Royal red Softshell jacket of the British posties for such a low price that it won’t normally get you even a Softshell napkin. Nicely used, so if you want an old-school softshell, act fast, because we don’t have a huge pile of these.

• Windproof, water-resistant, and relatively warm
• Reflectors on all sides
• Velcro adjustment at the cuffs
• 2 spacious zippered front pockets, 1 breast pocket on the left side
• Two-way zipper closure
• Made in China

This is a pretty classic, quite thick Softshell jacket with a fuzzy lining. It is windproof, somewhat water-resistant, and relatively warm. With warm mid-layers, it adapts to quite a wide temperature range. These aren’t as breathable as modern softshell jackets that we also sell, but the price is also a lot cheaper.

It has two very spacious zippered front pockets and one vertical breast pocket that will fit a cell phone or a wallet. A soft semi-high collar, no hood, and Velcro adjustable cuffs. Jolly red color with the Royal Mail logo on the front and back and reflectors on all sides.

History

British posties have a long and colorful uniform history. Initially, they were called Letter Carriers, and they operated in their regular clothes. However, because crooks often posed as letter carriers to swindle money, a system for identifying the official carriers was needed. The first solution was a brass token that was taken into use in 1728. The first official uniform came in 1784 for Mail Coach Guards. The pompous militaristic uniform consisted of a gold braided scarlet coat with blue lapels and a black top hat. It mirrored the style of the British soldier’s uniform, where the color red was associated with Royalty.

Since the Letter Carriers had a reputation of being drunken morons, the Post Office issued uniforms to London Letter Carriers in 1793, hoping it would make them look and behave better. The uniform included a scarlet coat and a top hat. However, since the red coats got dirty very easily, they switched to blue ones in 1860. By 1872, these uniforms had been issued to all Letter Carriers.

After 1840, the Post Office grew rapidly, and all sorts of new uniforms were needed, which made things a bit more chaotic and confusing. To tackle this travesty, the Committee on Uniform Clothing was created in 1908, which brought stability back to the Empire for a few decades.

At the end of the 1960s, such a radical idea was proposed that it required the Queen’s approval: a gray uniform. Despite her Majesty’s approval, this phase didn’t last long, and the uniforms returned to the classic blue and red combination in the 1980s. Excluding this small deviation, blue and red have remained the colors of the Royal Mail throughout its history.

These red jackets are most likely from the 2008 postal uniform renewal, when at least the blue summer hat that we also sell was taken into use.

The latest uniform renewal began in 2018, and the new uniform range was launched in 2021. This is why you can now purchase these cool earlier versions as surplus. The current system is a very modern layering system, where you can easily adapt the outfit to the prevailing conditions.

Condition

Used Royal Mail surplus from Great Britain. These are clean and intact, and don’t smell of the hockey team’s locker room, but they may have some signs of use. For example, the logo might be somewhat faded, and there might be some small stains here or there. Nevertheless, they are all perfectly serviceable, and some might even be unused, or they have only been used at the office on Sundays.