Club Obi Wan

Well folks, I've taken the plunge. Weighed up the pros and cons of waiting for Wested to deliver authentic horsehide, and decided to go with the current dark brown which, by all accounts, is a very beautiful thing indeed.

I've gone for the Last Crusade jacket with little in the way of alterations... X-boxes on the side... full cotton interior... not much else.

One thing I have done - and which I'm still trying to get Wested's opinion on - is order an 'L' fitting which delivers a 28" long jacket. I have requested that this is taken out to 30" if Peter doesn't think it will look too dorky on my height (6'1") and start to look 'un-Indy'.

What do you guys think? I measured a few jackets last night which I believe are my 'short' jackets and they were all 32" - plus. So in that context, 30" didn't seem too long to me even though, theoretically, I don't usually take an 'L' fitting and the recommended 'R' fitting is just 26" to look 'Indy' (or 28" if I added a couple of inches).

My way of thinking is that it ***** to have a jacket that feels too short, whereas an extra inch or two won't really hurt, so I'm erring on the side of length.

Happy to hear your experiences. Did anyone else order an 'L' fitting for extra length when they dealt with Wested? I can't see the difference between ordering a normal size and saying "plus two inches" or ordering an 'L' fitting which is plus two inches anyway... or am I missing something more profound (???)

Hi, Rob.

I look forward to your review of the new horsehide Wested! When I ordered my Wested back in the day (dark brown goatskin), I initially ordered a Regular, and I found it too short for me. I'm a good 6' with a longish torso. I usually don't wear a long in jackets, but the Regular Wested looked like a waiter's jacket on me. I shipped it back and requested a Long (with the Regular sleeve length). I was, and am, very pleased with the Long jacket.

Best of luck and great adventures with your new jacket!

Cheers,
Harry

Thanks for that tip, Harry! It makes me wonder whether getting the Long is enough - and adding another 2" on top will be overkill?

I'm 6'1" and the 48 R, which I believe is 27" fits me just fine. The Raiders coat is supposed to be about waist high, maybe an inch or so beneath the waist.

Did you get that specially sized to be 27"? (Reason for asking is that I believed the 48R was 26" and the 48L was 28"?)

I measured a few jackets last night which I believe are my 'short' jackets and they were all 32"

Do the jackets you are measureing as examples have an open/straight hem at
the bottom like a Wested, or do they have some form of rib-knit or
elastic around the bottom that makes the jackets hug your hips when you
wear them?

This is important because if the jackets you are using as your examples
have the rib-knit or elastic around the hem at the bottom, they are usually
going to be longer than an open/straight hem jacket because of the fact that they
hug your hips and do not hang down straight on your body.

An open hem jacket, like our Wested's, because they are an open or
straight hem, will tend to be made shorter because they hang down
pretty straight on your body, and don't hug your hips, and therefore will
look longer than the elastic hemmed jackets when worn.

A 30 inch back length on a Wested is going to hang down pretty low
even if you are 6'-1" tall. I am that height myself, and my Wested's
back length is about 26.5 inches, and it hangs down about 2 inches past
the top of the back pockets of a pair of jeans. Be prepared
for a VERY long jacket if you get a 30 length in the back.

By comparison, I also have a US Wings Indy jacket in a size large, and
it has a back length of about 27.5 inches, and I think that is just a wee
bit too long on me. It doesn't give the jacket the same look as a real
Indy jacket should have in my opinion.

Flathead

That makes a lot of sense to me. I have, as of a few moments ago, reconfigured my order to be a 48Long length (28") whereas I typically wear a 48Reg jacket. I think those extra 2" will add a bit of comfort, stop the dreaded "ride up" when zipped and also bridge the gap between this and my longer jackets which are actually straight hangers, too. They're all just longer than an Indy jacket, I guess. Does anyone else join me in thinking 30" was just going to look too long for this kind of jacket on a guy with an average length torso?

Having the whole jacket two inches longer will not stop the ride up problem. To do that people have added an extra inch to inch and a half to the front, to make the front longer than the back.

Not sure if this helps, but...

...I ordered a Wested Raiders Lamb in June of this year. I'm 6'2", skinny, and long armed. I measured my arms/sleeves and my chest, and also specified that I wore a 38 long sports jacket. The length of the jacket is just about perfect, hitting an inch or two below my back pockets. The sleeves are also spot on, right at the knuckle on the thumb. I'm not sure if it's just me getting used to it or not, but the jacket itself feels a little big on me around the chest. It almost naturally hangs closed, as if it was zipped up, instead of more open like it did in the movies, or on other people's pictures. I am hoping it will hang more open as it breaks in, though. And, when i look inside, it is tagged as a 40 instead of a 38, probably due to my own measurements. I love it, it is great, but I think the next one I order might be a bit smaller in the chest.

But the point of this post was to say that at 6'2" the long wears great on me.

Good luck with your Wested.

Cant wait to hear about it!

Cheers
I J

Well, congrats! You know we'll be wanting some pics when ya get it.

Well, congrats! You know we'll be wanting some pics when ya get it.

Bravo to that.

I really want someone to post a few pics of the new hide - I'm seriously contemplating ordering one of these bad boys myself, but I'm hanging back as I really would have preferred the authentic brown colour.

As I understand it, the current batch of horsehide is somewhere between the old dark brown colour and the authentic. have I picked that up correctly?

ob1al wrote:As I understand it, the current batch of horsehide is somewhere between the old dark brown colour and the authentic. have I picked that up correctly?

Yes, Gerry has said that previously and when I spoke to Wested on the phone yesterday (I think it was Jerry; not Gerry); he also mentioned that the colour was halfway between the two and really nice. He seemed very enthusiastic about the colour and the quality of the hide... and for a guy who probably sees a lot of leather everyday, I took that as a good sign.

Ultimately what tipped me over the edge was some comments that the authentic colour can sometimes look a little plastic until it ages, coupled with other comments that the horsehide ought to age nicely in its own right, so I had no problem with ordering something that won't be too far off authentic anyway - just with (I am assuming) a little less orange in it.

Wested have charged my credit card! Every day brings me a little closer...

I know how you are feeling, I myself am only a few days ahead of you in the Jacket getting cycle,It is almost like waiting for a birth of a child or something....at least to me ,and just thinking that "I actually spoke to the man himself" (Meaning Mr Botwright). It has all been a fun adventure...
I would love to see pics of the horsehide when you get it.

Oh you better believe it! This IS like a baby being born, so there will be pics

And we'd all like to see yours when it arrives too... what have you opted for?

(I must confess, I haven't spoken directly with Peter in my transaction - just Gerry by e-mail and, I think, Jerry by phone... maybe one day!)

Jacket_Size: 52 long
Jacket style: Temple Jacket
Leather: Dark Brown - Standard Cowhide
Lining / Zip: Cotton Body-Satin Sleeves (rec)
Side Fastener: Anodised Black Rectangular Slider(buckle)
double gussets under arm.
extra 1 inch in front to prevent ride up.
zipper for inside pocket


I dont know if it is a boy or girl yet..
lol
cigars for all.

Sounds awesome

ob1al, he already has the hide in the authentic brown, as I have a sample of both types of horsehide, and it's a darn good color comparison to his other authentic hides. As has been said in other posts, it changes with the movement of the leather sample, and reflects that movement in lighter and darker areas. It will look perfect in the areas that folks pre-distress right out of the box, in my opinion. The dark horsehide reminded ITG and me of his color for the now unavailabile lambtouch cowhide, which was a very dark brown. Regards. Michaelson

Michaelson, I think it would be more correct to say he had the authentic brown horse as samples and possibly a few example jackets. It's definitely not an option at the moment and wouldn't appear to be one in the near future, if my questions during the ordering process were a guide. Still, I'm sure it's going to happen at some stage.

Re: the colour, curious that you say it's really dark. When I spoke to Wested on the phone, and in some e-mails, they have been adamant that the dark brown horse is somewhere between authentic and their other dark brown jackets. Either it looks different in the context of a finished jacket, or the sample you have isn't the dark brown horse they are currently producing the jackets with. I mean, if the one they have was super dark, I'm sure they'd simply say that eg: "It's as dark as our other dark brown jackets..." rather than qualify that it's between the two?

Michaelson wrote:ob1al, he already has the hide in the authentic brown, as I have a sample of both types of horsehide, and it's a darn good color comparison to his other authentic hides. As has been said in other posts, it changes with the movement of the leather sample, and reflects that movement in lighter and darker areas. It will look perfect in the areas that folks pre-distress right out of the box, in my opinion. The dark horsehide reminded ITG and me of his color for the now unavailabile lambtouch cowhide, which was a very dark brown. Regards. Michaelson

Yup, it's been a bit of a strange one; Peter wrote that he had AUTHENTIC brown and even sent out samples, as Michaelson states, but now it comes to production we cannot order authentic, only the darker midway brown which Rob mentions above.

I'm guessing that the authentic will become available once a new batch is delivered, but for now it's no show.

I'm planning to ring Wested soon anyway so I'll enquire as to progress, but I'm eagerly awaiting pics of Robs new 'baby' in the meantime.

Rest assured, there will be pics!

And yes, it is weird that Peter made a post about having authentic horse... I think he even wrote it in capital letters... and that people even have samples... but no horse in production.

Ultimately, however, I was suitably bouyed by the opinions of Gerry and Jerry on the colour, in addition to the simple fact that "IT'S HORSE" to go the dark brown route

Yes the dark brown sample Michaelson has is very dark brown...I'd say almost black but it's not black, but is as dark as the lambtouch jackets I've seen. The sample felt really good. It made me waffle a bit on what I want my next jacket to be. I've been wanting an authentic brown lamb and have decided to stay the course since I've been dreaming for one for quite sometime. Maybe one day (like in a few more years), I can afford to get the horsehide, although my mom would probably frown on that because she loves horses and actually had a horse shot when I was a baby.

I don't want to rock the boat too much, but if that's the case, I'd put forward the idea that the horse samples that are floating around might not be what is in production at the moment. I don't think the Wested folks - who can probably tell leather from 20 yards with their eyes shut - would say its a halfway tone, if it was really dark, bordering on black. Sounds like we might be dealing with two different leathers? So many questions...

Re: a jacket made from horse, yes, it took me a little while to get my head around the concept too, because in the modern age, we don't really tend to think of horses providing leather (because generally they don't!) so it was a bit of a weird thing. I'm comfortable with the idea now.

I too have recently ordered the horsehide version of the LC jacket from Wested. I have two lamb Crusades (one dark brown and one black), a brown pre-distressed hide and have had two Flight Suit Expeditions (Seal and Black, both goat) and a brown Wested Goat (devoured when intervening with a dog that attacked a child -- coat held up well, for a while ..child was ok and I was, well, really scared). I have ordered the horsehide with cotton for the body lining and the satin for the sleaves. This time I am adding gussets. I have a 'Raider GS' jacket (some people and retailers call this the G8, Type 440 jacket) from Lost Worlds in a wonderful heavy, but supple brown goat that is very 'Indy-like' as well. This particular jacket is from the 20's and 30's period and was a civilian jacket manufactered during that time period and over the years stories have arrisen regarding it as being originally manufactured as a jacket
for Navy/Marine Corp useage. I also have a Black Horsehide from Lost Worlds that is also kinda 'Indy-like', but really more Howard Hughesish called the Ryder. Very please with all. But, I didn't mean to ramble on about the other jackets. Right now! In this time and place! I am patiently awaiting my new Wested Horsehide! And, if you believe the patiently part...well, what can I say? I have a photo Peter sent me of the hide they are using. I am not certain how to post the photo on the site (neither was he, so he suggested I post it)...so if someone will lead me in the posting of this photo, I would be most appreciative and it will give all, who haven't seen what the colour is like an opportunity to see. Thanks. W>

You need to save the picture online somewhere (ie: a web host), then use the img and /img tags (with square brackets around them [ ] ) and type the URL of the image in between. Sorry if that's confusing.

If you don't have web space to post it up, or are bewildered my my bad instructions, post it to me at rob@robirwin.com and I can look after it here.