Penney's 1950s horsehide

[Socalal]

Picked this up recently, pretty much unworn condition. Any information most appreciated.

 

[mulceber]

Nice acquisition. It's a typical post-war "bomber jacket" (in scare-quotes because most of us bristle at the term, but that IS the name for it). After the war, flight jackets were in vogue, and all these companies that made them were now in a position to mix and match their favorite details from different military styles. Check out Eastman's "Air Comfort" for a more modern tribute to the bomber jacket style.

 

[Skyhawk]

Nice! I inherited one from my grandfather. A mid to late 1950's version. I will post photos later. You can tell the general age by the zipper type. Mine has a mid to late 50's Conmatic Conmar zip and is Steer Hide. Mine is an A-2 variant without the mouton collar. I will post photos later.

 

[Chandler]

...but that IS the name for it...

>> face+palm <<

Where did we go wrong with you?

 

[Silver Surfer]

J c penny, sears, monkey ward, etc contracted several leather jacket makers, such as fidelity, monarch, star, et Al, to make their jackets. The penny name tag only means that penny sold it under their name. This practice continued up to the ‘70s, by then, many of the makers and big box stores were either kaput or on their way there.

 

[Chandler]

Monkey Ward.

 

[Silver Surfer]

that's what we called Montgomery ward when we were kids in the '50s

 

[busdrivermike]

Picked this up recently, pretty much unworn condition. Any information most appreciated.
View attachment 103127View attachment 103129View attachment 103131View attachment 103133View attachment 103135View attachment 103137View attachment 103139View attachment 103141

Wow I love these vintage civilian jackets, actually reminds me of the sky king jacket sold by fivestar especially the
Red quilted liner

 

[Socalal]

Nice! I inherited one from my grandfather. A mid to late 1950's version. I will post photos later. You can tell the general age by the zipper type. Mine has a mid to late 50's Conmatic Conmar zip and is Steer Hide. Mine is an A-2 variant without the mouton collar. I will post photos later.

Wow I love these vintage civilian jackets, actually reminds me of the sky king jacket sold by fivestar especially the
Red quilted liner

Eastman's "Air Comfort" also looks close to this (thanks mulceber).

 

[Chandler]

that's what we called Montgomery ward when we were kids in the '50s

Oh, I know -- my parents used it all the time in the 60s into the 70s, I just hadn't heard it in a long while.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Hahahahaha, like, “see ya later, I’m going to the monkey ward”

 

[B-Man2]

Damn … Looks like a 5 Star Sky King !

 

[Southoftheborder]

Eastman's "Air Comfort" also looks close to this (thanks mulceber).

The Sky King is a budget copy of the Air Comfort right down to the wind flap. Which incidentally I have never seen on any post war utility jacket. I have no idea where Eastman got the idea for that on a civilian jacket.

 

[YoungMedic]

Damn … Looks like a 5 Star Sky King !View attachment 103225View attachment 103227

My thought exactly!

 

[Southoftheborder]

This is the Eastman Air Comfort that Five Star ripped off.

 

[B-Man2]

This is the Eastman Air Comfort that Five Star ripped off.

View attachment 103375

So since the Sears jacket posted at the top of this thread was made in the 1950s, I guess that means that the Eastman Air Comfort was ripped off from that jacket as well since the Eastman Leather Company wasn’t in existence back in those days . Just being logical .

 

[Southoftheborder]

S

So since the Sears jacket posted at the top of this thread was made in the 1950s, I guess that means that the Eastman Air Comfort was ripped off from that jacket as well since the Eastman Leather Company wasn’t in existence back in those days . Just being logical .

Not really because the Eastman is a generic copy of that type of post war jacket. But it is designed by Eastman it's not a copy of a particular make of jacket. And as I said in the thread further up it also has a wind flap which I have never seen on any post war jacket of this type. That alone makes it very distinctive, and Five Star has copied that along with everything else including an attempt at the label.

Even the name has the same sort of ring to it. Sky instead of Air.

 

[Skyhawk]

S


Not really because the Eastman is a generic copy of that type of post war jacket. But it is designed by Eastman it's not a copy of a particular make of jacket. And as I said in the thread further up it also has a wind flap which I have never seen on any post war jacket of this type. That alone makes it very distinctive, and Five Star has copied that along with everything else including an attempt at the label.

Even the name has the same sort of ring to it. Sky instead of Air.

The Avi Leather debacle comes to mind.

They didn't copy everything, as shown by the crappy dull fashion leather, synthetic knits, and poorly done label.

They like to copy stuff, like my 37J1 label that they copied. I made this label about 12 years ago. Easy to spot for me. It is a fictional label but in the correct format. It features part of my phone number in the contract number. I was shocked when I saw this.

You know they say that imitation is the highest form of flattery?

 

[Skyhawk]

As promised, Grandpa's Moto Jacket:

I replaced the worn liner with matching red Bemberg Rayon and the knits with 100% black wool. I decided against the quilting because the jacket was a bit tight on me. Removing the quilting did the trick and it now fits comfortably.

 

[Socalal]

Really nice