On to the jacket - I had originally ordered a Raiders authentic (ROLA) size 42 from Wested. I was disappointed to find out the next day they no longer had the size 42 in stock so I'd have to wait. Upon reading Indy Snipes' thread about Todd's jacket viewtopic.php?t=24165, and seeing how satisfied he (with his replacement), eazy, pitfall, ac, and others were, I decided to give Todd a shot. I called and spoke to Todd, ordered up a Medium, had it express shipped; and emailed Gemma (who was very friendly and helpful btw) to cancel my Wested order.
My jacket from Todd arrived this past Friday morning and holy cow was i psyched to open the box and try it on!
First impressions:
- The leather looks and feels awesome; I expected it to be very thin and light, as has been the subject of much discussion on this board, so that wasn't a surprise; and I don't actually own nor have ever actually seen a Wested or USWings or any other flavor of Indy jacket in person, so I didn't have much to compare it to other than the way heavy cowhide bomber and cycle jackets I have.
- the color looks great, hopefully it will wear similarly to some of the beautiful well worn Westeds i've seen on here, only time will tell
- it may be a little small on me, well more short than small... it feels ok across the chest, and is actually a little loose around the midsection (btw, anybody know if this is supposed to be the so-called "80s" cut, knowing that's a Wested term, but understanding that this one is all about screen accuracy and well, that was the cut in the movie... ?), anyway it's just short... i could prob use another inch or inch and a half (to 'the office' fans: "that's what she said") on both the sleeves and the overall length in the front and back... the sleeves are 23" from shoulder to cuff, i'll have to measure the front and rear again as i don't remember their dimensions off the top of my head
Upon closer examination:
- It's clearly not a top notch perfectly made garment by any stretch, nor did I expect it to be for $150. Based on the still high quality others have seen from Todd's standard jacket, however, I'm thinking I may have gotten one that was put together late on a Friday afternoon
- It still looks pretty good, and drapes real nice.
- I must preface this by saying that I am by no means a "screen accuracy" nazi; and maybe it's the engineer in me that causes my eyes to look for symmetry and form, suffice to say there are a few things that I really wish were better...
In the interest of a complete review I'm going to call out every little thing, some of it is nitpicking to be sure for a $150 jacket, but some of these things have me thinking I might send it back and either try for a replacement or just go for the Wested ROLA authentic (the "special offer" 80s cut one) or even a Wested custom.
Please forgive the crappy quality of my photos, it's a camera phone... if I can I'll update these when i get a chance to borrow my roommate's camera.
- Collar to storm flap attachment:
As you can see, not only does the collar stop short of halfway across the storm flap, it stops short of the entire storm flap. As Todd pointed out in another thread, it should be lined up directly above the zipper; in the case of my jacket it doesn't quite reach the zipper. As it is the resulting appearance of the collar is very assymetrical - the left side is always higher:
- Pockets:
Left pocket closeup - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 06bd86.jpg
The left pocket is noticeably twisted, with the bottom closer to the storm flap seam than the top; doesn't help that the storm flap seam itself is crooked as well
Once I noticed it, it was difficult for my eyes not to be drawn to it. Of less concern is the fact that the snap in the right pocket is not centered very well.Also, there's some stitching in the hand warmer lining that's falling out; I'll prob just trim this, and it's not a big deal; included for the sake of completeness - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 937848.jpg
- Chalk lines, chalk lines everywhere! Well, not everywhere. I know some others have seen this. As somebody who knows zilch about making/manufacturing clothing or jackets or anything such as this; is it common to see tailor's chalk lines, or are they indicative of a sewing mistake? I really don't know, maybe Todd or Peter or someone else in the know can chime in.
The lines visible under the rear pleats don't bother me so much as they're hidden.
Right pleat: - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 9909e9.jpg
Left pleat: - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 0a09ce.jpg
The line that goes most of the length of the left sleeve, however, is enough to drive me nuts. And I wonder if it's a symptom or the cause of the fact that sleeve doesn't quite lay/extend/feel the same as the right (see the left arm in second pic, full shot of jacket from the back):
full back view - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 2756cb.jpg
- The rear panel is not centered. I have not seen this on any of Todd's other jackets (like I said, i think mine was constructed late on a Friday
)Left side closeup - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 867bda.jpg
Right side closeup - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... cde5d4.jpg
It's only maybe 1/4" difference, but very noticeable when you look at a full view of the rear of the jacket -
- Minor length discrepancy, not really a big deal, but included for the sake of completeness:
left rear - 6" from seam
right rear - 6 1/4" from seam - http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/ ... 2a2ae7.jpg
I didn't actually photograph the side adjustment straps, but one more nitpick: they aren't attached at the exact same spot, horizontally speaking, on either side.
PLEASE do not interpret this as an attack on Todd's standard jacket - like I said I think I may have just gotten a slightly bad example of one (and this review is very nitpicky); MANY others, who are also Wested owners, have been extremely please with the jackets Todd and co. have produced.
At this point I'm trying to decide if I should see about swapping mine out for another medium, moving up to a large (so tough to try stuff on over the internet, eh?); or possibly just dropping some $$ on a Wested. Thanks for reading!
(Moderator edit — welcome aboard! Since you're new here, you may want to read up on the rules, if you haven't already. viewtopic.php?t=21315 I just removed the image tags, so you can still click on them to view the pictures. I tried to select the best pictures to keep up.)
) I've had too many jackets that expose my wrists more than I think they should - so I'm trying to save myself that again. As for as Westeds go, I've had several now and they are generally pretty good quality but are hit or miss regarding specs. Just realize that none of these leather jackets are going to be warm, but my guess it that cow or horse would "feel" warmer than the usual thin Lambskin (Wested does have this in a thicker hide too though, as you probably know) and if you're going for warmth then go with and all cotton lineing...or source a flannel and send it in.
