Club Obi Wan

Is this advisable even if a person does not often wear the jacket zippered?
I rarely wear my current jacket zippered and wonder if it is worth doing for my (soon to order) Wested? I notice my jacket hangs a bit forward when unzippered. I like the way it looks and wonder if adding an inch will give too much drape up front?
I Hope this makes sense!....
Thanks all!

I would think it depends more on how you wear the jacket and what the lining material is.

If you have wear the jacket right up against the back of the neck and have a "grippy" lining like cotton, then the extra inch probably won't make a difference. However, if you have a smooth lining like satin or polyester/dacron, etc the jacket may ride away from the neck making the front look too short. Can't hurt to get the extra inch, even with the jacket unzipped, it would probably not be noticeable.

If you like the way it looks, I suggest you just leave well enough alone. You know, the old 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' routine. I, for one, have NEVER added this length to my jackets when ordering, and have not had a bit of trouble. The linings have not seemed to make any difference, and I've owned them all. Personally, I do NOT like an all satin lined version, and it ALWAYS slides away from my neck and off my shoulders unless it IS zipped. Just an aside. Some folks like the added length, but it's not required. Just my spin on the topic....Regards. Michaelson

Thanks for the replies. Considering I like the way this current jacket hangs, I will probably not go for the extra inch.

Forgive me, but I'm new to this modification. When you add an inch up front is that to the width/girth of the jacket or the length of the jacket front? If it is to the length of the jacket, will the front extend down farther then the back panel? And would the side panels match up with the front?

Axel

From what I understand the added inch to the front is to add length. This is to counteract the jacket from riding up in the front when zippered.
The front of the jacket when viewed sideways might appear a bit longer in the front. From some pictures I have seen, the added length is done with a taper and is not very noticable. I assume it also depends on the eye of the observer.

Check out Shanhai Jack's new wested here: http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic ... be5ab332ee He got his with an extra inch. He has posted pics and a link to his site with more pics. That should give you some idea.

Oh, I am jealous!!

Thanks for the clarification. It may just be the way ShanghaiJack is standing, but the back does look shorter than the front from his side shots.

Axel

Axel, I think to a certain extent it is because I am not standing completely straight in those photos. I do, however, believe that Wested jackets tend to be, or appear shorter in the back than the front regardless of the extra inch added to the front of the jacket. Watch Raiders again and you should see quite a few scenes where the front of the jacket is or appears to be longer. I've also seen this on a lot of COW members' photos–some with and some without the extra inch. On my jacket at least, it really depends on my posture and on how I am wearing the jacket. If the jacket is pulled forward on the shoulders flush with the back of my neck, as most people wear jackets, then the front definitely appears longer. On the other hand, if I wear the jacket farther back from my neck and a little off the shoulders then the front and back appears to be the same length. This is how I tend to wear the jacket, except in the photos I posted , and it is worn like this a lot of the time in ROTLA. I am completely glad I got the extra inch in front, because if I hadn't I can tell that the jacket would definitely ride up in the front when it is zipped and I do zip up my jacket. Got Maul also got the extra inch on his jacket and put up some great pics on this thread http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic ... light=maul
unfortunately it looks like the webpage is down. You might pm him and see if he can repost the pics. It will give you another idea of what the extra inch looks like and his posture in the photos is much better than mine. Hope this long winded post was helpful.
Regards,
Jack

I added an inch to the front of my jacket and I agree with Shanghai - when zipped I would definitely have noticed some rideup in the front. As it is the jacket seems perfectly balanced.

I guess if you never wear it zipped up you won't notice as much, but as I wear mine zipped up from time to time I figured it was better to have the alteration done.