The leather defies description. The pictures posted already come CLOSE to doing it justice, but I submit that there is no picture which can, with 100% accuracy, capture the true nature of this leather. It defies color identification. If you look at it straight on it looks a deep, dark brown-nearly black; but if you move just one inch to the right or left, or move into a slightly different lighting, the color becomes something completely different-not slightly different-but COMPLETELY different. It's every shade of brown you can imagine, and a slightly russet tint, and almost garnet-red in places, the color of a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout on the one hand, but the lighter amber color of a finely crafted pale ale, too. But all of this changes with whatever angle you are standing, where you are in relation to natural or artificial light...it's just simply the most exciting leather to LOOK at I think I've ever seen.
Taking the jacket out of the box, I am immediately struck by the weight and feel of the leather. Over and over again, Sarge has described it as feeling “like a long-sleeve shirt” in weight. Well, he's right, but...at the same time, it's most definitely NOT a shirt! The jacket IS light-don't get me wrong...but slipping it on, believe me, you KNOW you've got on a jacket! It's heavy enough to feel sturdy-not like it's going to fall apart at the seams or like you will tear it just wearing it (which I very distinctly recall feeling with other lambskin jackets I've tried to wear in the past)-but light enough that you could literally forget you were wearing it. The leather itself feels like nothing I've ever felt before in a leather-honestly! I run my fingers across this jacket with my eyes closed. I try to compare it to other surfaces and my mind is filled with images of silk sheets, goose-down comforters, clouds, and the way the first sip of a really good bourbon tastes as it burns ever so slightly going down.
Slipping the jacket on is like slipping on a perfectly-tailored suit jacket. Quite honestly, the jacket fits perfectly. I never quite understood the phrase “like a glove” until now-I could not have gotten a better fit on this jacket without getting one tailor-made. And knowing how this leather is going to stretch and form to my body over time just gives me goose-bumps thinking how much better it's going to get!
The jacket's construction, too, is unbelievable. There's not an errant stitch line or loose thread anywhere. The way it's put together, and the pattern used to make it, gives the jacket a fit that is nice and fitted to my body while also giving plenty of freedom of movement. It's built, like every other Wings jacket I've ever owned, despite its obvious suitability for more sophisticated environs, like a tank! Think crossing a Cadillac with a military Humvee. Think the luxuriously clad interiors of Land Rover Defenders. Think something you would not feel out of place wearing to the opera in Venice or Rome. Astounding.
I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story. They are just the first pictures and the lighting does not quite do the jacket justice. I'll add more as I can get into different natural lighting situations that will display the colors better. But pay close attention to the detail/grain focus shots that show the color variations as best I could show. Mrs. Indydawg took the pictures, and she's never used my camera before; I think they turned out pretty well! But, hey....you folks be the judge!
All I can say is that I wish I had some high-society dinner party to attend tonight-and that it wasn't 100 plus outside right now-one thing is absolutely certain...I'd be the best-dressed dude at the show!
Enjoy!!!
http://s285.photobucket.com/albums/ll59 ... ro%20Indy/
Highest Regards!
Indydawg
Great review. Mine is coming tomorrow, but alas I will be out of town until Friday when I can grab it before heading to the Oregon coast. That leather really looks to be unlike any I've seen...I can't wait to see it in person. I still can't believe how unbelievably generous Sarge is being with our community, and I'm glad you are so pleased with this jacket. Thanks again for the review and all the great pics!
so it would be hard to wear it anyways. Very nice review, great description, and terrific looking jacket! 
It cooled down enough this evening after dinner to get out in some different light and try a few more shots....I also took some shots in the study earlier in some ambient lighting and on the stairs....just shows how wild this jacket gets in different lighting...AND it shows off the grain that's already popping out in some places.
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Thanks! It's not often that I find a situation conducive to "putting myself out there." But, I couldn't think of a good way to actually show the jacket off without putting it on....
I'm looking at the jacket and wearing the thing...it fits!