MartinN Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Anyone know where I can get a copy of a WW2 RAF shirt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAFMT Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 The short answer is no. The long answer is nobody does them. If you're looking to do an officers uniform then if you can track down a light blue end-on-end shirt that should be passable. I found a period shirt of the correct colour that just about fitted me (thankfully!) on ebay a number of years back. It's mostly a case of just keeping your eyes peeled, particularly in vintage clothing stores (Camden is where i've found a lot of surprises) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinN Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 To make matters worse I was after a other ranks shirt. An American company ,what price glory, are selling a reproduction are these any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAFMT Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Ah, so a sensible man- none of that commissioning rubbish for us, eh? They're the closest thing out there (not to say the only thing out there!) and they're good, as long as your willing to pay the $48 for them. TBH, if anyone is going to nitpick over the minor differences they deserve, nay they're asking, for impromptu dental surgery;) A friend of mine, who's quite an experienced chap when it comes to uniforms, considers the WPG shirts to be an essential, and despairs over the number of people who just by a vaguely raf blue coloured shirt from M&S or similar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinN Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Dad was an OR in the RAF in WW2 as was I in the eighties. I am afraid I cannot be an officer as I put my tomato sauce all over my dinner not a blob on the side of my plate. I will go with the WPG shirt bit pricey but worth it I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch Harry Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Dad was an OR in the RAF in WW2 as was I in the eighties. I am afraid I cannot be an officer as I put my tomato sauce all over my dinner not a blob on the side of my plate. I will go with the WPG shirt bit pricey but worth it I think. Before you do rush in and order from WPG please factor in the possibility of getting hammered buy various charges/duties which wont be cheap. Not trying to put you off in any way just wanted to(incase you werent already)make you aware of the nasty charges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I bought a WPG RAF shirt recently.......ordered on a Friday afternoon and arrived from Dubai by Monday....better service than from within the UK.........post was about £12, and the shirt cost £32............... It IS a damn fine copy........correctly cut (baggy, with huge tails), pullover style and comes with two detachable collars as per originals.....(no studs to attach though but that's a minor point)......... Best of all, it is made in a heavy cotton of a really excellent grey-blue shade close to the originals that varied in shade anyway...........BUT, they have got the weave of the cotton dead right for the WW2 style, different to the post-war versions............it really is excellent........ I take a 17-17 & 1/2 collar so, allowing for shrinkage, ordered a "XL" (they don't come in collar sizes) and the fit is spot-on !!! Great value for such a decent reproduction.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colebrook Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Yes you definitely need an end on end fabric (blue and white warp/weft mix) to get the right look. Some vintage police and postal workers shirts were very similar using an end on end fabric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unionjack Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 W.P.G. Make the only repro. "O.A." (not "O.R." in the R.A.F.!) shirts. As well as police, old British Fire service shirts are pretty good, you just have to remove the pockets and epaulettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 W.P.G. Make the only repro. "O.A." (not "O.R." in the R.A.F.!) shirts. As well as police, old British Fire service shirts are pretty good, you just have to remove the pockets and epaulettes. Quite right !!!! The older police, fire, etc, shirts are a fair representation, but more suitable for 50s-60s era rather than wartime..........the OA wartime shirts were in a quite distinctive tight weave quite unlike anything thereafter, and the WPG garment has captured this pattern rather well............it's all down to the degree of accuracy and "look" that you are setting out to achieve ............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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