Eastman BS, Horse-pucky, and a Hornswaggle

[ausreenactor]

I'm just wondering why it matters that he was fictional. McQueen was wearing a real A-2, he looked cool wearing it, and so a lot of us are curious what contract it was. Whether he was portraying a real airman is neither here nor there.

I know the Australian character in the movie was murdered..... by the actor that is!

 

[B-Man2]

The mcqueen jacket may be worn by a fictional character but it is a real ww2 piece. When worn by mcqueen it showed it as a real, iconic piece of American workwear that average people could relate to and emulate the style.
Also it's not like whe you wear an a2 you're wearing a 'great escape jacket' - there are many different iterations. But the escape jacket seems to have it all - nice fit, hard wear, grainy character. When you compare to say Sinatra's in Von Ryan's express there is no competition!
Mcqueen's has fashion appeal, ww2 interest in both the era and the actual ww2 jacket, and of course movie and mcqueen appeal. I'd want that jacket even if it wasn't used in the movie!

Good post …. It reminded me of another example of another fictional character that everyone wanted to emulate back in the 1980s . While he didn’t wear an A2 he certainly dictated style for about 5 years. I remember living in Miami back in the 1980s and when the Miami Vice series hit the TV , every guy across the US wanted to look like Crockett (Don Johnson). Pastel colors, low cut colored Ts , baggy pants, loose fitting jackets with padded shoulders and slip on shoes with no socks were everywhere. You couldn’t go out to a club on a Friday night without seeing 50 guys all dressed alike . Now I know that this has nothing to do with the Hilts A2 jacket but it is an example of a fictional character dictating style, which Capt Hilts did for sure . His fitted A2, his tailored “military style “ khakis, and his roughout boots and cut off sweat shirt left a similar impression on us much in the way that “Sonny Crockett” did to the 1980s guys.

 

[Chandler]

I know the Australian character in the movie was murdered..... by the actor that is!

Coburn was miscast to attempt an Australian accent, but you can't deny his characterization was memorable and enjoyable.

"Telephone, monsieur."

 

[bseal]

What ZuZu is not telling you, is that his passion / obsession had a sizeable impact on Good Wear Leather Clothing Co.'s origin story, and is consistently seen over a wide swath of their current offerings.

 

[Chandler]

What ZuZu is not telling you, is that his passion / obsession had a sizeable impact on Good Wear Leather Clothing Co.'s origin story, and is consistently seen over a wide swath of their current offerings.

Point being?

I think there are a lot of folks who JC would count as impactful to GW; before, during, and after. Look at the credit given on his FJ CD.

 

[bseal]

“Point being?”

The old aphorism, “The devil is in the details.”

ZuZu is your devil for all things GW.

 

[Chandler]

I has more serious devils in my life to worry about these days.

 

[John Lever]

Zuzu.
Read the article in Built magazine.

Built Magazine - Eastman Leather Clothing | Handcrafted Custom Motorcycles

An obsession with flying jackets led Gary Eastman to amazing heights

www.builtmag.co.uk

 

[John Lever]

The A2 Great Escape section

 

[mulceber]

Respectfully, how does that article settle our questions about the Escape jacket?

 

[Smithy]

Respectfully, how does that article settle our questions about the Escape jacket?

Well said Jan because it doesn't.

 

[ZuZu]

I read the article and don't quite understand how it would change anybody's mind about the whole discussion. I think I may have somewhere in my morgue file the photos of Mcqueen and wife on set- they don't clarify the pocket issue (Eastman's are way too pointed) and the contract still seems to be a 27752. The ageing on The Great Escape Jacket IMO is very over-the-top and the collar hasn't a snowball's chance of ever looking like the actual GE jacket Mcqueen wore.

 

[ZuZu]

Here's a photo I've found which shows the right pocket. Not pointed- in fact very much a stereotypical "short" 27752 pocket.

 

[bseal]

Here's a photo I've found which shows the right pocket. Not pointed- in fact very much a stereotypical "short" 27752 pocket.

View attachment 92171

View attachment 92173

So his wife had glasses? Cool.

 

[John Lever]

Respectfully, how does that article settle our questions about the Escape jacket?

Not sure if that was my intention.
I just assumed it to be useful information ? Gary did seem to have gone to alot of trouble about details.

 

[Kermit3D]

Sometimes I get the impression that Eastman Leather (Gary?) is saying things... that turn out to be wrong.
At least on the ELC website, in the historical descriptions of the jackets, it turns out that a lot of things are just wrong. It's a shame because I really think they make great products.

 

[Kermit3D]

Sometimes I get the impression that Eastman Leather (Gary?) is saying things... that turn out to be wrong.
At least on the ELC website, in the historical descriptions of the jackets, it turns out that a lot of things are just wrong. It's a shame because I really think they make great products.

To expand on my point a bit :

ELC affirms in almost all their descriptions that their products are the best copies on the market, that materials are exceptional, that the quality is without equal... (not to mention historical inventions).
This is undoubtedly very convincing for 95% of customers. I myself believed in it for a long time.
Again, no hate towards ELC... I like their products overall.

In the same way Bill Kelso does the same (see worse) by claiming that they are the best blablabla...



Besides that, in its FAQ, Goodwear leather writes:

"Q: Everyone says their jackets are authentic. What makes your jackets authentic?
A: No reproduction is perfect, and certainly our jackets aren't (and originals aren't perfect or all that consist, either!). But, we want to make reproductions that are very close, as much as possible, to the contract that we're copying."

Finally some humility... I like this approach.

 

[Southoftheborder]

Sometimes I get the impression that Eastman Leather (Gary?) is saying things... that turn out to be wrong.
At least on the ELC website, in the historical descriptions of the jackets, it turns out that a lot of things are just wrong. It's a shame because I really think they make great products.

I think the technical term is bullshit.

I agree they make very good jackets but marketing is king.

 

[Chandler]

I agree they make very good jackets but marketing is king.

In all things, anymore. Unfortunately.

 

[mulceber]

To expand on my point a bit :

ELC affirms in almost all their descriptions that their products are the best copies on the market, that materials are exceptional, that the quality is without equal... (not to mention historical inventions).
This is undoubtedly very convincing for 95% of customers. I myself believed in it for a long time.
Again, no hate towards ELC... I like their products overall.

The example I'd point to here is their claim, in the catalog they released, that original A-2s were made of vegetable-tanned leather, which is simply false, and I'm sure Gary knows that. Maybe the employee writing the promotional material for them didn't know that, but that should have been caught during the editing process, or at least received a correction on their site.