Archival Clothing from the Greatest Generation

May 10, 2018

Archival Clothing from the Greatest Generation - The National WWII Museum

One could argue you've never really lived until you've sucked the head of a boiled crawfish while sipping a Purple Haze and listening to a keytar solo on Frenchmen Street at 2 in the afternoon. If you've never been to New Orleans, you've been missing out. The city is packed with incredible food, warm hospitality, and an unrivaled music scene, and it's no exaggeration to say it's one of my favorite cities in the world. I had the chance to visit The National WWII Museum for the first time on a recent visit, and coming from someone who usually enjoys museums just enough to be able to tell someone else that I enjoy museums, I have to say it is an absolutely incredible and truly profound experience I can't recommend enough. Sprawling the expanse of a few city blocks, the museum takes you on a walk through wartime, bringing you up close and personal and taking the time and effort to examine the war from every angle - and on every scale. I ended up spending most of a day there, lost in time with the echoes of what we now call "The Greatest Generation."

A-2 jacket and flight deck jersey

To be honest, I had no intention of doing anything there other than learning more about the past and gaining some fresh perspective on the present, but it became increasingly hard to ignore the beautiful displays of personal uniforms, jackets, and fatigues as we snaked through the halls from soldiers of a bygone era - any fan of heritage Americana would be hard pressed to. Menswear has always borrowed strongly from military dress throughout history, but you can see that on full display at the WWII Museum - in many cases showcasing how virtually untouched some designs remained from the past to the present.

The M-43 jacket is a great example of this, which we see produced perennially in the mainstream market at everything from budget to high end retailers. Named for the year it was introduced, the US Army began testing the M-43 in an effort to improve the clothing issued to soldiers and streamline production. The result was one of the most classic and oft-recommended jackets ever made.

Two M-43 jackets on display

Here's another jacket produced in 1942 called the Mackinaw, a cotton poplin jacket with a wool blanket lining meant to improve on prior winter jackets, of which I own a modern version made by Monitaly. If you look at it more closely, you might also notice a touch of inspiration for Kapital's Ring Coat as well.

Mackinaw coat

The stars of the show though, at least for me, were the leather jackets - many of them hand painted. There's a great DIY post on Fedora Lounge about recreating this look in modern day on repro jackets such as Real McCoy's and Buzz Rickson's, but seeing authentic versions in person is an entirely different thing altogether.

Ensign Austin Merrill's flight jacket (left)

Type B-3 flight jacket (shearling)

A-2 Jacket - worn by Zollie Nichols

The purpose of this post is not at all to trivialize the importance and message of the museum into something of a fashion show, and I hope that it doesn't come across that way. In fact, it's quite the opposite, showcasing meaning to clothing we sometimes take for granted. After seeing these garments in person, you may gain a new level of reverence and appreciation for the stories and people behind the clothes, the heroes behind the uniforms. No wonder we want to dress like they did.