Where can I buy Wiesler's jacket from The Lives of Others?

March 30, 2008 2:17 PM

Where can I buy Captain Wiesler's jacket from The Lives of Others?

Photos (1, 2), trailer [flash].

I'm in the US -- I can't go hunting around Berlin.

posted by Utilitaritron to shopping (7 comments total)

Looks snowboardy.
posted by rhizome at 3:29 PM on March 30, 2008

My only idea is to scour surplus online stores for something like it (or in real life, but that takes longer). There's General J's on Nicollet. The owner is friendly too. He's a nice old guy from Greece (IIRC). And supposedly they're trying to clean up and clear out some of the inventory (not making much progress in the last 6 months from what I can tell), so maybe you'll find a deal.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 4:46 PM on March 30, 2008

I did some searches around the intarwebs for different combinations of things like "grey", "two-tone", "canvas" (cause that's my best guess as to material), "wool" (maybe?), work jacket (a lot of work jackets are canvas, and vice versa). The ones with the closest overall "feel" to the one you're looking for, IMO, that I've found, are these two. The collars look a bit higher though, so they'd be drastically different if you're going to wear them zipped up all the way like Wiesler.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 5:18 PM on March 30, 2008

Searching in german brings up the following information in the first 2 links
- it's supposed to look like polyester. In the GDR a lot of those kind of higher agents wore polester anoraks.
- they pointedly don't tell whether the costume designer Gabriele Binder made it herself or got a real DDR era jacket.
Hope that helps you further.
posted by jouke at 5:52 PM on March 30, 2008

I wasn't in Berlin in the 80s and I haven't (yet) seen the film, but my impression is that the jacket reflects 21st century style more than authentic 80s style. There are three typical associations for secret police in the Warsaw Pact -- well, pretty much anywhere: ill-fitting suits, oddly colored track suits, and motorcycle jackets.

It's an interesting jacket, though.

Maybe contact the costume designer?
posted by dhartung at 6:18 PM on March 30, 2008

I didn't think to ask the costume designer, thanks. I emailed her, so maybe she will share some details.
posted by Utilitaritron at 7:23 AM on March 31, 2008

My recollection from the Director's commentary on the DVD is that all the surveillance equipment shown in the film was actual Stasi stuff, so it wouldn't surprise me if the jacket were vintage DDR.

You could try asking this question on leo.org, in this forum.
posted by thomas144 at 12:49 PM on March 31, 2008