Disclaimer:
I hesitated to post this because I know Peter from Wested is a member here and I certainly do not want to seem like I'm at all bashing Wested. I have purchased from them twice and plan to buy an Indy jacket from them someday too. My purpose here is to simply try and honestly convey my entire experience. No disrespect to Peter or Wested. I think they offer great products for very reasonable prices.
My experience with Wested started when I discovered the whole Indy jacket thing and their history of involvement with them. I thought about getting an Indy jacket, but as much I wanted one because of its association, I never really thought it was my style of jacket. I emailed them to ask if they could make this jacket:
Peter replied and said they certainly could and for a very reasonable price too! I waited with anticipation. The months ticked by and I would check in with Peter who would tell me my jacket was still being made etc. At one point, there was a problem and something had to be redone or recut or something like that. no problem, I was getting a custom tailored jacket for a great price. About 6 months or more later, I received this jacket:
Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed since it in no way resembled the jacket I wanted other than being black and leather. However after that long of a wait, and not wanting to deal with the hassle of returning it, and also not wanting to be a pest to Peter, I decided to just keep it. It wasn't at all what I had ordered, but it was still a nice leather jacket custom tailored to me.
Fast forward to present day. I've lost a lot of weight, and have never really had my jacket itch scratched since I didn't really get a jacket I wanted. The Indy jacket once again pops up in my mind. I start researching it again, and my research leads me to this forum. Again, I'm really tempted by Indy jackets, but feel that they're not really my style as my "main jacket". That's when I discover this post. It's as if I found the holy grail. This is THE jacket for me. Not only is it just a totally cool style and exactly what I've been looking for, but it also has the double whammy of being from both Dr. Who and Das Boot. Exponential coolness in my book. I start my obsessive research. I'm a little put off by the fact that Wested's website has quite a few typos (no big deal, sometimes I've had things wrong with my website and eventually find out that no one has bothered to tell me about it) and that there's no actual pictures of any of their jackets, just production stills from Dr. Who. I email Wested to ask a few questions and have what ends up being one of the most frustrating email exchanges of my life.
I am very interested in one of your Dr. Who jackets but had a few questions. Are they only available in the "off the rack" sizes or can they be custom fitted like your Indy jackets?
If so, I really want to make sure to get you the info you need and make sure I get the sizes taken correctly so any guidelines are appreciated! Thanks.
Dear Sir,
We can make custom jackets in this style but there will be an extra charge for this.
Please advise what would need to be different for this to the other jackets
I'm referring only to sizing. I didn't know if they only came in "S, M, L" etc., or if you took individual sizes like you do with the Indy jackets. I wouldn't want any design changes.
Dear Sir,
We only have them made in small medium, large. Any problems feel free to contact me
Sorry, I just want to make sure I understand this:
So you can NOT make the Dr. Who coat tailored to my personal measurements or are you saying that you can but it would cost extra?
I'm just a bit confused, since I first learned of this coat from a gentleman who ordered one from you and said that it was made to his personal measurements much like your Indy jackets are.
Dear Sir,
We can make this but there will be an extra charge
What would be the cost of a Dr. Who jacket in a size 40R.
Also as an alternative, if I decided to get one "off the rack", which size would fit a 40R?
Cheers!
Dear Sir,
This will be a size medium off the rack so this will cost £215
Sorry to ask so many questions, I just want to make sure I get everything correct.
Is a Medium size exactly a 40R or is it just close?
What would be the total if I wanted a jacket made exactly to size 40R?
Thanks for all your help. Again, sorry to be such a nuisance, but I'm definitely getting this jacket and just want to make sure I get it all right so I'm happy with it.
At this point I give up and decide to just order a medium. I order a medium black (undistressed as I want all the distressing and character to come from me). I click on the credit card button. It lets me enter in my discover card and sends me an order receipt. Several days later I receive this email:Dear Sir,
The medium jacket will fit 40-42 reg. Theses are the only sizes we offer.
Argh! Then why did it let me put it in and place the order? I re-order and use paypal this time. I get an email about the paypal transaction but not another order receipt and # so I email them to make sure the order went through. No response. I later show the funds transferred out of my account so I write again to make sure all is going as planned. No response.Dear Sir,
Unfortunately I was unable to process your order as the card type you wish to place the order with we don't accept
A little over a week later, my jacket arrives! I never got a response, but I got my jacket!
Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'm happy with it. I definitely find its screen accuracy lacking. I know www.thebadwolf.com makes a jacket they claim to be extremely screen accurate, but there is no way I will ever spend that much money on a jacket.
Here's my Dr. Who/Das Boot Jacket:
My chest seems to be just under 40 inches when I take a full breath. The medium is supposed to fit a 40-42. I find it a bit tight, but not necessarily in a bad way. It is definitely fitted when buttoned. Very snug. It's very possible this could be the intended fit, I'm not sure.
My main issues with the jacket:
1. The belt on the back. First of all, the back belt should be more of a "flared arrow" like the wrist straps are. They got the wrist straps at least basically the right shape (obviously, not having a screen used jacket I can't compare exactly). They start out slightly skinnier then flare wider at the head of the arrow.
The belt is supposed to do the same, but as you can see it does not. Also on the screen jacket AND on Billy3ci's jacket here on the forum, the belt stitching is different. There is stitching further away from the edge of the belt as compared to mine.
I really like the horizontal front and back stitching on Billy3ci's Wested also which appears much pointier than my stitching. His vertical pockets also seem much more angled and pointy than mine.
I'm not sure of which is more authentic to the screen jacket, but I think Billy3ci's looks sharper than mine.
My jacket also has two buttons way up high on the coat. They're not really visible unless you button it all the way up, since they would normally be hidden under the collar. The problem is that these buttons are held on with small clear buttons on the back which show when the collar is down.
As you can see in this production still, this is not the case on the screen jacket.
Also the screen jacket and Billy3ci's Wested seem to have stitching on either side of the vertical back seams. Mine do not.
A few things I'm not sure about: I wonder if the original jacket is a little longer. The horizontal stitching and the vertical pockets seem like they might be placed a little lower on the screen jacket. I've scrutinized pictures, but it's hard to tell, especially since mine is new leather that hasn't been broken in so I don't know what it will do or how it will settle over time. All I know is that those vertical pockets are so high that they're really awkward to reach into. I can't quite place the length issue. On both the screen jacket and Billy3ci's Wested, it looks like there are a few inches from the bottom of the sleeve to the bottom of the jacket, but my sleeves seem to be almost the same length as the jacket. I feel like the jacket should be longer than it is.
I found it particularly strange that though mine and Billy3ci's jackets are both Wested, they do not appear to have been made to the same specs/pattern.
Overall, my jacket is still a REALLY nice jacket, but I'm just trying to decide if these little imperfections will continue to niggle at me over the years and if so, what I should do about it. I'm also wondering if I might have been happier with the Predistressed option.
So there you go. Full disclosure and review.
Again, I am not in any way trying to appear "anti-Wested" or anything. From what I've read Peter seems like a great guy who listens and works with his clientèle. I think that maybe I've just had an atypically difficult time.