I'm done, guys. I'm done. I have spent the past week devoting an unreasonable amount of time to this hunt, and I have just ended up right back where I started. Brochillington definitely came through with the right info on the parka; multiple comparisons to screenshots even from season two match up with it perfectly. It is most certainly a United Pioneer split hood parka, in style 90B or possibly 91T. Here's my rundown of events:
- Placed an order on PrimoUniform.com for a 90B parka.
- Got an email from Primo Uniform saying all split hood parkas from United Pioneer have been discontinued, and that they have none in stock.
- Called United Pioneer directly and spoke with the main person in charge. He told me that the last split hood parka was made 12 years ago and that they only had examples left in huge sizes (I'm talking 12X – yeah, I didn't know they made sizes that big either). He said they have no plans on bringing them back, unless it was a bulk order of like 3,000.
- Found a very similar style United Pioneer split hood parka (94B; same exact everything except longer at the bottom, also long since discontinued) available only in medium and in navy blue in the clearance section on MagidGlove.com.
- Placed an order on MagidGlove.com.
- Got a confirmation email from Magid Glove saying my order was awaiting shipment.
- Called Magid Glove to ask whether they had anything in 90B or 91T; they said they don't, but that they're also showing negative inventory for 94B (the one I ordered).
- Multiple calls over the course of two days resulted in finding out that they had four 94Bs in stock at the beginning of October, but the last one was ordered on October 30th and was shipped out before I even ordered mine; their inventory hadn't been updated when I placed my order.
- Found another website that carried 94B, but they also said they only have them in huge sizes.
- Emailed SchoolUniforms.com about the parka that sctcarts linked above, but received no reply. Note: This parka is not made by United Pioneer. You can tell the difference from the front pockets.
- Called SchoolUniforms.com to ask about the parka anyway, and the salesperson said they have zero in stock and that the manufacturer, Eagle Work Clothes, is no longer in business.
- Called Bdus.com that had the same parka listed, but realized it was literally just the same company with a different website.
- Called AllSeasonsUniforms.com, who has a United Pioneer catalog listed on their website, but they said they don't actually carry any inventory; they order directly from United Pioneer.
So yeah. That's where I am. Lots of leads but zero actual results. I guess it makes sense for an item that was discontinued in 2005 to leave lots of traces on various outdated websites, but ultimately offer no tangible examples. Throughout this search, I was told by several of these companies that they could contact the "vendor" (United Pioneer) on my behalf to ask if they could get more in stock, but I saved them the trouble by telling them the item had been discontinued (something that most of them didn't know). I even went as far as finding one of the show's costume designers (seemingly the only one on social media) and asking them about the parka, but I have received no reply yet.
I have literally turned the internet UPSIDE DOWN for this, and I have still come up empty-handed. My guess, as far as where the show got these, is that they bought them from a warehouse that specializes in costumes for movies and shows of the like – somewhere that doesn't advertise or sell to the public. That's just a wild guess, and I could be wrong... but I can't imagine where else a costume designer could find multiple examples in the same size of an obscure parka discontinued in 2005, in 2016. We could theorize that they were all made for the show, but the onscreen similarities to the United Pioneer 90B/91T are just too close of a match to say otherwise.
If anyone has any more leads, please update us. I'm personally looking for one in medium, in case anyone finds one.