Mackinaw cloth

He notes that these were contraband, subject to confiscation by Mexican customs officers, but that they could be concealed between the double layers of Osnaburg sheet fabrics which formed the roof of covered cargo wagons.

[citation needed] The Mackinaw jacket traces its roots to coats that were made by white and Métis women in November 1811,[2][3] when John Askin Jr., an early trader on the upper Great Lakes, hired them to design and sew 40 woolen greatcoats for the British Army post at Fort St. Joseph (Ontario), near Mackinac.

[2][4] In the days of the Old West, heavyweight "buffalo plaid" tartan Mackinaw jackets were worn with knit caps by American and Canadian lumberjacks in the Midwest, Northwest territories and Alaska.

[10] In the late '60s and early '70s "Mac" jackets became standard apparel that helped define the image of Vancouver's notorious Park Gangs, whose members came from tough, working class, logging and labouring families.

[11] The jacket made another comeback among the 1990s grunge,[12] hardcore punk and skater subcultures due to its cheapness, durability, warmth, and protection from falls when skateboarding.