The piece

Built by Alpha Industries in Knoxville, Tennessee — the historic contractor that has produced the M-65 for the US Army since 1959.

Officially designated Coat, Cold Weather, Man's Field, OG-107, this is the same specification worn through Vietnam and the post-war years, in continuous military use.

The shell is sateen cotton-nylon in the original OG-107 olive shade. Every detail matches military spec : four bellowed cargo pockets, drawstring waist and hem, concealed hood inside the collar, epaulets.

The brass Scovill zipper is the marker of authenticity here. Alpha Industries used Scovill brass before transitioning to lighter nickel-finish zippers at the turn of the 1980s — placing this jacket squarely in the mid-to-late 70s.

What makes this one different

When this jacket arrived in our hands, it still carried two brass U.S. collar discs pinned to the shoulder straps.

These insignia were originally worn on the collar of the Army Class A service uniform by enlisted personnel. The soldier this jacket once belonged to clearly transferred them to his field jacket — a small but telling act of personalisation.

We left them where we found them. They are not decoration. They are part of this jacket's biography.

Provenance

Hand-picked from a compressed military bale, sourced directly in the United States.

These bales are how serious vintage military pieces still circulate today — raw, untouched, often mixed in with utility shirts and cargo pants from the same era. We open them, we sort, and we keep only the pieces that earn their place.

Condition

Very good — honest wear.

The cotton has softened with time and developed a natural patina that no factory wash can replicate. The shell is structurally sound. All original buttons function. The brass Scovill zipper runs smoothly. The brass discs show the same gentle oxidation as the zipper hardware — confirming they've been on this jacket for decades.

Wear

The M-65 has outlived every uniform it was ever issued alongside.

Steve McQueen wore one in Bullitt. Robert De Niro wore one in Taxi Driver. Travis Bickle, John Rambo, half of New York in the 1980s.

Sixty years later, it still holds its shape on a body. Layered over a sweatshirt, a knit, or a thin shirt, it does what it was designed to do : disappear into a wardrobe and quietly outlast everything around it.

Spec

• Type — US Army Field Jacket M-1965
• Designation — Coat, Cold Weather, Man's Field, OG-107
• Manufacturer — Alpha Industries Inc., Knoxville TN, USA
• Era — Mid-to-late 1970s
• Zipper — Brass Scovill (original military contractor)
• Stock No. — 8415-00-782-2942
• Size — Large Regular (chest 41-45in / 104-114cm)
• Particularity — Original brass U.S. collar discs on shoulder straps