Club Obi Wan

Okay. I have been reading this site for weeks considering the Wested. I actually bought and returned a US Wings goatskin INdy Jacket_too dang heavy and a little snug in my belly area.

I have a barrel shape upper body with broad shoulders and long arms, but only 5 ft 8 inches. Go figure.

Waist measurement for pants is 44 but around the thickest part of my "tailor's waist" it is 47 inches. My sleeve length measurement (mid point of back to cuff) is 36 and my shoulders from mid point to seam is 11 inches.

On a nice fitting, roomy, coat my shoulder measurement (seam to seam) is 23 inches all across and the sleeves (from shoulder seam to cuff) are 26 inches
The "waistcoat front measurement" (front of shoulder to just below belt) is 24 inches.

I wear a 50 regular suit coat comfortably but that is a suit coat

Back Length from bottom of collar to where I want the jacket to stop is 23 inches.

If Wested builds in 4 inches extra above chest measurement and I want a roomy fit, should I order a 52 regular jacket?

And I need to add 1.5 inches to sleeve length for elbow break-in ride up, right?

I want to get a ToD auth brown.

Is there anything I have forgotten? Any advice as to giving proper sizes for a roomy fit (sweater underneath).

I have auth brown goat ToD Wested. I love it. As for the size I would go up one. The 4 inches of room doesn't leave much room for a sweater. I'm 6'3 and normally wear a 44L, but when I ordered my Wested I talked to Peter and decided to go up to a 46L. Like you I wanted to be able to wear a sweater under it and since I'm 20 I wanted a little room to grow.

Good Luck!

I plan to go UP a size in tyhe jacket sizing to guarantee roomy fit.

Tell me about your sleeves. How m,uch extra length did you asdd to your nnormal (shirt sleeve or nice fitting jacket) measurement? I have measured across the sholders seam to seam for a full shoulder width and then measured from seam to cuff off of a nice fitting jacket. How much shoul I add to that to account for the break in crawl up so many people warn of?

Thanks

I put on an A-2 that fit me very well and measured from the shoulder seam down to the first knuckle of my thumb. You can also measure from the edge of your shoulder down to the first knuckle of your thumb. For me that was 27inches. After wearing my jacket for almost 6 months the sleeve now measures 26 inches. It strikes me about half way between my wrist and the frist knuckle of my thumb. Perfect IMHO.

So here's how I did it.
1. Measure from the shoulder seam of my A-2 down to the first knuckle of my thumb. 27 inches.
2. Placed my order with Wested over the phone. Told them exactly what my measurements were. Note: the only measurements I gave them were sleeve, chest and height. I just trusted them with the rest.
3. Was on pins and needles from August to November hoping I didn't mess up.

Good Luck!

Okay. I've done that. I have a canvas jacket that fits perfectly. A Sleeve length (26inches) and shoulder (23 inches all across) fit very well. I, too, am 26 inches to the cuff of the sleeve, whcih is about the first knuckle of thumb.

You said you gave chest measurement. Was that your REAL chest width or the SIZE Up that you decided on. I am guessing the latter.

I forgot to ask. I am leaning towards a Temple style jacket. Which do you have? Recommendation?

I re-read your posts and got the information I thought you didn;t give. I still assume that you gave Peter the size-up chest size rather than yuour actual

I will add a half inch to the actual seam to thumb-knuckle measurement to be safe. My shoulder width is key--broad shoulders. That measures 23 inches across the broadest (shoulderblades) section seam to seam. I'll give him that. My real shoulder width is 20 from a tailor measurement but 23 inches gives that just off the shoulder fit.

Wish me luck. I'll order as soon as my US Wings credit goes through next week--as they promised. Found the US wings too heavy

I gave them the chest size I wanted, but let me explain. I told them the size of my A-2 (44L) and that it fit perfectly with a dress shirt, etc; but a little snug with a sweater. So he recommended that I go up one size to a 46L. If a size 50 suit coat fits you perfectly then you'll want a 52 for sweater room. I would recommend that you order by phone if you can and tell them what you want. Explain to them that a 50 fits perfect but you would like a 52 so you can wear a sweater under it.

My jacket is a temple in authentic brown goatskin. I ordered that style because I was paranoid of getting a jacket too short. (I'm 6'3") Also, for me the longer jacket works betterwith my every day clothes than the shorter Raiders style. The only difference between the temple and raiders jackets is the temple is 1" longer. I also think that looser fit gives the jacket the ToD look. To me Indy's jacket in ToD seemed like it was a looser fit than the Raiders jackets. Thats just my opinion though.

Here's a couple of pics to show you what I mean.
Forgive me, this was taken in my pre-fedora days
Look at my right arm. You can see where the cuff is. I measured from the shoulder seam to my first knuckle and this is what I got, Perfect! Over time the sleeve might have 'shrunk 3/8 of an inch
http://photobucket.com/albums/v320/J_We ... ject11.jpg

Not a great pic, but you can see where my jacket stops.
http://photobucket.com/albums/v320/J_We ... ject12.jpg

I hope I've been a help. Sorry it took me so long to type this mess!

shadwell55 wrote: I will add a half inch to the actual seam to thumb-knuckle measurement to be safe. My shoulder width is key--broad shoulders. That measures 23 inches across the broadest (shoulderblades) section seam to seam. I'll give him that. My real shoulder width is 20 from a tailor measurement but 23 inches gives that just off the shoulder fit.

To be on the safe side I would call and give them my true measurements and discuss adding anything extra to your measurements. Although I never had the problem myself, I been told that too much 'slack' in the shoulder area can cause the action pleats to bulge open. As for the sleeve, if you measured from your shoulder to the first knuckle on your thumb the sleeve should be ok.

Be sure to ask if you have any more questions.

Yes, call. It's worth it. Peter might tell you something funny/true like: "It's not a wetsuit".

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help. The hardest part about all this is trying to think like a tailor. Hard for me, as I have always been an off the rack guy.

shadwell55 wrote:Hard for me, as I have always been an off the rack guy.

Well, for all thats worth most of us were until we found Wested.

FINALLY got my refund from US Wings (long story for another time).

So I am ready to place wested auth brown lamb ToD jacket.

I am giving them the size coat I want 52 reg , (this is one size larger than my suit coat size--as I need it roomy for sweaters)

shoulder (seam to seam) measurement from a coat that fits well

arm (seam to cuff) measurement, alsom fro the nice-fit coat I own

Back length from nape to belt

height

weight

any other suggestions?

Nope, sounds good. Just be sure to ask them if you have any concerns about anything.

Good Luck!

a lot of tlk has gone on about getting sleeves tapered. any recommendations? Is it that big a difference between regular and tapered?

shadwell55. I took a jacket that fit's well and took my measurements from that for my raiders wested and it turned out great. Thought this might help.

I really don't know about the tapered sleeves. My Wested doesn't have them.

I really don't know about the tapered sleeves. My Wested doesn't have them.

Placed my Wested via their online form this morning. Told them I would call on friday (tomorrow morning) to discuss what I sent them. I took Weaver's advice. Gave them one size up, and shoulder full across measurements and sleeve measurements, both from a nice fitting jacket. This, along with height, etc, should do the trick. I added one inch to my sleeves to be safe. Can always have them taken up if too long--or shrink them myself.

Had a wonderfu call to Peter today. Very pleasant. I was actually nervous talking to him, but he set me at ease and notified me that they are waiting on lambskin shipment, due in two weeks. He offered the Goat, but I want the "actual" jacket. I am in no hurry however, since I live in Louisiana and it is getting quite warm already. No need for a jacket until fall.

I am sticking with Lambskin, for the texture, lightness, and authenticity.

I wil try to stay busy in anticipation of the "blessed event" of the delivery of my jacket. Thank you all for your advice and assistance in measuring, ordering, and awaiting.

By the way if you plan on using a phone card to make the call, they shave 45 minutes for the connection alone. I had a 60 minutes card, after it connected, I had only 15 min opf talk time left. .

Phone card---> Yikes!

That stinks....I feel your pain.....I just used my regular land line to phone in my order to Peter..I had maybe 20 minutes total over 4 calls and my bill was close to $30.

Shadwell, being in Louisiana, you'll be quite happy with the weight of the lamb. Did you order the regular (dark) lamb or the authentic lamb?

For the longest time I wrestled with teh color choice, but in the end went with auth. brown. As great as the dark brown looked, I wanted authenticity above all, and think I'll be happy as it ages. From what I can gather the auth. brown will "darken" as it becomes weathered.

Wouldn't all jackets have tappered sleaves?

The default sleeve is the 'barrel' sleeve, which is untapered, or rather, very very slightly tapered.

But wouldn't the sleeve at the upper arm be larger then around the wrist?

Not necessarily. the radius of the sleeve at the upper arm could be very close to the radius of the sleeve at the wrist. Remember that the sleeve is attatched to the armhole at an angle, so the radius of the armhole itself may be bigger than the radius of the sleeve.