A Durable Indigo Dyed Cotton Boro Work Coat: Western Tailored Sleeves

early twentieth century
27" x 60", 68.5 cm x 152.5 cm

This very attractive, indigo dyed cotton work coat is shown inside-out in order to highlight its construction and its many areas of repair and mending.

This coat is probably more apt to be admired as art or to be studied for its construction than it is to be worn.

The "gun barrel" sleeves are extremely narrow and will most likely be too tight to fit into.

The cloth of the relatively small jacket is starched so it is a bit stiff and would be difficult to wear even if you were able to wiggle into it. A good deal of experience with starched Japanese cloth has proven that even when washed repeatedly the starch never completely leaves the fibers of the cloth.

Were this to be worn it would need to be worn by a small person. If you are interested in pursuing this and have questions feel free to make contact with them.

All that said, and it is important to note, this is a very handsome example of a work coat.

Aside from it being a traditional work garment it is also interesting to point out that the aforementioned "gun barrel" sleeves (so-called for obvious reasons) are cuffed at the end which shows that Western tailoring had widely seeped into Japanese culture, even in what must have been a rural area where this jacket was made. Metal tabs are used as closures.

The indigo dyed cotton is of good quality and the good amount of sashiko stitching on the patches is bold. 

All in all this is a very interesting coat and talks so much about rural Japan in days of yore, of repurposing and of the value of patching and mending to extend the life of cloth.

Very recommended.