Double Goose, double the choice

The timeless style of a leather goose down "buff" jacket has been the topic of several of my blog entries. I can't help it, I get into these buying sprees whenever I see my size (small.)

The v-stitching is my favorite. And I still wake in a cold sweat for not picking up one of the v-stitch sleeveless vests that were sold in a store in Soho, London in the 90s. So, prompted by some recent Facebook chatter amongst my mates (Dexter, it's your fault!), I ended up discovering the nylon v-stitch bomber from the rejuvenated Double Goose brand.

Double Goose, Wellgosh store

The Double Goose has undergone a renaissance which I had happily ignored until now! After all, why get a new goose jacket when you have the original old one? Unless of course it's improved in some way...and a nylon shell is that improvement. Not only is it more weatherproof, but it's also lighter. And for of you that know me, it's cheaper too! ;) Wellgosh in the Midlands area of England has put itself on the map by stocking these very limited availability jackets.

Pop Up, Poppin'! If you were lucky enough to be in New York this winter you would have had the chance to visit the Double Goose pop-up store in the Reed Annex space. This flying visit is becoming a habit as this is the third year such a shopping event has been organized. Open till December 22nd!

For the third year, Double Goose @ Reed Annex, NYC

Check out the beautiful metal zip accessories made by French jewelry designer Anjuna Bijoux.

Back in 2008 adidas paid homage to Double Goose Country #bboy

A trip back to 2008...I had to write about these long past sneakers from adidas. No sign of them on eBay! :(

I'm not big on some of the mash-ups created by collabs fever, but this adidas x Double Goose mash-up had to be shared. I don't care if summer is approaching...a leather goose down jacket is dope. So, by association adidas sneakers made in a goose jacket's image are dope too!

Check out the buff leather padding....is that styled on the Double Goose V-bomber style?

Triple FAT Goose...back on the block!

Were you in New York back in the late 80s and early 90s? The Double Goose Country was hot, but then came the Triple FAT Goose brand. I bought my first Triple FAT bomber jacket (too big) from SPE Sports in Ladbroke Grove, London. Then another one on Fordham Road in the Bronx, but this time a long black cotton parka that was on the cover of III Most Wanted's album. You remember ;) "Calm Down"!



Revival So, anyway I got an email telling me Triple FAT has been resurrected and the jackets are in stores now?! Wahhhhht?!

"Once king of the goose down game, Triple FAT Goose's ending their fifteen year hiatus and bringing the Fall/Winter line online for the first time today, merging functional outdoor gear with modern fashion to heretofore unseen success that totally freaks out geese."

Now it's been a few years, but I haven't grown much since the 90s and I'm still a size "small", so the Dr. Jays "large" won't be getting my business...not even a Hong Kong tailor can help alter these babies. Hahaha.

Know what I'm sayin'? Even though I'm in LA where it doesn't get much cooler than 15c I still fiend after the goose downs. I got myself a Double Goose Country from the 90s with the bubble stitch to add to my collection. But I'm still seeking the bubble or v-stitch vest.

Nooo way...BBC dig in the archives for $2,500

How much will people pay for Billionaire's Boy Club stuff? How about $2,500 (euro 1,900) for a leather jacket? I found this whilst checking out 'We Sold Out', a great French store from Colette and Lamjc.

But, this is no ordinary coat...it's a copy of the B-Boy New York classic, aka 'buff jacket'....I bought my original one in the summer of 1988 in LES/Chinatown during my first trip to NYC.

Picture this: 100F (30c) heat, me in the back of this Jewish-run leather store in the LES:
"Do you have any goose jackets?", I ask.
"Hooose jakcets?", was the reply...
"No...", I exclaimed, "Goose..!" as I flapped my arms like a bird's wings.
The owner went into the back of the store and pulled out my polished black leather, V-quilt, Double Goose Country. It's made in Korea, but when I was in Seoul in 1994-5 I never saw any for sale ;-)

This jacket is one of my treasures from the ol' skool. I lent it to the Victoria & Albert Museum for the Streetstyle exhibition in back in 1994. I found a book with the collection in and this photo of the outfit I put together, including my leather adidas track pants and adidas Run DMC sweatshirt.

I was inspired and looked on eBay for leather goose-down jackets. Yeah, I know I live in LA, but this is historic! Anyway, I found one ~ and it was size 'Small' ~ like mine in the pic shown here. The main difference is this one is a 'box'-quilt, not a V-quilt ~ look closely ;-). But, they are all a piece of 80s NYC! Amazing!



I thought to myself, "how much is this worth now? How much is it to me, and what's a good price?" Here's my approximation: 1988 my jacket was $200. So, 20 years later how much is this deadstock, totally hard to find jacket worth? How much considering one of my new adidas jackets was $300. Ummm. Finger in the air guestimate: "$400"..."$500"..."$600"...I settled for "$700" in Ezsniper as there was a guy in the UK interested and those pesky Brits ;-) have a GBP1/USD2 exchange rate, so I had to step it up! Anyway, I won the coat for $489, but I was ready to spend a chunk!

B-Boy 4 Life!