I've been slightly obsessed with the Mexican Tourist Jacket since seeing one on Shelley Duvall in "The Shining".
Over the years I've come across articles or photos or actual examples of the jacket which peaked my interest even more. This great article from the fantastic Atomic Redhead blog provides a nice summary of the history of the Mexican Tourist Jacket as well as lovely pictures of the different versions that can be found. Piecework magazine also had a great article with a little history on the embroidery used on the jackets. I also loved this article from The Animal Quilter which again has a bunch of great pics of different styles of these jackets and has some additional insights on the history of the period and the popularity of these jackets.
Most recently on our trip to Tuscon last year, I ran into a lovely version of the jacket, framed on the wall of El Charro where we stopped for lunch.
This last run in made me decide that I needed to look into getting my own version of the jacket. I shopped a bit online, and while I think I will probably buy one of the vintage jackets I saw online, I ultimately decided that I'd like the challenge of creating my own jacket: both for the basic sewing challenge and the opportunity to use the colors I like and personalize it a bit.
I bought a recreation of a McCalls vintage pattern for the coat from Revival Designed. I'm not sure if they still have that particular pattern, but I've seen other versions online.
I loved the yellow of the jacket that Shelley Duvall wore in The Shining, but ultimately I decided to go with more of a bright green felt. At this point, I've cut out the pattern pieces, and now I'm starting on the embroidery for each section before putting it all together.
It's a bit of an undertaking but I'm excited about all that I'll learn from this project and hopefully come out with a super cute jacket at the end!
Lastly, if you're not into making our own vintage jacket, or if you're not into vintage at all, I've seen new, reimagined versions of the jacket, including this version from Double D Ranch in suede!
I'm looking forward to sharing my finished version of this classic with everyone!
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