Club Obi Wan

I am not sure if this has been discussed before.

I am considering my 3rd order and trying to choose leather type.
My previous 2 jackets are auth lamb and pred. cow. (hate the cow)

I have distressed the auth. lamb, so I have no exact recollection of how it looks when it's brand new. I am however under the impression that its color looks like some synthetic leather jackets.

On the other hand, the color of the dark lamb looks like the color on most leather jackets like e.g. the G1 and maybe the A2.

What do you guys think?

I received some leather samples from Peter and I only like the lambs. So now I am trying to choose which lamb.

What do you guys think? Is color only the difference between the auth lamb and the dark lamb?

I went through the same thing around oct. when I ordered my first wested
I was concerned because a lot of pics of authentic brown jackets I had seen seemed too light, almost chocolate in color. In the end I ended up choosing dark brown. In my opinion it looks more screen accurate in person. Authentic looks great in pics and outside, dark brown just looks good all the time indoors or outdoors. and this is just the lambs IMHO. different leathers have different darkness, I've read that alot of authentic goatskin owners say their jacket looks a little closer to a dark brown lamb then an authentic one. If anything this might help here's some pics of a dark brown lamb thats been well worn and well loved

Here is my opinion on the color subject. If you want a nice jacket, you can get any color that you want. If you want an Indiana Jones jacket, you have to get authentic lamb. That is what Indy wore. Period, dot, the end. There is a reason that they call it authentic.

Agreed.

If you had any idea how much trouble Peter went through spec'ing leather suppliers and turning down sample after sample in his attempt to match the only known surviving example of a Raiders jacket BEFORE it left the Wested shop for the movie, you'd know why it got it's name.

As has been said above, it's your choice. They're both great materials, and I've owned both in the past...but if you're wanting honest to gosh screen accuracy, and from the maker of THE jacket...then there's only one choice on that one.

Regards! Michaelson

You guys overlooked the fact that I already own an auth. lamb.
For someone who has no jakcet at all, I agree with you that the no 1 choice is the auth. So was mine.

But please let's not talk Indy jacket and screen accuracy because the color of a brand new auth. lamb has absolutely no connection with what we see on the screen.

I want a new jacket that will not have to be distressed to look good.
I distressed my auth. lamb but when I wear it I feel like everybody who sees me thinks "look at this guy with the old jacket"

So, considering all the above, which jacket you think looks better brand new?

And, is color the only difference between auth and dark lamb?

PLATON wrote:And, is color the only difference between auth and dark lamb?

Umm they're both lamb leather jackets. I don't think that the color would have anything to do with weight, drape, suppleness, toughness or anything else.

I have noticed a difference between the Wested and Flightsuits lambskin, as the lambskin for FS comes from New Zealand, and Wested from Italy. The tanning process is definitely different, as the Wested is MUCH softer....and yes, I KNOW you're not asking about FS jackets...I'm just pointing out that differenct tanning processes and sources CAN affect the drape and feel of lambskin hides.

I also agree with VP. Though the dark brown will still be a bit stiffer (barely perceptable, but there) due to the dye process being complete and 'unbroken' from any form of artifical distressing, it will not affect the drape of the jacket. None of mine did.

Regards! Michaelson

I like the dark color wise. I like the US Wings color on their antiqued lamb even better, but don't like the antique finish, though it does the job of a quick natural distressing, the under color when it wares off is rather bright orange.

Anyway, back to Wested, both colors look good in person, the DB photographs better (ie dark) though. I usally don't like how the Auth. looks in pictures. I don't know about how they compair to other leather jackets. If you don't like the Auth. that much go with the DB this time.

IndyDoc wrote:Anyway, back to Wested, both colors look good in person, the DB photographs better (ie dark) though. I usally don't like how the Auth. looks in pictures.

So Doc, you didn't particularly like the way Indy looked in the movies?

Bufflehead Jones wrote: So Doc, you didn't particularly like the way Indy looked in the movies?

I don't like how the authentic photographs when amature photographers are taking the pictures, how's that?

To: Bufflehead Jones

You don't agree that Indy's jacket looked more like a dusted dark lamb? rather than like a brand new auth. lamb?

Authentic lamb. No doubt !

PLATON wrote:To: Bufflehead Jones

You don't agree that Indy's jacket looked more like a dusted dark lamb? rather than like a brand new auth. lamb?

Why does Bufflehead get to answer that? It certianly wasn't NEW after they got through with distressing it. The only place I would consider it being anything other than authentic would be the flying wing fight. It's almost black looking there. (with lots of dust)

PLATON wrote:To: Bufflehead Jones

You don't agree that Indy's jacket looked more like a dusted dark lamb? rather than like a brand new auth. lamb?

I don't. Peter has said that the jackets used were authentic lamb and he is the one that made the screen used jackets. The jacket is obviously authentic lamb in the movies. I have seen one of the screen used jackets in person hanging in the Smithsonian Museum while I was wearing my authentic lamb Wested. Same color. What more do you want me to say. It is called authentic for a reason.

If you want to buy a darker leather jacket go ahead. It is not what was in the movie.

I agree with Bufflehead. The color for the jackets in the movies was Authentic Brown. The picture shows it, as do most of the publicity shots. The only reason it ever looks darker is because Indy's either in a poorly lit area, or standing in front of fire (like the bar fight scene) and the flames are creating a slight silhouette effect on him.


At first glance it appears dark, but if you look at some of the more well-lit areas of the jacket, its definitely authentic.




looks authentic to me. :junior: -IJ

......Ummmm.....Have you ever noticed that as we talk about hats, jackets, whatever, when the subject of color comes up, ol' Bufflehead always gets singled out? Do you guys think just because I am old and now have to wear bifocals, that I am color blind? Blind as a bat, yes, color blind, no.

It always makes me kind of laugh, knowing how much I have been tested in this area over the years.

The police department had minimum standards that they would accept for employment and tested my eyes not only when I was hired, but also periodicly. To keep my competition license when I was driving race cars, I had to have a very extensive physical every other year. The way it worked was, if you were born in an odd year as I was, you had to have the physical every odd numbered year when you renewed your license.

When I say this racing physical was extensive, I mean it. It included mental stabilty, physical fitness including stress tests, etc., and eye exams including color blindness. I was always concerned about the mental stability part, but the doctors must have let me slide.

You may wonder why the racing sanctioning body may have been so concerned about the driver not being color blind. No, it was not so that he could tell which brightly painted race car was his and not get into the wrong one. They have the driver's name and numbers on the cars for that.

The signal flags and lights that race control uses to warn drivers of dangerous situations and other types of messages are done by various colors of flags and lights. The safety of every driver on the track depends on everyone being able to understand these signals. All of these mandatory physicals are not just for the benefit of the driver being tested, but for him and all of the other competitors on the track. Safety is of utmost importance when so many cars are that close together traveling at such high speeds.

Having been through all of this, when I say that I am pretty sure that I am not color blind, you can see, professionals in the field have been checking me for this for years.

Bufflehead, what is the smallest letters you can see on the eyechart?

Printed in USA.

No Bufflehead, without your eyeglasses.

E.

Thanks for your comments guys.
What I am looking for is a jacket that does not have to be distressed to look good (close to what we see in the movie). The authentic lamb, although it was THE ONE USED IN THE MOVIE - I never doubted that.

But when the auth. lamb is brand new doesn't look that good (close to the movie).

You also forget the fact that I already own an auth. lamb (which I have distressed), so I need a jacket that will look brand new.

I will put my question otherwise, because I value your opinion and your answer will affect my order.

From a distance of say 50ft in daylight which of the two jackets looks more like the color we see on film?

1. The auth. lamb (in brand new condition)
2. The dark lamb (in brand new condition)

Platon, you obviously have an itch that needs to be scratched! If money is not an issue why not get the dark brown as well?

IMO the new authentic brown does look kinda synthetic when new, but I also feel that all leather jackets look much better with a few months of wear. Brand new leather just shouts "Aging permatanned yuppy" to me, probably with a black rollneck too.

It doesn't need to be artifically distressed, just show the effects of being worn and appreciated.

platon, I'm sure if you saw Fords jacket in person it would look like yours. My jacket looks different in different lighting. I'm agree with kt templer ( don't tell him that) if money is not the problem get the darker brown. I went out and got a second one myself.

I suppose if you get off the rack models and ordered both colors you could return the one you didn't like. (for shipping costs both ways I guess)

At 50 ft. either of them will most likely look nearly black. (depending on the time of day/lighting) You could probably tell some difference if they were next to each other or compaired A-B but I think it's up close where the color may look more different. Dark looks dark all the time. Authentic looks dark in some lighting conditions. (Maybe half or 3/4 of the time?)

What do YOU want it to look like most of the time?

dude if you already have a distressed auth. lamb and want something that looks nice and dark while brand new go with the dark, then you'll have the best of both worlds.

Watch me get jumped on...

But screen accurate and same as hero prop are two different things.

Regardless of whether the authentic is what was used, doesn't mean that will be screen accurate in person or in photos.

So like the others have said, if you like the dark brown, then go for it.

I chose the dark brown because I wear my jacket a lot at cons and it will most likely photograph better and look better in person...just my opinion and I could be wrong. We will see when my jacket gets here.

Thats a good point. There is certainly a screen accurate and a prop accurate. The problem with "screen accurate" is that everyone see things a bit differently.

J Weaver,

I agree with Zendragon & your last post. Color-blindness notwithstanding, everyone sees the same color a bit differently. That doesn't necessarily mean that one is colorblind -- it's merely interpretation. One man's medium brown is another's dark brown -- not all see the same color/event/place the same way. I would say go with whatever color looks best/screen accurate to you. Bugger what everyone else tells you, if dark brown looks more screen accurate to you, then go for it. After all, you'll be the one wearing it!! And if you already have the one, then by all means, get the other this time!! I went with dark brown goat, even though I wanted an Indy jacket, I also wanted it to be tough & not rip if I tripped or fell down! And I thought that the dark brown was a good color choice. Until recent years, I always thought that Indy's jacket was black!! It looked so dark in the films!! Only under certain lighting did it look lighter. But it may have looked lighter because it was distressed. Thus my reasoning for the dark brown color of my jacket -- it's your money, spend it as you will.

~Jace

~Jace

Even though I personally prefer the Dark-Brown for my Lamb & Goatskin Indy jackets, the color is definitely "authentic" brown.

It's true that lighting definitely makes a difference. I've seen the Last Crusade jacket in the Smithsonian and various gear-members here have posted several other screen-used Last Crusade jacket pictures here at the Club. All of them have the authentic color. On screen, they often appear darker in color, but in reality they were authentic. Both are good choices and great colors!

Kindest Regards,
Captain D