I have always found Wested to be like rolling the dice and hoping. They have limited customization and the fan base has worn them out over the years with requests. They offer the basic customizations listed, though the jacket cut (Raiders vs TOD vs LC etc.) will influence your decisions on measurements and it can be very difficult to end up with what you hope and expect. They tend to be reserved responders to email and questions (again, having received so many over the years). I’ve been to the shop and met with Peter back in the day and he was a terrific, gracious, enthusiastic guy. As for ordering, they are very fast. I’ve received custom jackets from them in less than 3 weeks, once less than 2 weeks, and I’m near Chicago.
On to Steele and Jones…an entirely different experience. They are fully customizable to any request you make, they are responsive to your messages, they offer careful, pre-construction distressing (to prevent damage to stitching) to whatever degree you wish -screen accurate, less, more, whatever and they have done extensive research, having in fact inspected, measured and photographed originals. They started as fans primarily and their passion for doing things right and making people happy with their purchase is unmatched. They don’t have the wide variety of hides that Wested offers owing to their more focused scope, but they go out of their way to offer hides that are the closest possible match. They’ll tell you what the hide will look like distressed (brown undertones or whatever), confirm hardware selection, pockets, everything… before production. Now as for timing, they are a small shop that does fully custom work. There is nothing hanging on the rack to ship out. Their lead times vary but I’d say are 6 months+ ish, so patience is needed. During that time, they are always great at returning messages, providing updates, etc.
So, in summary, Wested is fast, somewhat chancy, doesn’t offer distressing, has more hides, limits customization, and is a somewhat reluctant communicator. Steele and Jones offer full customization, great screen accuracy, fantastic customer service with excellent communication, custom distressing, and longer production times.
With Steele and Jones, it’s very likely you’ll get the exact jacket you want. With Wested it’s likely you’ll buy more than one Indy jacket.
