As iconic as Mount Rushmore itself, the M-65 jacket has always been at the fore front of men's fashion since its inception in the 1960's. Worn by Army veterans, film stars, fashion heads and just regular people alike; this jacket has become a men's wear staple for over 50 years!
After the USA chose to help the struggling south Vietnam forces defeat communism from the oppressing northern regime in 1963. The USA government reacted to change their army's uniform to fit for this whole new terrain; with its vast jungles and swamps they chose to create Sateen uniforms to be light and breezy in the dense heat along with ripstop to stop it from destroying in action. However, when it came to outerwear for the traveling troops they chose to rethink their approach and created the M-1965 aka M-65 in 1965 as its name suggest. Rather than being a heavy parka (M-51) in the Korean Conflict, this jacket was lighter and more easier to move in plus it could be used with or without a hood instantly. The Government issued this jacket firstly to the troops stationed in the Central Highlands, where the air was cooler than the jungles, then to all the troops after the monsoon rains had come and as a result it began to get colder. With this in place and the the success of this jacket the USA started to give it all their troops across the world not just in Vietnam.
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| Two of my M-65 Jackets |
As you can see from above each jacket features a four pocket design, Velcro straps to fasten both the sleeve cuffs and the collar as well as both a zip and press stud closer. But making this different from the original M-51 jacket from Korea was the idea to have a fold away hood that hides in the back via a pouch, accessed only by he collar; instead of a removable making it easier to switch around.
Each jacket was produced to be the OG-107 colour way as this was the staple, standard issue colour the American army chose for their uniforms, before it was later adapted to a variety of camouflages and colours as it was sent to other troops in other countries overseas. Also, the jacket had a secret roll back cuff that could be pulled down to cover the users gloves or folded under encase he chose not to, this was added to the jacket to stop the rain from entering as it would protect the gloves or hands when the monsoon hit unexpectedly.
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| Al Pacino as Frank Serpico |
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| Christian Slater in True Romance |
As Hollywood has created various well known heroes and villains post Vietnam War, many characters from these films have been decked out with an M-65 jacket helping to push it into mainstream culture. A particular figure curated by Martin Scorsese in 1976 exploded the jacket into the front of every ones eyes as DeNiro played ex-veteran Travis Bickle. A character who seemed to never take off his M-65 and thus each outlet used to promote the film stressed the importance of this jacket, as it indicated his War based pasted that lead him to this point of insanity. Many of the iconic photos and scenes of Bickle seemed to revolve around him rocking that famous jacket. As a result,not just DeNiro wore the jacket as other famous actors have wore this staple such as: Christian Slater in True Romance, Woody Allen in Annie Hall and Al Pacino in Serpico where he played an undercover office in the 70's.
However, as time has passed the jacket is still as popular as ever and can be spotted on various men and women in day to day life as well as famous fashion events like Pitti Uomo in Florence. A sprezzatura classic this is usually popped over a blazer/ suit and adds great contrast to both white or navy choices amongst other colours. Give one a go!
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| Pitti Uomo Style with added M-65 Style |
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| The Sartorialist showing us different way to rock one |
- THURSTON
TUMBLR
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