The leather car coat

Here’s my question: Is this oxblood leather car coat, circa late 1970s, vintage-cool or just costumey?


I found it (the tag reads “Berman’s, the leather experts”; the company has since been absorbed by Wilson Leather) in a resale shop on one of the “special finds” racks, which often means someone who doesn’t necessarily know a Missoni from a Mossimo slaps inflated prices on a bunch suede skirt suits and jewel-toned mermaid dresses. But this coat — in mint condition and featuring stitch work on the cuffs and yoke, a tie belt and the extra button still hermetically sealed in plastic — was a steal at $10.

And yet, as much as I love all things 70s, this is a hard coat to pull off. Not sure if it’s the color, the cut, or my own overly active imagination, but when I’m wearing it I can’t help but feel like an extra on The Mod Squad. (The following picture is from the 1999 movie version staring Claire Danes.)