Actually post-WW2 west german military uniforms were explicitly designed to show no resemblance and/or continuity to WW2 uniforms whatsoever. The east german NVA had no qualms in this regard though …
Interesting. I may have mistaken the nature of my family friends’s feelings, although I’m pretty sure that I’ve accurately described my own reactions. I also may have mistaken the degree of similarity of the gray based on mostly knowing what uniforms looked like from black and white photographs. I wonder if I’d have come to feel differently if I hadn’t lost the coat in a fire; it really was one of the best-made things I ever owned.
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Well, you said she said, “It is kind of German looking, isn’t it?” So it looked German still, not necessarily Nazi. I am sure there was a lot of resentment for GERMANS from many of the French - not just Nazi Germans because they were more or less the same thing. Even the regular non-SS soldiers were Germans, were still under the Nazi flags, and fighting for the Fatherland, invading their country.
My Polish MiL still has a distaste for Russians even more so than Germans to this day, because of their occupation and control of Poland.
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Dieselpunk at least has the potential to be counter cultural, if you were to use one of the many libertarian-communist ideas around at the time as an influence.
I expect that requires too much research though, so we’ll end up with endless reheated nazis and soviets instead.
I was thinking about this last evening, in a way that gets back to the more general discussion of the retro coats. That particular kind of styling is very evocative not just of Germany (and, to be accurate, probably a lot of central Europe), but of a sense of tradition, and military tradition at that. So, maybe the educated reaction is not “Ooh, Nazi,” but more “Hmn, a bit Prussian.” Just by that likely to be unappealing to a French person with WWI aged parents. For other people, that’s a more complicated heritage than just Nazis and WWI. For me, that may be more history than I’m comfortable walking around in. Then again, my family enjoys kilts and tartan just as fun, but I go and overthink that.
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Pretty wool coats like this make me so sad I’m sensitive to wool. I’d ask why they couldn’t be made of another material, but I already know wool’s properties are just that much more appropriate for a coat. Alas.
You might want to try out merino wool. It’s spun much finer, and a lot of people who are sensitive to a coarser spin can wear merino wool without issues.
It’s more expensive and harder to find, so maybe try something cheaper, like merino wool socks, first. If you can wear those without irritation, you might be able to find a wool coat you like and can wear.
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