Bronson's 1950s Reversible Souvenir Jacket pics and thoughts

[Brettafett]

This is a recent acquisition, Bronson Mfg's 1950s Reversible Acetate Souvenir Jacket - Dragon Tiger Falcon
I love a good souvenir jacket, fun, comfy, cool-looking (if you like that sort of thing) and easy to wear.
This is a size 40 L and fits me well (5'10, 40" chest)

From Bronson, "This is a Yokosuka memorial jacket from the early 1950s style. It is reversible and can be worn on both sides.
It depicts the dragon, tiger, and falcon on one side, and the reversible side has the roaring tiger with fangs bared."
Indeed

Quality is decent as usual, for the price. Have not had it long enough to gauge wear & tear, but so far so good.
Its of a medium weight, heavier than Id thought, but its not 'heavy'... Has a luxury feel too it.
Its actually very warm, more than I imagined. Its stopping a cold UK windchill in its tracks.
Easily wearable all year round, esp where theres a 'nip' in the air....
Certainly not water resistant by any means, although I'd think it would dry quickly (but thats yet to be seen).

Materials are nice, I love the 'satiny' feel of the outer Acetate shell, its soft and drapes well.
The Velveteen inner is more like 'velvet'. I'll not wear it with the velvet side out. Probably where the warmth is coming from.

Reversible IDEAL zipper is a bit tricky, so am treading carefully there.

My one annoyance are the pockets. They are stitched shut.
OK, besides for a small gap for two fingers on one pocket, on the blue side, and on the 'velvet-side' pockets.
Why?

There are actually pocket in there, I can feel the extra material, and a label. And yes, that is some stitching coming loose, around the two finger gap.
So, again, why? I may have to visit a Taylor and rectify this.

That aside, another fun jacket from Bronson.
I'll wear this a lot over the seasons, as an alt to the 'real' flight jackets.

Thanks for reading

 

[Silver Surfer]

Way cool, and a good fit too.

 

[mulceber]

Really cool. Regarding the stitched shut pockets, I'm not sure if this is the reason, but I know it was rather common to stitch shut the pockets on suit jackets back in the day, and some tailors still do it. Maybe Bronson is doing something similar.

 

[Chandler]

Aren't suit coat pockets stitched closed (with one or two small stitches) just so they lay flat in the store? The buyer (or seller) can then snip the stitch for wearing.

Been my experience, anyway.

 

[saucerfiend]

Very nice jacket, Brett! Particularly love that Tiger side. They are beautiful animals! Enjoy it!

 

[Brettafett]

Interesting points regs the stitching. That one outside pocket, with the inner lane, this could be the case.
However, the other outer and both inner pockets... if they were meant to be unstitched, then they're making it really hard

 

[Dany McDonald]

Brett,

It looks good on you, the fit is spot on!

D

 

[ausreenactor]

Like it a lot mate! Bit too bold for boring old Couchy. A red MA-1 had me peaking..

Well made and a lot of work in it.

 

[B-Man2]

Yeah …. Love it ….but I don’t know if I could pull it off at my age .

 

[Rutger]

Ditto. Even a red MA-1 woulda been a bridge too far

 

[Brettafett]

Wore it today in fact. I'll never wear the velvet side out, get mistaken for a pimp.

 

[Garylafortuna]

Bravo Brett, a terrific jacket. I've had mine for almost a year now, and when I wear it I feel like a kid in high school. And believe me when I tell you; more accolades will come your way wearing this jacket than wearing any flight jacket on the planet. Give it a try Burt. At your age indeed.
PS..... Mine did not come with the pockets sewn shut.

 

[Brettafett]

Gary, you speak truth. Had two compliments within minutes...
And thanks for the heads up on the pocket question... Im going to check in on that.

 

[B-Man2]

Give it a try Burt. At your age indeed.

LOL!!
Gary
Thanks for the trying to instill some confidence in me, but at 75…. I think I’m past my prime for this one .

 

[Garylafortuna]

Upon the utterance of the term 75, a certain pride shines through me thinks. How say you Brett?

 

[B-Man2]

Upon the utterance of the term 75, a certain pride shines through me thinks. How say you Brett?

I wanna hang out with you guys .. you’re good for my psyche

 

[Brettafett]

Yeah, 75s the new 45!

 

[Brettafett]

I have a rather disappointing update from Bronson.

Apparently the pockets are supposed to be open, and my jackets seems to have snuck past qc.

I requested to return the jacket in exchange (its still new) if Bronson covered the postage, seems fair.

But no. They told me to unpick the thread.
I checked and the only loose thread is the one labelled pocket. all the others have a slight gap, but the stitching is hidden and Im not a tailor and dont want to unpick anything.

The kicker for me and the unfortunate nail in the Bronson coffin is they sent me a $10 discount code, NOT to be used along with any promotion. Case closed.

Nice, so Im stuck with the problem.
Fiddle with this jacket myself. Live with it. Take to a tailor to do (waste of weekend time and travel expense, and they will charge a min of £20...)
And Bronson wants me to send more money their way?????

No.

Edit: In fact, I'll add that my L-2 that I wore occasionally over the summer, has a seam in the sleeve that has started coming adrift also.
And I have not worn this jacket much either.

 

[Micawber]

Be brave that man! Carefully unpick the stitching, you might find the opening is only tacked up. Alternatively send it to me and I'll have a go for £0.

 

[Brettafett]

Be brave that man! Carefully unpick the stitching, you might find the opening is only tacked up. Alternatively send it to me and I'll have a go for £0.

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement Sir. I will attack the problem with caution, but resolve.