Club Obi Wan

I've been perusing the board for months, trying my best to gather what pearls of wisdom that I could about the jackets to better inform my decision when order time came around.

Well, that time is almost upon me. But, I'm hoping that you guys can provide a little personal insight on a few things.

The jacket lining. I'm torn between the cotton body with satin sleeves, and just going all satin. Personally, I like the feel of satin. The only thing that would push me completely into the cotton/satin column, would be if the satin didn't hold up too well over time. I know cotton tends to be a bit stronger. Does anyone have any input on that one? As long as the material holds up okay, I have no problem going all satin.

The D-rings. I like the look of the antique brass rings. But, my concern is that they stay put. As long as they hold position once tightened or loosened, that's all I care about. If they have a tendency to come undone, then I guess I'd prefer the sliders.

Most importantly...leather. My inclination is dark brown goat. I love the pebble grain that you get on a good goat jacket. I have no experience with Lamb. Is the texture as pebbly as goat? I know that it is supposed to be a much more supple leather, very "drapey", where goat is a bit more rugged. But, what about the surface texture, the patina?

All of my other concerns have to do with body and sleeve length, how to measure myself, etc. I know this varies greatly from person to person, so I'll do my best to iron those details out with Wested when I place the order in the near future. Incidentally, I've emailed Wested several times in the past week with no reply. I emailed again after the post about the email difficulties,so hopefully we'll make contact with one another soon.

REALLY looking forward to FINALLY getting this jacket. Thanks in advance for any help!

Lining: The reason that most people choose cotton body/satin sleeves is that the cotton tends to be cooler, but if it's your sleeve lining, then your shirt sleeves start to ride up. If you have no problem with the breathability of satin, then go for all satin body.

D-Rings: I have no comments on this, as I can't even remember what my jackets D-Rings are made of, and am too lazy to go check. All I know is I've had no problems with them.

Leather: I myself also own a goatskin jacket, and have found absolutely no problems with it. It's held up really well, and is not - as some have said - too stiff. The only thing I woud change is that I would go for authentic brown, rather than dark brown, as it is closer to the movies, but to each his own.
:junior: -IJ

I agree with IJ on several points. I have an authentic lamb and dark brown goatskin -- goatskin being my favorite of the two. I like both colors, but dark brown suits the rest of my wardrobe better.

I had some problems with the D rings on the lambskin jacket, but I'm unaware as to how many others encounter the same problems with slipping. I ordered the rectangular sliders for my goatskin jacket and they haven't budged a milimeter.

On the lining: The only thing I would like to point out about having an all satin lining is that the jacket will probably slide off your shoulders and back more than it should -- basically it'd be hanging off your arms. I know there was someone here whom had posted about this, but it was a long time ago.

A cotton body makes a little more sense, as the jacket will stay where it needs to. I have the cotton body and satin sleeves for my goatskin jacket and I wouldn't change a thing.

Just my thoughts -- I hope you don't have too much difficulty reaching a decision.

Well, your thoughts are helping. You sealed the cotton body for me. I hadn't thought about the jacket "slipping" on the shoulders and what-not. It makes sense.


I'll also have to dig a little more and see if I can find some pictures of the sliding buckles. It might be the way to go.

I want to finalize the little details and order the jacket within the next two weeks.

Thanks!

If you are worried about the D rings slipping, ask Peter to make the leather straps 3 layers thick, this cures any problem, ESPECIALLY with the lamb. The rectangular sliders generally don't have any slipping problems, but you could do the 3 layer thing with them, too. I agree that dark brown matches a variety of wardrobe much better than authentic, dark is what I prefer, but I have both. It is best (IMO) to have cotton body/satin sleeves- satin lets your jacket sleeves slide over any long sleeve shirt you are wearing WAY better than cotton. Likewise, cotton body keeps the jacket where it should be and wears,i.e. is much more durable than satin.

hope this helps a bit!


have a nice day.

If you are worried about the D rings slipping, ask Peter to make the leather straps 3 layers thick, this cures any problem, ESPECIALLY with the lamb.

Great suggestion -- I didn't even know Peter would adjust the straps in this way.

authentic goat, I'm telling ya depending on how the light hits it it looks light brown to black, just like the still pics from the films. I have the goat and the lamb and frankly I'm scared to wear the lamb as I'm not one to baby my clothes, and I've heard too many horror stories of rips and tears.

Helpful advice all around.

One more question...the back pleat elastic...yea or nay? Does it add much to the overall look and feel of the jacket?

Lining: Satin is supposed to be warmer than cotton in terms of heat retention. Also don't be fooled by the whole easier to get on/off thing with satin arms. My all cotton goes on just fine & of course it's authentic to the movie version & harder wearing.

D-rings: Got them on my jacket & don't like them. They slip, but only a bit mind you. I'd go with the rectangular rings IMO.

Leather: I have goat which is nice. Doesn't drap as well as the Lamb seems to. The grain is more bold than Lamb. Dark Brown would be a good choice IMO, as the jacket will look like it does on screen in person. My Authentic looks dark brown or black in pictures, but a chocolatey colour in person. Depends what you want looks wise. Also ask yourself what weather conditions are you going to wear this in? I got Goat because it rains plenty here in the UK, but wise I'd got Lamb because it's a little lighter & therefore cooler & better for wearing when active (like riding!) or in a warm/hot enviroment.

Consider under arm double gussets (Jagger Lips) if you want alot of arm freedom of movement. They don't look pretty when you put your arms up, but they really do improve the arm freedom & the original G8 flying jackets on which the Indy jacket is based had them, so their quite authentic

Finally size wise, one bit of personal experience advice. Ask yourself, are you round shouldered, or carrying a bit of extra weight? If so, consider going up a size, otherwise you may find the back shoulder seam seems a bit tight across your shoulders.

Hope that helps

Flyer05 wrote:Helpful advice all around.

One more question...the back pleat elastic...yea or nay? Does it add much to the overall look and feel of the jacket?

I have it in my horsehide, and I had to actually look for it to know it was there. If you get the goat, you probably won't notice it. No imapct to look or feel. It does work to keep the pleats closed, I have been happy with it so far.

Another note on the D ring/slider issue - I prefer the buckle sliders, the straps really stay put. From a functionality standpoint one of the things I dislike about the d rings is that the material has to conform to the d shape as it sits between the rings, it bunches a bit, while the sliders allow the leather to lay flat through the buckle. Looks cleaner in my opinion.

Have been lurking on the list for quite some time and this is the first post so here goes !!

Have just ordered a WESTED TOD in horse. Got the rectangular sliders, gussets, and ALL cotton lining.

Now wishing I were a patient person because the wait is KILLING ME !!! Any know about how long till the thing gets made and shipped??

I have two A-2 style leather jackets, one in lamb with all satin lining and one Cooper in goat with all cotton lining. The Cooper is by far my favorite and has seen the most use. Yes, the cotton sleeves sometimes make your long sleeve shirt ride up but I just unroll my sleeves when putting in on and hold the ends as I am putting it on. This doesn't seem like much hassle and solves the problem. The satin lining while very slippery is very "cool" feeling. If you wear the jacket in anything but the most moderate weather the cold comes right thru it where the cotton seems to be warmer feeling.

TCARTPILOT wrote:Have been lurking on the list for quite some time and this is the first post so here goes !!

Have just ordered a WESTED TOD in horse. Got the rectangular sliders, gussets, and ALL cotton lining.

Now wishing I were a patient person because the wait is KILLING ME !!! Any know about how long till the thing gets made and shipped??

Welcome! Well you probably don't want to hear this, but it took me 6 months to get my TOD horsehide. Wested was having alot of trouble getting quality hides. Myself and about 4 others here on COW recieved ours from the same batch of hide they found, and to my knowledge had used it up completely. That was about 2-3 months ago. You may want to call Peter and ask him if he got more hide in or is he still looking. If its the latter, you will probably have a bit of a wait. Its no consolation on your side of the wait, but the jacket will be the best you've ever owned, and is well worth the wait and price. Keep us posted on your progress, and we definately need to see pics - I want to compare with mine.

TCARTPILOT wrote:Have just ordered a WESTED TOD in horse. Got the rectangular sliders, gussets, and ALL cotton lining.

Now wishing I were a patient person because the wait is KILLING ME !!! Any know about how long till the thing gets made and shipped??

Firstly, welcome

Secondly, nice choice of jacket Pictures please when it arrives

As for wait time. If the leather is in stock & they are not too busy, a month seems about right, with delivery to the US & what-knot.

I'm lucky coz I get to order at the workshop in person & collect, so my first jacket was ready after only a week!

Yeah, I'll reiterate that if you're thinking of horsehide, call Wested first.

The first horse jackets (I think there were about 2 that we know of) were great; albeit a little red (which I personally loved).

Then the next batch took about 6 months to happen, and all that leather's gone too, I believe. They were a different colour.

So do call ahead. It's a rare leather for Wested to get, apparantly. But, for the price, it's a no-brainer. Horse jackets are where it's at.