Kate Mara, who was in the first season of the U.S. version of House of Cards (click for larger)
Is she wearing an Aplha I can't really tell from the utility pocket tag, could be I guess.
Speaking of Alpha quaility wise, I don't own an original MA-1 but I did pick up a second hand Alpha MA-1 size XL off the bay which was manufactured in Vietnam (not sure what year this would have been from) and the quality of the jacket I thought was ok.
The jacket being a little too big size wise, I decided to purchase a brand new Alpha MA-1 in a size L (which fits great) to which when it arrived I compared it to the other MA-1 and noticed quite a few differences between the jackets.
The jacket manufactured in Vietnam is thicker, better constructed, better quality materials and hardware used, great knits and in what I would say is the standard olive/sage green colour - albeit as size too large at XL.
The current 2015 spec MA-1 is made in China, thinner, lesser quaility materials used, construction seems ok, the nylon is of a very shiny appearence and also a lighter shade of green plus the pocket flaps have increased in size also when compaired to my other Alpha as well as the actual pockets having been pushed back slightly towards sides of the jacket.
With nylon flight jackets being new to me at this stage I am not fully versed in all the nuances of the L-2A, L-2B, MA-1 etc so this is just pre-educated opinion at present.
But I think what I am trying to say is that is seems Alpha have defiantly sucummed to the fashion market with their jackets more so losing the originality of what they first produced when styling their new jackets lesser keeping with the Mil-Spec patterns which is what we all love about flight jackets.
My search for a mint/good original is still on I think but am willing to take the time to learn more about the nylon range so as to get the best jacket I can/afford etc.
