(Please forgive me if this is the wrong area to post this...it has been awhile since I posted)
I remember seeing The Natural starring Robert Redford again on DVD several years ago and remarking how incredible I thought his jacket was. I started to do some research on which company might have made it but I was not succesful in my pursuit. Then I heard Indy Magnoli was thinking about making leather garments and I knew this was a golden opportunity. I have bought MANY garments from Indy all of which I treasure and enjoy so I assumed I would be pleased with his effort in making an accurate The Natural jacket....I was NOT disappointed.
As usual Indy took great care to use exacting measurements for this jacket and great care that it would fit me as close to the movie one as possible. Using reams of reference shots he and his company produced what you see in the photos below. This cow hide jacket is put together VERY well with all the details, like the tabs and buttons in the right place. The lining is a cotton material that feels wonderful when you are wearing the piece. The lines of the jacket are authentic to the screen used one and the jacket pockets are roomy enough to fit a newspaper just like in the movie. The collar is comfortable as are the sleeves yet they both retain that fitted vintage look I so loved in the movie. The color itself is an antiqued brown that gives the jacket a look that I have owned it for many years.
I am incredibly happy with this jacket, the service provided by Magnoli and the time it took from concept to delivery.
Having seen yet another fine example of an 'Indyesque' jacket a thought just struck me ...and yes it sort of hurt!
I'm probably wrong, but, having gone back and watched many a film currently on DVD spanning the "Golden Era" of the 1930's - 1940's, I'm hard pressed to name a film or character that has a 'hero' style jacket that's ever been black in color (excluding WWII German U-boat commanders and Field Marshall coats and jackets).
I've always assumed it was that browns were more ubiquitous for that period because they were cheaper to produce than going through the extra steps in dyeing a hide, or, that browns bring out more of the natural beauty of the grain. ...not sure, I haven't really thought it out fully. Maybe I just haven't seem the right films yet.
I'll just throw this out there... I've been chasing this costume for awhile. I actually have a line on the man who made Redford's fedora for this film. Unfortunately he has gone back to making cowboy hats and is out of the fedora business... However, he did say that if fedoras start coming back after the next Indy film, he'll consider making them again.
Mike
PS. This is the same guy who made the fedora for Alec Baldwin in The Shadow and he also made Burt Reynold's cowboy hat for Smokey and The Bandit... He's done some other famous pieces, but I think these three are among the coolest.
