The Yacht Club

Recently I picked up a U.S. Navy officer's uniform for cheap. Looking at the style, characteristics and tags of the jacket and trousers I've come to the conclusion it is from the late-1930s through to the mid-1940s.

At one point in its life it was civilianized with the removal of all military markings and buttons, the addition of a civilian boating patch on the breast pocket and the addition of rather cheap looking plain gold buttons.

Click on photos to enlarge

The jacket is a 6x3 meaning that it has six buttons and three of those six can be buttoned. 6x3 jackets are a bit more rare than the usual 6x2 since the 6x3 has a very militaristic look to it. It has 'lazy' peaked lapels (meaning the lapel peaks are horizontal rather than angled like other double breasted jackets) and the jacket also lacks vents, a common feature of the Golden Era. The entire uniform is made of a finely woven and very soft wool.

The civilian patch. The back of the patch appears to be leather.

The trousers are fantastically high-waisted and straight-legged, as the photo below testifies. They had a tiny hole which I easily patched up and the white line on the leg came out with a quick brushing.

Click on photos to enlarge

Last week I wore the jacket in somewhat of a traditional 'yachting' look. While the illustration below shows a very sporty and casual double breasted on the left, I went for something a bit more formal, though just as unusual as the outfit below.

My combination of the 6x3 jacket, French cuff two-tone shirt and highly polished shoes gave a very formal, almost militaristic look that I counteracted with sunglasses and a sporty newsboy cap. A highly unorthodox outfit for the American Midwest!

I decided to use these very old military button cuff links to, in a way, respect the jacket's military heritage.

Summer is drawing to a close so I am squeezing as much out of my wardrobe as I can before the warm weather surrenders to Autumn and a whole new time of possibilities.