hang dry to avoid damaging the buttons.
Any "natural" material looks good for bush jacket buttons - wood, horn, coconut shell, leather, etc.
Coconut shell has the advantage of looking like leather (from a distance) but being hard and durable.

 

[BellyTank]

The Solution.

Would leather buttons be appropriate for a true 'bush jacket?' As surely they would rot and when you throw your jacket into the river (or washing machine - these days!) the buttons (which aren't cheap) would just fall apart [huh]

But they do 'look good!' Any advice or suggestions (as I have a pile of buttons that would fit the bill, but not prepared to sew them on 'if' I have to have the jacket dry-cleaned all the time).

Cheers, PADDY.

Paddy/Mike-
In the day- and in the military, the well made (especially theatre made) bush shirt/jacket/safari shirt, and other KD and SD tunics had removable, shank buttons, or bachelor buttons. Removable for laundering.
The button has a shank/metal loop to he rear and a cotter/split pin, or ring is used on the back to hold it in place, inside the plaquet.
The garment has an inside "fly" to protect the garment and user from the hardware and sewn eyelets to take the button shank.
Of course the brass military buttons were shank buttons- removable for laundering by the Dhobi- the wallah who smashes your clothes on rocks in the river. Removing the buttons preserves the garment and the buttons from unnecessary abuse.

So- YES leather football/braid removable, shank buttons are the solution.

This would work best with a garment made for this application, as you need the sewn eyelets to the front and the inside fly to cover the hardwear- neither of which are standard on a garment with "normal" buttons.

B
T

 

[BellyTank]

Here's another one that might fit that description--functionally very much a bush jacket but mostly failing, as BT says, to evoke anything of the 30s or to be a worthy facsimile of the Victorian or Edwardian safari jacket....
....I had been looking for a vintage looking safari/bush jacket, and had been considering one of Lost Worlds three versions, and have been particularly interseted in jackets that have full length collars that were common then (instead of the short collars ubiquitous since the 1980s). And a belt of course.

Sorry to edit you-

Yes- I think, without the longer collar, belt, pleated back, pockets and the other small details, those that we associate with the first 3rd of the 20thC., the style of the bush jacket is totally lost. All that and the colour and fit, too. There are other things, not mentioned here, which really "make" the look.

Those modern examples, costing many hundreds of £s, are sorely lacking
and quite ridiculous. "Khaki utility jackets" we have plenty of.
"Khaki" has almost become a default colour and as such, has lost its "Khaki".

I will now make it my mission to bring back to life, the classic, khaki
Bush shirt/jacket style- something from late Edwardian to mid 1930s.
I am very familiar with his style.

Watch this space...


B
T

 

[Mike K.]

I will now make it my mission to bring back to life, the classic, khaki
Bush shirt/jacket style- something from late Edwardian to mid 1930s.
I am very familiar with his style.

Watch this space...

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
Eagerly waiting!

 

[BellyTank]

Don't hold your breath!



B
T

 

[rikbb]

great can't wait!!!

Sorry to edit you-

Yes- I think, without the longer collar, belt, pleated back, pockets and the other small details, those that we associate with the first 3rd of the 20thC., the style of the bush jacket is totally lost. All that and the colour and fit, too. There are other things, not mentioned here, which really "make" the look.

Those modern examples, costing many hundreds of £s, are sorely lacking
and quite ridiculous. "Khaki utility jackets" we have plenty of.
"Khaki" has almost become a default colour and as such, has lost its "Khaki".

I will now make it my mission to bring back to life, the classic, khaki
Bush shirt/jacket style- something from late Edwardian to mid 1930s.
I am very familiar with his style.

Watch this space...


B
T

have been looking for that too, including shorts, very wide ones…

 

[BellyTank]

OK,...
...that's rikbb and maybe Mike K.

Any other takers...?

It won't exactly be cheap but saying that, it WON'T be £700, £500, or £300, either. I can tell you that much.
What it WILL be, is Khaki, cotton, drill and 1930s style...and affordable*, then, maybe there will be a more
Edwardian/19-teens/WW1 example- if we go earlier than that, into the late Victorian era, we lose the Bush Jacket/Shirt style that we know and love.
However, a Norfolk styled Khaki jacket is well within my scope of interest and ability.

*affordable, meaning at reasonable cost, with consideration to such a garment being quality made, well researched and extremely low volume- exclusive, you could say but without an exclusive price... but somewhat more than the proverbial
"$70", which we have heard is too rich for some folks' blood.


B
T

 

[Creeping Past]

Me, please. Just to make up the numbers. And to encourage the others. Pants and jacket, with the emphasis on Norfolk.

I'm glad you've anticipated responses along the lines of "70 bucks for a pair of khakis? Are you insane?" I grow tired of that line of thought.

I think that the khaki colour needs to be communicated as a broad-spectrum term. On this side of the Atlantic, and in the Antipodes a brownish tinge is anticipated. Those on the western side will demand a greenish hue.

 

[BellyTank]

Ahhh... that was a welcome edit, Mr. Creeping.

And Creeping makes threee.

If the "70 buck" tires you, be prepared for a long winter...


B
T

 

[Lone_Ranger]

Paddy/Mike-
In the day- and in the military, the well made (especially theatre made) bush shirt/jacket/safari shirt, and other KD and SD tunics had removable, shank buttons, or bachelor buttons. Removable for laundering.
The button has a shank/metal loop to he rear and a cotter/split pin, or ring is used on the back to hold it in place, inside the plaquet.
The garment has an inside "fly" to protect the garment and user from the hardware and sewn eyelets to take the button shank.
Of course the brass military buttons were shank buttons- removable for laundering by the Dhobi- the wallah who smashes your clothes on rocks in the river. Removing the buttons preserves the garment and the buttons from unnecessary abuse.

So- YES leather football/braid removable, shank buttons are the solution.

This would work best with a garment made for this application, as you need the sewn eyelets to the front and the inside fly to cover the hardwear- neither of which are standard on a garment with "normal" buttons.

B
T

BT, If your idea pans out. Count me in for a jacket.

As for buttons....is this what you mean? The standard police "P" button? They have military logos, airline, cruise lines, etc.

https://tandtuniforms.com/shop/catalog/popup_image.php/pID/653?osCsid=pvs81k0lbkc8ipg2s9gecu0k12

The Waterbury Button Company.
They do custom work also. Maybe a special Fedora Lounge button?
http://www.waterburybutton.com/cart/pc/home.asp

Antique brass, or antique copper?
http://www.waterburybutton.com/cart/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=4

 

[MrBern]

wrap that rascal

Would leather buttons be appropriate for a true 'bush jacket?' As surely they would rot and when you throw your jacket into the river (or washing machine - these days!) the buttons (which aren't cheap) would just fall apart [huh]

But they do 'look good!' Any advice or suggestions (as I have a pile of buttons that would fit the bill, but not prepared to sew them on 'if' I have to have the jacket dry-cleaned all the time).

Cheers, PADDY.

Couldnt you wrap the buttons before the jacket is washed? I know here, some of the better drycleaners will cover buttons in foil if there is a concern of possible damage.

 

[Ed13]

A Norfolk style bush jacket sounds good. I would like one as well. Trousers as well if they have a high rise.

 

[Creeping Past]

Would the trousers be high-rise or a modern low-cut, chino style, BT?

 

[H.Johnson]

Just to observe that I have leather buttons and buckles on Macintosh coats, trench coats and bush jackets that I have washed for many years with no adverse effect.

If the leather is tanned and curried correctly to be water-resistantand the buttons/buckles are made up properly there shouldn't be a problem, provided you use old-fashioned soap rather than a modern detergent cleanser. Such are the enemy of leather oils. You should oil the items afterwards, of course.

 

[BellyTank]

Would the trousers be high-rise or a modern low-cut, chino style, BT?

I don't think I mentioned trousers, did I?
But thanks very much for asking- they are on the cards and YES,
high waisted, with a good few period details.
I'm thinking of a high waisted, wide legged style AND a more Edwardian/WW1
style, with a norrower, tapered leg- a more sartorially suitable partner for
the Norfolk style jacket.

This project is actually in the works now(as always)but fast becoming reality.
I can't wait either.



B
T

 

[Speedster]

OK,...
...that's rikbb and maybe Mike K.

Any other takers...?

It won't exactly be cheap but saying that, it WON'T be £700, £500, or £300, either. I can tell you that much.
What it WILL be, is Khaki, cotton, drill and 1930s style...and affordable*, then, maybe there will be a more
Edwardian/19-teens/WW1 example- if we go earlier than that, into the late Victorian era, we lose the Bush Jacket/Shirt style that we know and love.
However, a Norfolk styled Khaki jacket is well within my scope of interest and ability.

*affordable, meaning at reasonable cost, with consideration to such a garment being quality made, well researched and extremely low volume- exclusive, you could say but without an exclusive price... but somewhat more than the proverbial
"$70", which we have heard is too rich for some folks' blood.


B
T

Yes, me as well. Have been waiting for a long time now. Ever since i saw/tried on a prototype of yours on Vesterbro.

 

[BellyTank]

Sorry about that, Rene...
A lot has happened since then but not so much on the Khaki front.


B
T

 

[Speedster]

Hey, nothing to be sorry about.

When you have little kids and moving country time flies.

 

[Edward]

BT, if you do go ahead with the 30s style trousers at the seventy dollar mark, please count me in.