Original California Sportwear G-1

[Flightengineer]

Jan
It always puzzles me when a newby comes into the forum and asks for advice on an issue or a project .. and after a great deal of response and some pretty good feedback .. ignores it all and continues on with his original idea or plan . I don’t get that . Why ask us in the first place ? The issue is basically that the newby has very limited or no knowledge of the rarity or the value of this jacket . As such he seems more concerned with the values of his original patches . Unfortunately he doesn’t understand that by putting those patches on that jacket he devalues both items . If the jacket originally came with those patches and it had been worn by someone in that original condition then no problem . But by doing this he is buggering up a rare jacket in museum quality condition and a high financial value...
Nothing more to offer on this one .

I totally agree with your, Burt, as I also wrote above.
However, to be fair, this guy didn't ask our advice. He just showed it and said - look, what I have, and what I plan to do. The rest was just the reaction of the members. Perhaps he was expecting Wow from us, but we all said - please not to spoil it
In any case, he is the owner of the jacket and has the right to do as he wants, and even if he suddenly decides to shove this beauty into the shredder, we'll not be able to interfere.
But we expressed our attitude.
Hope I haven't huff anyone

 

[kev15]

All cool boys!

 

[Spitfireace]

Personally I would not "fake up" a nice original like that. If it didn't come with patches don't put them on. Every original has a story to tell, if it isn't your story don't tell it.

 

[mulceber]

Yeah, I really hope you'll reconsider, Kev. That's a rare and valuable original you've got there, and poking holes in it will only diminish it's value. You should keep it and enjoy it as it is. And if you don't want to enjoy it as it is, sell it to someone else and get a less valuable one from a different era, or a repro. There are a ton of great options for that out there.

 

[Spitfireace]

Yeah, I really hope you'll reconsider, Kev. That's a rare and valuable original you've got there, and poking holes in it will only diminish it's value. You should keep it and enjoy it as it is. And if you don't want to enjoy it as it is, sell it to someone else and get a less valuable one from a different era, or a repro. There are a ton of great options for that out there.

Exactly. If you need a patched jacket get a different one with patches on it.

 

[kev15]

Thank you! I was ebaying for quite a while. There were many nice candidates, most of them out of my reach.

 

[kev15]

Gentlemen,
I'm still unsure about this but want to see if there's any interest. As you expressed your concern of patching such a nice vintage piece of garment, I'm thinking of letting this one go for someone who might appreciate it even more. If you are interested shoot me a private message. As I'm not here long enough can't post it to the buy and sell section.

 

[B-Man2]

Gentlemen,
I'm still unsure about this but want to see if there's any interest. As you expressed your concern of patching such a nice vintage piece of garment, I'm thinking of letting this one go for someone who might appreciate it even more. If you are interested shoot me a private message with an offer. As I'm not here long enough can't post it to the buy and sell section.

Hi
I just wanted to suggest that part of the rules for selling items here is that you have to name your price rather than auction off to the highest bidder. Just letting you know that’s all. Handle it anyway that you like and good like with the process .

 

[mulceber]

Looks like it’s my size. Not sure what your asking price is, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.

 

[Bombing IP]

mulceber I think he said shoot him a PM if anyone is interested in purchasing the jacket .

BIP

 

[mulceber]

Yeah, I know, but I’m not really interested in a bidding war, which seems to be what was suggested. I’d prefer to follow VLJ rules.

 

[kev15]

Fair enough, I understand your concern and why the rules were set as such. Thank you for your suggestion, I edited my last post accordingly. I just wanted to know, if there will be any interest in case of leaving this one for someone who would enjoy it as it is.

 

[mulceber]

Oh, I definitely think there will be interest, if not from me then from others, especially as we’re approaching the Christmas season. Another possibility besides the buy/sell section would be to put it up on eBay and post the link in the eBay/auction talk section.

 

[PilatusPilot]

So, my first purchased vintage jacket, from 1960. Sole purpose of my own self-entertainment was to build a Top Gun jacket. I was looking for a decent condition genuine Navy jacket. While I was searching, I found the forum and you guys
Here it is. All parts should be original, fully wearable condition.
Mouton collar is the highlight of the show. Leather is soft, although it has some scratches and wear. Lining is OK. Zipper is flawless. Cuffs and waistband has some moth holes, therefore I might replace them in the near future. Size is the tricky thing. Before I bought it, I knew already this is an oversized model. I am athletic, therefore appreciate the space at the shoulders, however it is a bit loose on my belly.
I hope you like it!
Best wishes,
Kevin
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Hey man I know I'm a little late to the party, don't even know if you're still on the forum, but like the other gentlemen said, you definitely should buy a repro. Now my reasoning is a little different... The thing is.. if you look closely to the top gun jacket in the movie... It's very oversized on Tom Cruise. A real g1 never looked like that on pilots if you compare the way he wears it and the way those ace's used to wear them. On top of that, he has a 55j14 model which is very tight around the waist and very large around the shoulders... Look at how enormous he looks in the movie when we wears the jacket. So if you want the Maverick look (large shoulders, big arms and a tight waist), get a repro 55j14 a size or two bigger and then patch it, that will give you an ideal reproduction of the one used in the movie. That's just my opinion on that

 

[galvestonokie]

i disagree with most posts. I say "Wow" to the jacket and applaud Kev's plan. it's his jacket, his plan. there are plenty of jackets like this around. let him have some fun!

 

[blackrat2]

Hmmm not sure there are plenty of these left, plenty of later ones perhaps

 

[Carl]

Just off at a bit of a tangent here , but, has anyone seen an earlier military jacket of any type made by California Sportswear ?
I'm intrigued as I have a contract number for them for an AC contract but no details of what the jacket is .
Any FULL GEAR owners care to look through to see what if anything turns up ??

 

[Ed Rooney]

I wish I hadn't seen this thread. The horror.

Patch up a CWU. They are going to be super cool once TG2 comes out. Don't kill that goat twice.

 

[kev15]

Dear all! I decided not to put holes in this beautiful garment, but as it is one size above what I would normally wear I will let it go. I do not want a bidding war, please consider this a heads up only. I am not engaging actively enough on the forum to be able to post it in the Buy and Sell thread, so if somebody might be interested let me know. I hope this announcement does not violate any forum rules. If it does I will edit or delete it. Thank you!

 

[kev15]

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