Club Obi Wan

I was just wondering if some of you custom Wested owners could help me with the measuring of the jacket. This may sound dumb, but I just have some questions on where to measure.
The shoulder msmt.: Is it from the collar seam to the shoulder seam?
Back seam: I assume this is the seam across the back of the jacket?
Sleeve length: From top of sleeve to cuff?
last but not least,
Back length: Is this the entire length from collar seam down, or just from the seam across the back?

These may sound obvious, but I'd rather make sure now, than to wait a month after ordering, and end up looking like my Indy jacket was thrown in the dryer.
Thanks for the help

Yes to all as you already understand it.

Back length is from base of collar stand.

Go Flightsuits website - they have a page explaining how to measure yourself.

Ken

In my experience (own a Wested, have corresponded with FS), and unless things have changed:

FS measures their sleeves as you would for a shirt from the base of the neck, thus yielding a measurement in the "30's" (i.e., 34,35, etc.).

Wested measures sleeves from the shoulder seam to the open cuff, yielding a "20's" measurement (i.e., 24, 25, etc.).

Cab is right, DO NOT use FS measuring guide, its different than Westeds.
All your measurments are correct, and the back length, is from the base of the collar to the bottom of the jacket.

Indy J

Thanks for the help, fellas!

Hello,
At the very beginning I would like to say I am honoured to join Club Obi-Wan.
Regarding the sizing, I have the most recent data from Wested (and it denies Cabinetman information):

"You will need to measure your sleeve (from your spine to the first knuckle of the thumb with your arm outstretched);
Your shoulders (from shoulder to shoulder);
Your chest (around the widest part with three fingers inside the measure laid flat to your torso) and your back (from your collar to your tailbone).
"
I wrote:

I would like to be sure - do you really meant "from SPINE"? Is it a way to measure sleeves? Should I outstretch my arms and measure the size from the middle of my back (from the spine)?

The next answer was:

"Yes I do. This usually involves a friend and centimetres will be fine."


I hope it will help you IB!

Take care

Raider :junior:

That's interesting...and a good clarification. Perhaps Wested will be changing their website sizing chart to reflect this.

Regarding the sizing, I have the most recent data from Wested (and it denies Cabinetman information)

What Cabby is refering to is the actual sleeve length of a
jacket you already own, and you know it fits to your liking.

If you measure a jacket, any jacket, that you currently have,
the sleeve length, from the shoulder seam to the cuff will be
around 23 to 26 inches if you wear a normal size. If you are
a size that requires a "long" sizing, then your sleeves could
be longer than that.

If you look at Westeds website, you will see that Peter has
put the actual sleeve measurement of the different size jackets
for us to compare, and see how they measure up to what we
already have.

This is no substitute for the arm measurement from your spine
to the end of your wrist that you use to get dress jackets,
dress shirts, and the like. But, you can use this to determine
if a Westeds actual sleeves would need to be shortened or
lengthened accordingly buy comparing them to jackets you
already own.

It is just about impossible to measure from your actual shoulder
to your wrist because you are trying to measure to the curved
surface of your shoulders.

But the actual sleeve length is a good measurement to have
so Peter can compare that to your arm measurement.

As a matter of fact, because I have arms that are about an
inch shorter than the average 6 foot tall guy, I asked Peter to
make my sleeves 24 inches long on my Raiders jacket. The
actual sleeve length for a size 44R according to the website
is 25 inches. I knew that most of my jackets that fit well have
sleeves that are 24 inches long, so when Peter made mine to
that dimension, it came out perfect.

I did also give him my normal arm length, measured from my
spine to my wrist, which is 33 inches. Again, this is about an
inch shorter than most guys my size who wear a 34 sleeve
dress shirt.

So, the actual sleeve length is a good thing to have!!

Flathead

I got the following measurement instructions from searching through previous Club Obi Wan posts.
(I cut and paste into my own word doc so apologies, I do not have the original writer of this info)

I received my jacket yesterday and wore it all yesterday, and today. It fits perfectly in every way so I can honestly say these measurements worked well for me.

I also took photos and sent them off

* * *
Height

Chest (take this around the widest part of your chest with a space of about 2 to 3 fingers between the tape measure and the chest)

Shirt neck size (with 1 finger between the neck and measuring tape)

Shoulder to shoulder (arms straight down and from the broadest parts of the shoulders, which should be across the shoulder blades just below the neck)

Neck to shoulder (measure from base of the neck to the end of the shoulder, right where the arm meets the shoulder. Measure both sides as they may be different)

Shoulder to sleeve (from the point where the shoulder meets the arm down to where you want the sleeve to end. I suggest going down to the knuckle of the thumb. This will allow for the “bunching-up” that happened at the elbows. It will also prevent the jacket from riding up too high when you bend you arms or when you wear thick clothes in the winter. Also, don’t straighten your arm, but rather let it hang natural with its natural bend. Again, measure both sides as they may be different)

Middle of the back to the sleeve (this is from the base of the neck, behind the back, to the point where you want your sleeve to end. Your arm should be straight out for this. Don’t be shocked if this measurement is smaller than the combined “neck to shoulder” and “shoulder to sleeve. Here again, I suggest measuring both sides as they may be different)

Back length (measure from the base of the neck to your tailbone. This is the correct way to measure your back)

Back at seem (this is the measurement from the base of the neck to your waist)

Waist at the belly (measure around the widest part of the belly)

Waist size actual (should differ from your pants size)

Pants waist size (should differ from your actual size)

IndianaJames wrote:Cab is right, DO NOT use FS measuring guide, its different than Westeds.

Yup. If you compare FS 40R to Wested 44R you will understand. They are exactly the same size!! My two pre-distressed cowhides are 40R and 44R, respectively. Indydawg was quite surprised at this too and even tried both jacket on for fit. Perhaps it's just a difference between British and U.S. sizing.

Perhaps it's just a difference between British and U.S. sizing.

I beleive you hit the nail on the head...

I J

For the little it's worth, I just went to a local men's department and got measured for a suit coat. I'm about a "44 short" fairly big shoulders and neck for a little guy. Sent the exact measurements to Wested and the coat fits perfect, no muss, no fuss.

Rick

Yup. If you compare FS 40R to Wested 44R you will understand. They are exactly the same size!!

Flightsuits makes their jackets using a little more "movement" room than
Wested does. If you go over to the Vintage Leather Flight jacket forums,
you will see this. Most vendors of authentic sized A-2 leather jackets
for example, will tell you that a Flightsuits is made roomier than most
vendors make their reproductions.

_ is a good one to address this question to. He has delt with
most of the reproduction WWII repo makers, and he will tell you this
is pretty much the norm.

I will say that ALL the people who have bought a Flightsuits jacket,
whether they had to size down because of the extra movement room
or not, all LOVE their jackets!! They all say that they are made VERY
well, and that they are extremely nice jackets!!

So, you can order one with confidence. They have great customer
service, just like Wested does, so theres no problem there either.

I think were Peter does his sizing thing is this. He will ask if you like
your jackets roomy, regular, or military fit. This is where he makes
up the difference in sizing in my opinion. My Wested size 44R is the
same size as a Flightsuits A-2, size 44R that a friend has. I did tell
Peter that I like my jackets roomy, as I wear sweaters and sweatshirts
under them. What I got was a fantastic Authentic Lambskin that is
the same size across the chest as my friends A-2 in size 44R.

So, I think if I had ordered the Wested with the military fit for the size
44R, it would indeed be the same size as a Flightsuits 40R, as they do
add in the extra room for movement in their jackets.

Flathead

MK also suggests, and I somewhat agree, that you send a picture of yourself from the side holding a yardstick so they can see how long you torso is.

As I recall, MK was measured at Wested shop and the jacket didn't quite fit when it arrived at his door. He sent it back to have corrected....as I recall..

My girlfriend, on the otherhand, was measured by a seamstress here in the States and her Wested fits perfectly. The collar snap is just right, the action pleats function perfectly, pocket placement is just right, etc... She's usually very picky but hasn't had one complaint about the jacket.

Just some observations,
Pyro

I finally decided to talk with Peter himself. I made a phone call and imagine that - the information regarding the measurement I had received earlier from Wested was wrong! I mean especially measuring your sleeve from a spine to a knuckle. It is not right. A woman who answered my e-mail sent me wrong info (she had just started working there...).
A sleeve should be measured as it states on Wested's web site (from Shoulder to Cuff or from a Jacket Sleeve).
Forgive me providing wrong information I wrote earlier. I believed it was from the best source.

Raider :junior: