Loose vs. Form Fitting?

Lao Feng · Post by **Lao Feng** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 1:52 pm

On the issue of "snug fit", (80's fit from pervious thread) I figured its time open a new line of discussion on the loose vs. tight issue

I would offer that I have an old Avirex A-2 in cowhide which, when I first bought it, was a bit baggy and large. Not a lot...just enough to be annoying. (The size below it was too small for movement). One day, quite by accident, I was caught in a rainstorm, of the genre that Micahelson would describe as a "frog drowner." After drying it off thoroughly with a towel, and NOT putting it in a dryer, the next day, it was one form-fitting jacket.

Moral of the story: If you are REALLY going to wear your leather jacket, in all situations and elements, you may be happy that it was bit on the looser side when you first bought it.

Of course, if you are only going to wear it under optimum meterological and need-to-move conditions, than a form-fitting jacket is fine.

Indyjim · Post by **Indyjim** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:32 pm

I believe Michaelson calls them a "frog strangler".
My jackets are basically the correct size for me and and some fit a little tighter than others, simply due to the patterns used to produce them.
I've never had a jacket shrink to fit me due to too much rain or whatever.

Farnham54 · Post by **Farnham54** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:12 pm

Thats the beauty of leather--when it is broken in, it fits YOU. The drape comes over the shoulders, the arms snug up nice--everything works.

Indiana Guybrush has a similar story with his Aldens.

Cheers
Craig

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:29 pm

After owning a loose fitting jacket for over a year now I must say I'm on the side of the more form fitting jacket. My biggest complaints with the loose fit is this:

1. Its cold. In my case the fit is loose enough (even with a sweater) that it allows cold air to come up from the bottom. The snugger the fit the less cold air can get in, thus the warmer you stay. This is just my person experience here, I won't swear by it.

2. I simply don'tike the baggy look of a loose jacket.

My next jacket will definitely be an 80's fit.

Of course its possible to be caught in a "frog strangler" or a "gully washer" and have your jacket shrink. However, I've worn my Wested goat for over a year in all kinds of weather and its yet to shrink. So IMO that not reason enough to order a loose jacket if you really want a form fit.

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:59 pm

Although a good fit necessary on this jacket to look good, it can be taken a bit too far!

I think it should be fitted but with room to drape a little. Not the stretched out tight that some people prefer.

Look at it thoroughout the Temple sequence and you see what I mean.

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 6:30 pm

I remember talking toPeter about jsut that one time. he said, "Its not a wetsuit, you know."

Alabama Jones · Post by **Alabama Jones** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 12:37 am

OK, you can have a roomy jacket to wear sweaters under and such, but to have a true Indiana Jones jacket, in particular a Raiders IMO, you'll want a short, snug, tight fitting jacket, that you can just zip up, (Nepal).

The so called "80s fit" is the way to go and next time I'll also be going down from my regular size 42 to a 40, the same size Ford wore in Raiders I believe. Of course this also means I'll need to be careful with the potato chips and ice cream.

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 3:26 am

Here's a thing. I measured the outside of my jacket the one that is labled 38". It measures 42" So with the 4 inches rule it is actually a true 38.

This one fits me great, my true expanded chest measurement is 40, as measured by the man himself. Maybe, just maybe if you go 2 inches below your real measurement so you only have 2 inches of room you get a good fit? Just a theory! Give them true measurements and let them decide the size!

BTW always remember you don't have to go in increments of 2 inches you can go 1" or even 1/2". it's custom made!

Shawnkara · Post by **Shawnkara** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 3:39 am

I was gonna strat a new thread for this, but it seems it would nicely into this one. When it comes to the fit of a Raiders jacket it's easy to go too tight or too baggy. I've seen examples of both on this board. This is my recent little tale that could serve as example of why you might a baggy fit if you live where it rains a lot. It might also help if your jacket is a little to loose for your taste....

I recently shrunk my Wested goat Raiders. That was not my intent, but it worked out for the best. I have a really old leather jacket that's been soaked pretty good a few times and I'd noticed how the edges seemed rough and a bit crooked and curled up. A very nice bit of distressing. I decided to soak my goat in the tub with some cold water. And I REALLY SOAKED it, too! It must weighed 30 lbs.!

After wringing it out the leather seemed to sag, as if it was actually stretching into a larger size but it was getting some really bad creases because the lining, of course, was not stretching with it. "Maybe 15 minutes in the dryer on low heat" I thought. I ended up running it through the dryer on low for about 40 minutes total.

I had bought a size 48, thinking I wanted a pretty loose fit. It was baggier than I thought it would be, baggier than the temple jacket even. A loose fit also affcts the pleats in a bad way, as they fold and droop funny if the shoulders of the jacket are loose on you. Anyway, my 48 came down a half size, maybe just a bit more. It's actually a perfect fit now, even with the extra ride-up in the sleeves from creasing. AND... it has the rough, stiff distressed effect I was hoping for. A little water (a lot in my case) really brings out the texture in the goat! It has that rough, cracked and scarred look of the truck chase jacket. Best of all, the shrinkage tapered the cuffs! I had always wanted that feature, now I have it. The cuffs had been really wide, now they're just slightly larger than my fist.

I AM NOT ENDORSING THIS! If you try this tread lightly. As I said I was not trying to shrink it. I just got #### lucky with the new fit since it was a little large to start with.

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 11:24 am

Kt Templar wrote:Here's a thing. I measured the outside of my jacket the one that is labled 38". It measures 42" So with the 4 inches rule it is actually a true 38.

The 4" of movement room is true for all Wested jackets. Mine is a 46L, however, it actually measures 50 just under the arms and tapers to 42 at the waist. My jacket is also the standard fit. Clould somebody out there with both a regular and 80's fit measure and see what the difference is?

Mr. Das · Post by **Mr. Das** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 12:04 pm

I'm kinda in the middle. My jacket fits just a bit more loose than my suit jacket. It's loose enough that I can wear a sweatshirt underneath with little to no discomfort, but a grandma sized sweater would cause problems. I love this fit, although it did take me a couple of tries to get it right as my first jacket was too tight and the jacket after that was too loose.