Club Obi Wan

I’ve been trying to search for every piece of info on the different jackets available for purchase but I’ve over encumbered myself in info. All I want is a Screen Accurate Well Distressed Raiders Jacket that fits me straight out of the box . Is that so hard to ask!? Maybe it’s the lazy millennial in me!

But seriously, is there a jacket that ticks all these boxes? My first instinct was a Raiders Hero in pre-distressed lamb but I’ve seen others complain about color and how it fits (I’m a larger framed person). I enjoy something that looks like it come straight off the set of the movie. So as the title says; I need help.


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Indyfan89,

Many of us have been in your shoes. First off: Take a deep breath and remember "It's just a leather jacket". I panicked over my first custom hat, and now I'm already contemplating replacing it (or at least upgrading it). Are you referring to an Off-The-Rack Wested Jacket, or would you consider a custom?

Your big contenders for custom made jackets are: Wested, Steele & Jones, Magnoli Clothiers, and Bill Kelso.
Wested, WPG, & US Wings also supply Off-The-Rack jackets.

Screen Accurate: This varies from scene-to-scene. Which scene do you want to replicate?
Some of us prefer "well fitting" over SA if we are going to wear it daily. The Raiders jacket is notoriously ill fitting, with long shoulders, and a collar that sits off the neck.

Well Distressed: Can either be done by them, or by you. You might get a big kick out of trashing your own new jacket, or wearing it until it distresses from YOUR own adventures.

Raiders: Any of the custom companies can ensure they get the raiders details right (no leather facing, no snaps, correct side buckles), but once again this boils down to specific scenes.

Well Fitting: Make sure you understand your own measurements before you order. If you have long arms like me, OTR jackets are pretty much not possible, and we are forced to go custom.

I'm going to say "custom" is the way to ensure it has YOUR perfect Raiders details and is the right fit. I personally like Magnoli's and Steele & Jones customer service.

Adventure Dog wrote:Indyfan89,

Many of us have been in your shoes. First off: Take a deep breath and remember "It's just a leather jacket". I panicked over my first custom hat, and now I'm already contemplating replacing it (or at least upgrading it). Are you referring to an Off-The-Rack Wested Jacket, or would you consider a custom?

Your big contenders for custom made jackets are: Wested, Steele & Jones, Magnoli Clothiers, and Bill Kelso.
Wested, WPG, & US Wings also supply Off-The-Rack jackets.

Screen Accurate: This varies from scene-to-scene. Which scene do you want to replicate?
Some of us prefer "well fitting" over SA if we are going to wear it daily. The Raiders jacket is notoriously ill fitting, with long shoulders, and a collar that sits off the neck.

Well Distressed: Can either be done by them, or by you. You might get a big kick out of trashing your own new jacket, or wearing it until it distresses from YOUR own adventures.

Raiders: Any of the custom companies can ensure they get the raiders details right (no leather facing, no snaps, correct side buckles), but once again this boils down to specific scenes.

Well Fitting: Make sure you understand your own measurements before you order. If you have long arms like me, OTR jackets are pretty much not possible, and we are forced to go custom.

I'm going to say "custom" is the way to ensure it has YOUR perfect Raiders details and is the right fit. I personally like Magnoli's and Steele & Jones customer service.

Does Wested, Steele & Jones, Magnoli Clothiers, and Bill Kelso all offer distressing? If so is it a pre-distressed leather or actual distressing of the jacket by hand?


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Does Wested, Steele & Jones, Magnoli Clothiers, and Bill Kelso all offer distressing? If so is it a pre-distressed leather or actual distressing of the jacket by hand?

Wested - Cow and Lamb come predistressed. I had a lamb one and it is way off SA color wise.

Magnoli - Not 100% sure but think the leather is predistressed.

S&J - Will distress the jacket for you.

Bill Kelso - Does not sell predistressed and does not distress the jacket for you.

Steele and Jones is what you want, as they will make a screen accurate jacket and distress it. There's a wait list though, expect to wait weeks if not months to get your jacket.

If you go anywhere else you'll have to distress the jacket yourself. None of the predistressed style leathers look correct for the movies really.

We distress our jackets after they are made. Although we use the term "predistressed" we don't generally use predistressed leathers to make the jacket (in some cases we do, if that's how an original was made).

Indy Magnoli wrote:We distress our jackets after they are made. Although we use the term "predistressed" we don't generally use predistressed leathers to make the jacket (in some cases we do, if that's how an original was made).

Do you have any pics of a distressed Raiders? I bought your shoes back in 08 and they fit like a charm.

I’ve never had any experience with Steele and Jones but I see allot of folks buying their jackets.


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IndyFan89 wrote:Do you have any pics of a distressed Raiders?

Here's our regular cowhide distressed Raiders:





...and here is our White Label Raiders (a thinner cowhide with distressing):

I think you've been getting good advice so far. Still, I'll put in a plug for BK as well. As far as I'm concerned, they have screen accuracy absolutely nailed. Their jackets are not distressed, but the leather drapes so perfectly out of the box that they don't even need to be. Here's mine from the day I got it.

That white label jacket looks great


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Lots of great vendors out there.

I’ve been very impressed with the ordering process with Steele & Jones.

It’s truly a custom jacket with the pattern made just for you based on the dimensions you send them.

I should have my jacket next month.

That is where we find ourselves at today. The choices of makers and different leather options is staggering. I still have jackets including Wested, BK, G&B, US Wings and S&J. Actually, I like them all. I had to downsize recently when I moved and gave away or donated several Indy jackets. It was tough picking what ones to pass on..........Don't feel sorry for me as I still have too many.......lol

Since the sad news this past week I’ve not been able to order a Wested. I’ve decided to go with a low budget off the rack jacket to get me through this winter. I don’t want to invest too much money as I’ve been on a major diet and lost 24lbs in the past month. So I know by the end of this winter the jacket my not fit. I’m currently a 2XL in a store bought leather jacket. I seen a young man at Disneyland last night with a Coyle’s but they’ve been out of stock. What jacket do you guys recommend?


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If you're looking for a lower cost jacket you will likely grow out of in a few months, I suggest going to the secondary market. There's a ton of Indy style jackets out there for great prices.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

yeah, or you might just get anything that is sort of close, heck, even an old A-2 will do for the winter...good luck!

I see allot of cheap jackets on amazon and eBay. Are there any on those sites you guys would recommend?


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How long does it usually take for an off the rack Wested to arrive?


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I've had it in as little as 2 weeks.