I'm not sure where the hose from originally. It was in the box of love I got from Qui Gon Ludo a while back. It's painted like that to exagerate the ribs
JD, yeah mate. Find a good matching thread. The magnet is attached with a criss cross stitch. When you come through to the public side of the veil, you just double back on yourself by about 1mm and go back in to make the criss cross. I can hardly see the sticthes.
The straps that end leather panels are the more permenant ones. The others attach with little slits in the vest. 2 are needed for the chest panels, the other 2 are low down behind the ad panel. The ab panel has a harness the goes through the vest, around your waist and clips on the back.