1990s, Daniel's Menshop, pure new wool, pinstripe

Measurements: 
Chest 54 cm, Length 78 cm, Shoulder 46 cm, Sleeve 64 cm
Chest 21.3 in, Length 30.7 in, Shoulder 18.1 in, Sleeve 25.2 in

This garment is a men’s single-breasted tailored jacket cut in a dark pure new wool suiting with a contrasting vertical pinstripe. The probable production date is circa 1990s, with a broader plausible range extending from the late 1980s into the early 2000s. Material labeling indicates pure new wool certified under the Woolmark system, and the garment appears to have been produced through a conventional industrial tailoring program for regional menswear retail rather than bespoke commission or couture workroom manufacture. The retailer identification points to Daniel's Menshop, with a distribution footprint across Bonn, Aachen, and Koblenz, placing the jacket within German multi-location specialist menswear commerce. Its significance lies less in authorship hierarchy than in its representative value as a disciplined late twentieth-century German retail tailoring piece using standardized suiting conventions, commercially viable wool cloth, and conservative businesswear patterning.

I. Primary Materials, Textile Structure & Fabric Performance

The outer cloth is identified by label as pure new wool and reads as a medium-weight suiting with a firm hand and stable body suitable for a tailored jacket rather than a soft unstructured coat. The stripe is woven into the cloth rather than applied as surface decoration, and the ground appears dark black or very deep navy with a light vertical pinstripe that reinforces the formal businesswear category. The lining is synthetic in character, likely acetate, viscose, polyester, or a blend common to retail suiting of the period, selected for ease of sleeve passage and cost control rather than luxury handle. Interfacing is present in the front body and lapel area, with the internal behavior suggesting a factory-applied chest structure rather than a fully hand-shaped canvas build. Wool of this kind typically retains reasonable tensile stability and crease recovery, though it is susceptible to shine at friction points, sleeve-edge abrasion, moth vulnerability, and gradual seam-edge thinning if repeatedly worn.

II. Construction Method, Pattern Development & Production Discipline

The jacket is best understood as industrial tailored manufacture produced to retail standard rather than individual commission. Pattern development follows a conventional men’s suiting block with symmetrical front balance, standard notch lapels, a two-button closure, welted breast pocket, and straight flapped hip pockets. The assembly sequence appears consistent with factory tailoring practice: front panels structured first, pockets set into the fronts, shoulder and side seams closed, sleeves inserted, lining applied, and hems and facings finished in a standard interior program. Stripe management is competent though not exacting in the manner associated with high-grade bespoke or top-tier atelier tailoring; the emphasis is orderly presentation within scalable production tolerances. No size tag is retained, and no obvious evidence of major recutting or panel replacement is present, though the absence of a retained size label may indicate label loss, retailer re-tagging, or ordinary wear-related removal over time.

III. Structural Design, Silhouette Engineering & Technical Resolution

The garment is built on a conventional late twentieth-century men’s jacket architecture with moderate shoulder definition, a straight body line, and sufficient length to sit within business suiting proportions rather than abbreviated fashion tailoring. Closure placement and lapel break are standard for a two-button front, producing a controlled V-shaped opening without extreme suppression at the waist. The shoulder line appears lightly structured, probably with thin shoulder pads and modest sleeve-head support, enough to stabilize the upper body without exaggerated volume. The front facings, pocket welts, cuff buttons, and center front closure are all integrated according to standard suiting practice, and the internal hanging loop further supports its role as a retail-tailored garment intended for practical wardrobe use. There is no persuasive indication of later structural re-engineering, although ordinary pressing history and storage may have softened some of the original edge definition.

IV. Surface Treatment, Finish, Coloration & Material Handling

The cloth finish is that of a conventional suiting wool, likely milled and pressed to achieve a clean business surface with low pile and moderate visual depth. The stripe contrast remains legible and appears woven with sufficient consistency to maintain the vertical order central to the jacket’s formal reading. Surface wear is currently limited, with no severe breakdown evident in the cloth, though some minor lint adherence and light handling accretions are consistent with dark wool garments in secondary circulation. The lining shows ordinary creasing associated with use and storage rather than structural failure. There is no compelling evidence of overdyeing, heavy restoration, or patch-based repair, and the finish remains within the expected range for a garment that has seen normal wear but not prolonged neglect.

V. Garment Type, Formal Design Language & Fashion Historical Placement

This is a men’s tailored suit jacket or blazer-form jacket executed in pinstriped wool suiting and aligned with business dress conventions rather than leisure tailoring or ceremonial uniform. Its formal language is based on vertical emphasis, dark ground, notch lapel tailoring, and a measured silhouette that avoids aggressive fashion distortion. The cut corresponds well to late twentieth-century continental menswear, especially the commercial tailoring traditions that persisted in German regional retail through the 1980s and 1990s, when conservative suiting remained central to office, trade, and formal urban dress. The pinstripe places the jacket within a long lineage of professional menswear associated with metropolitan tailoring, financial dress codes, and postwar European suit commerce. Its proportions and textile choice position it within a durable category of business-oriented suiting rather than designer-led experimental fashion.

VI. Designer, Brand, Manufacturing Context & Market Position

The named entity here is a retailer rather than an identified designer house. Daniel's Menshop appears to have operated as a regional menswear business serving Bonn, Aachen, and Koblenz, which suggests a specialist retail network offering commercial tailored clothing through multi-city distribution rather than in-house couture or bespoke workshop production. In this framework, the jacket was likely sourced from a contract manufacturer or produced under a private-label arrangement for sale through the shop’s menswear program. The Woolmark certification supported fiber assurance and commercial trust in the period, signaling material quality within a mainstream retail environment rather than luxury exclusivity. The intended customer was likely a middle-market male buyer seeking durable formal or office suiting with recognizable professional coding and acceptable wool quality at a manageable price point.

VII. Probable Origin, Provenance Framework & Attribution Threshold

The most probable origin is German retail distribution, with manufacture either in Germany or within a nearby European production network supplying German menswear shops during the late twentieth century. Attribution to Daniel's Menshop as retailer is direct, while attribution to a specific maker or tailoring workshop remains unresolved due to the absence of a manufacturing label naming a producer. The Woolmark label confirms certified fiber content but does not establish geographic manufacture on its own. The place names Bonn, Aachen, and Koblenz locate the sales context firmly within western Germany and support a regional commercial provenance framework. This is therefore best catalogued as a German-market retail tailored jacket with probable late twentieth-century European manufacture and no defensible assignment to a named designer or proprietary tailoring house.

VIII. Preservation State, Alteration Record & Archival Handling

The jacket appears structurally stable for normal archival handling and study use. The wool shell retains body, the lapel and front closure remain coherent, and the lining, while creased, does not indicate collapse or major tearing. No substantial evidence of resizing, hem reset, sleeve shortening, or closure substitution is apparent from the available material record, though the missing size tag should be recorded as a minor loss within the labeling system. Standard care risks apply: wool is vulnerable to insect activity, prolonged pressure can distort lapel roll and shoulder line, and dark linings may reveal strain late in the life of the garment if hung continuously without support. At present it reads as materially intact, lightly used, and not significantly reworked.

IX. Market Standing, Comparative Category Placement & Value Estimation

A reasonable current market range is $85 to $110. This valuation reflects the jacket’s sound material basis in pure new wool, its competent late twentieth-century tailoring, and its usable measurements, while also accounting for the absence of designer-level authorship, the lack of a retained size tag, and the broad supply of comparable non-luxury vintage mens suiting on the secondary market. Within the general vintage trade, this piece has moderate liquidity as a wearable wool pinstripe jacket, particularly for buyers interested in German menswear retail traditions or understated period suiting. Specialist costume stock may value it for accurate late twentieth-century business dress typology, but institutional acquisition would usually require stronger authorship, provenance, or exceptional period specificity. Its monetary position rests on fabric quality, condition, and category utility rather than rarity alone.