Club Obi Wan

After eight years of ghosting and being a member of COW, and after 28 years of wanting one and not being able to aford one:

I am finally going to be getting a Wested Leather Jacket.

I so far have £130.00 and I am saving to get £165.00; just in case I need alterations.

I am confused, and do not know what jacket to get; I am pleasantly spolied for choice.

I have in my mind the original Raiders jacket in auth brown lamb skin, but when I see the LC/KOTCS jacket with the longer collars; I sway that way.

I just do not know.

But this is so exciting as I never thought I would ever get one; I am so happy and I am proberbly driving my good Wife nuts.

I am looking forward to meeting Peter. Peter has such a good rep here and respect for his work. I read all the time that he is such a decent chap, and thats the sort of people that I love to meet.

Sorry if this post seems like a waste of space; I just wanted to share how happy I am from a newbie to the jacket side of things.

Much respect to you all, so excited.

Paul.

The choice of what jacket to get is hard, but still a pleasent one to make.

It's a good thing you're visiting Peter to get the jacket I think. It will either make it easier, or even harder to chose.... Maybe you'll end up with two of them.

Let us know what you're getting and when you get it, will ya?

Congrats!

Best,
Swindiana

Seriously, a part of me wish I could be in your shoes right now... I mean, after waiting for decades, it would definetly make your new jacket completely and utterly worth every penny, and I may be wrong, but I'm sure you'd treasure your jacket more than most gearheads treasure even our most prized gear! Congratulations!

Congradulations! Your story reminds me of how a lot of us here (myself included) are "spoiled" with our financial ability to own a lot of expensive Indy stuff. From reading a lot of posts here day-after-day, you get the impression that guys here buy these expensive Indy jackets as easily as buying a candy bar. Many here have bought enough jackets to wear for practically every day of the week! Some here have even bought 3 Tony Nowaks ($2100)!......I'm sure you will love and treasure your jacket much more than any of us here ever will with even 1 of our jackets.......and I envy you!

PSBIndy wrote:Many here have bought enough jackets to wear for practically every day of the week! Some here have even bought 3 Tony Nowaks ($2100)!......I'm sure you will love and treasure your jacket much more than any of us here ever will with even 1 of our jackets.......and I envy you!

Three jackets? Sheesh! Who'd be crazy enough to do that? 8-[

Doeindy, I can certainly understand your excitement and enthusiasm. I've been wanting a good Indy jacket ever since seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time 27 years ago and, after researching all the options and gathering information from this forum, I finally ordered one from Wested a couple of days ago--RotLA style in Novapelle (yeah, I know it won't be SA, but I love the look of that Novapelle hide). Whatever you finally decide upon, I'm sure you'll love your jacket for years to come; I know I will!

DoeIndy, the best thing You can do, now that You have the possibility, is to visit Peter and have a look at all the hides.

But one thing You can do before the visit is have a little philosophy-session with Yourself.

When I saw Raiders first time, all I wanted was a jacket that looked exactly like the screen-one. But in my search I became aware, that the different hides also feels different.
It is therefore very important that You ask Yourself if You want to LOOK like Indy or FEEL like Indy.

So when the internet came I suddenly found the Wested original jacket and had to make the decission Your going through now. With all my "close enoughs" in mind, I decided to go for the feel. The durability.

My first decission was the cowhide and I certainly felt the durability of the jacket, but it never showed signs of neither drape or age, so it just didn't work for me.
Then I got the goat. It was durable comfortable and a very fine jacket. But the grain of the hide was sort of wrong to me because I started looking for screen accuracy again.
The original jacket was made of lamb. So this time I decided to go all SA. But having now had several jackets I can tell You, that the lamb does not feel Indy at all, to me that is. It's a very light jacket that may drape well but it is not durable. It looks the part but it lacks the confidence the adventurer needs Also the lamb needs some distressing, very much distressing in fact, before it looks SA. And THATS a tough thing to start doing on Your first jacket!

But now that CS came out, I saw for the first time a jacket that both looked and felt the way I always dreamed of. The novapelle from Peter is by far the best jacket in my taste when we are talking Indy-feel.

I'm not ruling any of the jackets out. They all serve their purpose, but it's essential to me, that You choose the jacket with Your priorities in mind. Do You want to FEEL Indy or LOOK Indy?

All of Peters jackets will make You look Indy, but in my personal taste the novapelle is the one that makes You think "Indy" right out of the back.

And dont forget the horse! Look around in the forum and see how it is praised. I had the chance to touch one at the premiere of CS, and it is truly a real leatherjacket.
If it's too heavy for You, take a look at the new goat jackets. They somehow represent the best of both worlds: Light, durable and rough-looking, but they may also need some distressing before being total Indy

Best Indy-wishes

Indy-K

Top bunch of people you are.

Thank you for the replies; its great that my happiness is shared.

Just a question that is burning away in me; Cutting out the adventure side of wearing the jacket; would the jacket be very durable for wearing every day as a favorite everyday jacket? IndyK; you stated

It's a very light jacket that may drape well but it is not durable

Does this mean that every day wearing of an auth brown lamb would become very damaged after a couple of years?

I have to ask as I can just about afford one jacket, and once this one is gone I doubt I will be in the position to replace it.

My heart is set on the original jacket. So what I am looking for is to know that this jacket is going to be a lifer and easy to repair if it was to get damaged out of the SA braket of damage; I am not talking about natural distressing just lasting a life time.

If anyone with previous experiece with the ROTLA auth brown lamb wishes to give me a good detailed write up on the jacket; feel free and give me as much detail as possible; I will be in your debt.

I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW

Many thanks,

Paul.

Doeindy wrote:Does this mean that every day wearing of an auth brown lamb would become very damaged after a couple of years?

Paul.

Personly I would say yes. However, the lamb will probably hold up like most other everyday jackets non-Indy-style.
The problem about leather is that You cannot repair it. A hole in the leather will always remain a hole. And if You repair it, the stitches You make with the needle will be holes themselves.

The phrase "for life" is a strong one, so I would definately consult Peter on this matter. I think You should forget about the lamb and concentrate on horse (heavy but durable) novapelle (middleweight and seems durable) or goat (durable and lighter than cow).

Here's a link to see some of the jackets:
http://kentbovin.com/Wested%20main.htm

But go there!!!! Touch them and listen to Peter - and say hallo from me BTW

Paul,

I would recommend a standard of the rack Raiders jacket.

It's more durable than a custom made SA one.

I have worn one daily for five years during all weather types:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd31 ... rs/2-1.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd31 ... rs/1-1.jpg

It's a lambskin btw, so if you decide to buy an Authentic Brown goatskin, it will last even longer.

The horsehide will be the most durable.

It will still look good in heaven.

Rom Hunter.

Have you distressed that jacket yourself or is it natural distressing?

Great pictures BTW.

Paul.

It seems a natural distressing.

In my opinion Novapelle is the best leather to wear year-round....it's lighter and more flexible than horsehide, goat, or cowhide and it's more durable than lambskin. I absolutely love my Novapelle LC....the color, fit, and performance is just top-notch. If I could have just one Indy jacket, it's Novapelle all the way!