An estimated 1930s Le Mont St Michel 'Black Moleskin Work Jacket'.
A truly exceptional arrival.
Among French workwear brands, one of the most highly regarded is Le Mont St Michel.
Le Mont St Michel was founded in 1913 in Normandy, France, a few kilometres from the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, in the town of Pontorson.
It is a workwear brand made for the labourers of Brittany and Normandy in western France, craftsmen, farmers and others, who needed hard-wearing clothes. It ceased production at the end of the 1970s, was revived in 1998, and continues today.
Beginning as a family-run workshop, the brand grew rapidly through the 1920s and 1930s, and soon became one of the best-known names in western France.
Le Mont St Michel's early collections focused on clothing designed first and foremost for function, for the craftsmen and farmers of Brittany and Normandy.
The brand's most popular pieces included genuine work jackets in heavy moleskin, corduroy trousers in cord from Amiens, and hunting clothes in durable cotton piqué.
Each garment was designed with a particular task in mind, with pockets and stitching placed deliberately for the greatest possible practicality.
From "Le Mont St Michel", a celebrated brand born more than a century ago, we present a perennial staple of French workwear: the "black moleskin jacket".
This piece is made in "Moleskin", the great staple cloth of French vintage.
As the name suggests, it is said to take its name from a cloth that recalls the skin of a mole.
Once you touch it you will understand: it is smooth to a degree you would hardly expect of cotton, and the cloth has real weight.
The secret lies in "the weave".
Moleskin is a cloth made in a "satin weave".
Satin weave is counted as one of the three basic weaves, built on a repeat of five or more warp and weft threads; the floats are long, so that only the warp or only the weft appears on the face.
It is dense, thick, supple and smooth, with a strong sheen.
It was precisely because moleskin is so densely woven, so substantial and so supple that it was chosen as working dress for people who laboured in harsh conditions.
This piece is cut generously from black moleskin, rarer still than blue.
Black is so versatile that many people will have been looking for one.
Having actually been worn as workwear in its day, it is entirely practical.
Whatever the era, brand or condition, work jackets in black moleskin are few and far between.
All the more so when it is by Le Mont St Michel.
A piece by Le Mont St Michel commands particular respect within French workwear.
Its pieces are valued above those of other brands, and the older they are, the rarer they become.
It also has the much-loved details: a generously rounded collar, an A-line silhouette and V-shaped pockets.
The front buttons are papier-mâché (paper) buttons, often found on older pieces: another point in its favour.
Inside is the gold-on-black "embroidered label" characteristic of Le Mont St Michel.
Pieces bearing the embroidered label, emblematic of the older periods, are what many people are looking for.
Among Le Mont St Michel black moleskin pieces, the gold-on-black embroidered label holds a place apart.
Up to this period, the texture of the moleskin and the way it fades are in a class of their own, of a quality later decades cannot match.
The more you wear it, the softer and more substantial the moleskin feels, and its marbled fading is the greatest appeal of all.
The size label cannot be confirmed. Roughly equivalent to a Japanese "M ~ L".
Judging by the actual measurements, it is an ideal size for Japanese builds and should suit a wide range of frames.
It looks right whether worn true to size or oversized.
There are signs of use such as marks, scuffing, loose threads and replaced buttons, but no significant damage that would affect wear, so it has plenty of life left in it.
The inside of the cuffs has been hand-finished with blind stitching in a thread darker than the original stitching, which suggests the sleeves may have been shortened.
A work brand that holds an indispensable place in any account of French workwear: "Le Mont St Michel"
The brand's black moleskin jacket can fairly be called a perennial classic.
This is not the kind of thing money alone can buy, and there is no guarantee we will ever be able to offer another.
A piece that more than earns its place, whether in the wardrobe or in a collection.
Older black moleskin from Le Mont St Michel is so rare that we cannot promise another will come in, so if you have been looking, do not let this opportunity pass.