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#1 2008-09-15 07:26:14
- Kingstonian
- Member
- From: sea to shining sea
- Posts: 3205
Mackinaw coats
Heard about these in American crime fiction. Ed McBain and Elmore Leonard etc
'A short, double-breasted coat of heavy, usually plaid, woolen material'
I assume they are for working men. The hero was not wearing one - just the incidental characters. American rather than Ivy. I am just curious.
I do not want one. I do not like that sort of thing - or pea coats. The length reminds me of nasty 1960's car coats. A tweed shooting jacket is the best clobber in that sort of length but then you get all the associations that come with it(though not quite as bad as a wax jacket).
#2 2008-09-15 15:09:05
- Admiral Cod
- Member
- Posts: 412
Re: Mackinaw coats
I like them. It's too warm here for a Mackinaw, though I am eyeing a Pendleton coat in solid olive. I first read about Mackinaw coats in a Nick Adams Hemingway story ('Up In Michigan'). I think traditionally they were a countryman's coat, for woodsmen, or for weekend lumberjacks.
"You will find that men of style and their adherents are considered either political enemies of the people or reckless, gluttoness consumers while most live in squalor" - FNB
#3 2008-09-15 16:16:36
- Matt
- Ivy Original.
- Posts: 332
Re: Mackinaw coats
As a little nipper, my parents, like all others of youngsters that age, got me a Mackinaw at the start of every school year.
Just as you described; very heavy woolen, plaid, and double breasted. Haven't seen one for years. Maybe used for outdoor work, in very cold climates. Here, most outdoor manual work is done in some variation of heavy Carhart outerwear.
The real reason that I posted was to recommend an author that I promise that you will like. I have read every title that McBain and Leonard have written, but recently discovered one that is even better. Victor Gischler. Same genre, but even better.
#5 2008-09-15 16:38:05
- Kingstonian
- Member
- From: sea to shining sea
- Posts: 3205
Re: Mackinaw coats
http://www.bakershoe.com/filson-clothing-catalog/filson-virgin-wool-mackinaw-coat.html
Very 'On the Waterfront'. 'I coulda been a contender'
Also familiar to Brits from numerous American programmes on TV.
#6 2008-09-15 19:18:30
- Hard Bop Hank
- Ivy Soul Brother
- From: land of a 1000 dances
- Posts: 4923
Re: Mackinaw coats
I just wanted to mention them in a thread about vintage Pendleton stuff!
They did great versions in similar plaids as their shirts... BTW anyone here knows these unstructured Pendleton jackets with covert cloth and suede? Awesome!
Last edited by Hard Bop Hank (2008-09-15 19:19:20)
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#7 2008-09-16 01:47:46
- Howard
- Member
- From: Drimtaidhvrickhilliohattan
- Posts: 236
Re: Mackinaw coats
www.riverjunction.com/catalog/ccoats/mackinaw.html