Article updated April 2020 - Disclaimer: It's been a while since we last did this, so today we welcome a guest article from Thomas, who is passionate about beautiful clothes that last.
No, this is not an article about an American series or the grocery store located on rue Grenelle in Paris.
Instead, I'm going to tell you about a brand with typically Japanese DNA.
And as is often the case in the Land of the Rising Sun when it comes to clothing, The Real McCoy's brand faithfully reproduces American outfits from the 40s or 50s, but better. It can be compared to the Aero Leather Clothing brand, another high-end leather brand with very little distribution which almost only manufactures to order.
That's the logo that sends it!
It ranges from military attire to biker attire, from “worker” to Ivy League student looks .
You will therefore find several lines:
- The Real McCoy , the more military/WWII oriented;
- Joe McCoy , the most streetwear-oriented line;
- Buco , the most motorcycle-oriented. Go see their perfectos!
History of The Real McCoy's brand
The Real McCoy's was founded in the 1980s by Hitoshi Tsujimoto.
He has the particularity of having amassed thousands of vintage American clothes (from the 20th century), including more than 10,000 Levis jeans!
As you might imagine, the founder has quite a style, with obvious American influences.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal , Tsujimoto says he never stops perfecting the pieces he creates. Even if these come very largely from American history, he never stops embellishing them.
He refined the cut in particular, that of the 1940s being quite wide, mainly for military clothing which allowed weapons or tools to be carried.
The Real McCoy's, a high-end brand
Keep in mind, however, that this remains generally military reproduction clothing. There are therefore no or very few slim cuts: goodbye to ultra skinny jeans like Cheap Monday.
As for the price, this is what we can expect from Japanese brands that make "real" replicas, and not common copies (copy = bad replica to put it simply).
A few orders of magnitude to give you an idea:
- Count €100 for a t-shirt,
- €300 for jeans,
- €2000 for a leather jacket.
Don’t hesitate to take a look at the brand’s lookbook, full of inspiration!
Okay, this is a bit for clothing geeks. But at this price, you will get the best . No compromise in terms of quality: you will find excellent materials and materials as well as very good finishes. This is the replica in all its glory!
Besides, don't expect to find good deals on sale. I very rarely see their sale items, which is a good sign, right?
These are clothes made to last, which develop a patina. By patina, I mean this human warmth that we find on all old objects, which increases with the generations. New consumption patterns are forcing us to do so, but unfortunately this is tending to disappear. And in fact, young people are becoming less sensitive to it.
To give you an idea of how the clothes are worked, the denim fabrics are for example woven on historic looms, and there is then a painstaking search to obtain the identical shades after 50 washes of the jeans so that they match. to the basic model of a century ago.
This is geekery taken to the extreme.
The A2 flight jacket, flagship product from The Real McCoy
The Real McCoy's is best known for the A2 leather flight jacket.
Flight Jacket A2. The Real McCoy's store in Kobe, Japan. The dream. It looks like each jacket has survived many dogfights!
Careful and durable manufacturing
For the record, while I was passing through the Doursoux military surplus store - rue Amelot in Paris - a customer was chatting with the store manager. I understood that he was unhappy with leather from another brand purchased elsewhere. In fact, his flight jacket had aged 10 years in a few months.
After he left, I quickly asked the manager if it was a Real McCoy's. He told me no, adding that Real McCoy's leathers were the most beautiful he had ever seen .
Leather quality: horse and deer for the bravest
And for good reason, the leathers are vegetable tanned , even if this is far from always being a guarantee of quality. This is the kind of bludgeoning argument put forward too often in my opinion, but that's another debate.
Vegetable tanning in the famous Shinki tanneries. For shoes, we can also cite the Horween tannery.
You will also find other high-end details on aviator jackets , I know we are attached to them at BonneGueule:
- Talon zippers, an American brand. It was the first brand of zips to appear on the market, so much so that we owe it a lot in its democratization... It could hardly be more vintage!
- Different leather treatments (aniline leather, pigmented leather, etc.) and different types of leather (horse leather, deer leather, etc.).
So no, you won't find a lambskin jacket. We remain on reproduction work : the sourcing of raw materials therefore respects certain constraints, even if once again, they add their own touch.
I know that on many blogs/advice sites, dipped lamb is systematically highlighted as the Holy Grail for its finesse and touch. Instead, keep an open mind, don't systematically denigrate all other leathers. 🙂
You may have some good surprises, deer leather for example. This is more traditionally used in glove making for its flexibility and resistance. Rather rare and therefore quite expensive.
A very successful replica: you could swear this leather is several decades old.
Deer leather has a large grain.
Attention to period detail
Reproductions are created from original patterns used during the Second World War, including those of the American company The Rough Wear Clothing Company (more than 200,000 jackets produced at that time).
Same methods but also same manufacturing machines... with all that that entails in limitations: settings, profitability, precision, etc. The detail is pushed to the color of the jacket. For example, within the Rough Wear Clothing Company, Russet brown was used early in the war and later replaced by Seal brown .
Russet Brown or Seal Brown, I don't really know anymore.
You will note that aviator jackets are often available in two versions: a refined one without any patch - "ex-factory" version - and other more colorful ones, with period patches that the pilots were proud to wear .
Example with the jackets of the 53rd American squadron, nicknamed TABLY.
If you have the fighter plane in addition to your jacket, you have succeeded in life.
Another unusual feature : you can also find what is called “the bell of Capri”. This was a good luck charm and, as its name suggests, was probably made by the monks of the island of Capri (near Naples, Italy).
It was worn by American airmen sent to Capri.
With that, no missile could reach you.
These small bells are often engraved with the inscription San Michele, in reference to a legend.
A poor boy who had lost a sheep would have followed the light sound of a bell, and it was Saint Michael who would in fact have appeared . He would then have given him a small bell and told him to always follow the sound to stay away from danger.
Note: Besides, if you are in Capri, do not hesitate to take a trip to the magnificent Villa San Michele.
Where can I find more information on the flight jacket?
If you are a real fan of this type of jacket – and I am one of them – I recommend John A. Maguire's book, Art of the Flight Jacket: Classic Leather Jackets of World War II . To be reserved for enthusiasts.
You can also leaf through The Real McCoy's Yearbook : the most emblematic pieces from the brand's catalog are carefully described, as well as the story that accompanies them.
We learn, for example, that red silk linings were proudly worn by Air Force pilots who had shot down at least five planes.
No wonder the average level of knowledge of Japanese people when it comes to clothing far exceeds that of Europeans. Well, for now 🙂 .
History: why did we stop producing leather jackets in the army?
Leather is a limited resource and difficult to work with. Nylon, on the other hand, is simpler to work with and requires only water, charcoal and air. Production is more stable and controllable, therefore easier for mass quantities.
Nylon flight jackets also offer more features: greater freedom of movement and more lightness. Let's take a closer look!
The B10 jacket
The first bomber jacket that was not made of leather was the B10 (well, to be precise, there was a cotton jacket model for the navy a little before: the 37J1).
B10 cotton. It exudes quality – The jacket is lined in Alpaca.
The MA-1 bomber
We note the disappearance of the A2 type collar (due to the appearance of imposing helmets). The lining becomes orange: more easily identifiable in an emergency, the pilot just had to turn his jacket inside out.
The M65 jacket
The famous M65 worn by Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver .
Where to buy The Real McCoy's clothing?
The official Japanese website only delivers to Japan. However, there are other alternatives closer to home:
- An official store has been open in London since June 2014, rue Henrieta
- The Superdenim site having closed in November 2019, you can buy the brand on the Marrkt site.
Bonus: the brand's neon.
Sold on the site for around €1000. When will the same at BG?
