REMEMBERING THE FRENCH COMMANDOS ......

In memoriam of:The former foreign legion,Sgt Louis Lanternier Troop 1 ,No 4 commado This great shot of the battle weary Sgt was taken 2 days after the battle of Ouistreham.Note Sgt Lanternier's original green beret with its "fusillier marins" badge #9[french marines commandos] ....

I know it's not veteran's day but i couldn't help and on that day of days, i'd like to pay my respects and remember an incredible group of men,often neglected, if not ignored in history books : The ultimate brave men of THE FRENCH No4 COMMANDO who were among the firsts to set foot on the beaches of Normandy[SWORD BEACH] June 6 of 1944 fighting along side British and Canadian commandos to free my country .....

It was in OUISTREHAM, just behind Riva Bella on the Normany coast,some 14 km. north of Caen.Because of Ouistreham's strategic position, by the mouth of the river Orne and the Caen canal, it had been heavily fortified, and the German guns could sweep along the beach.

It was given to 177 French soldiers under Commander Kieffer, part of the Royal Marines no.4 Commando, to be first to tread the Normandy soil and take out this obstacle. They left 40 men killed or wounded on the beach, and Kieffer himself was hit, with shrapnel in his leg, but carried on with his men. They were supported by a tank from the 13/18th Hussars of the 27th Armoured Brigade.

The German blockhouse was taken out, and by late morning. Ouistreham had been liberated.

Philippe Kieffer, born in Port au Prince, Haiti, and as his surname suggests, of Alsatian origin, had begun his career as a naval officer before he decided to persuade his superiors to let him create and lead a force modelled on the British commandos. They trained at Achnacarry in Scotland. Commander Kieffer was awarded a Croix de Guerre for his D-Day action and went on to be a Commander in the Legion d'Honneur.

THE LAST GENERATION...

The flap's shape is less accentuated than in the earlier models and the pocket's bottom part,with it's squared corners,is clearly becoming closer to the classic shape we all know nowadays....

This is a rare example of the last generation of the one pocket CPO shirt .I guess you all know by now ,how hard it is to find such a shirt in a good condition .What was once a neglected piece of militaria, became in a year or so , with the help of the Buzz Rickson company,an overnight vintage treasure. This one was found a month ago at a local garage sale .It bares the transitional late war tag ....

SHOW ME WATCHA GOT .....

15 years and counting .....

Nice close up showing the goatskin's texture and color...

I've been wearing my good old Eastman A-2 a lot lately.It's almost the perfect piece of garment,for the weather down here,in the city by the bay,has been so unpredictable.It feels like a real roller coaster as we've been switching from the 40's to the 60's and back for the entire month now. The jacket's patina is at its best.It takes time to get there,specially with goatskin,but i must admit the jacket looks better and better as going on 15 ...years of constant and gentle use that is .There is no instant gratification, i mean fake distressed leather here,it's just patience ....

DUBBLEWARE SHOP COAT

A 30's period shot of mechanics in their shop.The "boss" wears the coat.....

Close up of the iconic brand and its 30/40's tag .........
This shop coat is made of the rare "almond colored" twist chambray ,the more common being the salt & pepper one .....
This type of "floating"pocket wasn't for a pack of cigarettes,as usually seen on early work shirts,but more realistically, on this coat,designed to accommodate a small notebook......
The typical 30's pleated/ belted back . love the fabric......
An original late 30's early 40' leaflet depicting the company's rich and varied production.The doubled knee was of course their trade mark on every overalls/coveralls and pants.....

Shop coats,have been for a long time ignored by your average work clothes collector up until the "Japanese aficionados" and the market in general,started to focus on what was to become their new fixation :"the twist chambray" aka the salt and pepper fabric.....Nowadays any piece of garment,wearable or not, made of this thought after fabric ,can turn into gold .Today's post will be about such a piece and a rare one indeed.... Not much is really known about this east coast brand,DUBBLEWARE was created in Boston ,MA by M Hoffman,who's focus was on men and women's work wear.Hoffman's earliest attempts on the market date from March 1920,but the first trademarked item seems to only appear around 1924 .Since then,even if the brand hasn't produced a piece of garment since the early 60's ,their trademark registration has been constantly renewed ......Is there a big Japanese buyer behind this !!?? time will tell.........

Freight Train Blues Tennessee Ernie Ford

PERFECT PATINA

Love the ripe banana color and the white sole combo........

For those of you who were curious enough to check my "artblog" ,you already know how most of my work revolves and is influenced by timeless patinas and distressed patterns.Well !! today's post features a different kind of artwork,with a perfectly patina ed 30 something years old texas steerhide pair of work boots .Got them 20 years ago in good vintage condition and since then they became my favorites.....

Groovie Movie (1944). Funny jitterbug instructional video.

STRAIGHT FROM THE VAULT ....another early 20's work shirt

Simplicity is the way to go ......
The lastest Japanese "fixation" a shirt with gussets .....

As a follow up on the chambray post ,here's another "original from chambray" pullover shirt .This one is collarless and has an interesting stripe pattern .Stripped chambray are quite unusual and hard to find indeed.......