US Wings jacket issue

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 3:34 pm

Anyone else ever have trouble with US Wings colors? I ordered a SS BROWN goatskin jacket and it said it was the last one left in my size. I got a jet black jacket. The tags and invoice all say brown but the jacket is absolutely darker than coal. Ive shown several people and they all agree. Am I missing something? Oh well I'll send it back for a Legend in Cowhide. My trusty go-to.

Also I see they "DO NOT" return shipping money. Well $20 to ship a jacket UPS ground is already absurd. I assume we are paying for that silly DVD they throw in every box and the dozen flyers and booklets.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:27 pm

You are just ahead of the curve. The next Indy sequel was going to be entitled....back in black, 'til you messed it up!

You should be able to get your money back on a deal like that.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:29 pm

UPDATE: sent it back and had to eat all the shipping. Oh well. Steerhide legend on its way and $80 back to my account.

Ill say however that the goatskin was a pretty well made jacket. Very nice. Just far too dark. The woman on the phone was very pleasant to deal with.

indy89 · Post by **indy89** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:45 pm

The SS goatskin jacket was the first Indy jacket I owned. It was very dark as well and I ended up selling it to a member here. My steer hide Legend is dark brown, close to what we see in RotLA.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:25 pm

indy89 wrote:The SS goatskin jacket was the first Indy jacket I owned. It was very dark as well and I ended up selling it to a member here. My steer hide Legend is dark brown, close to what we see in RotLA.

I love my other steerhide legend. I got a size up in this one so maybe it will be a tad longer and fit better. Maybe ill be able to layer a tad when its cold too.

Canada Jones · Post by **Canada Jones** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:02 pm

I own the SS goatskin jacket in brown and it is brown and no where near black. GREAT jacket and I got it from WINGS on sale for $195. US made by Schott. Quality and leather is OUTSTANDING. I wonder if you got one that was mislabeled. Call and see if they can send you a lighter brown one because it is totally worth it. Really.
best
Canada

Chewbacca Jones · Post by **Chewbacca Jones** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:03 pm

From what I have seen, brown-that's-near-black goatskin is not usual. I've seen a few USW and Westeds that could really fool you. Although a mis-label is possible, it also possible that it was so BARELY brown that it was only visible in the harsh light of their warehouse or something. I had one of each for a while and a friend of mine thought I only had one.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:14 pm

She said she personally shipped it to me and the color is "seal brown". Nowhere did it say that on the site but I'm typically not one to argue. I worked in customer service in high school and I know how frustrating customers can be. Its also far darker than the picture. Oh well i really love my Legend in steerhide. She said all the goat they had left was this super dark color. My Legend is a GREAT Last Crusade jacket so I'm happy. Some natural distressing per tundrarider and pecards and itll be good as gold!

Post by **Michaelson** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 11:59 am

Usually when the colors are that dark, the leather has been chrome tanned rather than vegetable tanned.

Without exception, Wings (specifically the Schott made signature series jackets) and jackets like Gibson and Barnes Expedition goatskin leathers are chrome tanned.

The early G&B's gave you the option of vegetable or chrome tanned leather, but since that time vegetable tanned goatskin was eliminated.

If it was called 'seal brown' and was that dark, it had to be mis-labeled. We ALL know seal brown is more of a dark chocolate color....but that said, that jacket would have lasted you the rest of YOUR life, as everything on the Schott jackets are mil-spec.

Sorry it didn't work out for you, but if you're a fan of the 'Legend' pattern, I'm sure your new jacket will please you.

Regards! M

donovan · Post by **donovan** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 3:12 pm

Hi, like you i purchased the signature goatskin about three years .Mine was labelled as brown but it's such a very dark brown it's almost black.Only in very very bright light can you tell it's actually brown.At first this darker brown bothered me, but i've grown to prefer it as (although not SA) it contrasts well when wearing the brown cavalry twill trousers.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 6:55 pm

Michaelson wrote:Usually when the colors are that dark, the leather has been chrome tanned rather than vegetable tanned.

Without exception, Wings (specifically the Schott made signature series jackets) and jackets like Gibson and Barnes Expedition goatskin leathers are chrome tanned.

The early G&B's gave you the option of vegetable or chrome tanned leather, but since that time vegetable tanned goatskin was eliminated.

If it was called 'seal brown' and was that dark, it had to be mis-labeled. We ALL know seal brown is more of a dark chocolate color....but that said, that jacket would have lasted you the rest of YOUR life, as everything on the Schott jackets are mil-spec.

Sorry it didn't work out for you, but if you're a fan of the 'Legend' pattern, I'm sure your new jacket will please you.

Regards! M

It sure was a great jacket. I wish I had the funds to have held onto it and gotten a legend but I had to be picky. You were right, it was a kickbutt jacket! Just gotta have the more SA color.

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Oct 03, 2013 7:57 am

Understood.

Illinois James · Post by **Illinois James** » Thu Oct 03, 2013 9:16 pm

To chime in, sometimes I didn't know my brown SS was brown until I held it up next to my black one! In a dark closet, I couldn't tell the difference.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:47 pm

This jacket was brown in the same way that a cow born in a tree is a bird. I still think the "seal brown" thing was a crock. Next to my black work pants this thing was black. But I swear, what a fantastically made jacket. If the color was more to my liking and I had the funds I woulda kept it. Alas, ill be moving next year so I need to be slightly frugal. But chewie and michaelson were right. It was built like a TANK!

ron521 · Post by **ron521** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:48 pm

US Wings DOES offer the SS goatskin jacket in black (i.e. the color of a classic motorcycle jacket) and brown (which on mine is dark, but clearly brown not black, and not "darker than coal"). Perhaps the jacket you received actually was black. I've got one of each, plus the SS VIP cowhide (which is a lighter brown). Great workmanship on all three.

Illinois James · Post by **Illinois James** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 11:20 pm

Oh, yeah. That's what I meant. I actually ordered the black one first, because I had so many brown Indy jackets already. When I got the black one, I ordered the brown one right away. The goat is such a great all-around leather, and there was a sale price I couldn't resist at the time.

Chris, they easily could've sent you a black one, as has been mentioned.

It's my understanding that some of the SS Adventurers will no longer be produced.

You can find a better fitting jacket, but it would be tough to find one more durable.

Forrest For the Trees · Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:38 am

The color on these jackets can be a tricky thing. Before I started wearing Indy jackets, I just assumed all brown leather jackets were roughly the same color. How wrong I was. Yes, the goatskin Wings jackets were super dark. The Nowak goatskin I have is vegetable tanned, but also super dark, nearly black.

Wested has always had a nice dark brown that was still very much recognizable as brown. I never felt that either their Authentic Brown or their Dark Brown really replicated the color we see on screen though. Kelso's striated lamb seems like the closest match we've seen yet.

Ridgerunner58 · Post by **Ridgerunner58** » Sat Oct 05, 2013 1:06 am

I probably would have pressed the shipping issue.

It doesn't seem like a big deal, but if the customer believes they shipped the wrong color (as opposed to getting the size ordered and it turns out to be wrong) the seller should default to Rule 1 - "The customer is always right." Their refusal to proceed on that basis is short sighted.

Whether they sell a quality product or not, the fact they won't accept the consequences of their own mistakes impacts whether I risk buying from them in the future.

Chewbacca Jones · Post by **Chewbacca Jones** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:09 am

Ridgerunner58 wrote:I probably would have pressed the shipping issue.

It doesn't seem like a big deal, but if the customer believes they shipped the wrong color (as opposed to getting the size ordered and it turns out to be wrong) the seller should default to Rule 1 - "The customer is always right." Their refusal to proceed on that basis is short sighted.

Whether they sell a quality product or not, the fact they won't accept the consequences of their own mistakes impacts whether I risk buying from them in the future.

If I return something due to problems that are not my fault, I usually point this out to the vendor. Even when they have a policy that says otherwise, they usually cover the costs. A lot of the time, the policies exists to cut down on customers "trying stuff on" by mail and people who would rather guess than read a size chart. US Wings waved the policy for me when I received a jacket with a bad dye job. They wanted to see it in hand first, but they saw what it was and agreed that I wasn't just being picky. Vendors who won't cover their own goofs don't get repeat business from me.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:26 pm

New jacket here. It is only slightly more forgiving in the belly but is longer thank goodness. The action pleat stays closed and it comes down lower. Sleeves are a TAD too long but fold up inside well. Its been "Pecarded" and got a slight water rub down. Now its getting the "hangman" treatment which I LOVED doing with my other jacket. Later comes the signature Tundrarider natural distressing method.

Fun times!

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 6:34 pm

I judge a successful sleeve length when I can reach out to my steering wheel of my car and the ends of the cuffs ride at least an inch and a half or so down on my hands below my wrists. If they ride up ABOVE my wrists holding the steering wheel, they're too short.

So, round about way of saying I agree 100% with you, Michael!

Regard! Michaelson