An estimated 1940s 'Black Moleskin Work Jacket' by Adolphe Lafont.
A special arrival.
"Adolphe Lafont", one of the most popular of all French workwear brands
Adolphe Lafont is a brand founded in Lyon, France, in 1844 by "Louis Lafont", a pedlar from the Pyrenees.
It began as a fabric shop, to which Louis's son added a tailoring workshop.
Later, Louis's grandson, "Adolphe Lafont", began making the work clothes that would become its foundation.
The first item made was a pair of corduroy carpenter trousers.
In 1896 he registered his own name, 'Adolphe Lafont', and after clothing generations of workers, he died in 1952.
From Adolphe Lafont, then, a brand with more than 180 years of history, comes the "Black Moleskin Jacket", an enduring staple of French workwear.
A piece in "Moleskin", one of the great staple fabrics of French vintage.
As the name suggests, it is said to have been so called because the fabric feels like the skin of a mole.
Touch it and you will see: it has a smoothness and a thickness you would not expect from cotton.
The secret lies in "how the yarn is woven".
Moleskin is a fabric made in what is called a "satin weave".
Satin weave is considered one of the three foundational weaves, built on five or more warp and weft threads; its 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 lustre.
It is precisely because moleskin is so densely woven, so substantial and so supple that it was adopted as work clothing for people labouring in harsh conditions.
This piece is made generously in black moleskin, even scarcer and rarer than blue moleskin.
Black is so versatile that many people are surely looking for it.
This piece in particular has faded with age to a colour like 'ink black', and has a wonderful atmosphere.
Here and there are what appear to be paint marks, a reminder of its life as real "work clothing".
It was actually used as workwear in its day, so its function is beyond question.
Whatever the period, brand or condition, work jackets in black moleskin are scarce and highly collectable.
What is more, it is by Adolphe Lafont, which makes it all the more so.
Adolphe Lafont pieces hold a special place in French workwear.
Their value is higher than that of other brands, and the older the piece, the rarer it becomes.
The large rounded collar, the front buttons set slightly high, the single stitching: details that speak of an early period are another good point.
Inside is the label particular to Adolphe Lafont: a red-on-black "embroidered label".
Among embroidered labels it belongs to an early period, and seems most often found on pieces up to around the 1940s.
The marked size cannot be read, but it corresponds roughly to a Japanese "M".
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 fading, marks, abrasion and small holes, but no significant damage that would affect wear, so it has plenty of life left in it.
The workwear brand no account of French workwear can do without: "Adolphe Lafont"
Pieces from early periods in particular become noticeably scarcer.
As a wardrobe piece, of course, and as a collector's item too, it leaves nothing to be desired.
A black moleskin jacket by Adolphe Lafont is a piece that seldom comes into our shop, so if you have been looking for one, do not let this chance pass.