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How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:46 pm
by indyfan1234
this is my beautiful (goat or lamb skin cant remember) and it is big on me. is there any way to make it smaller without damaging anything on it???

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff32 ... G_1937.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff32 ... G_1940.jpg

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:10 pm
by alphared6
My friend, you might be stuck. I've owned a lot of leather jackets. I used the water treatment on all of them and never had one shrink. A good Tailor can take it in a little.

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:14 pm
by indyfan1234
:( man oh well looks like im going to somehow save up a few hundred dollars

this is what it looks like on me with my gear so you can see how long it is

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff32 ... G_2006.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff32 ... G_2007.jpg

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:17 pm
by alphared6
I don't think it looks bad at all! Look at the pix of Indy in all the films, his sleeves are at least that long! What size is it? Who made it?

Mike

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:50 pm
by indyfan1234
its a xL-long from uswings

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:54 pm
by alphared6
I have a US Wings XL made of goat. It's a tough, heavy jacket.

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 12:53 am
by RaiderZee
Howdy,

That a nice jacket, but you're right, it's too long, especially in the body length. If you haven't really worn it, IMO, I'd send it back and get an XL regular or a L-long.

RaiderZee

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:10 am
by indyfan1234
wish i could send it back but ive had it for almost 3 years now. i was smaller when i bought it and i wanted to have a perfectly fit jacket when i grew more but i guess i didnt grow as much as i hoped

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:19 am
by IndianaJack91
well IMO, i would just sell that one here or on fleebay and use that money to buy another one in a smaller size

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:21 am
by RaiderZee
Agreed. If you monkey with trying to change the size (i.e. water treatment/dryer/altering/etc.) you'll probably just hurt the resale value. Unless you're emotionally attached to it, I'd punt.

RZ

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:26 am
by Imahomer
It looks nice on you, but if you aren't happy with it, I say move it along. There will be a buyer out there and you can get the next size down and give that a try. Although I've got a Wings XXL jacket that I've had for some years and was never happy with the fit (it just seemed too big and loose). I finally decided to give it the hot shower and then the drier treatment. It worked wonders! I figured that if it didn't work out, I could sell it, but now it fits much better and has a more broken in look.

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:49 pm
by Kt Templar
I really wouldn't try shortening that with water.

The body looks a good 2" too long on you, but the sleeves look good. I don't know what you should do. Sell that one for sure, but you might need to get a custom from someone for a good fit.

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:46 pm
by RCSignals
What is your chest size? If a 40 to 42 or so a Wings Medium Regular would probably do.

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:34 pm
by Ken
You CAN change the size, but its a very risky business. I ruined a jacket in the past doing it and so it ended up being just a stunt jacket - the thing is remember if you do it the whole jacket will shrink equally. So the arms, the sleeves, the shoulders, the chest... everything will shrink!! I do not advise this method at all as its not scientific as in its impossible to know by how much the jacket will shrink. If you do this you should be prepared that afterwards the jacket may have to be thrown away.

What I did was wash the jacket the washing machine and then tubled dried it slightly afterwards as well - it shrank at least a whole size if not more. On the plus side it looked wonderfully wrinkled afterwards.

Again really consider this your very last resort!!

Ken

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:49 pm
by indyfan1234
well it is like two sizes above me i wear about a large and its a xtra large long and in goat skin do you know how well goatskin does because im thinking of putting it in the shower on warm then in the dryer till dry????

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:39 am
by Ken
Mine was goatskin as well... but like I said be very careful. If it goes wrong there is NO going back. Maybe check on its progress by stopping the dryer every few minutes or so - dont over do it. Again, last resort!

Ken

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:49 am
by indyfan1234
I'm probably gonna wait till I get another one and then I'll probly do it as a stunt jacket

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:02 pm
by FLATHEAD
If you try to shrink it, the leather might shrink, but the ZIPPER NEVER WILL.
Its metal, and the leather can shrik around it, but the zipper will stay the same
length.

This will produce a very wavy jacket front, and it will look really horrible and
totally out of place.

You can NOT really spot shrink a jacket, or any other article of clothing for
that matter with any great success.

As stated before, you run the risk of ruining it, and thus ruining the value
of it as well.

Its obviously way too big, and too long on you.

You need to get yourself either a size large regular, or even a size
medium regular.

You do NOT need a long size. As you have had this jacket for 3 years,
you can see that the sleeves never really rode up from wrinkling, and they
are still at least an inch too long if not more.

Sell this jacket while it still holds some nice cash value, and buy yourself
a new one in a smaller size.

As a reference for you, a size Medium REGULAR Wings Indy jacket will have an
armpit to armpit measurement of about 23 inches, which means a total
chest measurement of 46 inches. The sleeves will be between
23.5 and 24 inches from the shoulder seam down to the end of the cuff.
And the back length will be about 26 inches from the base of the
collar to the bottom hem.

A size large REGULAR Wings Indy jacket will have an armpit to armpit of about 25
inches, which means a total chest measurement of 50 inches. The sleeves
will be about 24.5 to 25 inches from the shoulder seam down to the end of
the cuff. And the back length will be about 27 inches from the base of the
collar to the bottom hem.

And a size XL, in a REGULAR (yours is currently a LONG) will
have an armpit to armpit of about 27 inches, which is a total chest measurement
of 54 inches. The sleeves will be about 25.5 to 26 inches from the shoulder
seam to the end of the cuff. And the back length will be about 28 inches
from the base of the collar to the bottom hem.

You can add about an inch to an inch and a half to the sleeve length and
the back length for the LONG sizes.

Compare this to your current Wings size XL in LONG, and let us know how accurate
the above info is. I got the above info from doing some simple searches of Wings Indy
jackets on this site over the last few years and writing it down for myself for possible future
jacket purchases.

Your current jacket is really too big for you, as you already know.

Just the fact that you are asking the question means you know the answer
to if its too big or not.

Its a nice jacket, and there is one out there that will fit you properly that
will be just as nice.

Sell this one, get the money, and put that twards one that fits the way
YOU want it to. You will be ahead of the game versus trying to shrink
this one, which can possibly ruin it, and render it worthless.

Flathead

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:12 pm
by indyfan1234
thx for the advise how much should i sell it for??
and it looks like i will probly not get a long so i think i might get a large regular is that my best bet?

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:02 pm
by RCSignals
I'd suggest calling or emailing Wings about size. I think you may be best with one of their Medium Regulars. The Wings Medium fits like most other's Large.

Re: How do i make my jacket smaller without damaging it????

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:31 am
by FLATHEAD
thx for the advise how much should i sell it for??
and it looks like i will probly not get a long so i think i might get a large regular is that my best bet?
thx for the advise how much should i sell it for??
and it looks like i will probly not get a long so i think i might get a large regular is that my best bet?
I have seen Wings Indy jackets go for over $200.00 on ebay. It all depends on when you sell it, and what
condition its in. You will get more for it at the end of the summer for fall, or just prior to christmas, as
people are looking for presents for their family or themselves!! Just after christmas is good too, because
some people get cash gifts, and they want to spend it.

Also, take at LEAST 6 pictures of it if you plan on the ebay route. The more pictures you have of every
part of the jacket, the higher it will sell for, as people like to see what they are putting their money on.

You can also try to sell it here in the for sale section. You will get less people looking at it, but the people
who do know its origin and what it is.

As to size, the best way to determine what you want is to take a jacket you already own (other than your
current Wings XL long) that you really like the way it fits you, and zip it up, lay it flat on your bed, and take
a few measurements. Make sure its a jacket with an open bottom, like the Indy jacket style, to be sure to
get accurate measurements.

Measure it from armpit to armpit. Measure it from shoulder seam down to the end of the cuff. Flip it
over and measure it from the base of the collar down to the bottom hem.

Take these measurements, and compare them to the different jacket sizes offered by the vendor of
your choice.

The measurements I gave from before are for Wings Indy jackets ONLY. So compare your measurements
to those first if its another Wings Indy jacket that you want.

Also, ALWAYS call the vendor of the jacket you want to buy and ASK what the measurements are of
each size to verify it will fit.

I know what the Wings size large measurements are because I have owned one now for several years, and
what I posted about that size is right from my own jacket, so you can see if that size would fit you.

What is you own chest measurement? How about your height? Weight? Arm length? All that info will
also help finding the correct size for you. If you can post that, we can offer some help, but ultimately, its
up to you on what size you feel most comfortable in.

Good luck. You'll get one that fits, and when you do, you will very pleased with it.

Flathead