{"product_id":"50s-czechoslovakian-army-clouds-camouflage-reversible-smock-modified-2","title":"[~50's] Czechoslovakian Army Clouds Camouflage Reversible Smock \"Modified\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA ‘Clouds Camouflage Reversible Smock’ of the Czechoslovak People's Army, estimated to date from around the 1950s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA super special item has come in.\u003cbr\u003eAnd this time, it is the first collared example our shop has handled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday they are two separate countries, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, but from 1918 until 1992 they existed as one nation: Czechoslovakia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis piece was worn in the Czechoslovak People's Army of that era — \"Československá Lidová Armáda\" in the local tongue, CSLA for short.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat draws the eye is, above all, this singular camouflage.\u003cbr\u003eFrom the way its soft-edged blotches overlap it is called \"Clouds Camouflage\", a pattern particular to that army.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst adopted in the 1950s, it was established as an issued summer camouflage.\u003cbr\u003eFrom the 1950s into the 1970s it was supplied only to limited units, such as the 22nd Airborne Brigade and the army's snipers and reconnaissance troops.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough the pattern was in use for some twenty years, formal production itself is said to have been discontinued in 1962.\u003cbr\u003eWhich is to say, cloth printed with this pattern has not been made once in over sixty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd the greatest luxury of this piece is that it is reversible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne face carries two depths of olive rising against a pale green ground.\u003cbr\u003eThe other carries a reddish brown and a brighter olive scattered over a greyed yellow-brown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe green face is said to have been conceived for the spring forest, the brown face for the withered fields of autumn.\u003cbr\u003eWhen the season turns, you turn it inside out. One garment holding two expressions — a genuinely luxurious design, don't you think?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat deserves particular mention on this piece is that the colour has held firmly on both faces.\u003cbr\u003eMost examples of this pattern have faded, and the brown face in particular has usually blanched away to white.\u003cbr\u003eThe brown on this one leans, if anything, a touch more towards red-brown than the ones I usually see, and it is genuinely beautiful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet us look, in turn, at the details that define the model.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst, the collared specification, a first for our shop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery example we have presented so far has had a deep V-neck.\u003cbr\u003eOn this piece, a proper turn-down collar sits above that V opening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat one detail alone entirely changes the impression when worn.\u003cbr\u003eThe V-neck versions inevitably put their smock-like plainness forward, whereas with a collar it takes on the face of \"clothing\" at once.\u003cbr\u003ePersonally, I much prefer this.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd what I should very much like you to see are the countless narrow loops fitted across the body and the back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are called foliage loops, a device for actually inserting branches and grasses from the surroundings to break up the outline.\u003cbr\u003eConcealment by pattern alone was not enough: one wears real vegetation and dissolves completely into the landscape.\u003cbr\u003eEquipment belonging only to a garment issued to snipers and scouts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sight of them ranged across the whole of the back is quite a spectacle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a pullover type, put on over the head.\u003cbr\u003eFastened with a single button at the chest, thought out so it can be got on quickly even in a hurried situation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pockets are pass-through vertical pockets set at the middle of the body. (On this piece they have been sewn shut.)\u003cbr\u003ePass-through means a construction into which the hand can enter from either face — an inevitable consequence of being worn reversibly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition, buttoned patch pockets are provided.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA drawcord runs through the hem to adjust the gather.\u003cbr\u003eIn truth this cord is missing on most examples, but on this one it has survived intact. It may seem a small thing, but examples with such parts complete are, I think, few.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease note that this piece is a \"modified\" example, in which the large hood designed to go over a helmet and the gloves at the sleeve ends, both original fittings, were removed by a previous owner.\u003cbr\u003eThe shape is that much cleaner for it, so it has if anything become easier to wear as a modern garment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cloth is a relatively light cotton twill.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou may be imagining a heavy military cloth, but this is closer to the softness of a shirt.\u003cbr\u003eGiven that it was established as summer issue this is only natural, yet the lightness when you put it on may surprise you a little.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeing light, it serves through spring and autumn of course, and as something to throw on during summer evenings as well.\u003cbr\u003eAnd cotton of this kind gains in softness with every wash. It is already well broken in, but from here it should settle to the body further still.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe colour is spring green on one face, autumn brown on the other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the green face, the depths of olive spread quietly for a settled impression.\u003cbr\u003eOn the brown face, the contrast of reddish brown and beige takes effect for a warmer, more vivid expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChoosing which face to wear according to the mood of the day and the outfit.\u003cbr\u003eHaving that choice at all is surely the greatest pleasure of owning this piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pattern itself can carry the leading role, so keeping everything else simple is best, I think.\u003cbr\u003eBlack or charcoal bottoms, a plain layer beneath. That alone is quite enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo size marking can be confirmed, but judging from the measurements I should think it corresponds to a Japanese \"XL\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was conceived from the start as an over-smock worn on top of a uniform, so the body and armholes are made very generously.\u003cbr\u003eLarger builds will wear it without any trouble, and a smaller person wearing it deliberately oversized would look good too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are signs of use — soiling, abrasion, fraying, small holes and tears — but no significant damage that would affect wear, so there is plenty of life left in it.\u003cbr\u003eSome buttons have been replaced, damaged or lost, but none to a degree that hinders wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProduction of this pattern ended in 1962.\u003cbr\u003eThe printing screens, the factory that printed them, and the country itself no longer exist.\u003cbr\u003eIt is not something one could make simply by deciding to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn Eastern European camouflage of over sixty years ago, with two seasons sealed into a single garment.\u003cbr\u003eCould there be another piece this luxurious, and this difficult to come by?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VIEUX ET NOUVEAU","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47982200750258,"sku":"J01103","price":148000.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/2140\/3314\/files\/J01103-1_262b798f-9e01-45d1-8a21-c50266bb153c.jpg?v=1788335131","url":"https:\/\/vieuxetnouveau-shop.com\/en\/products\/50s-czechoslovakian-army-clouds-camouflage-reversible-smock-modified-2","provider":"VIEUX ET NOUVEAU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}