Current Alpha Industries MA-1 "Classic" Review

[Edward]

Always looked kinda big and bulky in the photos I've seen, but granted, never handled one. I could be entirely wrong on that. Certainly I agree that the 80s 'wear 'em big' thing has had a huge impact here. Doubtless it's an outgrowth of the hip hop approach; the hip hop kids seem to have popularised then first, at least in the modern wave of fashion, and they always seem to wear everything oversized.

I also can't help but wonder whether some of the oversizing comes from other corners. I'm sure the main reasons bouncers have long worn them is because they provide a 'uniform' look in a serviceable Winter jacket at a relatively low price, but I've long suspected that part of the look has also been about the fact that it can make them look, well... bigger, more imposing. I can imagine that appealing to certain corners of the skinhead thing too.

 

[Doctor Damage]

I'm no longer sure what anyone posting here is trying to demonstrate. Is it that jackets should fit snug, or they should fit loose. Both are evidenced in photos. (This reminds me of the A-2 discussions, in which I suspect most people see a few photos which they like, but make the mistake of using too small a sample size.)

 

[bn1966]

Neither a strait-jacket nor a tent & I'm happy, just covering my belts good, covering my ass..ain't so good

Slightly snugger than 'baggy' here as long as it's comfortable on.

 

[Big J]

@Doctor Damage, hi
I think all I was trying to say was that these jackets are bulky because of the thickness and lack of drape of the lining, and a couple of generations wearing polyfilled flimsy Alphas a couple of sizes too big to try and emulate the look has maybe now given many people unrealistic ideas about how originals should be sized. Just that.
There's a lot of pics at jetpilotoverseas, I can't see anyone with a very loose jacket, but I could be wrong. I certainly wouldn't want to push a 'this is how I like it, so it must be objective truth.' Kind of thing. But I am obsessed with historical revisionism

@Edward, 20 years ago I read an article about Timberland that might apply here. It talked about the difference between the 'fitted' look of the clothes the official models wore, and the actual look on the street, and all 'the cool kids' said they wore their coats baggy like rappers do, because rappers have to hide their guns underneath them (or some such nonsense). Kind of reminded me of this. And yes, doormen love this jacket because they can stuff layers under it and look bigger.

 

[Edward]

Ah, yeah.... it's sad what happened to the rap scene, from its truly positive origins to the cheap glorification of criminality that so much of what makes the mainstream is rooted in.

 

[Doctor Damage]

And yes, doormen love this jacket because they can stuff layers under it and look bigger.

Doormen also have to stand outside all night, irrespective of the weather.

 

[Big J]

@Edward, rap reached its high water mark in 1982 with Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's 'The Message'. All down hill since then as far as I can make out.

@Doctor Damage, this is also true. I used to know a really fat guy who loved his Alpha MA-1 civilian jacket because it hid his belly rolling over the top of his jeans in all directions. It's a very versatile jacket! (I'm no Adonis by the way, but this guy was big).

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Great discussion. I regrettably gave my MA-1 to goodwill a few years ago. It was only a lower line version, but it was from the 80s. It sounds like I'll have to spend hundreds to even get that quality of build.