USN sailors circa 1943, wearing a mix bag of Type I & II N-1 Deck Jackets. (©Mister Freedom® vintage archives.)

Mister Freedom® mfsc Type N-1H Deck Jackets evolution (©2008 – ©2019)

Mister Freedom® Type N-1H Deck Jacket, “Burnt Umber” jungle cloth edition.
FW2019 mfsc  “Surplus” Collection

This release will be the sixth Mister Freedom® x Sugar Cane spin on the iconic Government-issued naval N-1 foul weather “Deck Jacket” pattern, familiar to all vintage clothing collectors.

First, a bit of rambling about fashion, timeline, etc…
This might sound like a no-brainer in well-informed heritage fashion circles today, but there was some confusion following the release of our ‘fictional’ Type N-1H (H was for hook front): our deck jacket interpretation, not intended as a replica, never existed as a USN-issued garment. It hit the US market during Fall 2008, as part of the “Naval Clothing Tailor” mfsc collection.
We had not reinvented the helm (see what i did there), simply blended genuine post-1943 USN N-1 models, combining features and periods, fully embracing all the new ‘toys’ recently made-available to us by our friends at Buzz Rickson’s. This all morphed into a somewhat original “might-have-been” jacket. That first edition 2008 N-1H featured navy blue jungle cloth, knit collar and cuffs, teardrop “D” pockets, hook-front wind flap and front zipper closure, draw string bottom, navy blanket lining. MF® OGs will remember it as the ‘noisy one’, because of the crinkly inner organdy windproof layer. This jacket is barely documented on this blog, and even missing from our online store.
For those into that kind of stuff, some efforts at a chronological MF® mfsc archive are being made here, at the phenomenal rate of about three entries every four years.

We followed-up with a “Troy” blanket-lined modified version during Fall 2010, the Type N-1H md, merely updating the USN wool blanket lining to a civvy wool striped workwear classic. For the anecdote, if  Troy blankets were to become all the rage in heritage fashion a few years later, vintage USN deck coats were already so popular that J.Crew, then under Mickey Drexler‘s vision and branding make-over, picked up some of our inventory to spice-up their menswear catalog. I believe that Todd Snyder, then head of Men’s Design at J.Crew, and one of MF®’s earliest corporate repeat customer, harking back to early days of yours truly schlepping old rags at the Rosebowl circa 1995, was the instigator of that connection. Cheers Todd.

In 2014, the “Sea Hunt” collection featured yet another twist on the Deck Jacket pattern, the Blouson de Quart, in mil-specs khaki jungle cloth, our first time using vintage-style USN alpaca lining and round style collar. The original Fall 2014 blog post features some old French Marine Nationale photos that inspired this version. The Blouson de Quart is somewhat of a MF® N-1H Type II.

During Fall 2016, an indigo-dyed jungle cloth version of the Blouson de Quart, along with a black jungle cloth version of the N-1H Type I pattern were released, celebrating ten years of driving the talented folks at Sugar Cane Co (Toyo Enterprise, Japan) berserk.

For Fall 2019, our N-1H Deck jacket pattern makes a come back in a new Type I hybrid rendition. We thought of calling back on deck the classic color of our original mfsc Mulholland Master, a warm shade of brown we’re naming “Burnt Umber“, because it sounds fabulous.  The collar style is reverted to the original 1940’s USN Deck Jacket knit type. The fluffy chocolate brown alpaca lining should keep your upper body toasty in most of Antartica. The jacket’s timeless style should keep you cool for most of the 21st Century.

The FW2019 mfsc N-1H Deck Jacket is designed in California by Mister Freedom®, and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.

SPECS
FABRIC:
* Shell: Tight weave 14 Oz. “Jungle Cloth”, 100% cotton grosgrain, period mil-specs, original mfsc umber brown color, milled in Japan.
* Lining: Warm, non-itchy, soft-touch wool pile alpaca full lining, chocolate brown color, vintage mil-specs.

DETAILS:
* An original MF® hybrid design, freely inspired by 1940’s-1960’s vintage US Navy and French Marine Nationale foul weather Type N-1 Deck Jackets, issued to embarked enlisted personnel.
* Double front closure featuring both a 1950’s-type TALON “bell” zipper, and a wind flap secured by 1940’s-type clip hooks.
* Full lining, vintage USN-style chocolate brown wool pile alpaca.
* 1940’s type collar style, 100% wool knit collar and cuffs, contrast navy blue color.
* Drawstring cinch bottom.
* Original teardrop hand-warmer “D” pockets, lined with golden brown cotton corduroy.
* Tonal poly-cotton thread hi-count stitching.
* No outside “military” markings/ornements.
* “MFSC Naval Clothing Tailor” woven rayon label, 2008 style.
* Made in Japan.

SIZING/FIT:
The FW2019 N-1H Deck Jacket is ready-to-go as-is. It is a dry-cleaning ONLY garment and does not require any pre-soaking.
This jacket is considered true-to-size. I opted for a size 38, my usual size in mfsc N-1H and most other mfsc jackets, with enough room for a thick shirt of heavy sweater underneath. Like most ready-to-wear garments not made from stretch fabric or cut as a poncho pattern, our N-1H might not satisfy everyone’s body type configurations. In general, the consensus is to go with your usual size in mfsc jackets for our N-1H models.
We have taken the measurements to the best of our abilities. Refer to the sizing chart and remember that measurements are taken from the outside of the fabric. The lining is about ¼ inch thick, which reduces the inside room by that much. Please consider this when sizing from the charts measurements.

CHART

CARE:
Professional dry-clean only, in your local eco-friendly dry-cleaning facility. For dirt or minor water-based stain, spot clean with a clean, damp sponge.
Please DO NOT attempt to machine-wash this jacket in a home washing machine, as this specific N-1H weighs like a dead mule when wet. You risk ruining both machine and jacket, the metal hooks will get snagged, the jungle cloth shell will get marbling marks etc…

Available RAW (un-rinsed)
Sizes
36 Small
38 Medium
40 Large
42 X-Large
44 XX-Large

Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support.

Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2019