My take on the WPG shirt

[Raider S]

The WPG shirt has been a fairly maligned item on the boards here and going against popular opinion, I ordered one to see for myself just how awful they really were. Call me a masochist!

I must admit this is one time the mob was not correct – I really think my WPG shirt is great!

First off, I love the color. SA or no, it’s unlike anything else in my closet and a rather interesting cross of khaki and gray and something I’d feel comfortable with on the street. Many have mentioned the stiff material and again I found the shirt to be excellent in this regard. True, this is not a soft, luxurious fabric but I found it more in line with some of the dress shirts I own – almost as if it has a very high thread count. As for the overall construction, I’ve only had mine a couple weeks but it seems on par with just about any other garment I own. I satisfied and surprised at the workmanship. Nowadays it seems rare to buy any off the peg items that don't have a button or two that needs some attention; I haven't yet found a problem with mine.

Of course if something doesn’t fit, it don’t really matter what it looks like. I do think these run on the large size so this is a case of buying a size smaller than normal. When I put mine on the fit was superb, so good in fact my girl told me it looked great, that she loved the shirt and it was one of the best in my closet. If you go down a size I think you'll then be able to appreciate the fitted aspect of these – broad shoulder and tighter waistline (of course how you're built will help this too).

For length I went with the long, or tall, size. There have been reports of these shrinking and I can’t stand too short shirts to begin with. Now I’m not sure how people wash their clothes, but my advice is to either hand wash and hang to dry, or machine wash cold on a gentle cycle and then hang to dry. If you wash warm and put it in a heated dryer I have no doubt it will shrink. So be a bit careful and you should be fine.

For a plain old shirt these are on the pricey side once you add in the shipping, but we all know we pay a premium for that “Indy connection”. In this case I’m happy with the item and will most likely get a second as I have no trouble wearing this as a regular item in my closet – looks great!

[Texan Scott]

Is the WPG a 'poplin' shirt? Generally, I've found poplin to be rather stiff until it is broken in with repeated use and wash....would not have been my first choice for an Indy shirt, just mho.

[BroadSword]

I like mine as well. I did take the sides in a bit, but I did that for my Todd's shirt too. Color is a hard thing to nail, but to me the WPG shirt looks totally Raiders.

[Scott63]

I think the shirts WPG is selling now are different from the ones they sold a couple of years ago. I have 2 WPG shirts that I bought in either late 2006 or early 2007, and they are a lot different than the one I purchased earlier this year. The sizing has been changed to small, medium, large, X-large, etc. The color is about the same, but the cut is different (wide shoulders and more tailored in the mid-section), and the material is not as stiff. IMO they still run a little on the large side, but nowhere near a huge as they were a couple of years ago.

Scott

[Cammer]

Many have mentioned the stiff material and again I found the shirt to be excellent in this regard. True, this is not a soft, luxurious fabric but I found it more in line with some of the dress shirts I own – almost as if it has a very high thread count.

What type of material is it? Is it a cotton poplin or a thicker fabric? To me the ideal fabric would be what one of my Columbia brand fishing shirts is made of. It is a very lightweight 100% poplin type material that has never shrunk.

[Raider S]

Cammer, that's what the fabric reminds me of. It reminds me very much of the fly fishing stuff I have that was made for fishing on the flats.

I've since washed my shirt by hand and hung to dry with no shrinking I can notice. The fabric gets a great slight wrinkle to it.

I'm planning to get two more of these because I like it that much as a shirt.

[Cammer]

Well that actually sounds pretty good. I picked up one of the Old Navy shirts based on the thread here - Old Navy Shirt and found it to be a really nice shirt, but here in Florida I like my shirts to be of a thinner fabric. Also, I believe that to be completely SA the material needs to be very thin.

[Texan Scott]

Could someone post the newer version of the WPG? thanks.

[Cammer]

Could someone post the newer version of the WPG? thanks.

I'll post a pic when I get mine. It will be a few days though. I just ordered it 20 minutes ago.

[JC1972]

;0

[Indiana MarkVII]

I bought a WPG as my first Indy shirt. I machine washed it in cold water with a cold rinse and hung it to dry inside my house. The sleeves shrunk so much, about 2 inches in the sleeve, that I had to order another one in a larger size than I wear to guess at the shrinkage the next one would do. I understand that the material is 100% cotton, but the amount that my WPG shirts have shrunk in cold water is something I've never seen before, or from other shirts I've collected since then: Wested, Todd's, and AB Deluxe. All the others have held up well to cold washes and drip dry. The Wested shirts dry with the least amount of wrinkles in the body of the shirt, but the epaulets and pocket flaps crinkle up, something like there is sizing inside that shrinks at a different rate than the material. My WPG shirts are also very full in the body, as if it were cut for a big pot belly. Maybe I should try the newer versions now. The thicker material of the WPG shirts may not be the most SA, but sometimes it is just called for.

[Raider S]

You're talking about the old shirts. My new one has nice light fabric. It's cut very nicely and is fitted like a dress shirt. I tried on one of those Old Navy close enough shirts people are talking about and it was like putting on a potato sack. Try a new one, if it's anything like mine you'll be happy. But I am interested in hearing what those who just ordered think.

[Cammer]

You're talking about the old shirts. My new one has nice light fabric. It's cut very nicely and is fitted like a dress shirt. I tried on one of those Old Navy close enough shirts people are talking about and it was like putting on a potato sack. Try a new one, if it's anything like mine you'll be happy. But I am interested in hearing what those who just ordered think.

The Old Navy shirt that I received was ordered in the size that I normally wear, a size Large, and it fits NOTHING like a potato sack. In fact if I was a slightly bigger guy I would have to return it and get an XL. It is tight across the chest and belly for me and I don't have a belly. The sleeves are just perfect for me and I have short arms for my size. Normally sleeves run too long on all my long sleeve shirts. On the other thread the general concensus is that the Old Navy shirts run slightly small. This has been my experience also.

So given your experience with the Old Navy shirt, the newer WPG shirts must run really small? I'll know in a few days I guess.

[Raider S]

The Old Navy shirt that I received was ordered in the size that I normally wear, a size Large, and it fits NOTHING like a potato sack. In fact if I was a slightly bigger guy I would have to return it and get an XL. It is tight across the chest and belly for me and I don't have a belly. The sleeves are just perfect for me and I have short arms for my size. Normally sleeves run too long on all my long sleeve shirts. On the other thread the general concensus is that the Old Navy shirts run slightly small. This has been my experience also.

So given your experience with the Old Navy shirt, the newer WPG shirts must run really small? I'll know in a few days I guess.

No, I had to go one size up with the Old Navy shirt. It fit like a sack in that it wasn't fitted and seemed huge in the belly. If I went with a smaller size the sleeves would have been just below my elbows.

I didn't buy one because as it was the sleeves were too short, the fabric way too heavy, and I thought it would be better on a pregnant lady. That and the fact that it was nothing like an Indy shirt other than it had two pockets and epulets. Really did not like that shirt in any way.

The WPG might still run one size big and I'm happier with a smaller size in a long version. This is important to consider on these!

[Cammer]

The WPG might still run one size big and I'm happier with a smaller size in a long version. This is important to consider on these!

Okay, it all makes sense now. For you to get the sleeves to fit you would have had to go up to the potato sack size. Even then I guess the sleeves were still too short. This shirt is really cut in a short fashion, something that is rare nowadays. They just need to put it on the tag.

The way I'm built is that I am 5'8" and weigh about 175 lbs. I have a 44-46 chest measurement, and a 22.5 sleeve. I'm not fat and don't have a gut at all, but because of the way I'm built I have a hard time finding clothes that fit me well off the rack. With most shirts and jackets the sleeves end at my fingertips and I look like a little kid wearing his dad's clothes. The Old Navy Pilot shirt looks like it was tailored to fit me. I agree with you in that it is *barely* a close enough shirt with the thick material, small epaulets, etc. But I love it because it fits me well and is very comfortable.

I would never be able to wear the AB shirt (I think that's the one with the 27.5" sleeves??) without removing some serious material from the sleeves.

[Cammer]

Is the WPG a 'poplin' shirt? Generally, I've found poplin to be rather stiff until it is broken in with repeated use and wash....would not have been my first choice for an Indy shirt, just mho.

I received the shirt yesterday and it is indeed a nice 100% cotton poplin. I normally wear a size large so that is what I ordered. The size received was more like an XL though. So I decided to wash it in hot water and dry it. It shrunk an amazing amount, but now it fits me very well and I have found that it is a very well put together shirt. The color is a kind of warm stone gray. It's not gray, just slightly warmer.

I don't find the material to be too stiff. It is cotton poplin and it is very thin. After a few washings it should be very soft and pleasant to wear in warm weather. Also, from what I remember of a few screen shots, this material is what Indy's shirts were made from, or something very similar.

I like the shirt a lot and I will probably order another one.

[Raider S]

Very glad you like it. Yes, people should order one size smaller than normal for a good fit. If in doubt about shrinking order a tall size as well but if washed in cold water and hung to dry there shouldn't be too much of an issue. The color is spot on.

[Cammer]

Very glad you like it. Yes, people should order one size smaller than normal for a good fit. If in doubt about shrinking order a tall size as well but if washed in cold water and hung to dry there shouldn't be too much of an issue. The color is spot on.

Yes, the color is really a perfect Raiders match IMHO. At first I thought it was too dark, but then I realized that most of what I remembered of that movie was shot under the blazing desert sun which will tend to wash out the color, so I looked at the shirt outside and Voila!! Perfect Raiders match. The fit is still a touch loose on me so I will wash it a couple more times to snug it up, and if I have to I can bring in the sides a bit. Now I will just have to order a Todd's shirt for further comparison. I've heard that most folks are very happy with those.