Ok Marines, once again we are trying to come to some form of consensus here.
So we are beginning at the beginning: which jacket should be used as the base for the Dress Blues project?
1- A USMC Dress Blues jacket:
Pros-
Has the overall shape we all like: high collar, long coat (as opposed to short "Ike" jacket). Relatively available and affordable.
Cons-
Must have several alterations and CM patches added to set it apart from being a USMC uniform (clearly the last source of contention with this project). Might not be available in everyone's size.
2- Custom Honor Guard jacket (IE Marlow White):
Pros-
Not a USMC jacket, so we are open to however we would like to customize it. Tailor made to everyone's size requirements.
Cons-
Price.
Going with a cheap version would be unacceptable- the materials and workmanship must be high quality. If the custom option wins, we can still make the effort to see if a reduction in price (such as a group order) is at all possible.
On the other hand if the USMC jacket wins, I would not want Derek (DevilDog) to be inundated with requests for a new jacket. They are on ebay and are averaging $100 (they seem to be slightly in demand as the Marine Corps birthday approaches- Nov 10th).
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