Stranger Things: Chief Jim Hopper's winter jacket?

Flynn

New Member
Hi folks,

I'm trying to find a good match for Chief Jim Hopper's navy blue winter jacket that we see him briefly wearing towards the end of Stranger Things S01E08. You'd think that the patches would be the hardest thing to replicate, but fortunately those are both readily available and affordable. I just need to find an accurate replica of his jacket. Any leads?

Thanks so much!

Screen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.15.16 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.15.41 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.15.50 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.15.55 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.16.09 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.16.15 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.16.38 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.16.44 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-11-27 at 3.17.06 AM.png
 
Here's another picture of the jacket for reference.

CmseuDjWAAAt1CN.jpg

I went to my local surplus store the other night and unfortunately didn't find anything like it. The character himself is a police chief in Indiana in 1983 – so whatever the real jacket is, it can't be too expensive, right? I mean, we're probably not looking at a Dolce & Gabbana garment here, right?

...Anyone? Anyone? I would really appreciate any help. I've had zero leads so far.
 
I think I found it. I've ordered the vintage jacket to try, but it seems to tick all the boxes.

Civilian B-9 Parka - Military B-11 Sherpa Lined Flight Jacket - Korean War era - Air Force[/h]
il_fullxfull.1171572879_sths.jpgil_fullxfull.1184564486_dgam.jpg
The only difference I can see is it has little added on leather "darts" on the upper pocket slits, but it would fit the time period for surplus, has the split hood, the buttons, the zipper, and the blue sherpa lining on the hood, and the quilted blue lining inside.

I'll post pictures of it once it's in hand. I've already got the flag and Hawkins patches for it.
 
Wow, at last! Almost a year later, someone replies!

Your jacket does look very similar to the screen-used one, aside from the differences you mentioned. I actually picked up a vintage one from the '60s made by Butwin, but sadly it's neither my size nor is it as accurate as yours seems to be.

The conclusion that I have come to is that the jacket was custom made by hand for the show. So far, we have only seen Hopper wearing this jacket, but it's not out of the question for us to see other characters in the police department wearing similar ones in season two. When you think about the logistics of fitting different actors (each with different measurements) with the same jacket and also having enough duplicates on hand in case anything goes wrong, using real and rare vintage jackets that you would likely only be able to find one example of online just doesn't make sense. The costume department likely used one authentic example as the basis on which to make all their custom-fit duplicates for the show.

Even if Hopper ends up being the only character who wears this jacket, the costume designer(s) would have had to make sure the jacket fit him perfectly for the show – and the chances of a rare vintage jacket bought on eBay or Etsy fitting him perfectly are next to none. Plus, like I said earlier, they would have had to have extra duplicates on hand in case it gets damaged.

I have attached some new pictures of David Harbour, who plays Chief Hopper, on set filming season two, wearing the jacket.
 

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You're probably right on it being production made, or possibly from one of the large rental houses in LA. Given the nature of needing several backups of each piece for shooting, I wouldn't be surprised if they were made, but they definitely based it on the B9 parka, which falls in line with what David Harbour said about the backstory of the hat being his father's WW2 hat, it would make sense that either the jacket would be easy WW2 surplus or handed down within the fiction of the show.

Here's hoping the one I have coming fits!

What did you discover about his boots? They look to be a sort of chukka boot kind of like the Indy Aldens?
 
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I haven't looked into the boots! But let me know if your jacket does fit – if it doesn't, maybe it would fit me and I could buy it from you! :)
 
Jacket came in, almost perfect fit. It's defintly the jacket the production based theirs on. And they almost certainly made the ones on screen - it's deceptively thick, and that would be impractical for filming. The material is nylon as opposed to the canvas/cotton look of the screen jacket, but all the other details are spot on, even the split hood. I'll take photos in the next day or so to show the details.

So now we know the jacket - maybe at some point it will be possible to have it recreated lighter weight.

As for the boots, I went with a mock toe boot, found a gently used pair on evilbay, they seem pretty close to the photos you posted - they're Crevo Buck's.
shoes_ia84102.jpg
 
This post caught my eye and I decided to create an account because I think I found the jacket.

Since season two just came out I was also trying to find this jacket which lead me deep into the rabbit hole. Long story short I eventually stumbled upon the ‘34” split hood parka’ manufactured by “United Pioneer” I’m not sure if the model number is the 90B or 91T and information seems to be really limited online. These guys seem to be the only distributors that have it and their website seems like it’s seen better days: http://www.primouniform.com/categor...sPerPage=savedvalue&keywords=blankSearchField

This is the best picture I could find online showing the 90B, as far as I can tell the only difference is those bottom pockets storm flaps, which maybe they just tucked in?

1696A665-C716-4E6B-911A-07474A53AF5B.jpeg
 
Was you able to purchase this jacket from the website link you sent as I’m having trouble buying it from the website, it’s very glitchy, thanks.
 
Was you able to purchase this jacket from the website link you sent as I’m having trouble buying it from the website, it’s very glitchy, thanks.

I tried earlier, got as far as placing the order and the owner of Primo sent me an email saying they were discontinued. So no, they don't have them in stock despite it appearing so.
 
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.
 
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You've done one hell of an intese search, looks like this will be the holy grail item for this costume.
 
I spoke with yet another uniform vendor today with a catalog of over 600 pages, and again came up empty.

Get this: I even contacted the actual costume buyer for Stranger Things and asked her about the parka, and she said that should could not discuss it due to an NDA (understandable).

I'm afraid this really is the end of the line!
 
I spoke with yet another uniform vendor today with a catalog of over 600 pages, and again came up empty.

Get this: I even contacted the actual costume buyer for Stranger Things and asked her about the parka, and she said that should could not discuss it due to an NDA (understandable).

I'm afraid this really is the end of the line!
I admire your tenacity! It is quite the mystery of how they acquired this long discontinued coat for production. Or how they even came across it in the first place.
 
Costume supply houses in Hollywood have literally hundreds of thousands of costume pieces available to rent. Pieces they have collected for decades. You want to outfit a Civil War battalion? Spartans? Pirates? 1980's police officers? They have enough costumes to actually outfit armies.
 
I admire your tenacity! It is quite the mystery of how they acquired this long discontinued coat for production. Or how they even came across it in the first place.

Thanks! Yeah, the hunt for it has been quite frustrating, to say the least – especially since I have come so close so many times.

Costume supply houses in Hollywood have literally hundreds of thousands of costume pieces available to rent. Pieces they have collected for decades. You want to outfit a Civil War battalion? Spartans? Pirates? 1980's police officers? They have enough costumes to actually outfit armies.

Yup, that makes the most sense. It's a shame us ordinary folk will never be able to get our hands on them.
 

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