Leather Jacket

 

While moving things around in the laundry room I found a little cannister of mink oil.  Finally!  I've had it for a long time so when I couldn't find it wondered if I'd tossed it in a cleaning paroxysm.   Set the little can out on the table and went to dig through my closet for my father's leather coat.  I don't remember how I got it.  Probably I was tasked w/ clearing out someplace at one time, came across it, and couldn't quite toss/give it away.  Figured it could use a good lubricating after all this time.  I spent the morning at the table w/ the coat hung across the back of a chair.  The leather practically inhaled the mink oil and the coat looked happy again.  I found a tag sewn into the coat stating it was a Windward horse leather jacket w/ sheepskin interior.  Wondered if Windward was still in business so checked on the Internet.  Of course that led me down a google rabbit hole.  This type of leather 'bomber' jacket jumped in popularity in the U.S. after WWII service men returned.   Hollywood picked up on the fashion and dressed their renegade characters in leather jackets: 'The Wild One' w/ Marlon Brando and James Dean in 'Rebel without a Cause'.  Hard to imagine Dad wanting to cultivate a 'bad boy' image (maybe Mom bought it for him).   The Internet also said those coats made after WWII would include on the label 'Nylon Stitched' since nylon had been severely rationed but was again available for non-war applications.   I looked - yes - that's on the label.  Searched Montgomery Ward catalog ads from the 40's and 50's.  These leather jackets originally were sold in the range of $13-$20.   Then came across an Etsy ad for a Winward coat that looked just like this one, vintage 40's, preowned ('broken in' I think the ad stated).  Gulped at the price they wanted for it.  Egads - if I knew the coat was worth that much I would have double checked that mink oil was the proper thing to use!