Vintage 1970's Dannimac Sport RARE model chocolate faux fur swing coat jacket Dolly Bird mini skirt/boots cut leather look textile strips
 
'I believe in miracles
Where're you from, you sexy thing, you sexy thang you
I believe in miracles since you came along, you sexy thing...'
And sexy is the name of the game with this 'hot chocolate' faux fur coat by Dannimac Sport.
'Where did you come from, baby,  you sexy thing
You sexy thang you?'
 
Dannimac had been associated with quality Made in England clobber for women of all ages from the 1950s through to 1994; and their factory was Middlesbrough. 

In the 1960s they expanded their Middlesbrough factory employing 300 skilled seamstresses
and machinists, and by the mid 1970s it was 500. Their success was via affordable quality practical clothing especially raincoats but also faux furs.
While many were very classic shapes & styles they did flirt with some edgy pieces in the 1960s & 1970s which gained them a younger following. 

Bright colours & mod styles in the 60s and 70s, degrade macs, and the fitted & bright faux furs in the early 70s. Then in the mid to late 1970s these takes on the chocolate & faux leather style of Lancashire company 'Snugfit'. Two northern powerhouses making quality affordable fashion for working class women by working class women, and there was some pride to it. A tragedy we have let such companies fold. This is global corporate fast fashion for you and it's such a shame. Because there is no doubt about the quality of what we had; and the skilled working class jobs particularly in the north, they provided. We know the stories of the miners & steelworkers decimated, but few know of the sell out of the clothing industry there as it was by stealth. But it's nice that some of these pieces are still around all these years later unlike today's garments so swiftly in landfill. 
 
Having said that, these coats were made to be worn and faux fur & leather isn't the most durable. Most women in the UK at this time would have a real fur for best, and a faux for knocking about in, and in hindsight it would probably been more practical vice versa! They were the 'car coats' of their day, sitting in the cold picture house during the winter of discontent,  or getting the bus to work coat, so took some damage. I regularly come across them with chewing gum damage and cigarette burns, even worse if they got wet often the fur & faux leather would deteriorate and lose their sheen & softness. Watch for this if buying vintage faux fur; I select only exceptional condition garments. And there is a double whammy with this particular coat re it's rarity; as all the Dannimac younger model coats: they produced fewer of them, and thus in big demand on the vintage market. The bright red and yellow, and cream and brown  fitted faux furs, and the dégradé shaded macs for eg are like rocking horse do do. 

And this swing one is also particularly rare, with the strips at the back which swing out from the lower shoulder area; empire line flare kind of.. SO very pretty a swing. 

Not that I have the guts to wear at my age for the shoot, but that little gap between my boots and the high cut of the bottom of the coat gives you and indication of how they
were worn then: with a mini skirt and boots. Such a sexy thing indeed. Will elongate your legs aesthetically.
 
We think this dates from the period 1975 the year of the Hot Chocolate hit, and the start of the Sweeney, and the close of the Sweeney in 1978. Few produced, perhaps because
 the mini skirt was on it's way out but certainly I can remember them being worn that way, and ironically lasted well in to the 80s in fashion due to the reclaiming of the mini by 
the New Wave and punk aesthetic. If you have a 70s car this is perfect for you! Especially if it's a brown Ford Consul GT 3000, or your man fancies himself as a Regan or Carter; 
as this will be up his alley as it's a proper tough dolly bird number. Right guv, get it nicked....it's a steal at this price for the history and such excellent condition.
 
Size UK 8 (shoulders are small so ok if you are a 10 if narrow shoulders), or fine for a size 6 too. The 'leather look' strips are a soft fabric with a distressed look but not one of those that is peeling,  not a heavy vinyl. So it's not a really heavy piece so light fun and flirty to wear. Very soft and still has its original lustre/sheen.