My Wested soft cowhide LC jacket dealie

[PsychicsAndSwords]

Okay, so it occurs to me that I promised to post some pics of my new Wested when I got it a month or two back, but then the real world dragged me away from my computer for a while and I plum forgot about it. Anyway, I finally remembered. Yay me!

So, screen accuracy is not my primary concern, so I didn't ask for any SA mods or anything. I started with a size 44 base LC jacket and asked for the following personalizations:
Soft seal brown cowhide
Sleeve and back length to my specifications*
X-box stitching & black sliders on the side straps
All satin lining
Personalized name tag
Gussets
Second inner pocket
Reinforced stitching

...and that's about it. A few notes on my choices: This is my fourth Wested. I've been buying them and selling them off over the last 10 years as I've lost more and more weight. None of them before now ever fit quite right, either, even before I lost too much weight to continue wearing them. This is the first time I've had one that actually fits exactly how I want it to (of course, the bad fit on my first jacket was my fault, because I was stupid enough to try taking my own measurements; the third jacket was purchased pre-made from their clearance rack and had been customized for someone else, so I wasn't expecting it to fit right). Between my previous jackets I've had all three liner options - all cotton, which I absolutely hated, all-satin, which I loved, and the cotton body/satin sleeves, which was tolerable. I know cotton is the popular choice due to durability issues but to me, I just don't like the way it feels.

Also, this is the third time I'd asked for the nametag and the first time they actually included it - the first time they actually included all of my requests, for that matter.

But I'm rambling. Anyway, here's the pics.

Front, unzipped:


And zipped:


Back:


A side-by-side with my US Wings Antique Cow hero, and this should give you an idea of why I'm not happy with the Wings fit even though I otherwise absolutely adore the jacket:

(for reference, the Wings is a large long, and the Wested is essentially a 44 long)

And a closeup comparison:



*I know the sleeves are a little long but I asked for that for two reasons. One is that I figured they'd shrink (and over the short time I've had it they've already lost about half an inch), and the other is that I'm okay with sleeves that are too long, but it really really bugs me when I raise my arm and the sleeve rides up halfway. As a visual example, here's my Wings Antique Cow (top) and the Wested (bottom):

[Indyzane]

Very nice indeed! I like those comparison pics. Thanks for sharing!

[atkins]

PsychicsAndSwords, could you describe the leather texture? is it grainy and 'pebble'-y?

Thanks in advance,
Atkins

[Holt]

It's a pebbly skin that grains up like crazy. I have the sample. realy nice skin. very red brown undertones.

could we see the jacket how it looks now after a few months of wear?

[Ian]

I think I've got one in this hide....Mine was in the clearance section and when I asked about it I was just told it was cow hide....The grain on mine is very pebbly and the seal on it is almost waterproof....For a while I started to suspect that it was goat because of the pebbly look....BTW it was also my first Indy Jacket..

If mine is the same hide, it's very hard wearing and seems to take for ever to break in......Not a bad thing..

Ian

[Holt]

then its not the same skin I think. I think you have the regular cowhide with a new hard surface. this cowhide above is actually novapelle with new finish. it's called waxy brown soft seal cowhide. it ages and scratches very easily.

[Ian]

Ah...Thanks for that...

Ian

[Tremolo]

Congrats on that beautiful jacket!
The longer sleeves were a good choice, I ordered my jacket the same and am really enjoying the length. Especially after they got wrinkled a bit.
From looking at the pictures I would say that this isn´t the waxy cowhide but the soft seal brown cowhide. If I remember correctly Peter offers 5 different cowhides at the moment and two of them are waxy brown soft cowhide and soft seal brown cowhide (which is Novapelle in new as Holt already pointed out).
Anyway, both are very nice hides!

[PsychicsAndSwords]

then its not the same skin I think. I think you have the regular cowhide with a new hard surface. this cowhide above is actually novapelle with new finish. it's called waxy brown soft seal cowhide. it ages and scratches very easily.

Actually, I don't think it's either one of those. It's unbelievably soft, it's pretty pebbly, and the sleeves have wrinkled/shortened a bit. But other than that it doesn't seem to want to age at all. I actually took a little sandpaper to a hidden bit inside the bottom hem (not big on artificial distressing) and even that didn't want to age it. Well, it roughed up the surface but it seems like it's dyed through and through?

Anyway, I've had lamb and goat from Wested before and both of those started showing wear around the shoulders/storm flap pretty quickly, and the soft seal cowhide of this jacket isn't.

Actually, I just got my new authentic brown goat TOD jacket the other day and have been trying to get some good pics but none of them want to come out. This is the best I got, with the seal brown LC in question on the bottom (after wearing it on all but the coldest days since I got it last year):



I got the TOD with a longer body and slightly shorter sleeves. Unfortunately the goat is wrinkling/shrinking way quicker than the cow has been (and I got it a size smaller and it has the closer fit, so the shoulders are a bit narrower too), and they are already almost up to my wrists. Luckily though I don't think they'll go any more.

[Holt]

right thanks.

so you just ordered the ''soft seal brown cowhide'' yes? how is the weight compared to the soft goat and Naked cow HERO? just so I can get an idea.

[PsychicsAndSwords]

Yeah, I just picked "soft seal brown cowhide" and didn't ask for anything special, leatherwise.

As far as weight? It's definitely heavier and has more heft than the goat, but it isn't super-heavy. I recently had a Wings import cowhide Legend in hand and that leather was thicker, stiffer and heavier than the Wested soft cow. (I don't remember the cow Hero because I sold it off a while back, but from what I remember it was lighter than the Wested).

Here's another quick pic of the sleeves to show the difference in texture between the goat & soft cow:

[PsychicsAndSwords]

Okay, my recollections of the Wings jackets are a little vague. So, just for accuracy's sake, I put my two Westeds on a little digital scale I have. The soft cowhide came in at 4 pounds 1 ounce, while the authentic brown goat is 2 pounds 14 ounces. The jackets aren't the exact same size/dimensions but are pretty similar. (Also the cow has satin lining and the goat has nylon, not sure if that would make any difference weight-wise)

[Holt]

thanks. it looks really dark but is it really THAT dark or is it the flash that gives it that extra dark shade.

[PsychicsAndSwords]

The pics darken it a little but... yeah, it's pretty dark.

[atkins]

Thanks for that comparison and description ,PsychicsAndSwords. On to soft waxy cowhide like Tremolo's