By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Subscribe now and get up to 61% off the cover price. Includes access to the digital magazine. quest softshell jacket
Plus, get the exclusive Robb Report tote bag FREE.
Give the Gift of Luxury
Subscribe to RR1 Live+ for exclusive virtual events all year long (at least 1 per month), conversations with Robb Report editors, special perks, and more.
Since its founding, The Armoury has served as a bastion of traditional tailoring. But it’s now living up to its martial name by hosting a collection of vintage militaria-inspired pieces from cult Japanese brand The Real McCoy’s at its Westbury location.
Just don’t expect your average Army & Navy-store fare. The Real McCoy’s specializes in what The Armoury’s merchandise manager Jim Parker calls “idealized, over-built” reproductions, replicating rare American military gear and sportswear with higher-quality materials and updated fits.
Clothing that seems more suited to the set of Taxi Driver than the 21 Club may at first seem out of place at The Armoury, but Parker explains how The Real McCoy’s meshes with the shop philosophy. “Whatever product category we’re bringing in, whether it’s shoes or bespoke suits, we’re looking for the best,” he says. “We think Liverano is the best Florentine tailor, and we think The Real McCoy’s are the best in terms of military and sportswear reproduction.”
The shop-within-a-shop is expected to continue through the spring and summer, which will see the addition of lighter-weight clothing as well as shirts and trousers. The current collection includes over 30 pieces, including these personal favorites selected by Parker.
“If you think of an M-65, you think of the version with epaulets in a slightly lighter green. But for a very brief period, there was a different model, and The Real McCoy’s tracked one of those down and reproduced it. It’s a little bit darker and the weave is a little different, but more importantly for our customers it doesn’t have epaulets. The first model M-65 is an easier way to get into that vintage military look because it’s not all the way there.”
“One of the interesting things we’ve done in the Westbury shop is line up all of our flight jackets in order of when they were first introduced. If you want to see a roundabout history of military uniform design and aviation history, you can walk through all of those pieces. My favorite is still the A1, the very first flight jacket that was produced. I like the stand collar a bit more than the turn-up collar, and I also like the button-through front.”
“I like this piece because it’s kind of a reproduction of a Levi’s Longhorn shirt, but they’re mixing in some details from the greatest hits of Western shirts. The fabric is decently heavy and pretty stiff to start off with, so as you wash and wear it it’s really going to break in nicely. If you have a more casual sport coat that you would usually just wear a chambray shirt with, swap in this Western shirt and you have a more rough-and-tumble vibe.”
“The N1 in navy is a reproduction of a really rare piece. They made the collar out of a much softer material, so it feels more luxe, which is nice because the original was made to keep you warm but wasn’t necessarily made to feel good. I think it’s a bit more wearable because it’s in navy, and our best-selling pieces are navy, midnight and dark neutrals like that.”
“When the U.S. Air Force was in its infancy and hadn’t established any kind of uniform standards, it wasn’t uncommon for pilots to have things made outside of what was being issued. This coat actually never existed—they didn’t copy one thing. Instead, they referenced their archives of tailormade garments from that era and combined some of their favorite parts into this really dramatic long double-breasted belted coat.”
Eric Twardzik is a Boston-based freelance writer with a passion for classic menswear and classic cocktails. He has a deep reverence for things that get better with age, such as tweed jackets and…
Newsletters curated for the connoisseur.
golf rain suit Give the Gift of Luxury