Eat Dust – 673 W Jacket.
Eat Dust 673 W Jacket.
As I have lamented before, the winters in Berlin are cold, not Siberian cold but it still drops down sharply below zero and stubbornly stays there for months. Most “Echt Berliners” have somehow managed to evolve to cope with this and seem to get away with maybe putting on a scarf during the really cold spells. Oddly enough, coming from Scotland has provided me with no such defences, I am not saying Scotland enjoys finer weather, it just doesn’t get as cold, just miserably wet. Forever, and ever.
Before going on I should add that I am presently with “the family” in the north of Germany. This does allow me a little quiet time to catch up on some posts but I am far far away from my camera. So I have pilfered these images from Eat Dust themselves. Guys if you mind just drop me a note and I will take them down right away. I will try to get some detailed shots asap when I am back in Berlin.
On moving here I was ill equipped to deal with this cold. I dealt with this in previous years by limiting the amount of exposure simply by not going outside. When necessity did call for an outer expedition I would layer, not in any stylistic way I would just put on most of what I owned.
At this point I am sure you are wondering why I did not just get myself a good jacket. The answer is twofold. Firstly poverty, it is a hindrance to the getting part. Secondly and most likely the more relevant is that I am a fussy bugger. I have a clear idea of what I want but have no notion of what that might be.
This year however I had had enough. I resolved to get myself a winter jacket as long ago as June and kept an eye out since then. When the winter finally did come the search was on in earnest. I even caved and paid a visit to my old haunts such as TK Maxx. All to no avail. The soulless mass manufacturing and generic fashion shone through and I could not bring myself to buy something like this, even out of necessity.
I had pretty much given up hope when a post popped up on Facebook from Burg & Schild. If you have read someof my previous posts you may well have heard me singing their praises. It is a store in Berlin Mitte that sells some of the finest wares available. If you buy something from there it is guaranteed that it is unique in its inception, original and of the highest quality. The store seems to be more curated than stocked. You can read a great review from Denim Hunters on the store here.
Alongside Burg and Schild you will have also seen my enthusiasm for a brand called Eat Dust specifically in relation to a vest I bought a couple of months ago. Anyway, so get back to the point, the post that popped up was of a jacket from Eat Dust.
The denim version of the 673 “classic worker jacket” from Eat Dust
There are a few different jackets from Eat Dust that all adhere to the same basic style and cut. It seems that instead of endlessly churning out new styles every season the founders of Eat Dust prefer to concentrate on a few well conceived and superbly executed garments. The same cut of jacket (what they call a “classic worker jacket”) can be found in varying fabrics, the most basic denim jacket, a blanket lined version of this and one in the black denim of their Bloodline range. In my hunting around the net for more info on the brand I had come across some pics of a wool version of this style in a kind of army green. It seems that on their travels Keith and Rob came across a bunch of blankets from the Belgian Army dating all the way back to the Second World War. Apparently half of this fabric was pretty moth eaten and had to be thrown away, what remained however was turned into a pretty stunning looking jacket. Given the source of the fabric the run was limited to only 50 and I have never seen one for sale in either Burg and Schild or online.
The first 673 W version of the “classic worker jacket” from Eat Dust.
However, it seems that the fabric they found not only came in green but also in blue and this has been turned into the latest 673 W and this was the one posted up by Burg and Schild. I finished up my days work and went straight along. It was a pretty foregone conclusion that I was going to buy it but I did spend the requisite time umming and ahhing and even took the time to try on a couple of other jackets. Simply to convince myself, no other reason.
So, to the jacket itself. As I said Eat Dust calls this style a “classic work jacket”. The cut reminds me a lot of the naval jackets I have seen coming from the US during the 40s and 50s.
Vintage WW2 1940s US Navy Deck Jacket. This particular image was found on eBay. Click on the picture for the link to the listing.
It allows plenty of movement around the shoulders and body, presumably so it wouldn’t hinder a hard day’s labour. The length is in my opinion very practical, coming to just below the beltline, this means it does not flap about in the wind like a pea coat or leave your arse hanging out like most denim jackets.
As to the fabric, it is 100% wool Melton, a heavily felted fabric used mainly for the construction of coats and jackets. Whoever manufactures these jackets does a fantastic job of adapting the basic design to the varying weights of fabric used. There is no distortion and there is no difference from the denim to the wool in the way the jacket sits when worn.
Eat Dust 673 W Jacket
Like all garments from Eat Dust it is the subtle details that define it. The use of contrast stitching (in red) is limited to the bar stitch reinforcements of the pockets and the Arcuate of the chest pocket. The remainder of the stitching is perfectly matched to the colour of the fabric. So perfectly matched in fact that I thought details found on the other jackets, such as the hip pocket Arcuates and false buttonhole, were missing until I got home and took a closer look. It is lined with 100% cotton in blue in the body and red nylon in the sleeves.
Eat Dust 673 W Jacket
There are two large hip pockets and a single breast pocket. The hip pockets provide plenty of room for stuffing in gloves but given the placement they are not much good for keeping your hands warm. This is not a criticism it just simply gives more credence to the notion that this is a work jacket and you shouldn’t be standing about with your hands in your pocket. There is also an inside breast pocket. I find this a little high up for my liking and whatever I put in there ends up being quickly moved to another location.
The leather patch is located where you would expect just below the collar. Although I really do miss a tab to hang the jacket on a hook, the portrait patch, stitched at the top and bottom, is very convenient for hanging the jacket on door handles.
The buttons (of which I am a huge fan, please see my other post as to the reasons why) are same faded brass as the ones found on my Bloodline vest. However, rather sadly they are missing the tiny graphic logo stamped onto the back. I guess that this special little feature is reserved only for the bloodline range.
Lastly a label found on the inner right hand side gives details of the material, fit, who it was made for, the amount made with the issue number (in this case 09 of 84) and also the size. The later details are filled out individually by hand by (I’m guessing) Keith or Rob. It seems that if you order a jacket directly from them you will get your name written in there. I am happy enough to have Burg & Schild written in there. It is a good reminder.
To the initial purpose of the purchase, does it stand up to the Berlin winter? So far it endures, or allows me to endure the weather fantastically well. On the advice of the guy at Burg and Schild I went for the larger size so there is plenty of room for thick winter jumpers when necessary.
I realize that I have again spent a post extolling the virtues of an Eat Dust garment (and you may well have to endure another one, I still have my eye on the Bloodline Jacket) but I find it very hard to fault this brand or any of the decisions they make. Even if I am getting really picky there is little or nothing I could criticize about this jacket.
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