A big thanks and tribute to the guys at Wested

[mrkaboom]

I've been a member of COW for around a year now and like many have succumbed to the Indy gear covered in detail in this forum. I have an AB from Steve Delk, shirt from Noel Howard, MK VII bag with strap, pants from Wested and boots from Timberland. The only major thing missing for me was the jacket of course. Now being a UK member I have had the opportunity to visit Wested on a couple of occasions and have subsequently bought from them the Wolverine jacket (awesome) along with the Indy pants and shirt (which i lost in San Ignacio, Belize unfortunatley).

I thought long and hard about the jacket i wanted and the best place to purchase it from. I exchanged a couple of emails with Tony Nowak and given the cost of the jackets coupled with the costly shipping and import fees I decided it was just too much money. I had a look at the US Wings and G&B, Todds but Wested always had a certain charm and alliure given they made the original and they are in the UK.

In the end i bit the bullet and ordered a custom made raiders in washed goat and started to play the waiting game. Within 6 working days i received my jacket made to my exact specifications. Unfortunatley the specifications i supplied were wrong and the jacket was too big . Completely my fault. I got in contact with Gemma at Wested and explained the situation to her and she agreed to take back the jacket and provide a newly cut jacket made to my revised specifications at no extra charge other than the payment of shipping.

I received the newly made jacket some 6-7 working days later and i am over the moon with it - it fits like a glove and looks fabulous with that distinct on the waist raiders look and lived in feel of the leather.

Ive read a number of posts on here reporting negative experiences and i just wanted to share with all of you my very positive experience with the guys at Wested and I must say that i will not hesitate to order any further items from them in the future as the quality of the jacket is 1st class and the customer service from Gemma and the team is fabulous.

Thanks again Wested and keep up the great work on these wonderful jackets.

PS for those interested these are the specifications for the revised jacket. i am 42 chest, 34 waist and 6ft tall.

Description Raiders Jacket
Back Length : 26
Extra Inside Pocket: Yes
GUSSETS: No
Jacket Size: 42
Lining Type : Cotton Body/ Satin Sleeves (Recommended)
Name Label (optional): Not required
Side Straps: D rings + X Box Stitch
Skin Type: Authentic Washed Goat
Sleeve Length: 25.75
Special Requests: I’m quite slim with a 42 chest and 34 waist so if you could make the jacket slightly slim fitting to the body that would be great.


MK

[rover smith]

;0

haha, had to be done

[mrkaboom]

Ha ha Smith I purposefully didnt put any mention of pictures in there as I know one of you lot would chime in with that old chestnut!

I have taken some and will take some more this weekend and will post next week.

MK

[ron521]

This is very good to hear...all to often people complain when they aren't satisfied, but fail to give praise when it is due.
Are the "Gussets" mentioned in the options list the extra folds or pleats under the arms which allow better articulation?
Some of my flight and motorcycle jackets have those, in addition to the bi-swing back.

[rover smith]

Ha ha Smith I purposefully didnt put any mention of pictures in there as I know one of you lot would chime in with that old chestnut!

Its my first time, always been too late in the past

How you finding the washed goat? Thats what mines is. Had it almost a year now and its really taking on a nice look.

[Hatch]

Quote :mrkaboom :

"along with the Indy pants and shirt (which i lost in San Ignacio, Belize unfortunatley)."

......Man, that must have been some night .......that Tequila will sneak up on you..... AND ......do you remember anything about the woman ?......

[mrkaboom]

Quote :mrkaboom :

"along with the Indy pants and shirt (which i lost in San Ignacio, Belize unfortunatley)."

......Man, that must have been some night .......that Tequila will sneak up on you..... AND ......do you remember anything about the woman ?......

ha ha Hatch i actually meant just the Wested trousers - the shirt was the item i lost and i did it within 10 minutes of arriving! I was just dosey and i guess it must have dropped out of my day pack or something.

With reference to the gussets - yes they are the underarm pleats that allow more movement. I personally am not too keen as they tend to give a bit of a flying squirrel look but thats just my opinion.

All in all washed goat is the bomb as far as Im converned as it looks authentic and lived in but is also quite robust and looks like it will stand a few beatings! Im very happy with it and would recommend to anyone.

MK

[cyrano]

she agreed to take back the jacket and provide a newly cut jacket made to my revised specifications at no extra charge other than the payment of shipping.

Wested taking back custom jackets ?

[gwyddion]

she agreed to take back the jacket and provide a newly cut jacket made to my revised specifications at no extra charge other than the payment of shipping.

Wested taking back custom jackets ?

Yup, they've done this before. Actually, I think it's more the norm than an exception

Regards, Geert

[RCSignals]

she agreed to take back the jacket and provide a newly cut jacket made to my revised specifications at no extra charge other than the payment of shipping.

Wested taking back custom jackets ?

Yup, they've done this before. Actually, I think it's more the norm than an exception

Regards, Geert

I don't know about that being the 'norm'
It does seem to happen for some people.


6 to 7 days is a fast turn around for a whole remake. MrK was treated well. Maybe his name had something to do with it.....

[Hatch]

Wonder if someone named 'Tyler Durden' would get good service as well ?? ,,,,,,,I know , I know .......get back on track.......waiting for pics of the jacket.........

[crismans]

Glad that you've got your jacket back and are ecstatic with it!

Without trying to pry too much, were there any special circumstances regarding the return of the custom? I only ask as I know of one member here who received an incorrect ToD jacket (you'll remember the first few had incorrect side vents and storm flap "tip") but wasn't offered a return option. But, now, they took back a custom based on the customer's specs being somewhat off.

Not trying to suggest, allude, or hypothesize here. I'm just confused. Maybe it's a new practice they've initiated?

[Forrest For the Trees]

Custom standard jackets are always returnable as far as I understand. Only if a customer made some wacky requests, like narrower pleats, higher yoke, smaller pockets, zipper to the bottom hem, collar to midway point of storm-flap, no leather facing, piped inner pocket, etc. (Did I miss any?), would the jacket be non-returnable. And who would request any of that stuff anyway? Then your jacket might actually look like the one from the movie!

[whipwarrior]

I would just like to add my agreement to this post. Wested has great customer service, and I have enjoyed every jacket that I got from them. Gemma really is an angel. I remember when I ordered my custom novapelle CS last February (taking specs from the 'part-time' photo of Harrison—the only shot of the new jacket available at the time), I sent in a last-minute detail nearly a week after the order went in, and Gemma promised that she would print out the pic with a note, and attach it to my order in the machinist's shop. I was so worried that it was too late to incorporate it, but all of my fears were put to rest when I received the jacket. It was perfect down to the very last detail. Wested really hit a home run, and it's the last jacket that I will ever buy. So thanks, Wested! You guys are the best!

[crismans]

Well, I guess I'll get called for trolling. I'm not, I promise. But I honestly don't understand the apparent disparity here. MrKaboom and Whipwarrior receive beyond excellent customer service, imo. But the person I was referring to got a jacket with incorrect details that was NO fault of his own but there never was a mention of exchanging the jacket. He had to buy another ToD to get the correct details (and I believe he communicated with Wested beforehand on the issue, but he might want to chime in here to verify whether he did or not).

Whipwarrior, from your experience Wested went above and beyond to get a last minute detail right. I ordered a jacket, changed my mind on the leather, received an email confirmation that the change was accepted and got my jacket THREE months later in the wrong leather. I only capitalize the three to emphasize that this was not a last second change.

I have always received quick and courteous replies from Gemma so that has never been a problem. I also, truly, don't want to derail a thread that was (justifiably in these cases) praising Wested for excellent work. But it is just this discrepancy in the past (among other issues) that has made me hesitate to do business with Wested again and I wonder why there exists such a huge disparity between people's experiences.

[Zombie Jones]

I've only placed one order with Wested, but I received excellent service and a great product. In June of 2008 I ordered a Raiders jacket in Novapelle (I know it's not screen accurate, but I don't care--that photo of Peter in his Novapelle jacket made the decision for me). Gemma contacted me the day after I placed my order regarding a minor credit card problem, resolved the problem immediately, and I received my jacket exactly two weeks later. My first thought was "This can't possibly be the right jacket" so, since I'd read about some of the mistakes Wested had made with other customers' jackets, I checked it to see whether or not it was made to the specs and measurements I'd sent. Sure enough, all the specs and measurements but one matched perfectly; the "back length" was 1.5" longer than I had requested, but I believe they were right in amending this measurement (whether it was intentional or not) because the jacket would have been too short otherwise. Admittedly, because of the measurements I sent and the Novapelle it looks more KotCS than RotLA, but it fits exactly how I want it to and it's easily the most comfortable leather jacket I've ever owned.

Obviously I fall into the "satisfied customer" category, and I wouldn't hesitate to order from Wested again.

[whipwarrior]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I just had to share this. We got our first Blu-Ray DVD player yesterday, and I immediately went out and bought KOTCS to christen it. Seeing Indy's jacket in all of its high-definition glory inspired me to break my own promise to the contrary and distress my Wested CS jacket to match the movie style. I used #0000 ultra-fine steel wool to achieve the final look over the course of three sessions. The result absolutely blew me away, beyond my wildest expectations. It's hard to convey all of the nuances in a photo, but the jacket looks even better in person.



Here are the large versions:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/416 ... 61a8_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/416 ... 2061_b.jpg

[Raskolnikov]

Those pocket flaps seem to me more raiderish than anything else. I like them very, very much. It looks like a great jacket too. Beautiful light distressing

[IndyBrit]

It is great to read some praise for Wested. I have three indy jackets from them and a Minority Report jacket. Every time dealing with them is a pleasure.

[whipwarrior]

Yes, they put a lot of scalloping on the flaps. But I like that better than the arrow-straight cut of the actual CS pocket flaps. It just looks more Indy, you know?

[djd]

Agree with you totally about the flaps and nice distressing job. Well done

[crismans]

Yes, they put a lot of scalloping on the flaps. But I like that better than the arrow-straight cut of the actual CS pocket flaps. It just looks more Indy, you know?

That is terrific distressing job, vey nice. However, I have to disagree with your assessment of the CS flaps. There is quite a bit of scalloping on those as well. Not as much as in raiders but certainly not arrow straight either.

[whipwarrior]

Thanks for the comments guys, but I don't think my distressing job warrants a whole new thread. I just figured it was a good time to show it off, since we're on the subject.

[Canyon]

PS for those interested these are the specifications for the revised jacket. i am 42 chest, 34 waist and 6ft tall.

Sounds like you're one of the guys here who are lucky enough to have similar specs to Harrison.

[RCSignals]

Yes, they put a lot of scalloping on the flaps. But I like that better than the arrow-straight cut of the actual CS pocket flaps. It just looks more Indy, you know?

The actual CS jacket flaps are not 'arrow-Straight cut'

[RCSignals]

Those pocket flaps seem to me more raiderish than anything else. I like them very, very much. It looks like a great jacket too. Beautiful light distressing

whipwarrior's pocket flaps are very attractive. Not necessarily 'Raiders' exactly and not CS but they have a great resemblance to some of the good looking WW2 A-2 jacket pocket flaps.

[Raskolnikov]

Yeah. I've seen those flaps in some Eastman A-2 repros. Actually, I was paying more attention to the snaps. They are placed much higher than the CS jacket, and that's what I find 'raiderish'. I like it better that way... Just a question of tastes.
And yes, CS flaps do have some light scalloping too.

[mrkaboom]

Wow an amazing response to my post!
Thanks for all the comments guys. heres a few pics of my jacket











All comments welcome good or bad and if you want some detail shots just ask.

MK

[rover smith]

Looks great MK, nice fit.

How tall are the pockets?

Scott

[mrkaboom]

Hiya Rover

The pocket dimensions are 19cm x 16cm

MK

[rover smith]

Good proportion.

Looks super new just now, the washed goat will break in nicely though.

So have you started the specs for your next jacket yet?

[djd]

Like it

[Holt]

very nice jacket and fit!

you wear it very well my friend

[RCSignals]

Looks good on you MK. Now wear it in, start making it 'you'

[Holt]

and just to ad. in the last picture you look like some bad cop.

cool man

[Raskolnikov]

Very nice fitting. Congratulations. It suits you very well.

[JC1972]

MK, looks good on you and fits you well. Enjoy!

[bigrex]

I used #0000 ultra-fine steel wool to achieve the final look over the course of three sessions.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/416 ... 2061_b.jpg

I've used fine steel wool in the past too, that's the ticket! That and a plastic bristled scrub brush. and water.

[Cannuck_Indy_Fan]

very much like it, i think 2010 will have to my year of the wested Jacket ... have to get some perks from living here after all ...

e