The history of the souvenir jacket, also known as a "Sukajan" jacket in Japanese goes back to the very end of the world war two, when American soldiers that were stationed in Japan began to get traditional Japanese designs hand embroidered on the inside of their jackets as a symbol, memory and souvenir to remind them of their time in Japan.
This kind of jacket was produced as a mixture of traditional Japanese textiles and an American baseball jacket and they were commonly made to be reversible. The American soldiers had these jackets made to bring with them when home either to wear for themselves or as a gift to friends and family back in USA. With time the jacket became a symbol of counterculture and celebrities such as Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones has become synonymous with wearing souvenir jackets. Quite recently we could also see Ryan Gosling’s character in the movie "Drive" from 2011 wear a souvenir jacket.
When it comes to the collectible market for vintage Sukajan jackets the Polar bear with lightnings is a very rare one and the dog sled embroidery on the sleeves is also a unique pattern for this model. Most vintage ones has white ribs but Tailor Toyo has chosen to reproduce a rare model with striped ribbs. The reverse side has an Alaska map pattern.
- Tailor Toyo Souvenir "Sukajan" Late 1950s Style Velveteen Jacket Polar Bear x Alaska Map - TT15792 - Velvet of 100% cotton - Lining 100％ Acetate - Padding 80％ Cotton / 20％ Polyester - Embroidery 100％ Rayon - Rib 100％ Acrylic - Embroidered with tiger and dragon design - Zipper has a gripper on both sides of the jacket - Dry clean only - Made in China
All measurements are in centimeters and measured on a flat surface. Widthis measured straight across the chest from armpit to armpit, length is measured at the back of the garment from the neck down and the sleeve length is measured from the top of shoulder of the arm to the end of the cuff. Across Shoulders is measured straight across from shoulder point to shoulder point.
