Bring it back: the 1962 jacket, three owners later

Helen W. brought her husband's jacket into our Portland shop last spring. The jacket was made in 1962 — the second year of the Ridgeline pattern — and had been through three owners in the family.

The brass hardware was tarnished but solid. The wax had worn off the shoulders and cuffs. One of the bellows pocket flaps had been torn and re-stitched, badly, by someone with a needle and thread in 1971.

The fix

We re-stitched the pocket flap with waxed linen thread. We re-waxed the whole jacket with British Millerain dressing — by hand, with a hairdryer. We didn't replace anything. We didn't need to.

Lifetime, literally

Helen took the jacket home the next week. Her granddaughter is in college now. We expect to see it again in 2070.