Club Obi Wan

Hi all. After all my harping on about how much I love my new(ish) Novapelle LC jacket, I've come across something that I don't like.
The sleeves were too long at first, but a few weeks of wear has wrinkled them up nicely.
However, they're just so roomy! I think I could almost put my leg through the arm holes. Well, not quite, but you get the idea!
I've not soaked the jacket or done anything other than wear it, but I'm tempted. I could stand to lose a little sleeve length, but I wonder if the diameter of the sleeves would be affected at all?
Anyone else with a recent jacket notice this problem? Or even consider it a problem at all? I think the sleeves look a bit funny when I put my arms down at my sides; they sort of 'puff' out a bit.
I've ordered another Wested Crusade in Lamb for the warmer months, and asked for slightly slimmer sleeves, so I will let you know how that goes!

Can you post pictures to see how baggy they look?

I have noticed that if you are a big guy or at least wear a 48 and up that for some reason they think you have arms of a bodybuilder and that translate to bigger sleeves at the wrist.

I've got some pics, yeah, but I'm not sure if it's just me being too picky.
It seems most of the Wested LC/CS jackets I've seen posted have similar sleeve sizes.
Mine has a cuff circumference of 11", which seems about right.
It just seems to have an excess of leather around the elbow area, which may be intended to make folding the arm easier, and I can certainly move and bend my arms ok. When my arms are down though, there's just an extra few inches of sleeve behind my elbow.
Like I said, I might be just being picky. I'll live with it for a few more days, and if it continues to irritate, I'll try and post some pics.

Mines a 42R. I'm hoping my soon-to-be-recieved lamb Crusade won't have the issue; though I only asked Peter for slightly slimmer sleeves, nothing specific.

I have a 42R Wested Raiders novapelle, and the sleeves fit perfectly, no baggy effect in my opinion.

Agreed, no bagginess there. But those sleeves also look brand new; no wrinkle to be seen. Mine have wrinkled quite a bit already, especially after being caught intentionally out in the rain for a bit!
Oh, and that's a Raiders, I see. From the pictures I've seen lately, they don't have the baggy sleeves of the Crusade/CS jackets.
Remember, mine is an LC/CS, and only a side-on pic would really show up the problem area I'm talking about.

Yes my jacket was new in that photo.
These are a couple of pics taken today, after 4 months. It seems that a little amount of bagginess in the elbow zone is normal.

It does do that on Harry's jacket too. .

Yes, it's part of the Indy jacket look!

Well I'll be jiggered! Thanks guys. I just spent the last 10 minutes tying myself into knots trying to take photos of the 'trouble-sleeves' in question. Doesn't really show up in my photos, it seems, though i might have more success if there was someone here to take them for me!
However, from what I've seen, it's normal. Just a bit of extra elbow room. Mine is like yours, Strones, but a little more pronounced.
The jacket is otherwise perfect, so I can live with it now!
Thanks again for the reassurance guys!

I am gonna to have wested make me a custom raiders(I think..if I not decide on a new LC?)

but with bigger sleeves and armholes....

on the current 80's cut raiders wested the sleeves and armholes are just to THIGHT and HIGH.

the regular jacket has very good sleeves and armholes though...


I also have been working with some high zommed in screen grabs and when I look at the sleeves and armholes they are not that thight as wested wants them to be...


the sleeves of strones jacket are perfect.

bests
Holt

Holt, when I posted about this people were trying to tell me the jacket I had didn't fit. It fit wonderful except for the tourniquet right at my shoulder. I felt like a scarecrow. Was very odd and nothing I've ever felt before.

Raider S wrote:Holt, when I posted about this people were trying to tell me the jacket I had didn't fit. It fit wonderful except for the tourniquet right at my shoulder. I felt like a scarecrow. Was very odd and nothing I've ever felt before.

yes the extremey tight armholes when you move the arms forward at the same time right?..its a really annoying feeling...thats why I get one now with bigger armholes and a little wider sleeves...

Holt

Exactly Holt. I only felt it right where the arm meet the jacket, right at the seem. It only need about an extra half inch and the whole jacket would have been perfect. Standing with the arms at the side was ok, move the arms up and forward and you felt it.

The CS jacket, at least the Nowak version does indeed have huge arm holes. I've posted about this before and it is clearly noticeable on any of the publicity shots of Ford wearing the jacket. IMO, it makes the jacket very roomy and comfortable, and will allow you to wear a sweater of whatever underneath when it is very cold outside. The only drawback is when you go to place your hands inside the jacket pocket, the sleeves bunch up on the outside. As for how it looks, that is completely subjective. You either like that look or you don't.

It's a fine line between comfortable and baggy. I'd prefer enough room to be comfortable but not so much it looks odd. To be able to fit a couple fingers into the armhole when wearing it seems good.

Raider S wrote:It's a fine line between comfortable and baggy. I'd prefer enough room to be comfortable but not so much it looks odd. To be able to fit a couple fingers into the armhole when wearing it seems good.

You talk a lot of sense Mr S!

It's indeed a fine line, for many years people have bashed on about wanting tight high armholes. But as soon as it is made standard it be comes very clear that there was a darn good reason ® for allowing a little extra space in the pattern. We are all different and some of us need a little more room around the shoulder/armpit opening. Maybe because of chunkier shoulders, or more developed chest muscles, heck maybe some of us are just 'huskier'!

It may well be that so of us fit the Raiders jackets better and some the CS.

Until a vendor is willing/able to take the armhole circumference as a given measurement that will always be a difficult point.

Aeris_Canon wrote:

KT Templar wrote:...for many years people have bashed on about wanting tight high armholes. But as soon as it is made standard it be comes very clear that there was a darn good reason ® for allowing a little extra space in the pattern.

I didn't.

When was this change implemented by Wested as standard? Their jacket AND sleeves used to fit fine before...on their Raiders version.

I'm talking about their Rola's. Not the standard.

BUT, I think because of the general trend of people asking for tighter jackets the cutter may have been being instructed to cut tighter under the armpits. Not a change in the pattern 'per say' but a way of cutting.

But then again I'm not sure that they have. The first jacket I got from them has pretty tight armpits, probably too tight, but I like it, it's reassuring! My much looser CS is probably more comfortable to wear tho!

Perhaps I've stumbles upon a Bespin cut.

2 + year old Raiders with gussets:




CS:

The CS looks good on you KT.

You could keep the 80's cut in your jackets if you just ask for the back panel up near the shoulders to be cut wider. If you ask for a 44R jacket, for example, ask for a little more room in the back. That should fix the problem. The whole idea of the bi-swing back is to add more width to the jacket, like the Navy's G-1, but if you order it to be cut too trim you will negate the effect

Indiana Strones wrote:Yes my jacket was new in that photo.
These are a couple of pics taken today, after 4 months. It seems that a little amount of bagginess in the elbow zone is normal.

Forget baggy. What is happening with those pockets!? Is this a camera effect or are they indeed all pocket and tiny, narrow flap - and if so, is that what you asked for? Just curious.

Cheers

Ehehe, no I don't asked for those pockets (jacket is OTR), but I like them very much. Anyway flaps are not so tiny. They were standard Wested pockets when I bought my jackets (March 2008) My Raiders OTR has very similar pockets.

Ok, back again. These sleeves are bothering me again. I've joined Photobucket and uploaded some pics, so I'll try and post them now..
I've got three pictures uploaded to Photobucket; I've never used it before, what do I do folks, to show them here?[/img]

upload to photobucket and then right click and copy were it says IMG code and then paste it directly in your post

Holt

Thanks Holt. I hope they work. The last one is an example of the 'puffiness'. Sort of looks like a high elbow, but my elbow is nowhere near there! Both sleeves do it too. The pics make it look not that bad; in my eyes it's a little more noticable. Either way, they're surely to big for LC sleeves.
CS maybe, but they shouldn't have that 'high elbow crease' (for lack of a better description). And LC is what I ordered, not CS. If an LC jacket is only a CS nowadays, it should be advertised as such, IMO.
I've ordered a Lamb which will hopefully have slimmer sleeves, but I'm not sure what to do with this one in the meantime. Send it back to Wested for alterations, or try a local tailor?
I honestly love the jacket otherwise; the leather is fantastic, and seems to distress on it's own after a bit of wear. Lighter patches are already showing up in all the right wear areas. I wouldn't want another one, because the hide on this one is just so great.

Holt, the HH LC jacket you had was perfect, I think. If it was a 42 I would have bought it.

I see the pics worked. Sorry about the size, if they are too big. And if the are, how do I resize them?

no,no,no...those look great my friend
I love them..just apply a little leather dressing on the sleeves sand wear the jacket alot then the puffines will go away..

and that LC HH 44 will fit you I think cause it is a tad to small for me and the LC jacket has a baggy look to it..so I think that jacket will be perfect on you...

I ordered a 44 but I need a 46...cause the wested LC regular has a more tappered body then the raiders regualr..

so....

bests
Holt

Don't tempt me Holt! Three jackets in two months would be too much!
As far as leather dressing goes, is that ok for Novapelle?
It seems the upper sleeve on both arms is different slightly to the top; stiffer leather, by a little bit, which may be contributing to the puffiness. Softening it up would help, I think.
Front on, I think the sleeves look great. They wrinkled all by themselves in no time!
Thanks for the pic posting advice too; I'm going to go crazy now and get some more good pics! Speaking of which, is there and limit on the number of pics I can post? And those earlier pics aren't too large?

you know...I tell you this...and this is true...

when you find something on a jacket that you notice kinda extra more then other thing..then you will look for it all the time..everywhere you go...when you are at the mall and go past a window you look for it...bugging the daylights out of ya...and the more you notice it the more you think it stands out..

but its all in the head..

dont bother with it..it will loosen up in time...and yes pecards is great for NP

bests
Holt

Look back at the film, the forearms upwards are quite generous.







The whole castle/ming vase scene shows it very well.

Thanks KT and Holt, but I'm still yet to see a pic of a jacket with a sleeve quite like mine. I think it's a manufacturing fault, perhaps; too much leather where it shouldn't be. Any ideas on how to remedy the situation would be much appreciated! I'll look into pecards, and I'm wearing the jacket as much as possible, but I really think I've got sleeves that are just too big, or made a funny shape. I'll probably have to learn to live with it.
I was thinking of soaking and then rapidly drying (hairdryer) just that extra-elbow bit. The lovely hide is varied enough that I doubt I'd notice if it dried looking a little different from the rest of the jacket; I just hope it might shrink a bit.
Thanks for you patience with me, all!

It's not a manufacturing fault. That's what they look like. This is a personal fit issue for you.

I really urge you to watch that castle scene again, I was surprised at how baggy the sleeves looked when I reviewed it to take those snapshots.

If you had noticed it before you had worn them in you could have had then taken in pretty easily if you didn't like them as baggy. But I don't think that's do-able now. But you could talk to a local tailor and see what they say, taking leather out from the front seam is a lot easier than from the rear as the front seam has a simpler construction.

I'd hate for this to get back to Peter and persuade him to 'correct' something that is not wrong, we've been down that road before.

A better example is the end of Crusade, when Indy's group are captured before Indy is forced to retrieve the Grail. Arms straight down at his sides, there's certainly nothing the the effect I'm getting. I know, I know, this jacket is brand new. Give it time! It's my fault for not noticing it sooner too, I guess. I was so busy admiring everything that was right about the jacket, I didn't look for anything that might be wrong.
KT, that funny crease or kink above the 'elbow' is mainly what bothers me, as it makes the lower part of the sleeve look like a puffy wing! A straight 'tube' sleeve would look fine, but I get those creases on both sleeves whenever I put my arms down. I'm not trying to be a pain, I'm just wondering what's going on with my jacket. I trust your experience though; and Holts, and just hope time will soften it up and straighten it out a bit.
This will be my last post on the matter, honest, except in private, for advice perhaps.
Will post pics of my LC Lamb when it arrives, now that I know how!

Wear that thing for a month, get the arms rained on, and it will soon look very different. No need to use hot water and a dryer. I'd use some cool water from the shower and then wear it while it dries. Do this several times then put on some conditioner and you'll be set.