Vintage Pure New Wool luxury Mondi 18th century military look fitted gilet jacket swashbuckling New Romantic 1990s 1980s Highwayman Pirate
Amazing fitted archaic 18th century style military gilet for swashbuckling adventures in your frilly sleeves and thigh boots! From Mondi's early 1990s collection in Pure New wool it is pure luxury.
It's a size UK 8 poss 10. I am a size 8.
Watch the video as it is part of our 1990s does 18th century collection! And get Metallica up on another tab on you tube and play from 20 seconds in while you watch so you know the context!
It is black perhaps extremely dark navy with dark green buttonhole detail and collar with thick gold braided embellishment really looks the business. While the period military look keeps coming back into fashion largely because most of us girls like all that romance and heroism of pirates and highwaymen, and like to appropriate a bit of that vibe for ourselves with the thigh boots n 'all, you will struggle to find this kind of quality. At the time, Ralph Lauren and Vivienne Westwood joined Mondi with that dipping in to history to inspire, and later in the 90s, the look was adapted by rock chicks and fashionistas with leather pants and the frilly shirts and later a bit of labels like Dark Star. . Within a few years of the start of the decade the look was back with the likes of All Saints and Temperley in particular. But, there is no finer quality than these pieces and you will struggle to find certainly not in the high st interpretation of the look. And if you want to pull it off seek quality as that never goes out of fashion only mass tat dates.
And when this arrived with me came same week as another Mondi jacket from that collection (which was worn with tartan and velvet at the time and the label was favoured by Princess Diana who also liked her archaic military romantic looks), and a Laura Ashley velvet ballgown, and a gorgeous red cashmere & wool fit and flare coat. So I looked at them laid out, and immediately the song of the late 1990s came in to my head, and the story with it. An Irish tale of Opportunity and Betrayal, of Romance and Tragedy, a song which dates back to the late 17th early 18th century, a time of soldiers of fortune and highwaymen (and women yes there were including noblewoman Katherine Ferrers base of the story for 'The wicked Lady' 1945 with Margaret Lockwood.
The particular version (there are many) of that song was written by Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy in the 1970s, but covered superbly by Metallica. It is of course 'Whiskey in the Jar' !
"As I was goin' over
The Cork and Kerry Mountains
I saw Captain Farrell
And his money, he was countin'
I first produced my pistol
I then produced my rapier
I said, "Stand and deliver oh, or the devil he may take ya" "
screamed at me it did so decided to do a video story full version of which you can catch on my Insta, with all four garments. I play all four characters apart from the Devil provided by AI art. So I suppose my pronouns are they/them for this heh ! Though as I say there were female highway women too.
See to me , fashion should be about fantasy I can't be doing with all that boring utility wear and I detested it when corporates started making us wear crappy polyester and dressing down. When I worked in a dept store in the 90s ladies fashion & cosmetics to start with we were meant to lead by example and sport these looks and did so with a bit of swagger I think and inspired others to adopt and adapt to their own style. Fashion was exciting back then, wasn't about a boring bag with a fancy label and price.
"Being drunk and weary
I went to Molly's chamber
Takin' Molly with me
But I never knew the danger
For about six or maybe seven
Yeah, in walked Captain Farrell
I jumped up, fired my pistols
And I shot him with both barrels"
Well you will have to watch the video in full to see what led to that and I've put my own spin on it, and the outcome.
Safe to say however you won't feel in ball and chain in it it is soooo comfortable.
I want the person who buys this to wear it with the swagger it deserves, and so you will need a bit of that highway woman cavalier attitude yourself. Stand and Deliver...... "it's your money that we want and your money we shall have " as Adam and the Ants sang in Jolly Roger, but we need your commitment to the cause too! Adam also sported the look in the Stand and Deliver video. So the New Romantics couldn't get back into these togs fast enough when Mondi rebooted the look in the early 90s.
The 17th & 18th centuries of course saw the rise of the wool trade and Britain and Ireland becoming a world leader with British wool providing whole armies with clothes often on opposing sides. Now that has declined sadly which is nuts if we are serious about sustainability as recycled polyester won't feed us too or stand the test of time. While Mondi were a West German company this has the Woolmark, and rest assured in finest Pure New Wool this is a piece of luxury and you deserve it don't you girl? You will have to get your own musketeer bandolier apostle gunpowder flasks and tricorn hat though heh heh. Incidentally the tricorn or tricorne hat came in at this time late 17th century as the Spanish/Dutch soldiers in the War of Spanish Succession sewed their broad brimmed unblocked hats up when they got floppy in the rain as they were a pain when taking aim with their muskets so they needed clear view. The look remained in style for the next 200 years. Then we saw Adam Ant and the New Romantics sporting them in the 80s and Princess Diana in the early 90s.
Flintlock and load....