Yet another jacket question

[An t-Ileach]

I remember the Colonial Jackets Hamish is on about - I used to wear them in Malaya (that was pretty damp and hot). Heavy cotton drill material for day wear, they needed starching and pressing every day: do you have a batman (wives don't count; they tend to answer back and follow their own schedule)?

[Kid Cossack]

I am amazingly bereft of batmen, squires and so forth. Malaya, eh? That sounds as if it would put even Houston in the shade (so to speak) in terms of heat and humidity. I fear it's going to mean a hunt through the thrift shops, then, and some study on Alan H.'s kilt-jacket modifications. For a short while, I was a dab enough hand with needle and thread, but it's been years since I've done aught for sewing.

I did wonder some whether the same sort of poly-vis that Rocky uses for the USAKs could work for suiting material . . .

Kid Cossack

[macwilkin]

I do not know the Brooks Brothers label - we probably do not have their garments over here...

Brooks Brothers, Hamish, is one of the oldes men's clothiers in the United States. It was founded in 1818 in New York City, and supplied uniforms to several of the New York militia regiments during the American Civil War, as well as making Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Rider" uniform during the Spanish-American War of 1898.

I own several of the "no-iron" dress shirts from BB that Scott mentioned, and they are great! Brooks Brothers has an outlet store in Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks, so whenever I'm at the lake, I always have to stop and make a purchase! :mrgreen:

Cheers,

Todd

[auld argonian]

Ham's notion of a lighter weight "summer" type jacket sounds good. No reason that someone couldn't do a reasonable Crail or Argyle style out of a nice cotton/poly...would look good in an olive or a tan. Kiltmakers, take note!

Best

AA

[mkmound]

You might find a military-surplus jacket at one of the militaria sites like What Price Glory.

[O'Neille]

The poly/cotton canvas that I made my black kilt out of would make a great substitute material for a crail jacket. I washed the kilt yesterday and it dried in about 10 minutes on low setting and not a wrinkle. It has enough body to be a nice light jacket material too. At $4.44 a yard it is a bargain. For a reference it is a bit heavier than the poly/visc that my Ireland's National USAK is made of. O'Neille

[Alan H]

I'm thinkingthat the quickest way to make this work is to purchase a lightweight cotton/poly sportcoat and adapt it. That will require some careful work on the sewing machine because it willlkely be a medium-tone or light-color solid-color jacket, and that won't hide stitching like tweed does. But a good tailor can probably see you right.

[Hamish]

Ham's notion of a lighter weight "summer" type jacket sounds good. No reason that someone couldn't do a reasonable Crail or Argyle style out of a nice cotton/poly...would look good in an olive or a tan. Kiltmakers, take note!

Best

AA

Now, now AA. This one's my baby!!

[Hamish]

Brooks Brothers, Hamish, is one of the oldes men's clothiers in the United States. It was founded in 1818 in New York City, and supplied uniforms to several of the New York militia regiments during the American Civil War, as well as making Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Rider" uniform during the Spanish-American War of 1898.

I own several of the "no-iron" dress shirts from BB that Scott mentioned, and they are great! Brooks Brothers has an outlet store in Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks, so whenever I'm at the lake, I always have to stop and make a purchase! :mrgreen:

Cheers,

Todd

Thank you for that info, Todd. I am sure we must have shirts of similar quality over here but I have yet to find any "Non-Iron" shirts that really do not need an iron - even after hand-washing! I actually quite enjoy ironing shirts (yes, I know!) so if I have to do so, it is no real hardship. Besides, it gives me something to do whilst I am watching the BBC-TV News at 10.00pm!!