Made in Manchester - Private White Jeep Coat

The Jeep Coat

Not many British war heroes have cartoon strips written about them in The Victor.

Private White did. And what's more, he's been mentioned in The Tweed Pig on more than one occasion. At least the family-owned clothes manufacturer and retailer bearing his name has. This isn't mere heritage window-dressing and appropriation. The original Private White established a clothing factory in Manchester, England. And Private White's grandson, James Eden, runs the current incarnation of the business, which is still based in Manchester.

The military associations don't end there. Many of the menswear pieces they produce are influenced by the British military. Currently being made to order is the incredible Jeep Coat (above and below). Constructed of cotton drill made in their own Lancashire backyard, with a shearling fleece collar and lining. If you do your research, you can see how close it is to an original jeep coat.

I hereby declare the jeep coat as much of a timeless classic — with military background — as a duffle (duffel) coat (beloved of Welsh poets) or trench coat (beloved of mods, spies and gangsters).

Manchester is the Background

"Manchester is the background. The time is today."  Well today as in 1959. So says the trailer to the Hammer-produced Hell is a City, based on the the novel by Maurice Procter.

Starring the brilliant Stanley Baker (or is it Morrissey?), it was filmed in the mean streets of Manchester. I pondered how to link this clip to the jeep coat. Frankly, it's impossible. But I didn't want to drop the clip. So I flimsily offer it here as an unreliable insight into the city that gave us Private White. Enjoy the accents.