1966 Bien Hoa Viet-Nam Tour Jacket, Embroidered Map, Tiger Head and Blue Dragon Sleeves, Black Cotton Twill
1966 Bien Hoa Viet-Nam Tour Jacket, Embroidered Map, Tiger Head and Blue Dragon Sleeves, Black Cotton Twill
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $89, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
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- Sizing
- Measured flat by hand, pit to pit and length, in centimetres · Find your size · Ask before you buy
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
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A 1966 tour jacket from Bien Hoa, home of the great air base outside Saigon, embroidered with a colour map of Indochina, a tiger head, the fortune character and blue dragons on both sleeves.
The Piece
Bien Hoa Air Base, twenty miles north-east of Saigon, was one of the busiest airfields of the war and the arrival point of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in 1965. A jacket naming Bien Hoa and dated 1966 comes from those early years of the build-up, before tour jackets became mass-produced.
The back reads 'BIEN HOA' in white capitals over a map of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in red, green, blue and yellow, with towns named down the coast, and '1966 VIET-NAM' beneath. On the front sit a green 福 and a gold tiger head; on each sleeve a blue dragon twists among clouds.
The shell is a black cotton twill in the Vietnamese tailored shape, with a shirt collar, full zip, slash pockets, an elastic-gathered hem and buttoned cuffs, lined in pale satin.
It is a small-to-medium fit: shoulder 44 cm, chest 52 cm, length 56 cm and sleeve 54 cm, so please check measurements.
Details
- Designer: Unsigned Vietnamese tour-jacket tailor
- Season: Dated 1966
- Model / ref: Vietnam tour jacket, Bien Hoa
- Material: Cotton twill shell; satin lining; rayon thread embroidery
- Colour: Black with pale lining
- Made in: Vietnam
- Tagged size: No size label (approx. modern S to M)
- Measurements: Shoulder 44 cm · Chest (pit to pit) 52 cm · Sleeve 54 cm · Length 56 cm
- Included: Jacket only
Condition
- Embroidery complete with good colour.
- Light fading and general wear to the black twill.
- Interior and lining only partly photographed; please ask for further images.
- Zip and cuff buttons present.
Condition grade B on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
The labels, materials, stitching, hardware and construction are examined together and documented in Japan before dispatch; anything that cannot be confirmed is stated plainly in the description. Every piece carries the Japonista authenticity guarantee. Hang on a broad hanger away from direct sun; spot-clean only, and leave any washing to a specialist used to vintage embroidery.
Delivery from Japan
Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything before you buy, and see our published policy.
Every figure above is taken by hand with the garment laid flat, in centimetres. Lay a shirt or jacket you already love beside them and allow a centimetre or two of margin, the quiet safeguard on a final sale. Our size guide to tops and jackets turns pit-to-pit figures into US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes, and for anything it leaves open the curator team replies within one Tokyo business day.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally.
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