The "Long" Road to THE Jacket (Lengthening the Wested Hero)

[Ravenswood]

Nothing new to see here, folks. That is to say, no new jacket. This is sort of an update on my Wested Hero that I got last Christmas, in light of a recent comment by KT Templar, referring to adding some inches to the length of the Hero jackets.
I have several reasons why I went that route, some of them more reasonable than others
One- I like the fact that I can wear a sweater and a scarf underneath, and the look just snaps into place
Two- I have this delusion that I am still growing (whether up or out is yet to be seen. I am after all, entering middle age )
Three- I have extremely long arms and to a lesser extent, a long torso
Four (and perhaps most importantly)- that extra two inches in the body length really seals me in and keeps the cold winter drafts from blustering through the side-vents and into the back panel (BrrRrRRRr!!)

BUT the look gets slightly compromised, as you could imagine. Minus the sweater, there is something wonky with the back, but I think the front panels worked out nicely.

Here are some shots without the sweater. I wanted to illustrate what the back does, and how critical it is to get the yoke and the side-straps to sit JUUUST in the right spot, because unless you're wearing layers underneath, the back just sort of flattens out, for want of a better expression.






Needless to say I am squeezing ONE (yea right) more jacket into my collection. Not that I am displeased with this one, just that I think the "without sweater" look did not turn out the way I envisioned. Close, but no cigar. But it makes for an exceptional Winter Raiders, if you will

[CM]

It's a different look to the film jacket, that's true. To me it's more about width than length here - it looks a lot more baggy on the body than the one HF wears. But unless you have his shape and tailor made costume, it's hard to look accurate.

[Michaelson]

Agreed with CM. The shoulder seams are WAY off your shoulders. Some drop-off is perfectably acceptable, but those appear to be a good 3-4 inches down your arm, meaning the shoulders are a minimum of 6+ inches wider than your actual shoulders.

Because of that extra shoulder width, your action pleats have twisted almost inside out and left open, as can be seen in your back photo.

If you like it, though, lock and load, but I don't even see a heavy sweater filling out all that slack.

That's JMO, though.

Regards! Michaelson

[CM]

Yes, the shoulders. Good call Michaelson. They are a clear sign the jacket is a good 2 sizes too wide.

My thinking is that you could go down two sizes for the body then get an extra 3 inches added to the sleeves and body length (or whatever length works for you).

[Ravenswood]

It's deceptively baggy. When I zip it up fully, it actually snugs up pretty well. I set out to over size the jacket. Well, originally, I had ordered a size forty regular, and the front panels looked too baggy and didn't sit well. So I exchanged it for a 38 long, if you will. The front panels were vastly improved, but then the back lost something in the translation, lol. Here's a couple shots of it zipped up, and then a couple of the previous size 40 that I exchanged.


And here's the back of it. Only one of the pleats is inverted, however. I'm sure there's a way to fix that (?)
http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy33 ... eend-1.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

here's the size 40


but get a load of the back of it.
http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy33 ... d70/ii.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. I'm still getting ONE more

[CM]

From personal experience, tall, thin people can be hard to fit. The zipped up photo tells me little. It could still be too big, from what I can see. I think you may need to re-think your jacket project with some more advice from the folks here.

[Ravenswood]

I'm looking at getting a hero in a 38, but with the regular back length of 23 inches. Just get an inch and a half extra in the sleeves and leave it at that. I don't see the shoulder width getting any narrower, since 38 is the smallest size Wested offers. I am open to suggestion.

In all candor, I can honestly say that I would get a Kelso jacket in a heart-beat and be done with it, but I'm not that rich yet

[Ravenswood]

Plus which, I don't know how I could get the Hero shoulder width to be any narrower. It's already a size 38, and that's the smallest Wested will go. 36 would definitely be too small, anyways.
Those seams do hang mighty low off them shoulders, but I don't mind that one bit. I think the back has been necessarily mis-shapen for this particular jacket. Once I get the 38 regular, It'll be nice and short, the yoke will be higher placed, and there wont be any excess bagginess. I'd bet my bottom dollar

[Holt]

then you just need to do the oposite thing.... if wested wont go down then you will have to go up!

[Texan Scott]

The long, slender arms and narrow arm holes of the Hero jacket might suit you best? I checked, and Wested offers the Hero in both the Standard Hero and the Custom in a size 36. It looks like both the 38 & 40 jackets are too wide for you in the shoulders, so the shoulder seams hang too far down on your arms. It would appear that the 36 might be a better fit for you...? Because you do not have money to lose, and who does, I'd suggest getting professionally measured, and then giving these measurements to Wested, and they can adjust the sleeve length, torso, back length, and any pattern changes accordingly. Also, you might want to visit a men's department store and try on a few suit jackets to see which size fits you best. My guess, just looking at your photos, would be that you are a size 36 Long, but that is just a guess. Trying on suit coats will give you a ballpark, and the professional measurements will nail it for you. If you want more room in the jacket for wearing sweaters, etc., then the RoLA pattern might be a better choice.

[Ravenswood]

AH! Yes indeed, there is thirty six right there in that sizing block Thanks for checking.
I'm having a moment of selective memory

I can honestly say that I have never worn a 36, but in this particular pattern, sizing down might just do the trick.

HERE's the upside. My 'rents are visiting this weekend, and today I get taken out to shop for business clothes! How fortuitous! I haven't been professionally measured in a long time. And yer right. I should stop playing guessing games and cut straight to the point.

I am hung up on the hero pattern, as you might imagine. I have been through a few ROLAS, and they are quite nice. But at this point, lets just get down to brass tacks and send Wested the cold hard facts

[Texan Scott]

Be sure to update the thread when you get your new jacket. I'd like to see how it worked out for you?