Show us your vintage half-belts

[tmitchell59]

 

[tmitchell59]

well the same Alaskan. nice.

 

[Dinerman]

Very interesting style on that one. Nicely casual. Capeskin was extremely popular in the '30s and that's a great example of it.

 

[tmitchell59]

So fragile. It really doesn't look to have been worn much. It does have a somewhat "modern" look for the era?

 

[tmitchell59]

Sears Topline in goathide. Size 44. Nice heavy hide. I have another jacket with this zipper. Is this a wartime variant? Never had a jacket with the inside button on the cuff.

 

[tmitchell59]

 

[Superfluous]

^ Thats real nice TM!

 

[Dinerman]

The inside button was so that it could be worn by growing teens. You'd button it with the cuff turned back when they were shorter, then flip it to the normal side when they grew taller. That zip is wartime, you generally see them on military jackets. Sears only used the Topline label for a few years in the early '40s.

 

[tmitchell59]

The inside button was so that it could be worn by growing teens. You'd button it with the cuff turned back when they were shorter, then flip it to the normal side when they grew taller. That zip is wartime, you generally see them on military jackets. Sears only used the Topline label for a few years in the early '40s.

I saw a Topline labeled jacket in your blog. I have another jacket with the same zippers. It is a civilian jacket also goat hide. this jacket makes you rethink goat hide. Love that lining!

Wasn't civilian leather production limited during the war?

 

[tmitchell59]

I wish it did. No label, no lining. I'm sure there's probably something similar in one of the Japanese books or magazines, but I can't recall ever having seen one exactly like this. Definitely some unusual details.

I have two Rin Tanaka books. I see other Japanese books/magazines on ebay. Do they have civilian designs? Are they worth the money? I understand the text is Japanese, do they have more information?

 

[Dinerman]

Most I can't afford, and the couple (like "Zipper Gear") are entirely in Japanese. They have plenty on civilian jackets, boots, workwear, you name it.

 

[Dinerman]

Windward, Zero King, no label

 

[tropicalbob]

Love that rust-colored Zero King. Gorgeous.

 

[Denton]

I mostly visit this website to look at pictures of old hats, but I also enjoy dipping into the lively discussions on the outerwear forum. I have a few pieces of outerwear to share, and here is the first.

This is a two-tone rust suede / seal leather half belt made by a firm called Mansfield. I think it's from the late 1930s or early 1940s. Probably made in the upper midwestern U.S. but that's just a guess.




My uncle wore the hell out of this jacket when he was in high school, and then I wore the hell out of it when I was in high school, and then my mother wore it for a few years, and then I wore it again for a few years. Now it's completely trashed. If I could find a decent replacement or reproduction, I would be very happy.

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Denton]

Monarch button jacket. Not a half belt, but i think it belongs in this thread. I can't identify the leather or the lining. Possibly capeskin? It's soft, has an interesting patina, and is coming apart in a few places.




[URL=http://s1263.photobucket.com/user/misplacedconcreteness/media/monarch2.jpg.html]

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I found this on eBay a few years ago, wore it for a while, then stopped when I discovered that I was leaving small pieces of it everywhere I went.

 

[tmitchell59]

Denton; Nice jackets. The second looks to be capeskin. Look at my McGregor on this page above. They are very fragile.

 

[Denton]

Thanks tmitchell! I always enjoy seeing pictures of your collection.

 

[pilot error]

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[pilot error]

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