Where to Find the Robert De Niro Taxi Driver Jacket (And Why the Travis Bickle Jacket Still Sells Nearly 50 Years Later)

Everything that makes the Travis Bickle jacket worth tracking down — the real M-65 field jacket details, the patches with actual history behind them, and where to actually find a Robert De Niro Taxi Driver jacket today.

The Travis Bickle jacket isn’t costume-department invention — it’s real military surplus

Most iconic movie jackets were built by a costume department from scratch. The Travis Bickle jacket wasn’t. What Robert De Niro wears through the back half of Taxi Driver is a genuine U.S. military M-65 field jacket in OG-107 — the standard-issue “Olive Green 107” shade the Army used at the time. That’s a big part of why the look has aged so well: it was never designed to be fashionable, which is exactly what makes it read as authentic instead of theatrical.

The M-65 itself is a real, well-documented piece of military history. It gets its name from the year the U.S. Army adopted the pattern — 1965 — and it stayed in service for decades, which is why genuine surplus units were easy to find secondhand by the mid-1970s, right when Taxi Driver was shot. The silhouette is unmistakable once you know what to look for: a rounded collar with a hood tucked inside, a front zipper covered by a snap-down storm flap, four bellows-style flap pockets, epaulets at the shoulders, and a drawstring at the waist.

The patches on the Travis Bickle jacket actually have documented backstories

If you’ve ever searched for a Robert De Niro Taxi Driver jacket and landed on a replica listing covered in patches, those aren’t random set dressing. Each one traces back to a specific, documented detail from the film:

The King Kong Company patch, worn on the upper left sleeve, is a round embroidered patch — and despite how official it looks, it isn’t tied to any real military unit. It was essentially prop dressing that became so associated with the jacket that it’s now sold as a standalone collectible patch by prop replica shops on its own.

The parachutist wings patch, worn on the chest, is an olive-and-yellow embroidered badge styled after jump wings issued to military parachutists. On screen it adds to the sense that Travis is cobbling together a military identity piece by piece, mixing real insignia with invented ones.

The “We Are the People” button is arguably the most quietly loaded detail in Travis’s whole wardrobe. In the film, he pins it to his jacket while trying to blend in at a campaign rally for a presidential candidate — a small, almost throwaway prop that’s become one of the most requested details on any accurate Travis Bickle jacket replica.

Put together, the jacket and its patches do more character work than most costume pieces ever get credit for. Travis spends the film’s back half assembling a version of a soldier’s identity out of surplus parts, and it’s not subtle once you know what each patch is doing there. As Travis puts it in the film’s most quoted line: “Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.” The jacket is doing visual work that lines up with exactly that mindset.

Where to find a Robert De Niro Taxi Driver jacket today

The good news is that because the M-65 field jacket was genuine military-issue gear rather than a one-off movie costume, it never actually went out of production. That means you have a few real paths to finding one:

Movie merchandise and costume retailers are usually the most direct route if you specifically want the Travis Bickle jacket look, patches included. These retailers typically build the jacket around the same core M-65 silhouette — olive green cotton or cotton-blend shell, front zip with storm flap, four flap pockets, drawstring waist — and either include reproduction patches or sell them separately.

Military surplus retailers are worth checking if you mainly want the base jacket and plan to source or apply patches yourself. A genuine M-65 in OG-107, with no film branding attached, will usually cost less than a jacket marketed specifically as a Taxi Driver replica, though you’ll need to track down the King Kong Company patch, jump wings, and “We Are the People” button separately from specialty patch sellers.

Prop replica specialists sell the individual patches and the button as standalone collectibles if you already own a base M-65 jacket and just want to complete the look accurately, rather than buying a jacket that’s pre-loaded with reproductions that may or may not be placed correctly.

Whichever route you take, the same buying advice applies: check the actual specification list before you buy, not just the product photo. A genuine M-65-style Travis Bickle jacket should specify a front zipper with a storm flap (not just a plain zip), four flap pockets (not two), a hooded or rounded collar (not a flat shirt collar), and a drawstring waist. Listings that are vague on those specifics, or that skip them entirely, are worth a second look before you commit to a size.

Is it worth buying a Travis Bickle jacket if you’re not planning to cosplay?

Genuinely, yes. Set the film reference aside for a second and the M-65 field jacket holds up as a well-designed piece of outerwear on its own terms — roomy enough to layer over a sweater, sturdy enough for real fieldwork, and built with pockets that actually hold things rather than sitting flat for decoration. That’s the same reason the jacket became a broader fashion icon well beyond Taxi Driver, showing up on other characters played by actors like Woody Allen and Dustin Hoffman around the same era. Whether you’re buying it specifically as a Robert De Niro Taxi Driver jacket or just want a genuinely solid field jacket with real history behind the silhouette, it’s one of the rare movie-associated pieces that was never really a costume to begin with.