What jacket(s) are you wearing at the moment?

[ZuZu]

But that’s the problem! It looks great on me but I shouldn’t be wearing it!!

Why shouldn't you wear it?

 

[leper-colony]

The eternal conundrum when collecting originals.

Not a jacket, but I thought I’d show off this ridiculous impulse buy I made during a weekend trip to NYC:
View attachment 111861

What are the visitation hours in the cooler?

 

[Nickb123]

Why shouldn't you wear it?

Size 44; oh I don’t know. It has no name tag or discernible provenance, but it’s an original. It will be worn occasionally. Some light flaking on shoulders but that’s just top coat; it really is a wearer.

The Perry is indeed a sexy contract. This one’s the 16175 - Conmar, (horsehide, no 3-piece windflap).

 

[Thomas Koehle]

My new AVI M-422a….

View attachment 111411

Some of the recent reviews convinced me to get one. Was a bit of a struggle, though, with a 48 first (which was too tight), and a 50 last week.

I will probably do a decent review later, but on a first note: Nicely done, good craftsmanship, soft leather (unlike my original Navy jackets) and slightly too boxy in the shoulders….but I hope a good rainy soak will take care of the last thing.

I have applied a USN stencil and got a G&F label from @STEVE S. . The AVI label seems to be stitched and glued to the lining, so I am a bit reluctant to rip it out!

Best regards,

Ties

Great fit

 

[newagegeezer]

This probably isn't the right place for this (but as it's far too hot for a jacket today in London....), - clearing out cupboards etc prior to house move I came across this old CBI patch I picked up decades ago. Think it's original, has a stamp on back BG with arrow (?), thought you knowledgeable guys here would know. Might be useful to someone doing a CBI jacket ?

 

[B-Man2]

This probably isn't the right place for this (but as it's far too hot for a jacket today in London....), - clearing out cupboards etc prior to house move I came across this old CBI patch I picked up decades ago. Think it's original, has a stamp on back BG with arrow (?), thought you knowledgeable guys here would know. Might be useful to someone doing a CBI jacket ?

View attachment 111897View attachment 111899

Are you selling it or offering to give it away?
If you’re giving it away I’ll take it . If you’re selling it please let me know your asking price and list it for sale in the “for sale” section. Either way I’ll take it if the price is fair .

 

[John Luder]

The eternal conundrum when collecting originals.

Not a jacket, but I thought I’d show off this ridiculous impulse buy I made during a weekend trip to NYC:
View attachment 111861

Oh, uh, you'll still be here when I get out?

 

[John Luder]

This probably isn't the right place for this (but as it's far too hot for a jacket today in London....), - clearing out cupboards etc prior to house move I came across this old CBI patch I picked up decades ago. Think it's original, has a stamp on back BG with arrow (?), thought you knowledgeable guys here would know. Might be useful to someone doing a CBI jacket ?
View attachment 111897View attachment 111899

That "Broad Arrow" mark has been the British marking on all official HMG-issued property for centuries.
Convicts' pajamas/prison garb, issued by HMG in Oz, were covered with stamps of the arrows.
I've most often seen W /|\ D, for War Department.
Without extensive research, it appears that BG is code that denotes the country or theater where it was made, or the bureau of origin.

 

[newagegeezer]

This probably isn't the right place for this (but as it's far too hot for a jacket today in London....), - clearing out cupboards etc prior to house move I came across this old CBI patch I picked up decades ago. Think it's original, has a stamp on back BG with arrow (?), thought you knowledgeable guys here would know. Might be useful to someone doing a CBI jacket ?

Are you selling it or offering to give it away?
If you’re giving it away I’ll take it . If you’re selling it please let me know your asking price and list it for sale in the “for sale” section. Either way I’ll take it if the price is fair .

Being a pensioner I'd need to sell it, but no idea of value, which is why I'm trying to see if it is an WW2 original, I know there have been so many repros made over the years

 

[newagegeezer]

That "Broad Arrow" mark has been the British marking on all official HMG-issued property for centuries.
Convicts' pajamas/prison garb, issued by HMG in Oz, were covered with stamps of the arrows.
I've most often seen W /|\ D, for War Department.
Without extensive research, it appears that BG is code that denotes the country or theater where it was made, or the bureau of origin.

being an old geezer I know all about the broad arrow mark, have had lots of British gear so marked, and obviously would not have been put on an American CBI patch ...... but this is a narrow arrow

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

CBI ordered this print vision from Indian shop,

 

[John Luder]

There's a similar patch on etsy, the seller is in Ireland. It too has the purple inked, rubber-stamped marking. The B is clear enough.
It's theater-made, and it's a print shop job, like Mayne suggested, only it's more nicely finished on the back.
I agree with the maker being in India.
There are examples of three, straight, simple lines forming the arrow, so it ends up being narrow. Very simple for a rubber-stamp.
With these markings, from what I've found, the G stands for government when it appears at all.
Do a google of 'broad arrow markings' and you'll see many examples and some explanations.
I'll go out on a stout limb and suggest it's real.

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

For reference, the official approval CBI patch issued to troops after 1944.3., in two shapes:

CBI patch (offical approval vision) on a NCO’s dress uniform, he serviced in 14th AF as a bombsight mechanic

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

other examples of private purchases vision

---

 

[newagegeezer]

Thanks all for the info, so mine hasn't the edging of the approved version, looks like one of the private purchases.

 

[John Luder]

Thanks all for the info, so mine hasn't the edging of the approved version, looks like one of the private purchases.

It's a private purchase, but it's entirely kosher. Guys wore whatever they wanted and/or what they could get. I'll suggest that the shop that produced it was also producing official HMG, theater-made stuff. I'll further suggest that the stamp is something akin to a hallmark to indicate who made it.
Bullion was not government issued, nor were the other samples above, but no one stopped the men who wore them. Anyone who was in the military from Korea onward, can't begin to grasp the latitude that guys in Europe and the Pacific had in combat theaters.
I've seen pix of US Navy officers, in the Pacific, wearing Navy-issued khaki shirts and Brit cut-off shorts. How do I know they're Brit? They have officers' pleated fronts. The US didn't do that.
Anything goes.
It's more expertly finished, sewing-wise, than the open-back examples I've seen online.
And it's in very handsome condition for being 80 years old. I hope I look that well put-together when I'm 80.

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

Yes, can’t agree more. That B (arrow) G stamp , most likely means, this shop was qualified to supply military items to Indian Army, it was approved by Bengal governor (B and G).

 

[John Luder]

By George, I think you've got it! B for Bengal. Perfectly logical analysis.

 

[newagegeezer]

Thanks so much for all that analysis, knew you guys on here knew your stuff Cheers

 

[Adama36]

wearing the French paratrooper jacket my grand dad wore back in 1953 in Indochina.
Similar to the WWII British Denison smock, it has a “beaver tail” that can be fastened beneath the crotch from the back to the front of the smock - which keeps it from riding up during a parachute descent.