In WWII the Army Air Forces-issued A-2 only came in different shades of russet and chestnut browns. Yet even during the 1940s those contractors who produced the A-2 for the military -- civilian jacket manufacturers in peacetime -- produced black A-2s for civil aviators. Thus "authenticity" is not a criterion (for those who think the A-2 in any but the AAF colors is heresy). After all, how many of us who love and wear A-2s flew in WWII to begin with? The vast majority of commercial A-2s displays yoked, 2-piece backs and 3-piece sleeves. It's more economical, of course, to use more pieces of leather than less in any application. The LOST WORLDS Black Horsehide A-2, in marked contrast, uses the AAF military construction: 1-piece back, 2-piece sleeve.  Khaki 100% Cotton Lining, Talon Zipper, 100% Wool Cuffs/Waistband, Brass Snaps, Nickel-plated brass Hook-and-Eye.

The question of military and non-military uncovers overlaps and peculiarities. AAF contract jackets made in Australia and India differ in crucial respects from the US government issue in pattern, detail and materials which simply couldn't be procured in far-off combat theaters. Yet in war movies of the period, where one might expect easy access to genuine AAF stocks for patriotic accuracy, authenticity was rarely an issue. Every wartime and postwar MGM production, for example, displays A-2s with 2-piece backs: check out Spencer Tracy in THIRTY SECONDS OF TOKYO (1944) and Robert Montgomery in John Ford's brilliant THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945) -- in the latter Montgomery plays famed PT boat skipper John Brickley but wears an A-2 anyway. In 20th Century Fox's TWELVE O' CLOCK HIGH star Gregory Peck appears to have a real one early in the movie but later wears an A-2 with a neck snap. Clearly these matters were influenced by what was in Wardrobe and how a particular jacket looked on camera and fitted the actor rather than strict period accuracy.

This brings us to another interesting and fully related matter: how come, we're asked every so often, LOST WORLDS jackets aren't in movies? Well, they are in movies, but behind the camera, on the backs of famed directors, writers and cameramen, to mention a few. They're not in front of the lens for, ironically, the very reason customers esteem our jackets: the great weight and firm hand require break-in and use. They're not over-drummed, rolled, to pre-soften, antique and give them that faux "been there" look right out of the box. (Any high performance engine has a break-in period, too.) Hence ours don't photograph the way they must for a movie: as if old, beaten-up, dull, faded, through-the-wars. Crap looks better on camera than quality very often! The great majority of movies are total crap anyway. Nice irony here too: the character of our jackets, so dramatically original and authentic, becomes the very factor to militate against their showing up in movies of similar historical periods. Hence the difference between reality and Hollywood! LOST WORLDS jackets are so real they frighten those who aren't real. Real men almost worship them!