1968-69 Phu Bai Vietnam Poncho Liner Tour Jacket, Quilted Leaf-Pattern Camouflage, Chain-Stitch Lettering
1968-69 Phu Bai Vietnam Poncho Liner Tour Jacket, Quilted Leaf-Pattern Camouflage, Chain-Stitch Lettering
- 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 $54, 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.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
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- Sizing
- Measured flat by hand, pit to pit and length, in centimetres · Find your size · Ask before you buy
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
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A tour jacket tailored from a US Army camouflage poncho liner, chain-stitched 'VIETNAM PHU BAI 68 69' across the back: the quilted, leaf-pattern piece that has become a cult object for military and workwear collectors.
The Piece
The nylon poncho liner, issued from the mid-1960s, was the most beloved item a soldier in Vietnam carried, a blanket, sleeping bag and pillow in one. Local tailors cut liners into collared zip jackets for men going home, and the result, quilted in wavy lines and printed in green and brown leaf camouflage, is one of the most distinctive garments of the war.
This jacket names Phu Bai, the Marine and Army combat base south of Hue, with 'VIETNAM' in large cream capitals and 'PHU BAI 68 69' below. The chain-stitched lettering passes through both layers and can be read from the inside, where the lighter green reverse of the liner shows.
It is cut with a point collar, a metal zip, a welt chest pocket, two lower patch pockets and buttoned cuffs with olive plastic buttons, the shape of a shirt-jacket rather than a bomber, which is why it wears so easily.
Measured flat: shoulder 46 cm, chest 52.5 cm, length 66.5 cm and sleeve 64 cm, a modern medium with a longer body.
Details
- Designer: Unsigned Vietnamese tailor, made from US Army issue poncho liner
- Season: Dated 1968-69
- Model / ref: Poncho liner tour jacket, Phu Bai
- Material: Quilted nylon poncho liner with polyester fill; chain-stitch embroidery
- Colour: Green and brown leaf camouflage
- Made in: Vietnam
- Tagged size: No size label (approx. modern M)
- Measurements: Shoulder 46 cm · Chest (pit to pit) 52.5 cm · Sleeve 64 cm · Length 66.5 cm
- Included: Jacket only
Condition
- Several holes and abrasions to the left sleeve and cuff, with fill showing, as pictured.
- Fraying at the cuffs and edges.
- General fading and marks throughout.
- Lettering complete and legible.
- Zip works.
Condition grade C 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. Hand-wash cool or spot-clean only and dry flat; the nylon is fragile at the worn areas.
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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