Indy 4, predistressed hide & history
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Indy 4, predistressed hide & history
So Indy 4 will mark the first time HF will be wearing a jacket made from predistressed hide on screen (unless one of the TOD Coopers was). My question is whether or not predistressed hide was generally available during the making of Raiders and if not, would it have been used if it had been. Today predistressed hide is everywhere. I know that the Indiana Jones films had a lot to do with its popularity. The “50 mission” look for military jackets (the A-2 & G-1) was also extremely popular during the 80’s & 90’s. What about the 70’s? I was alive, but too young to notice.
Now, there is predistessed hide, and predistressed hide. It really runs the gamut from looking really crummy and artificial, to looking pretty good. Even though I’ve heard complaints about the predistressed hide used for the CS jacket from people in this crowd (and there are always complaints from people in this crowd, about everything), the hide looks pretty good to me, at least from a “distressed hide” point of view. I would venture to say that even if you are not convinced of how the jacket will look from the still pictures so far (non film grabs), on celluloid, the jacket will look fine. You actually loose a lot of detail when you make the jump from real life to film stock. Sometimes details have to be over accentuated. I was originally shocked back in 1989 at the cover of the “Indiana Jones” issue of Premiere magazine. The LC jacket, which looked fine on the movie screen, at least from a “distressing” standpoint, looked horrible to me on that magazine cover. Did I mention the word “horrible”? I aint kidding. The stills of the CS jacket look pretty decent by comparison. Cheers
Now, there is predistessed hide, and predistressed hide. It really runs the gamut from looking really crummy and artificial, to looking pretty good. Even though I’ve heard complaints about the predistressed hide used for the CS jacket from people in this crowd (and there are always complaints from people in this crowd, about everything), the hide looks pretty good to me, at least from a “distressed hide” point of view. I would venture to say that even if you are not convinced of how the jacket will look from the still pictures so far (non film grabs), on celluloid, the jacket will look fine. You actually loose a lot of detail when you make the jump from real life to film stock. Sometimes details have to be over accentuated. I was originally shocked back in 1989 at the cover of the “Indiana Jones” issue of Premiere magazine. The LC jacket, which looked fine on the movie screen, at least from a “distressing” standpoint, looked horrible to me on that magazine cover. Did I mention the word “horrible”? I aint kidding. The stills of the CS jacket look pretty decent by comparison. Cheers
- Michaelson
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Michaelson wrote:The jackets in Raiders were hand distressed by Deborah, so I don't believe those were pre-distressed from the jacket makers.
Yep. We had pre-distressed jackets in the Disco '70's to wear over our polyester shirts and pants.
Regards! Michaelson
There's no question that the Raiders jackets were new, non-predistressed hide. I wanted to know if predistressed hide was around back then and you answered my question. Thanks
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I do believe those were called Members Only brand, sir!!!Michaelson wrote:The jackets in Raiders were hand distressed by Deborah, so I don't believe those were pre-distressed from the jacket makers.
Yep. We had pre-distressed jackets in the Disco '70's to wear over our polyester shirts and pants.
Regards! Michaelson
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Re: Indy 4, predistressed hide & history
My God!! I remember that. I still have that magazine. I remember thinking, what have they done to Indy's jacket!? It looks so stiff and artificial.Rundquist wrote: I was originally shocked back in 1989 at the cover of the “Indiana Jones” issue of Premiere magazine. The LC jacket, which looked fine on the movie screen, at least from a “distressing” standpoint, looked horrible to me on that magazine cover. Did I mention the word “horrible”? I aint kidding. The stills of the CS jacket look pretty decent by comparison. Cheers
Cheers
Re: Indy 4, predistressed hide & history
I first began looking for distressed-hide leather jackets the day AFTER I had seen Raiders, but they were there. Here in DK they were called "stonewash" jackets because the hide had been treated with some kind of stone-powder. So we were told.
And I agree about the very different looks of predistressed hide. Some of them looked like painted plastic and others looked very "rough". None of them looked exactly raiders though, and I remember part of the problem being, that the color was much too light. Sort of light grey.
Another thing was the distressing being too even, so to speak. Since the hide had been distressed before the pieces were cut out, it had distressing in places that would never become distressed in real life, and that sort of ruined the realistic look.
Have I mentioned, that I received my novapella from Peter the other day? No? Well its the jacket I've been looking for since 1981! Its so fantastic that I dont have words for it. It's spot on for the new jacket, and I happen to like that look very much. Also the total look incl. the now darker shirt, the fedora etc.
It's Vintage-Indy all the way
Cheers
Indy-K
And I agree about the very different looks of predistressed hide. Some of them looked like painted plastic and others looked very "rough". None of them looked exactly raiders though, and I remember part of the problem being, that the color was much too light. Sort of light grey.
Another thing was the distressing being too even, so to speak. Since the hide had been distressed before the pieces were cut out, it had distressing in places that would never become distressed in real life, and that sort of ruined the realistic look.
Have I mentioned, that I received my novapella from Peter the other day? No? Well its the jacket I've been looking for since 1981! Its so fantastic that I dont have words for it. It's spot on for the new jacket, and I happen to like that look very much. Also the total look incl. the now darker shirt, the fedora etc.
It's Vintage-Indy all the way
Cheers
Indy-K
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You're welcome )Michaelson wrote:IndyK, THAT was the term I was trying to remember...'STONEWASH"!! It was also the 'rage' in blue jeans at the time, and they were never called 'distressed'. THANK you!
Regards! Michaelson
Off course... I'm making some studio-photos for Peter very soon, but in the meantime, here's what I look like wearing itgmarthe wrote:Post a picture Indy-K! I don't even see the novapelle on their site and everyone is talking about it.
Cheers
Indy-K
Last edited by IndyK on Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Indiana Holt wrote:wow K.that is one FINE looking CS jacket.
is it cut in the Raiders cut with snaps or is it the full CS cut?
I am gonna get a novapelle my self but cant decide if I am gonna have it in the raiders cut.the raiders jacket is one of my favorite jacket.
bests
Holt
It is NOT a Raiders cut, thats for sure I've always liked the longer jackets more, and this one is the new style.
As for specs, I haven't really asked for any special things except extra inner pocket and cotton-lining as I prefer it. The length is similar to the ToD and LC jackets I guess (I didn't want the shorter Raiders version) but the cut, rings etc is Peters new "off the rack" novapella.
As for the novapella-hide I asked other members about it before ordering. I somehow got the impression that the novapella was only slightly thicker than lamb, and not even close to the durability we know from HH and cow. But that is NOT my impression now. The novapella is a thick, but yet soft, hide, and its a lot heavier than my lamb. One kilo to be more precise, but my weight is not precise enough to give the exact number of grams. When You touch the two jackets, lamb and novapella, next to each other, the novapella feels a lot thicker and more durable.
Cheers
Indy-K
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-to be precise, what you're saying is this is just a straight 'CS' version fit, not one of the other 3, and did you get it custom made, or just order your size?IndyK wrote:Indiana Holt wrote:
It is NOT a Raiders cut, thats for sure I've always liked the longer jackets more, and this one is the new style.
As for specs, I haven't really asked for any special things except extra inner pocket and cotton-lining as I prefer it. The length is similar to the ToD and LC jackets I guess (I didn't want the shorter Raiders version) but the cut, rings etc is Peters new "off the rack" novapella.
Indy-K
It looks fantastic!
I have to agree this is a fine looking hide in those pictures. The collour underneath the surface is greyish I assume?
From what animal do they make this kind of leather, cow (like "nubuk" leather)?
Or is it probably a speccial strange looking jacket-hide animal
The Novapelle in it's natural habit (wested's backyard)
From what animal do they make this kind of leather, cow (like "nubuk" leather)?
Or is it probably a speccial strange looking jacket-hide animal
The Novapelle in it's natural habit (wested's backyard)
I'm so glad You noticed the hat!!!!whiskyman wrote:Ooh, just when i thought I knew which jacket to order...
Oh, by the way - that's one of the best Raiders looking hats I've seen in a looooong time!!!!
It has it's own history: It's one of Steve's rabbit fedora's, but I have never been good at bashing hats. So when it lost Steve's original touch I had to do something about it. Marc then offered to rebash it, and when I told him that my favourite bash had always been the "streets of Cairo" he promised to make it just that. And boy, did he do that?!! I received the hat not only bashed, but also treated with fullers earth and Marc's personal styling. It arrived like a trip in the Delorian - back to the streets of Cairo.
I'm not sure the shape of my head will ever do this AB co-operation justice, but it sure is the best fedora I've had - so far... (there's a new one coming up, hopefully before the premiere........)
And now back to the jacket....
You're absolutely right It's CS.... I'm so lucky that I can order my regular size 42, and then everything just fits for me. Only customs are the extra innerpocket and the cottonlining.citRon wrote:-to be precise, what you're saying is this is just a straight 'CS' version fit, not one of the other 3, and did you get it custom made, or just order your size?
It looks fantastic!
Cheers
Indy-K
The color of the novapella is lighter than the authentic brown lamb I also have. And BreinederIndy is probably right about the color. It has a certain warm/greyish look to it - exactly like the first photo we saw of Harrison with gun in hand from CS. And it looks so right out of the back - no need for distressing.whiskyman wrote:How does the colour compare to authentic brown - about the same? darker?
What about the drape - it looks rather thick and stiff like cowhide - is that just because it's new?
The drape is "stiffer" than the lamb off course. It's perfect for me though, and since my first Wested ever was the regular cowhide I can say for sure, that the novapella is not as stiff as that. I also guess it will soften up a bit with time.
From my personal point of view this jacket completes the journey, so far, since the authentic brown lamb is the way to go with Raiders SA, and the novapella is the CS SA. And whats more important IMHO: The novapella is the jacket I've also wanted that both feels and looks totally Indy
Cheers
Indy-K
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Thanks But I dont wanna scare people away with my "Trust me" smile, so I'm gonna do some studioshots like the other ones we did for Westeds siteBoilermakerJones wrote:Great jacket, Indy-K. It looks like the pictures you have are ready to post on the Wested site. They should have orders pouring in!
Matt
I guess You really didn't like the LC jacket neither then...? whiskyman, to be totally honest, I hadn't really thought about it untill You asked, and now that I compare them they are exactly alike! Surprised me too... But I remember my lamb as being darker when I received it. Since then it has been distressed heavily to give it the mat Raiders look, and at this moment I'm looking at two jackets with almost identical colors. Tomorrow I'll make a comparising shot in daylight. Photos are better than wordswhiskyman wrote:Lighter than authentic brown? Ah, I gues that rules this one out for me then. Shame, I like the grain and the level of distressing.
Cheers
Indy-K
Comparison shots in the same lighting would be very helpful indeed. I fear though that this hide won't be an option for me. I had an authentic brown lamb and never really liked the colour. Then I had a dark brown goat which I loved. Since then, I'm pretty much hooked on the darker brown as this is how I perceive the raiders jacket.
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Last edited by Kt Templar on Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It seems that the side straps on Wested's CS jacket are closer to the bottom?!?!?! How far from the bottom is it? It seems to be about the same as the way US Wings spaces theirs.
Look at the shape of KT's pocket flaps... They have a lovely flowing shape. Peter - make them all exactly like those!
Both of these CS jackets look great. I really like the pecards treatment on the Novapelle hide.
C3
Look at the shape of KT's pocket flaps... They have a lovely flowing shape. Peter - make them all exactly like those!
Both of these CS jackets look great. I really like the pecards treatment on the Novapelle hide.
C3
Wested has updated their website to include the Indy 4 connection. The main page states:
And on the sizing page, it says:During the production of the three Indy films, we manufactured a total of 48 jackets in three design styles. These Jackets were worn by various members of the cast, including Mr. Ford, his stand-in's, and stuntmen. We also provided 'Control Samples' for the new films 'Crystal Skulls' jacket made locally in LA. based on the Last Crusade pattern.
Since novapelle is supposed to be cowhide, is that a typo?The jacket is available in the following: Authentic brown lambskin, dark brown lambskin; dark brown Goatskin, pre-distressed brown cowhide. dark brown Horsehide and 'Novapelle' an antique brown horsehide.
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And it's looking GREAT! You enjoy it more and more as you wear it more. It really is a great middle ground beween weight and thickness and that surface is so nice.IndyK wrote:No, I didn't ask for any special meassurements. Just a long jacket made of novapellacitRon wrote:thanks! Are those just the 'standard' pockets or did you specify measurements?
Cheers
Indy-K
Bottom to strap = 12,5 centimeters on the lamb and 8 cm on the novapella.citRon wrote:someone mentioned this before, I think..the side straps are about 1 inch lower on the new cut. I think I like them higher up.
Indy-K, mind getting the ruler out again and measuring up from the bottom where the straps are on both?
Personly I'm not really interested in these details as for SA (sorry guys...). I just like the overall look and style of the jackets and having admitted to myself a long time ago that Harrison probably was a better choice for the part than me, and that my body and face will NEVER EVER become SA, I've decided to think more about how my jackets look on me than on screen
Thats why I like the new look. The length suits me better and the hide looks terrific. My lamb is still the cornerstone in my Raiders outfit, but it's still a movie-jacket IMHO. It's great looking on screen and photos, but for everyday wear and look, I choose CS style.
Cheers
Indy-K
I would say the CS jacket was based on the Last Crusade pattern by way of the Lee Keppler fan jacket. That new jacket write up will be interesting to say the least.whipwarrior wrote:Wested has updated their website to include the Indy 4 connection. The main page states:During the production of the three Indy films, we manufactured a total of 48 jackets in three design styles. These Jackets were worn by various members of the cast, including Mr. Ford, his stand-in's, and stuntmen. We also provided 'Control Samples' for the new films 'Crystal Skulls' jacket made locally in LA. based on the Last Crusade pattern.
Since novapelle is supposed to be cowhide, is that a typo?
PS- That Novapelle hide looks like a great predistressed hide.