Club Obi Wan

I was able to sell my first Wested, so over the weekend I placed my order for my second jacket - as compared to the original, I had the back brought up 1.5 inches and the front brought up .5 inches, and the jacket size taken in from a 44 to a 42. Also had them make the inside pocket standard size and leave the leather facings off , and went with sliders instead of Drings. The first jacket was definitely a learning experience - although beautiful, it didn't fit me. I should have given my actual size rather than one size larger - that's just me though. I also learned that next time if not satisfied I'll send it back immediately instead of settling and letting it bugging me...

Never settle. Try it on and if you're not happy with it, send it back immediately for adjustment. Post pics when the new one arrives and good luck.

Tom,

I really am glad that things seem to be working out. I know you went through a lot of agonizing over the order for your first jacket and then when you were not happy with it, it must have been very disappointing. As I told you before, we ordered our jackets at the same time and since I wasn't able to post on this forum at the time, I relied on a lot of the questions that you asked. I hope this new jacket is perfect.

Actually, Langpuss, if you look at the more learned of us, you'll note that we always say to go with exact measurements and that if you want more room, specify where and why and let Peter and Co. make the judgement of how to accomodate.

For the newbies on board, take heed... don't do the guesswork yourselves, let the professional do it.

Mike

For the newbies on board, take heed... don't do the guesswork yourselves, let the professional do it.

Well said. I had to "go up a size" only because when I sent Peter my
actual measurements, he asked what I wore underneath the jacket most
of the time.

Since I told him sweaters and sweatshirts, and layers in general, he
suggested a size 44 instead of my normal size 42.

And the results are great! The only thing I would have asked for on top
of that, is that I would want the armholes made bigger for more movement
in the shoulders when you reach and stretch. The gussets don't do much
for this, and are more for show.

Oh, and since I am taller than most, I asked for the extra 1.5 inches
added to the front of the jacket, and that worked out BETTER than I
could have ever hoped for!!

Flathead

Yes, maybe I got the wrong end of the stick but please don't insult my intelligence!!! I honestly gave this matter a LOT of thought!

No one is insulting your intelligence! We were just stating what has
happened to us.

Some people ask for the "80's" slimmer fit, some ask for a "regular"
fit, and some, like me, asked for a "roomier" fit jacket. And by the way,
I am 6 feet, 1 inch tall, and weigh in at exactly 175 pounds. I wear a size
42 in everything just like you do. However, I like my jackets to be
more on the roomier side for comfort.

There in lies the problem for alot of people. In todays market, a size 42
"regular" modern jacket, say like an LL Bean barn coat, will fit like a
Wested size 44 "regular".

Most of todays jackets will have anywhere between 6 and 8 inches of
what is refered to as "movement room". A Wested "regular" will have
4 inches of "movement room" to it, per most military standards. And the
slim "80's" cut will most likely be about 2 or 3 inches of movement room
per size.

This would make a jacket of today, in a size 42 "regular", have a chest
measurement of between 48 and 50 inches total.

And since the "regular" Wested is based on the military fit of 4 inches of
movement room per size, a size 42 "regular" Wested will have a total
chest measurement of 46 inches.

Now, you can see, that if you want the roomier fit of today, then a person
who normally wears a size 42 "regular" in todays sizes, would want a
Wested size 44 "regular" or "roomy" fit in order to keep the 48 to
50 inches total chest measurement they are used too.

If you want the slimmer, more military cut, then you either order your
normal size of 42, or you could go with a "80's" cut Wested size 44, which
would give you about the same chest measurement of the "regular"size
42, but you would get the added body length with the 44, as well as longer
sleeves.

It all depends on what kind of fit you want in the jacket. Slim, regular,
or roomy.

But no one is insulting you. On the contrary, we are giving you our
experience so you can make the proper purchase.

Even your experience now is going to help someone in the future with
their purchase!!

Flathead

It only took me 4 Westeds to get one I finally thought fit right and that I liked the leather on. First was the old pattern and old style "glad bag" lambskin size 42, then a new finish cowhide size 42 (which sqeaked terrible, and was too short in the back due to my measurement tinkering), then another new finish cowhide tagged size 44 (but was bigger than my current 44. It was close to OK, but not perfect, heavy jacket). Finally, when goatskin was first offered, I had the sizing right for 44R and got the perfect jacket!

Oh PLEASE, Langpuss, DON'T bring up hermit crabs again! Rixter will post that animated picture again, and I'm doing my best to live THAT one down. Regards. Michaelson

Well, let's say I'd appreciate you NOT asking my kids that same question. High regards. Michaelson

From what I've read on this topic, I should regars my jackets as comfort fit and yet I find them fairly roomy. Don't forget, a certain chest measurement doesn't imply a definate arm width or shoulder/stomach ratio.

Which is exactly why you should ALWAYS ask a vendor what the
measurements are for any jacket you are thinking of ordering!

I asked Peter for the actual measurements of both a size 42 and size 44
regular Wested before I made my choice.

I have done this with Aero leather in Scotland with great success!! Also
with Real McCoys in New Zealand.

If you are armed with your own measurements, the measurements
of a jacket that fits you good, and the measurements of the jacket you
are thinking of getting, the choices get narrowed down quite a bit, and
you can zero in on what you want much easier than guessing whether to
go up a size or not.

As an example, I had to order a size 44 Wested, a size 44 Aero, and,
believe it or not, a size 48 in a Real McCoys!! Thats right, I had to
size up three times!!

Thats because the Real McCoys jackets are cut VERY slim, and I asked
for the measurements of the B-6 jackets in a size 42 and 44, and they
were WAY too small.

Then, I asked for the measurements of their size 46 and 48, and found
that the size 48 B-6 had a chest measurement of 48 inches total. Real
McCoys bases their jackets on the Japenese market, and their tag size
is the chest size, with no movement room at all.

So you see, you MUST do your homework before you order to get
exactly what you want!! If I had just gone with my normal size, I would
have been screwed! Even if I went with a size 44 or a 46 I still would
have been out of luck.

Flathead

My problem I found out was that I'm a weird, in between size (41XL - xtralong due to my long gorilla arms). I also made the mistake of assuming that I needed room for layers...

I LIVE IN FLORIDA!!! HELLO!!!!! What was I thinking! I barely get to wear the jacket as is, much less wear layers under it!
Also, the standard long length even for a 42 would still have been 1/2 way down my pants pockets, so I had it brought up to 25.5" - hopefully this should hit right where I want it to...

I also got kind of unfortunate with the sizing, as i was a REAL newbie when i ordered my jacket 2 years ago (don't blame me, i was only 17 years old at that time ). It appears i did some errors in translation, as my english wasn't that good at the time and gave my arms' width as my round chest measurement on the ordering page !
Peter called me several days later, guessing there was a problem there (unless i look like a telephone post ). I gave him then my correct measurement but there must have been a problem again as i received a size 38 ( ) jacket ! But as i wasn't very aware of all the sizing things i thought it was right anyway. The thing is the jacket is definitely too tight so that i can barely fasten the zipper without looking like a village people But i told myself "indy always keep the zipper open" so i decided that the jacket was the right size. But now when i look at all that you say i realize my error! It seems a size 42 is the minimum for any normally sized person
Anyway, i guess that i can't send it back to peter after two years of heavy use, so i'll continue to look like a YMCA and to be cold in winter (it's lambskin and due to the size i can't put anything else than a shirt under it)

But, i guess true adventurers have to suffer a little

just orderd my 2nd jacket
had my other for a couple of years selling it on ebay as it was always a little tight on the chest
so i orderd next size up
gone for pre distressed again as it looks really well with a coating of peckards and i found it easy to distress
i will post some pics when it arrives

Hi Indiana Harrison

Welcome to the forum. Where abouts in the UK are you? Looking forward to seeing the pics of your jacket.

Ken

hi i,m from blackburn lancs
it will be about 3 weeks before i get new jacket
i,ll do a before and after distress shots
my old jacket looked really well i will be sorry to sell it
wested are the best

Good luck with the distressing job!

Ken

glad to see there are more people like me
the wife thinks i am crazy
she says why make a perfectly good jacket look old and worn