Here's a vintage, 1930s-era Filson cruiser jacket up for
auction on ebay. The seller emailed the other day because he was trying to date the jacket and saw a similar version
on my flickr photostream. Pricepoint for the jacket is too steep for me. However, I asked permission to post some auction photos to document design details-- snaps, garment tag, double fabric arms, perfect pocking, stitching style--still found on current generation cruisers.
Randomly, at some point, I'd like to coordinate a comprehensive database of historical Filson garments, catalogs and print ephemera.
Related complaint: why has Filson not introduced a version of the Cruiser (a scaled down exact replica) for its women's product line? If you were developing a heritage collection for women, wouldn't you start with your most iconic garment (rather than offering new style shirts and jackets that just as easily could have been produced by LL Bean or Lands End or Liz Claiborne?).
1930s-era Tin Cruiser
Dry finish (Fil-Duck?) Cruiser from the mid-1980s
I've been investigating closure solutions and historical satchel examples for my musette project. A friend of mine picked up this WWII, Czech army satchel from a local surplus store. A flickr friend noted that he liked the "random #4 stamp" and the "standing seam detail" of the body of the bag--details that don't reproduce well when aped by modern bagmakers wishing for vintage authenticity. I love the toggle closures which seem more craft fair than military surplus. I also like the sway strap but would change the bag's portrait orientation from vertical to landscape.
