Type A-1 Leather Cape Jacket - Contract 31-800P

Originally standardized as a Summer flying jacket in 1927, the A-1 was the first flight jacket to utilize a knit waist and cuffs, a style that would go on todefine the flight jacket silhouettefor generations to come. Lighter, slimmer, and lacking the wool or sheepskin lining of cold weather flight jackets, it would eventually be superseded by the A-2 jacket in 1931 - yet another iconic flight jacket from the early 20th century.

This specificmodel of A-1 jacketsis among the very hardest to accurately and properly reproduce, as originals are virtually nonexistent in the far flung future of the 2020s. Astoundingly,the folks at Eastmanactually managed to secure an original A-1, with all its trims and original components intact, allowing them to fully analyze and perfectly reproduce it down to the very last detail.

By Eastman's admission, this is the first time since 1931 that an A-1 jacket has been made with all the correct materials, down to the capeskin body and lining color. Capeskin is actually a type of sheep leather, more supple than cow or horsehide, with a shorter break-in period and a glove-like softness over time. Because sheep are much smaller than other leather animals, the margin of error for hide selection and cutting is much higher. Eastman's expert team use their decades of experience to ensure every panel uses only the highest quality and most consistent parts of each hide.

Finished in the classic Seal Brown dye, the leather is absolutely gorgeous from day one, with a gentle shine and subtle grain texture that age beautifully - softening, creasing, and slowly losing dye to reveal the leather's natural core. Eastman have taken great pains to make sure that this jacket will wear and ageexactly like an original would,meaning if you took an original jacket from 1927 today and compared it to one ofEastman's jackets after you wore it for 96 years, they would be virtually identical.

The fit is predictably authentic, with a trim body and slightly cropped fit that sits close to the body and buttons up snugly. The body is lined with a 100% cotton twill, dye matched exactly to the original lining color, with custom horn buttons and facings at all the usual button places. The ribbing at the collar, cuffs, and hem is 100% wool, another exact mil-spec replica - and it should go without saying, but the label is also a perfectly woven recreation of the original.

True to size with a trim fit. Do not wash.

• 100% capeskin body
• 100% cotton sateen lining
• 100% wool knit trims
• Trim fit
• Custom horn buttons
• Two front pockets
• Knit collar, cuffs, and waistband
• Custom woven labels
• True to size
• Made in England

All measurements are in inches.

Model Gen wears a size40
Gen's sizing specs are:
6'1 and 180lbs
41"" chest and 31"" waist

True to size with a trim fit. Do not wash.