Club Obi Wan

Hi All,
I'm about to place an order with Wested for an ROTLA jacket, and I'd like to hear from anyone who is in my height range (5'8" to 5'10"), as to what back length you have been happy with for that style of jacket (after shrinkage). I measure it from collar seam where it joins the jacket to hem of back panel.
I am also wondering if anyone has experienced any degree of shrinkage with Horsehide, which my new jacket will be in. I reckon my lamb ToD lost at least 1.5" off the sleeves. This turned out to be perfect because I ordered them too long originally.
From my limited experience, shrinkage is a factor most overlooked when ordering our perfectly dimensioned jackets.

Thanks ~ falcon.au

falcon.au wrote:Hi All,
I'm about to place an order with Wested for an ROTLA jacket, and I'd like to hear from anyone who is in my height range (5'8" to 5'10"), as to what back length you have been happy with for that style of jacket (after shrinkage). I measure it from collar seam where it joins the jacket to hem of back panel.
I am also wondering if anyone has experienced any degree of shrinkage with Horsehide, which my new jacket will be in. I reckon my lamb ToD lost at least 1.5" off the sleeves. This turned out to be perfect because I ordered them too long originally.
From my limited experience, shrinkage is a factor most overlooked when ordering our perfectly dimensioned jackets.

Thanks ~ falcon.au

From my own experience I have owned dozens of leather jackets over 2 decades (only 3 in lamb) goat, cow, kanga, pig and deer but none have ever shrunk or changed shape in any way, even after sitting in my car trunk for months in the heat and going through the washing machine. I hear people mentioning creasing and shrinkage and I've never seen it.

At your height I'd say around 24 -25 inches would do it.

Keep in mind that the RoLA pattern fits differently than the Hero jacket. There are degrees of 'slimmness' of the jacket, and basically the Raiders Standard jacket is cut fullest, then the slimmer patterned-RoLA, then the Hero jacket is Wested's slimmest fitting jacket. I have ordered each of these over the past 10-12 years. Personally, I get a good fit from the RoLA pattern, as noted in the thread, "Wested's Hero jacket". It was posted first. The RoLA is not an "off the shoulders" cut, and some find that aspect beneficial. Anyway, some background info. to hopefully get the best fit for you. Also, height alone is not always the only consideration in finding a good fit, as some guys have a long or short torso, and/or long and short legs. The thing to do is to find a suit coat or another leather jacket that fits you well, and then measure. Personally, I have found that with the RoLA pattern, the BL that works best for me is: 25 1/2" if I want a shorter jacket and 26" if I want one that is cut slightly longer. Also, you need to determine how far below the belt, at the belt, etc., optimal BL that is best for you. Give Peter your height, weight, and typical suit coat/shirt size, and he can best size you. Arm him with as much info. as possible so he can best fit you. Most guys know right away which suit coat fits best. I tend to be a 44R. Sleeves-measure the suit coat or other jacket from the shoulder/sleeve seam to the cuff. Keep in mind though, that the Raiders jacket should extend to the first knuckle of the thumb.

I had a HH in the LC pattern with the new HH leather, and it was a good fit with relatively no shrinkage. Very soft leather.

Hi falcon.au,

I'm 5'9 and have got a ROLA jacket with a 25" back and that's perfect for me, but as Texan Scott says, people's body-legs ratio can vary. Texan's advice is good. Before ordering, I got 25" from measuring another jacket that I had and guestimating. I like short jackets and 25" turns out to be my ideal length.

Just to share my personal story: I hadn't done any research for screen accuracy before ordering, so 25" was just what I thought how long an Indy jacket should be on me. Now this is just my own perception, but I recently watched Raiders again for the first time in years, and I think that the screen jacket is longer on Ford than I thought it was.

Does anyone else think that the Raiders jacket is not as short as many people think it is?

there are alot of threads about the raiders length. too many if you ask me!

the original raiders jacket Tony Nowak had in his shop was at 23.5'' backlength and Ford is about 6'1 - 6'2.

so....it's not a long jacket.

Indiana Holt wrote:there are alot of threads about the raiders length. too many if you ask me!

the original raiders jacket Tony Nowak had in his shop was at 23.5'' backlength and Ford is about 6'1 - 6'2.

so....it's not a long jacket.

Thanks, I didn't know that.

Maybe it's just my eyes. Perception's a funny thing...

Is it possible that the screen used jackets had differing lengths as they did in leather type and texture?

yes, possible.

one thing I have learned over the years. never trust screen grabs. it can play a trick on your eyes. unless the image is so clear it stands out like a diamond.

personally, I have always seen the raiders jacket as a short jacket and when Tony had the orignal it just confirmed my idea of the lenght.

but of course, there were about a dozen and all may have had different lengths. but i think it would be a difference of 1'' MAX. adding 4'' or 5'' on his frame makes it no longer a jacket he can wear over his gunbelt and whip and whould get in the way. makes it more of a carcoat lenght and we would definitely see the difference on screen.

jm2c

Indiana Holt wrote: i think it would be a difference of 1'' MAX. adding 4'' or 5'' on his frame makes it no longer a jacket he can wear over his gunbelt and whip and whould get in the way. makes it more of a carcoat lenght and we would definitely see the difference on screen.

jm2c

Yes, I wasn't thinking that big a length difference. When I got my Wested Hero, I asked for 26" and that addressed what I think I see in the movie today. In particular, I'm looking at shots like when Indy rounds the final corner in the temple at the beginning (after they swing across the gap). Ford has his hands at his sides and the jacket front seems to fall about equal with his sleeves. My 25" long Westeds don't do that, but I admit it may be an illusion on screen.

I'm happy with 26" on my Hero - it just makes it further distinct from my other Westeds.

(Apologies for hijacking falcon.au's thread - I'll shut up now! )

Indiana Holt wrote:there are alot of threads about the raiders length. too many if you ask me!

the original raiders jacket Tony Nowak had in his shop was at 23.5'' backlength and Ford is about 6'1 - 6'2.

so....it's not a long jacket.

I think back length can sometimes be misleading, since the front length is also around 23.5" on that TN jacket, but on a typical jacket, the back length is 2-4" longer (according to Tony; he says the CS jacket is 4" longer ). Because of this "falling back" nature of the jacket, the bottom of the jacket hits below the belt line at the back same as it does with a jacket longer in the back, but constructed differently.

I have a TN Raiders with the back length 2" longer in the back, 0.5" in the front relative to the Ford Specs, and I'm around 5'9". I wish I got it 0.5 to 1" shorter in the front, but the back length is fine.

Of course, my US Wings Legend is longer in the front, and yet sits higher relative to my belt line...

Thanks guys,
When I wear something like a Levi 501, the 24.75" back lets the bottom jacket hem sit about 5" below the top of the pants waist. I imagine that's ballpark for SA ROTLA?

I don't mind it being a little long and more of an 'easy fit', because I travel quite a bit and will often end up sleeping in the jacket. I just don't want it to be too short.

Regards ~ falcon.au

falcon.au wrote:
I don't mind it being a little long and more of an 'easy fit', because I travel quite a bit and will often end up sleeping in the jacket. I just don't want it to be too short.

Regards ~ falcon.au

Yes, a bit too long is better than a bit too short, IMO.