Club Obi Wan

5'10"

I just don't understand how the costume designers for the Indy series decided lambskin was a good choice; seems to me they would go through 100's of these jackets per movie because the skin is too thin and would tear easily.

car96 wrote:5'10"

I just don't understand how the costume designers for the Indy series decided lambskin was a good choice; seems to me they would go through 100's of these jackets per movie because the skin is too thin and would tear easily.

Probably because it's the lightest and therefore would be the coolest during filming and it's the easiest to artificially distress.

Kyle

Agreed. But I was just watching Raiders and Crusade and thought to myself, man Ford and the stunt doubles just abuse these jackets....and they can't be switching jackets back and forth from scene to scene every time they tear one up.

I know there are different jackets in some scenes, but think about all the action.....seems like a lamb jacket would tear everytime....hence a different jacket every scene almost & then all the stunt jackets?

Kyle....your jacket LC, that you have on in front of that Pirates of the Caribbean....is Wested Authentic Brown Lamb? Sweet by the way.

Chad

They are light and are bearable under hot studio lights. And remember even though they are doing stunts most of it really is not as rough and tumble as it looks! It's movie magic.

The roughest stunt the jacket endured in LC was Ford dragged between the tank and the rock wall. And the dive across the Grail temple floor to catch Elsa. But that was a studio soundstage with artificial stone, which any decent weight lamb jacket could survive. Still, I cringe at that scene every time, not for the jacket, but for the bullwhip. That poor abused DM!

Great behind-the-scenes shots of LC! Although this is off topic, when viewing those shots of the actual jacket worn by Ford in LC, to me, it seems as if the jacket is actually too long in length. I'm certainly not a costume designer by any stretching, lol, but if I were - I would have opted for a lil' shorter jacket length, .

Congrats nonetheless on a very nice jacket!
Aaron

car96 wrote:
Kyle....your jacket LC, that you have on in front of that Pirates of the Caribbean....is Wested Authentic Brown Lamb? Sweet by the way.

Chad

Yessir. And thanks!



Kyle

car96 wrote:Agreed. But I was just watching Raiders and Crusade and thought to myself, man Ford and the stunt doubles just abuse these jackets....and they can't be switching jackets back and forth from scene to scene every time they tear one up.

I know there are different jackets in some scenes, but think about all the action.....seems like a lamb jacket would tear everytime....hence a different jacket every scene almost & then all the stunt jackets?

Kyle....your jacket LC, that you have on in front of that Pirates of the Caribbean....is Wested Authentic Brown Lamb? Sweet by the way.

Chad

Lambskin isn't quite so delicate... it is more susceptible to punctures than abrasions. The abrasions just give it character . It looks like three jackets were worn by Ford, and for most of the movie, just two. If I recall, there were about 10 for the stunt guys and they were mostly beat up and expendable, though a few survived and came into auctions or were inspected by some of our jacket makers. For fun, if you've got a Blu-Ray copy and a good eye, you can see where the jacket that Indy wore when he was shot in the truck actually appears earlier in the movie with a repaired sleeve from where the special effect blew on his arm. Just more "character"

True, but as Peter has said many times, the 'lambskin' used for the film jackets was not like what is currently available, as that tannery went out of business. The search for that type strength of hide has been the main 'quest' by jacket makers (including Peter) for literally decades.

Some lambskin jackets I've had are just as bullet proof as the ones seen in the film, while others I've had were as easy to tear as paper.....and did if snagged on somthing. Just just puncture....tear.

It's all in the luck of the draw, and the animal hide being used from jacket to jacket.

Regards! Michaelson

Totally agree... no wimpy sheep!

Puncture + movement = tear.

I also completely agree with the issue of tanning. The Kelso lamb is beautiful, and in most respects moves like the originals. But, there were stiffer elements to parts of the originals - for instance the upper side edges of the back panel didn't squish or crumple as much as the soft lamb we have now, and the side straps didn't tug wrinkles into the original's back panel. I think that's a combination of the tanning and possibly some water treatment (or just plain exposure to the difficult elements of sun, sweat and dirt) during filming.

My Nowak striated lamb is like a tank - every bit as tough as my cow jackets.

Michaelson wrote:It's all in the luck of the draw, and the animal hide being used from jacket to jacket.

It has nothing to do with the maker, but everything to do with the strength of the particular hide of the individual animal that made the jacket 'built like a tank'. You drew aces.

Regards! Michaelson

I almost posted this over in the Hero thread, but this is an interesting side-by-side I found while researching a recent purchase from Wested's Clearance bin.

The picture has been resized to fit this forum, but the comments are all from whomever posts as the Wested account. I have removed any names of those mentioned in the comments. This is all really interesting how different these patterns are, and I wish I had posted something about it sooner.

Also, I mean no malice towards Wested in posting this image or its discussion, I wanted to share this image and the comments made about it within this community. I've seen people here say they don't have FB, so you may not have seen this one. In all truth, this FB post actually helped me to make the decision to purchase the jacket and I'm happy with my purchase.

From Wested's Facebook page, circa 5 June 2014:

"Two jackets both Size 44, Sleeve 25.5" and Back 26.5"... Also - skin is dark lambskin on both and mannequins are exactly the same size..


- Nopeeeee! If you stood them next to each other in life they'd look the same as they do on screen right now... No tricks!

- You guys need to look closely - these jackets are EXACTLY the same measurements...

- Only £20 difference between the two! Technically ... the pocket flaps are different... they are two different styles of jacket... two separate patterns...

- I flipped the picture (but that's not the difference haha - regret flipping the picture now). ... is nearly right, one is a Hero, one is a UNSTUDDED Last Crusade (cheeky little trick there). BUT my point is... these jackets are EXACTLY the same length if you measure them but the sizing comes up completely different due to the pattern so be aware when you are ordering a Hero!! ... you are also slightly right, the Hero has over-sized shoulder and hangs off the back making the back seem longer... plus the collar is about an inch bigger - not shown well in this picture...

-Just thought all of you that ask the difference between the Hero and the Standards would find them side by side interesting!! Clearly it worked haha

- These are actually going on sale soon - they are returns. They're not male and female either!!! Both male - ones a Hero, ones a Crusade.

- Explanation: I put the measurements on the picture to show that despite having the EXACT same measurements they come up completely different on a body. So the one that LOOKS shorter is a Crusade jacket. The one that LOOKS longer is a Hero jacket. I hoped it would help everyone see that the Hero is an over-sized jacket but I think I've confused everyone haha! Thanks for the all the guesses though!"

At one point, all this makes sense, then the next moment I'm scratching my head as to how different these things can look.

Bottom line, these things are (evidently) very different, even with the same measurements.
(Also, if anyone wants to move this information to another post/thread be my guest.)

My new wested is shorter than i expected. If you wear a larger size the length should be longer.my jacket could be 2in longer for it to be perfect. Its the only complaint i have