Our beloved Western neighbour made a classic wool tunic ages ago and released large stock of it to the civilian market. The tunic became an army surplus classic, as it's hard wearing, affordable and looks damn nice. Well guess what! They made a fancier diagonal wool version of it too. This must be a very limited production garment, we suspect these will not be available for long.

Model 1939, which means it's old, well fitting, made in Sweden and to top standards for such an article. Such fabric is expensive now and probably was back then too. This kind of stuff is certainly no longer issued to grunts, hardly even for parades. Today it's best reserved just for Sundays. The years of manufacture, tunic by tunic, might vary from late 30's to the 50's.

Metal anchor-motif button closure (not the usual Tre Kronor buttons!), four front pockets and two back pockets, which can be carefully cut off if necessary. The anchor buttons and artillery-themed collar tabs found on many jackets might mean these have been at least coastal artillery or marines issue. No idea why they should wear nicer tunics than others, some Swedish thing probably.

Care

Careful when washing! As the first option, it's best to try just brushing off any stains or spot clean with water and mild soap. If you need to use washing machine, try a gentle wool cycle in 30 degrees Celsius. Use wool care products while you're at it, it'll make the garment restore its natural woolly goody features. Hang dry, stretch the garment out a bit while it's drying.

Size info

Sizes in the Swedish system, with user's recommended approximate centimetre measurements in the brackets: height and chest circumference. The fit is suitably snug - these are from an era where you would wear just a sweater under the service tunic and throw everything else on top of it. Our model's measurements are 175 / 100 cm and he wears size C50.

Genuine old vintage

Surplus from ages past, when Sweden had a real army. These are used and old, which means they might have some signs of use. Pretty clean for their age though, certainly good enough for a stroll through the town.

Availability is probably very limited.