Jacket Philosophy

[IndianaGeo]

Hi Everyone,
So I´ve been trying to figure out what it is about this "hobby" or whatever you want to call it that has taken control of much of my free thinking time lately. I´ve got two Westeds and now thinking of getting yet another one because I never want to run out of them. I´ve always been a jacket person but I´m wondering...why? What is it about a nice jacket that just makes me feel good.. or right? I think it goes beyond a good fit, or a particular style. In the case of an Indy jacket there´s just something so timeless about it, so "classic".

If anyone cares to indulge in this exercise, I would ask...What is your "Jacket Philosophy" if you will. What IS a jacket to you? What does it do for you? What meaning does it have? Is it a friend? A companion? A lover? Maybe all three in some abstract way? I hope some of you get where I´m coming from with this because I sure can´t figure it out!

[YARVTON]

Do you wear the jackets? Often?

[Woodford]

I've got the one. OTR Wested Goat cos it was cheap, it fits & looks good. I wanted a G&B but they didn't bother to reply and didn't want the shipping/customs aggravation anyway and I reckon it would have been nearly £300 all in. I enjoy reading all the posts about the specifics with the jackets and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not for me.

[IndianaGeo]

Do you wear the jackets? Often?

Yes, of course I wear them. That´s what jackets are for, at least for me. I wear them when the weather is appropriate for them.

[Doeindy]

I love the old Bogart and adventure films, and of course I love the more modern version of that, which is Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Raiders jacket has that classic, no vintage look. The jacket has style and is not really connected to fashion as so many clothes are these days. It is a case of stepping out of the norm and wearing something that speaks more volumes and is a great conversation peice. Because the jacket style is so detatched from our modern times that we live in; the jacket becomes something special to wear; like a Sunday suit to Church. This jacket for me is also my childhood memories; when I recieved so much excitement and infuence from watching a simple adventure movie. When I was 9 years old I watched the movie for the first time; I wanted to be Indy; what an exciting way to live; I thought. Indy looked so cool, and I wanted that for myself when I was a child. Now I have the one opportunity to buy the jacket this Saturday. It will proberbly be the first and the last, as I do not really have the money; I am only getting this one because my loving family gave me the money for my Birthday recently.

To sum it up; to have the jacket is a dream come true for me; the jacket is a very precious part of my childhood.................its my child memories.

Thanks for asking,

Paul.

[PSBIndy]

...and it isn't just about jackets either.....most "gearheads" here own several fedoras, several Indy shirts, several pants, several whips, several Aldens or look-alike boots, couple bags, couple holsters, and on and on and on.......it never ends.

[Stringer]

(edited because im a dyslexic fool)

I've worn my jacket as my everyday jacket for several years.

Everyone who knows me, expects to see me in it. Friends who don't know its 'origin' tell me its a great jacket and my second skin. Friends who do know the 'origin' tell me i've had a better relationship with that jacket than with most people i've met.

I've had a few too many real adventures in it, and the scars in the poor thing show, but it has been my skin.

I've allways been a leather jacket man. When i was an early teenager, it was a flig
ht jacket. When i hit my late teens and discovered electric guitar, i had biker jackets (the cover of BORN TO RUN had a lot to answer for). But above all, i was always looking for a certain timeless look. A sort of James Dean, exceot Dean in real life never matched the image i had in my head. After a while, i realised that my idea of a leather jacket stemmed back to a childhood of wanting to be Indiana Jones. A child of the 80's, i stole a leather tie off my uncle to be a whip, and my friends would hold my mattress on its side for me to run across and stage some daring stunt. So several years ago i started to search for the 'timeless' indy jacket and found this place, and then wested. One jacket was too big. The second was in predistressed cow, and was a great jacket, but not the one i'd fallen for as a kid. The third was the charm, and has stayed with me up until now, when i need to replace it.

When i upped sticks and moved to another country, it was with nothing more than a satchel, a rucksack, and my raiders jacket for warmth.

Its also, think, a good lesson to the pecards people out there.
Ive seen many posts in my years of lurking, of people who treat it fresh out of the box, and then again every time the jacket even looks at the outside world.

My jacket has never been treated. Now, okay, it is showing it. Its in need of a treatment of something, and some protection. The leather in a couple of places is starting to crack and wear. But this is after several years of EVERY DAY USE.

I'm not saying that people shouldnt treat the jacket. I've been dumb, really, in never doing it. But its only now showing wear, and even that is fixable.

Treat your jacket to some protection once a year, maybe. Thats all you need. Or after a really bad storm, or maybe if you get dragged behind a truck.

To wrap it in 'cotton wool' is to not let it get the natural ageing that it deserves.

[Michaelson]

Good info at the end, but let's post that in the gear care section, if you don't mind. It will be lost in this thread.

Regards! Michaelson

[Stringer]

Good info at the end, but let's post that in the gear care section, if you don't mind. It will be lost in this thread.

Regards! Michaelson

Fair point, i'll visit that section of the forum tomorrow, my better half will kill me if i'm up any later on a Glasgow night

[Bowie]

Stringer - Good story and I'm pickin up what you're layin down...... In my mind THAT is what an indy jacket should be. It's the one that becomes a second skin, the favorite that is always on, and when you're with out it, friends say, where's the jacket?!?! As far as the scars and damage go, well those are pages in a larger story.

I saw that Wested was mentioned, but was that last one, "the charm" a Wested?? and what kind of hide??

Thanks
Bowie

[YARVTON]

I don't know how the numbers break down, but it seems to me that a certain percentage of fans buy the stuff mainly to build a shrine to Indiana Jones. There's a difference between Wardrobe and Costume Collection, and I think different motivations behind both.

[jacksdad]

I've worn leather jackets all my life too, recently I had the chance to aquire two historic a-2's and I thought they would be it,but when Indiana Jones came around again,the movie awoke something dormant,a look that I always had wanted to emuliate,and a look that fits me, when I got my first wested goat skin a few weeks ago I had found my jacket. I now wear more khaki pants that are the cargo type rather than jeans and have gotten one close enough shirt,and even my wife said it looked great on me. the style fits me well.when I was little I wanted to be Han Solo,Batman, and Indy. Now that I'm older I feel Indy's style is what I like and fits in the most. I haven't tried a fedora quite yet since I'm waiting from another member for my first one, but I think whenI get the hat it will complete the look and just look nautral on me.It won't be drees up it'll be a classic style that never goes out and is something you can feel comfortable in at any age. I'm 38 and have always been looking for that,how do I dress, what should I wear,jeans polo shirt,shorts t-shirt,but they never felt right,Indy's style feels right.

[Louisiana Jones]

What IS a jacket to you? What does it do for you? What meaning does it have? Is it a friend? A companion? A lover? Maybe all three in some abstract way? I hope some of you get where I´m coming from with this because I sure can´t figure it out!

I definitely get where you're coming from. I see my jacket as a friend.. although to some it probably sounds silly. A sort of connection develops with a leather jacket.. when you first put it on it's stiff and a little awkward, but over time it loosens up and starts to take your shape and one day you put it on and say, "Wow, when did this thing get so comfortable." You care for the leather and treat it once or twice a year (or once or twice a month as some of you crazy guys do!).. and it feels good to know you are protecting that jacket and helping it last. You look through old photo albums and see pictures of yourself throughout the years in that same leather jacket.. and you both change over the years.

I'm sure some of you guys are thinking I'm off my rocker.. but to me there ain't nothing like a good leather jacket. I haven't spent enough time in my Wested to get fully "acquainted" with it if you will.. perhaps one day but from a quality, durability and comfort standpoint my Langlitz will get the call most often when I reach into the closet. It's the best leather jacket I have ever handled..made to my exact measurements by a small, family run business that started making custom motorcycle jackets in the 40s. There's definitely a connection a guy gets with his leather jacket when he's had it long enough.. you go through a lot together... too bad your jacket can't crack open a beer and reminisce about the old times, huh!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t210 ... 5/Tom1.jpg

LJ

[PSBIndy]

I think the only group that are as fanatical about their jackets as Indy gearheads are bikers......if you are a biker and an Indy gearhead, heaven help you! .................It's a good thing Indy's signature jacket wasn't a "Members-Only" jacket.....imagine where we would be now

[Zombie Jones]

Most bikers are "fanatical" about their jackets for one simple reason--it's their armor, their only real protection when something goes wrong (helmets aside, of course). A quality leather jacket that fits well (comfort is definitely an issue as well) is worth it's weight in gold when the rubber leaves the road. Of course, once their club's "colors" are applied it becomes something more, but that's another issue for another discussion.

I've had one leather jacket that has seen me through the last 25 years. Black leather, traditional "biker" style (think "Mutt Williams"). When I bought it, I had high hopes that it would become my "second skin" jacket, the one I'd wear 'til the day I died. Trouble is, I live in Southern California where the warm weather prohibits the wearing of leather jackets most of the year (unless you're into sweating). So my 25-year-old jacket is barely broken in and, unfortunately, I've outgrown it. When I bought it, I was a scrawny size 38; due to weight training and that "thickening" of the body that comes with age, I'm now a size 44. My 38 still fits, as long as I don't plan on moving around in it or zipping it up, but it's no longer practical.

So I now have what I hope will someday become my new "second skin" jacket--a Wested custom Raiders in Novapelle. Haven't had a chance to wear it yet, since I only received it yesterday. But it's comfortable, fits well (I think so, anyway), and it's a classic design that will never go out of style. I guess my "philosophy" is that a jacket often becomes, as Louisiana Jones stated, a friend. A companion that goes with you through life, offers protection and comfort, gives you a place to carry your keys, wallet, mail, cigarettes, whatever. As such, it often becomes a part of your identity, a part of the way people see you, identify you, evaluate you, recognize you, remember you. Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong.

[Louisiana Jones]

Most bikers are "fanatical" about their jackets for one simple reason--it's their armor, their only real protection when something goes wrong (helmets aside, of course).

That's how I've always felt.. and back in May 2007 I had to ride to a store litteraly just around the corner from my house to pick something up for my Sister's Memorial Day BBQ... it was a blistering 95 degree day out and I thought.. "Eh, just riding around the corner I don't need my jacket."

AND BAMMO!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t210 ... eck002.jpg

I convinced the nurses at the hospital not to give me any pain killers because I was stupid enough to ride without leathers and deserved whatever pain I was feeling.

And I was scheduled to work on Indy 4 in a month!! I was terrified I was gonna get the boot! I had surgery on my hand and never told anyone except wardrobe so they could help me hide the cast. Luckily my limp and cast weren't noticed until my last day...whew.

If only I had an awesome, leather Members Only Indy jacket on!! (that was hilarious PSBIndy!)

LJ

[Castor Dioscuri]

I'll be honest.

I just think the jacket looks good, and I want a leather jacket that will make ME look good. Simple as that, and it also helps that it was the same jacket that my favorite actor wore in one of his movie series!

I mean, chances of me tumbling off a cliff with it, being drug behind a truck, getting shot at, stabbed at (with anything more dangerous than a fencing foil), or falling into the sea with it would have the same odds as me winning the pulitzer. I'm just not that masochistic, or dangerous of a person to do something like that. A jacket on me would have about as much excitement as one of Dean Stanworth's jackets... Closet, take a walk, sit in a restaurant maybe, ride a car, sit on a plane maybe, go for a 'dangerous' trek through a state park protected by state officials...

But getting back to your original question, I guess everyone here is a little OCD... If I get one jacket, I gotta get one closer to what I see on screen. Then I gotta get another that fits even better to what I see on screen. Then I decide to take those measurements and make them fit me. Then the new movie comes out, and it is a chance to get a 'authentic' jacket. Etc...

It's like the quest that just never dies!

[CM]

I'll be honest too.

The Indy jacket looks cool. So do a bunch of other jackets. I like the idea of owning a bunch of cool looking jackets. I have no desire to make any of my jackets a "special friend". I have relationships with human beings to do that.

The Indy jacket is one of many jackets (leather or otherwise) one could own. Let's not let them prevent us from trying to bring about something actually important, like world peace, or getting trains to run on time.

[Castor Dioscuri]

I have no desire to make any of my jackets a "special friend". I have relationships with human beings to do that.

I concur. Especially since the idea of having a 'special friend' pair of shoes, and a 'special friend' bag, etc just makes the hobby too nutty for me... Nuttier than it already is, that is!

For some reason, I could almost see myself going over the edge, and going up to some random stranger in the street and going: "This is my friend Leather Lenny! and this is my friend Ollie Alden! and this is my friend Holey Hat! and OOOH, this is my friend PainScarOuch Whip! Would you like to touch Mr. Whip?"

[Louisiana Jones]

I have no desire to make any of my jackets a "special friend". I have relationships with human beings to do that.

But my jacket talks to me.. tells me stories.. and holds my hand at the movies... no it really does!

LJ

[Michaelson]

Oh, I don't know.

One of my favorite toasts that supposedly comes from Ireland goes:

"Friends are like warm clothes in the night air. Best when they're old, and missed the most when they're gone."

So, sure. Make friends with a well made leather jacket, and you'll be friends for a long time.

Regard! Michaelson

[Louisiana Jones]

Awesome.

[Lord_Clarence]

Cool thread!

I've always been a jacket guy. My first cool jacket was a blue Members Only (hey, as a little kid in the '80s, it was cool), on which I stuck my Return of the Jedi patch from the Lucasfilm Fan Club; it was my Han Solo jacket. Later in middle school it was a brown suede jacket--not really because it made me think of Indy, I just liked it. High school: gray suede. And now, of course, my Wested.

The way I feel about my jacket... I'm not a collector guy, really, and I'm not a full-gear-every-day kind of guy. (And there's certainly nothing wrong with either of those.) I like to have something that feels good and expresses something about who I am: I like a little adventure, I like things from the old days... more specifically I suppose it says I like Indiana Jones, but I think it's more about the attitude--being ready for something unexpected, to get a little dirty maybe. I'm just rambling a little here.

The truth is, to know me you wouldn't think those things about me necessarily. Perhaps donning the jacket imbues you with some of those qualities for a little while--as much as you are communicating an idea of who you are to others, you are affirming what you would like to be to yourself. And if you tell yourself you are a certain way enough times, well, you are. So far as it's positive traits being conveyed, that's a good thing.

One thing more: In the Central Valley of California, it's just not jacket weather for at least half the year. So when fall comes around, or on those special occasions during the summer when you venture into the mountains, and you get that jacket out, and put it on... mmmm. It really is an old friend.

And you find that thingamabob in your left cargo pocket that you didn't know what happened to.

Regards,
LC

[IndianaGeo]

After having given it some thought, I think for me it all goes back to the old days when my father would tell me stories about Magellan, Columbus, Marco Polo, and other explorers. We´d also watch the Johnny Quest cartoons together on a Sunday morning.

He´d also studied geology in college and although he worked in a different field so to speak for his entire adult life, he´d still take me and my sister out on "digs" looking for fossils, arrowheads, and anything else we could find. These excursions also served to teach us about, and to respect, nature. It was a time to dress up like an explorer-- a jacket with pockets, a geologist´s hammer, a bag, and a hat. So I guess I have a "relationship" with a jacket...an explorer´s type of jacket. When I put on my Wested, I feel a rush of youth, of adventure, of comfort, of protection, and preparedness for anything. It´s "Me", who I want to project to the world...and, yes, it looks great too!

Cheers,
IndianaGeo

[Castor Dioscuri]

Oh, I don't know.

One of my favorite toasts that supposedly comes from Ireland goes:

"Friends are like warm clothes in the night air. Best when they're old, and missed the most when they're gone."

So, sure. Make friends with a well made leather jacket, and you'll be friends for a long time.

Regard! Michaelson

Ah, but the key thing to remember here is that the toast goes:

Friends are like warm clothes in the night air.

[Ravenswood]

When I was a little kid, I always thought of leather jackets as "the real deal" and wondered when I would be privileged enough to own one. I thought as a kid, a leather jacket would be a wasted investment, cause I would rapidly outgrow it. As the day draw near, I was chagrined to see that a lot of the leather jackets my friends were wearing, particularly the bomber style, were made of this very thin, paper bag-like leather, which I knew to be studious to avoid when I finally took the plunge. If I was gonna invest, it better be nice and thick, and feel like a second skin. I also knew it would make me feel more rough, ready, and confident.
Then along came Raiders...I thought, now THERE's a jacket's jacket!
I made careful note of the styling as I watched the movie, and realized that this mustve been a one of a kind, and I'd be hard pressed to find one off the rack, if ever. I'd have to find a bomber jacket without the cuffs and waist-band...Then along came the Cooper jacket. My holy grail had arrived, and the romance has been burning ever since
Since then, i got a few Westeds, and a couple of Fonzie jackets too! AAAAYYY!!

[Castor Dioscuri]

a lot of the leather jackets my friends were wearing, particularly the bomber style ... were made of this very thin, paper bag-like leather ... If I was gonna invest, it better be nice and thick...

Then along came Raiders...I thought, now THERE's a jacket's jacket!

Do I sense irony in that statement?

[CM]

I hope so.

[Ravenswood]

I have to rush to this one, and sorry i STILL havent learned how to do the quote thing, but yeah the irony is slathered all over that buttery soft lambskin!

[ichnob]

I have to rush to this one, and sorry i STILL havent learned how to do the quote thing, but yeah the irony is slathered all over that buttery soft lambskin!

When you want to quote a post, there's a button at the top right corner of said person's post that says "Quote." If you want to use snippets of quotes, use this code:

Code: Select all

[quote="INSERTNAME"]INSERT QUOTED TEXT[/quote]

This way you can have multiple quotes in one post.

And so as to not derail the thread...

I love jackets. Finishing college a few years ago, I was mainly a hooded sweater type guy, but I owned a few track jackets, random black and brown jackets, and one non-Indy black leather jacket. After college, I began owning other types of jackets like sports coats, and blazers, along with my first Indy jacket courtesy of a COW member. I'd love to own a custom Indy jacket tailored to me someday, but before I can, I must get an AB from Steve.

Coming to this board made me realize that, along with Indy's look, there are some clothing styles that are just so classic and timeless that they will still fit in with today's fashion. A nice coat. A fancy hat. Just plain old proper attire. I know it's not Indy-esque, but I hope to get a good trench coat or overcoat to go with all the fedoras I'll be buying.

[YARVTON]

Of course he HAD one, you just don't see it. All the Hollywood men had their trench coats -- often by Aquascutum -- and in those days Southern California followed New York and London for Gentlemen's Attire.

If your college is in New York or New England, you need a rain coat in the fall, and you definitely need a heavy overcoat for winter. Indy may not have had a dozen leather jackets, but he certainly had a topcoat/trench
and tweed or cashmere overcoat. And the fedoras look even better with dress wear, since they were a dress hat to begin with.

[ichnob]

Couldn't agree with you more about the fedoras matching trench and over coats. I went to college in Southern California, so there really isn't a big demand for such things over here. In fact, finding one at a reasonable price in a B&M store has been an adventure in itself.

[Ken]

For me its very simple - I wear the jacket and I am Indiana Jones.

At least this is how I feel, even if on just small level - but lets face it, that is why all of us buy the gear really. On some level all of us want to be Indy and thats why we buy the gear.

Ken

[Stringer]

I saw that Wested was mentioned, but was that last one, "the charm" a Wested?? and what kind of hide??

Thanks
Bowie

It was indeed. Lamb in brown.

I've been measuring it up recently to help figure what i need to ask for when i order a new one. I'm sure i had custom measurments done at the time, as the arms are longer and the back shorter than standard. Satin lining and inside leather facings. I like both of these over more screen accurate inside, simply because it makes for a more durable jacket IMO.

[Castor Dioscuri]

Satin lining and inside leather facings. I like both of these over more screen accurate inside, simply because it makes for a more durable jacket IMO.

I thought cotton lining was more durable than satin?

[Stringer]

I thought cotton lining was more durable than satin?

Well its always going to come down to personal preference, and to how/where/why you wear your jackets.

For me, cotton linings on my coats or jackets never last long. They show dirt quicker, they catch on things, and they seem to tear more easily. The cotton lining on my two previous westeds, whilst well made, were no exception.

My satin is still pretty much as it was out of the box. A little stretched around the seams on the shoulder and waist...but thats down to me filling out.

[Cassidy]

My jacket is my armor. Only comes off when it's hot, I'm sleeping, or I'm...well, you know.

I'll be buried it too.

[Indiana Strones]

or I'm...well, you know.

Even in those moments you can wear it, for a... "grab the idol" scene...

[Castor Dioscuri]

I thought cotton lining was more durable than satin?

Well its always going to come down to personal preference, and to how/where/why you wear your jackets.

For me, cotton linings on my coats or jackets never last long. They show dirt quicker, they catch on things, and they seem to tear more easily. The cotton lining on my two previous westeds, whilst well made, were no exception.

My satin is still pretty much as it was out of the box. A little stretched around the seams on the shoulder and waist...but thats down to me filling out.

Well that's always good to hear, because I for one never liked the cotton linings anyway!

Though I only have one cotton lined Indy, I hardly wear it because the label is sewn on in such a way that makes it itchy on a t-shirt. It only seems a lot 'grabbier' on my sleeves and hotter.

The rest of my jackets have either satin, silk, or nylon (assuming that's what Nowak uses for his jackets). All of them are ridiculously comfortable, durable (only one has scratches and that's due to my watch), and are trustworthy even on a blizzard with a t-shirt underneath! Though the tight fit that I prefer may account for that as well...