"WWII KHAKI" British military fabric, now for the DOLMAN.
It has been a while. I wanted to write something, but it is not something I can do casually, so some time has passed.
This time, about the new DOLMAN WW2 WOOL.
At ANATOMICA, the color is listed as "TAN", but the British fabric manufacturer, HAINSWORTH, calls this fabric "WWII Khaki".
It is simply a fabric that suits the DOLMAN very well, and it is highly versatile and stylish, but I was a little curious about this name "WWII", so I started researching from what kind of wool was used for military uniforms in Britain during World War II. It is a bit long, but please bear with me.
Clothing from around 1939 to 1942
Even though I say "around World War II", there is a bit of a range. I will list some clothing from the same period.
In the U.S. Army, it is around the time the so-called M-41 Field Jacket came out. As an outer garment to wear outdoors, a style with flannel lining on cotton poplin was established in 1940, and the specifications changed the following year, such as adding shoulder straps. If you have seen an M-41 in vintage clothing, you may be able to imagine the era a little.
M-1941 Field Jacket. Held by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
In Britain, the war also affected the clothes worn in the city. Rationing of clothing began in 1941, and the "Utility Clothing" system was introduced the same year. It is a system to make everyday clothes with a limited number of fabrics of controlled quality. Among dresses and children's clothes, there are also tweed sport jackets.
By the way, Japan around the same time was already in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War.
Sorry for suddenly talking about different clothes. It is interesting to see how other countries of the same era were.
Looking at the clothes of the same period like this, the U.S. Army layered flannel over cotton outer fabric, and the British Army, as introduced in the next chapter, used wool serge for top and bottom sets to wear outdoors. Although the adopted materials are different, we can guess that it was a period when there were changes in what people wore.
British Army Battle Dress
August 23, 1940, Golston, Norfolk, Britain. King George VI inspecting the 155th Brigade Reconnaissance Unit. Photo by Puttnam / Imperial War Museums, H 3272.
The British Army adopted battle dress as a field uniform in 1939.
Looking at the 1940 jacket remaining at the National Army Museum, the short length is the first thing that catches the eye. Combined with trousers with a deep rise, the bottom of the jacket is designed to be fastened outside the waist with buttons. Looking at the jacket alone, it is quite short, but considering it is worn as a set, this length makes sense.
The fabric is wool serge. Regarding the battle dress introduced in 1939, it is described as "worsted serge" in textile technology materials.
There was an interesting story about fabric selection in the history of the Royal Artillery's clothing. It seems that denim, which was used experimentally, was not warm enough to wear on the British mainland. Therefore, in March 1939, battle dress made of serge was approved for non-mounted personnel.
Wool Serge and Denim
Serge and denim are both twills with diagonal weave. For example, denim for jeans is woven so that the blue warp threads appear a lot on the surface. The surface is blue, and the back is whitish. It is easy to see when you fold the hem. A typical serge is woven with two threads going over and two threads going under the weft, and the same diagonal pattern appears on the front and back.
What catches my attention in the story of military uniforms is the difference in the yarn itself. Wool has natural crimp, and the air trapped in the fabric leads to warmth. Worsted yarn is made by combing the wool and aligning the fibers before spinning. It has relatively little fuzz, and the weave looks clean.
Looking at the HAINSWORTH sample book, there was a uniform fabric made of felted worsted during World War I, and during World War II, worsted fabrics that the company describes as lighter than that are lined up.
There was a story that denim was not warm enough, but I feel that it was not just a matter of making clothes thicker and heavier with wool. Since it is a garment you wear and move in every day, durability is also a consideration, and how much thickness or weight to keep is also a point of interest.
I do not know the detailed circumstances of why worsted was chosen, but I think it was adopted because it was not too heavy, and it was wool with durability and body.
HAINSWORTH's "WWII Khaki"
The "WWII Khaki" used for this DOLMAN is from HAINSWORTH in Britain.
The company is a British textile manufacturer founded in 1783. It has supplied fabric to the British Army for a long time, and it is said that the company's fabric was used for the red uniforms of British soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The actual item looks like a calm brown tone from a little distance. When you get close, the weave is fine, and the part of the chest where the light hits and the placket folds and becomes a shadow, even the same fabric looks different in color. It is more brownish than the color of U.S. Army chinos that I personally think of when I hear khaki. This is something I really want you to see the actual fabric.
Why use this wool for the DOLMAN
It has a thickness like wool, and the surface is clean. When made into a DOLMAN, these two are well expressed in the shape of the collar and sleeves.
Personally, I think the characteristics of this fabric are well expressed around the sleeves.
When laid flat, it looks like it falls straight from the shoulder to the sleeve opening. When you wear it and bend your elbow, a deep fold appears on the inside, but beyond that, the sleeve opening remains round around the wrist. You can see where it folds along the arm and where the shape remains due to the body of the fabric in one sleeve.
The collar is the same. Even when worn open, the small collar stands up properly. Because there is little fuzz, the edge of the collar looks clean, and even when the buttons are undone, the DOLMAN-like shape remains around the neck.
Because I was curious about the name "WWII Khaki", I went back to British military uniforms this time.
The wool that was a small square in the fabric sample book becomes a three-dimensional garment, and when you move your arm, it shows a firm roundness.
The "DOLMAN", a representative model of ANATOMICA. This unlined jacket strongly expresses the properties of the fabric. I felt again that history and functionality are very suitable for this three-dimensional DOLMAN.
I have written so much that I will probably hardly talk in the store, so now please try it on and come to feel it for yourself.