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Wednesday, 13 July 2016

A Great Coat Query

Usually if this blog touches on clothing it is items of a more feminine persuasion. And, let's face it, generally they are much more attractive than bloke things. Bloke things are pretty boring.

However on Saturday I went up to Sydney - to Newtown, specifically - on a shopping expedition. I didn't get what I went for, but I did come away with what appears to be some kind of Italian police or military greatcoat. I won't worry you with a picture of the exact item, because it needs  bit of a clean, but it's similar to this:

I promise to never do a photo of me wearing mine and doing this pose

Mine lacks the stars on the lapels (not worried about that) but, unfortunately, also lacks most of the buttons at the front - four of the six are missing.

What I'm wondering is how easy it would be to source some replacements. However I don't really know precisely what I'm searching for, so I thought that I would turn to my loyal blog readers and see if they can give me a more accurate ID on what I bought. This is what the buttons look like:


Any idea what that insignia is all about? On the back of the button are the words 'FMC, Napoli'. but I think that's just the maker.

If I can't find any replacements then I'll take off the two remaining buttons and just source six suitable buttons; I'd rather have them matching than accurate.


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9 comments:

  1. Doug13 July 2016 at 18:27

    Carabinieri I believe, no idea where you would source replacements.

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  2. Anonymous13 July 2016 at 19:02

    As Doug says they are Italian Carabinieri buttons. In the UK you could get similar UK military Brass buttons from a Military tailors in any of the major Army / Navy towns. I expect this would be the same for Italy. Otherwise try army surplus or second hand uniform stores.

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  3. Anonymous13 July 2016 at 20:37

    I agree, the symbol on the buttons looks like the "fiamma dei carabinieri", but as there are no letters in this version of it you might get away with UK grenadier types.

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  4. Anonymous14 July 2016 at 05:26

    http://www.divisebluestyle.com/divise-carabinieri/bottone-giacca-carabinieri.html

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    Replies
    1. Kaptain Kobold14 July 2016 at 07:03

      Thank you. All I need to do now is work out if the cost is worth the effort ;)

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    2. Unknown16 July 2016 at 06:19

      In Australia, the flaming bombs represent Artillery or Engineers. I have only seen them in gold metallic colour.

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    3. Kaptain Kobold16 July 2016 at 14:34

      Copied from the British no doubt :)

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  5. Mad Padre14 July 2016 at 08:32

    It's a lovely coat. As a bit of a fashionista myself, I would counsel you to go the other direction. Go to a tailor and ask if he can source some high end civilian fashion buttons, maybe a white bone or a gold. A bit of a civilian accent would make your coat less obviously surplus and more stylish.

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    Replies
    1. Kaptain Kobold15 July 2016 at 07:09

      Not sure if I've ever been called a 'fashionista' before, even by implication - not for my male wardrobe at least. My wife reckons that most of the time the one accessory I need to complete my outfits is a mangy dog on a piece of string.

      I have, however, picked up some gold-coloured buttons, because they seemed the cheapest option (they still cost me half what I paid for the coat), and will sew them on this weekend.

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