Club Obi Wan

Considering purchasing one of these in light of the holiday sale. I know some of the Wings jackets have the 3 piece sleeves and some don't. I don't really care for the 3 piece sleeves and that would probably sway my decision. Can anyone comment if the vintage cow has them?

If you are going to buy the "sale" Indy jackets, then yes, they will come
with the 3 piece sleeves. Also, they will have a seam down the center
of the back panel as well on the larger sizes.

If you are going to get one of Wings "regular" Indy jackets, meaning the
ones they claim to make themselves right here in the good old USA, then
you will have to ask this question of Wings. They have sold their "regular"
jackets in the past with both the 3 piece sleeves and also a seam down
the back panel as well.

This question should be asked to Wings for confirmation though. But
be prepared to not get a straight answer from their customer service
department. Your best bet is to write to Sarge himself and ask.

Flathead

To answer the question asked, I have never seen or owned a Wings vintage cow with a three piece sleeve, or seam down the back. They were standard barrel sleeve, and one piece back.

The advice to ask Sgt. Hack direction is good. Since I have to assume Flathead has purchased and currently owns an example of the latest clearance sale items. I'll have to wait until mine comes in before I can back his statements made above.

Personally, I don't have the knowledge of those items having the configuration as stated above. It's NOT a given. I have owned Wings jackets with the 3 piece sleeves, but have never owned one with other than a one piece back myself.

Regards! Michaelson

Thats good to know Flathead. It is questionable if I could tolerate three piece sleeves, but I definitely would not want a seam running down the back panel. I take a large so that would probably be the case.

Walker

Sorry to have bothered you with my reply then, Walker. As I said above, I have OWNED a vintage cowhide Wings jacket, but apparently this information was not of use to you, so good luck to you in your decision.

Regards! Michaelson

Maybe that's the key....make sure they know you're a member of Indygear when you order.

Regards! Michaelson

Apologies Michaelson. I must have confused your message. Can you tell me if this three panel sleeve and seamed back is a more recent development out of the Wings camp with older jackets possibly having the more traditional cut? Thanks, Walker

From what I seen, it seems to be the luck of the draw. I've had the 3 piece sleeve on my VIP cowhides, but other than that, all my other jackets have been the one piece barrel sleeve, and one piece back. I've NEVER had one with a two piece seamed back, so that I can not speak to.

Like _ said, though, it might not hurt to tell Sgt. from the get go you're a member here, and want an accurate screen depiction version with the single piece barrel sleeve and back, and they should pull one out for you.

Bear in mind, they use every piece of leather they have. It's not like the custom shops where they toss scrap away. That's why the piecing together that's been mentioned. A lot of folks who buy from them just don't care, and these are the customers that they sell to the most.

Crazies like us just don't care for this, and that's understandable.

Regards! Michaelson

Hmmm...I wonder if their holiday sale would not apply to a jacket that has the barrel sleeves. I guess the only way to know is to contact them and find out. Thanks Gentlemen.

Walker

I just received my 'import' Wings vintage cowhide jacket, and it has standard one piece barrel sleeves, and standard back. No vertical seam as reported above. It's a large, and fits me perfectly. I usually have issues with sleeve length with a large, but this one is dead on target.

I'm very pleased.

Go ahead and post the 'worthless without pics' smiles now.

Regards! Michaelson

;0

How's that?

You did very well, Jess!!!

Regards! Michaelson

Thank you good sir.

So how would you say the large fit is compared to the Medium I have of theirs? The medium fits well, but I'm concerned that one of the imports would have sleeves that would be too short. I seem to remember that we both have arms that require going with a jacket that's one size larger.

Michaelson wrote:I just received my 'import' Wings vintage cowhide jacket, and it has standard one piece barrel sleeves, and standard back. No vertical seam as reported above.

This is beautiful news!!!

Jess, they're actually longer than the one you have now, but then remember, yours is a medium, mine is a large, so that would figure.

Still, even in the standard Wings large, I've had short sleeve problems. Not so with this clearance import version. The body is an excellent fit too, as you said, we had to go up to get the sleeves to fit, but then the body would be a bit 'much'. I'm not experiencing that with this jacket....but then I might have just a bit more around the middle than I used to.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:....but then I might have just a bit more around the middle than I used to.

Probably just coffee retention.

Furniture disease. My chest has fallen into my drawers.

Regards! Michaelson

Or, you might have had a car accident...you got hit with a spare tire.....I might be loosing it, ive been listening to Christmas music all day on my computer..........

Michaelson wrote:Furniture disease. My chest has fallen into my drawers.

Regards! Michaelson

Just a minute, let me get my staple gun.

Thanks for the heads up about USWings. I'll order one of the lambskins to add to my jacket collection - now I just need to get a horse hide. Jerry, come here! 8-[

come on michaelson, say that those import jackets are bad....they look bad, they feel bad, they fit bad......help me for god sakes....whats the wife gonna think if she finds out i've ordered another jacket ontop of the one that i just got yesterday?!?!? that, along with the 2 hats i have on order and the other hat companies that i'm checking into.....

maybe i'll order a vintage one and try to pass it off as my old one...think she'll buy that...or maybe i have to take her out to dinner again then.....sigh.....being a gearhead ain't easy...isn't that a country song?

Well....ok, but only for you, IndyG....they're awful jackets.

Ok, is that better?

(they're not, but don't tell IndyG. )

Regards! Michaelson

whew....good. i feel much better now.

now lets see what happens when i type in uswings.com....oh, look at that my credit card just fell on the floor....i see an accident about to happen....

Well, you're doing better than ITG did when we all went with her to the Disneyland gift shop at the first QM event. She used her credit card so much to buy SW items, we saw it catch fire!



Really! 8-[

Regards! Michaelson

i remember my visit to the disney land star tours gift shop, my wife and her family had to drag me out of there.......after i commissioned one of those floats from the electric light parade to take all of my purchases to the front gate for me

i've got a basement full of goodies that would give the lucas warehouse a run for its money.....er....at least an honorable mention

i'll post a pic sometime and make sure to put a piece of gear in it so that we stay within the IJ realm.

cheers!

I remember that Michaelson. Adventureland smelled like burning plastic for weeks and, as I recall, she also had the outpost merchant begging for mercy, but you had to love how she was shoving kids and little old ladies out of her way.

Indiana Jess wrote:

Michaelson wrote:I'll order one of the lambskins to add to my jacket collection - now I just need to get a horse hide. Jerry, come here! 8-[

Neigh! Er, nay!

Indiana Jess wrote:I remember that Michaelson. Adventureland smelled like burning plastic for weeks and, as I recall, she also had the outpost merchant begging for mercy, but you had to love how she was shoving kids and little old ladies out of her way.

They WERE asking for it. Look how slowly they were moving...

Michaelson, how does the size compare to a Gibson and Barnes? I wear a 40 in those, but the size chart on the US Wings site says that someone who weighs 155- 165 should wear a large. I wear a 40-41 and their large covers sizes from 42-44! That seems like it'd be too big for me...


TR

In comparison to Wings, I've found G&B off the rack on the small size to me...at least the one's I've tried on that was supposed to be IN my size.

That could be just me and MY body size and shape, though, but they've always seemed to be about a 1/2 size off on me when trying on my regular off the rack size. The sleeves were ALWAYS to short without upsizing the body for me.

That's what pleases me no end on this Wings jacket. It's a Large, which matches the 44R size, and the sleeves ARE the right length this time. I've never experienced that with a standard Wings jacket, only this import. I do know all the components were supplied to the Chinese tailors, and they were just assembled there, so the materials are the same as the standard Wings offerings....just put together overseas. That's why the correct sleeve length pleasantly surprised me.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks! I think that means I'll go with a medium..

TR

Thanks! I think that means I'll go with a medium..

For your reference, the Wings size large jacket will have an armpit to
armpit measurement of 25 inches, which will make the total chest
measurement 50 inches.

The size medium will have an armpit to armpit measurement of 23 inches,
which will give it a total chest measurement of 46 inches.

What does that mean? That if you are a size 44 chest like me, you will
have 6 inches of movement room in the size large, and 2 inches of
movement room in the medium. So you can see, the medium would be
much too small for a size 44 or larger person.

As a side note, most modern jackets are made to give you between 6
and 8 inches of movement room for a really relaxed look and feel.

If you are a size 42 then go with the medium Wings jacket, as you will
be swimming in the size large, unless you like a REALLY relaxed look and
feel!!

My current Wings vintage cow Indy jacket is a size large, and it
measures 1 inch larger in the armpit to armpit measurement over my
size 44 Wested, which is 24 inches pit to pit.

Since I am a size 44 chest, that leaves me with 4 inches of movement
room in the Wested, which is spot on for a military fit, which the Wested
is supposed to be. I have 6 inches of room in the Wings size large, so
I wear that one with sweaters and sweatshirts, and the Wested with
regular shirts and tee shirts.

Hope this helps!

Flathead

Since we're talking about the import clearance Wings jackets, I just measured my size 'large' vintage cowhide import Wings that I received this past week from this sale, and armpit to armpit measurement is 23.5 inches, so the chest measurement is 47 inches, not 50.

So, apparently the import Wings jackets are closer to the Wested measurements than the Standard Wings offerings.

Regards! Michaelson

I just measured my size 'large' vintage cowhide import Wings that I received this past week from this sale, and armpit to armpit measurement is 23.5 inches, so the chest measurement is 47 inches, not 50.

Wow, that is one small jacket for a size large!!

If that is the case for the import jackets, then a size medium should be
2 inches smaller pit to pit, and 4 inches smaller all around, which would
make it only 43 inches total.

If anyone is a normal size 42, a size medium import jacket will be
WAY too small.

I have seen about 10 Wings Indy jackets over the years, and I have
never seen a size large that was made that small. 3 inches of movement
room is not very much, and will give you an even tighter, closer to the
body fit than a military cut if you have a 44 inch chest!!

Maybe thats why they are on sale. They were not made to the proper
dimensions to fit each given size.

The size info is good to know for potential buyers of the import jackets.

Flathead

Let's not make yet another assumption, Flathead. Until someone actually gets an import medium and measures it, we won't know what that size actually is, will we.

I've just given you the measurement of my size large import Wings, which matches almost exactly the measurement you've given for your 44 Wested. The large is sized for someone who wears a size 44R, just like your Wested. Heck, for that matter, just like MY size 44 Wested.
Can we then assume that the 'medium' sized Westeds are expodentially smaller based on your supplied Wested measurement? Of course not.

Maybe we should be praising Wings for creating a jacket, even though imported, that now apparently matches correct sizing, assuming of course that Wested jackets ARE sized correctly (which we all know they are) rather than Wings past practice of making oversized examples. Personally I'm hoping it will be crossover to the U.S. made versions, as they ARE definitely 'upsized' to cover several standard sizes in one wack.

So, if someone receives a medium size import, please chime in and let us know what the measurement is armpit to armpit for that data point.

Regards! Michaelson

Maybe we should be praising Wings for creating a jacket, even though imported, that now apparently matches correct sizing, assuming of course that Wested jackets ARE sized correctly (which we all know they are) rather than Wings past practice of making oversized examples.

Unfortunately, even if the jacket you received does measure out to be
close to the Wested size 44, its still a jacket that was made to fit a range
of sizes from 42 to 44. And even at that, its still snug for a size 44, as
it will only provide you with 3 inches of movement room, which is a
tighter fit than a military jacket like the A-2!

Before this time, a Wings size medium Indy jacket measured 23 inches
from pit to pit, which made it fit a size 42 person perfectly! Now, if
your size large is 23.5, then that will barely fit a size 44 like I said, and it
will now fit a 42 better, but still be slightly bigger than a Wested size 42.
Its this inconsistant sizing from their normal, regular offerings, and their
"import" jacket offerings that bothers me.

Before, I knew what to buy from them, but now, if a size large in these
import jackets is 3 or 4 inches total around the chest smaller than before,
then I have no idea what will fit me now. An extra large will be too big,
and the large is now just a wee bit too small.

Until Wings, or any vendor that makes generic size jackets for that
matter makes their jackets in actual suit jacket sizes, ie 40, 42, 44, 46,
like Wested does, for a custom fit, then anyone who is looking for a good
fit in a Wings Indy jacket is going to have to guess at their size, and
hope it fits, as the "sale" jackets can NOT be returned for a refund.

Make sure you ask LOTS of sizing questions before you order one of
these "import" jackets, because once you buy it, its YOURS!

I will say that its refreshing that these "import" jackets are made to
the usual panel configuration as the "regular" Wings Indy jackets. The
only thing I see different is the sizing confusion.

Flathead

Well stated, Flathead.

Regards! Michaelson

Alrighty, I just ordered a medium vintage cowhide(the last medium vintage cowhide,she said), should be here next week. I'll let you know how the size turns out. Hopefully not too small, since they are not returnable. We shall see

TR