male pattern boldness

Readers, some updates -- it's been a while!
While I haven't been blogging lately, I have most definitely been sewing and buying fabric -- more of the latter than the former but isn't that always the case?
Here are a few of my recent makes, all of which I've posted on my Instagram account (where I'm @peterlappin).  That's where am most active these days....

Readers, the parka is finished and I feel very glamorous in it.
As you know, I made my N3-B parka using the Japanese men's military coat pattern book by Ryuichiro Shimazaki (Bunka, 2013).  It's not difficult to find for sale online (Etsy and eBay are both good sources) though I purchased my copy at the Kinokuniya...

While I stayed pretty close to the original pattern when sewing my N3-B parka from my Japanese pattern book, I did make a few changes.
Classic versions of the N3-B military parka always have a small zippered pocket with a few additional small pocket openings on the upper left sleeve.  I chose to leave these out since I didn't think I'd ever use them.  Do you ever use a tiny sleeve pocket...

Readers, I purchased Ryuichiro Shimazaki's book of men's military coat patterns (above) back in 2014 and, while I would page through it from time to time, I never actually sewed with it -- until this year!
In January I decided I'd give one of these patterns a try.  I don't remember how I came to this decision--I had already made my mind up that I wasn't going to make myself a new coat this winter.  So much for that decision.  I chose the classic N3-B parka...