Club Obi Wan

Hey everyone,
I am currently in the process of hitting up my parents to buy me my first Indiana Jones jacket for Christmas, a little weak I know but if you were in college you'd do the same. As I am telling them what I want I just want to brush it past you Indy Experts out there. First off I think I am going to get the raiders style, standard lambskin w/ the cotton body lining. I guess the main questions I have are... what are the under arm gussets and are they important to make my jacket look authentic? And are there any other modifications I should specify or any other ordering tips you guys/girls can give me. As you can tell I'm a little new to the whole INDYGEAR scene so any info you can give me would be very much appreciated.

A gusset is just extra material in the armpit area that allows a better range of movement without distorting the shape of the jacket. You can sort of see them in this thread, depending on how your monitor is set:

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8428

As to whether the film jackets had gussets, I'm not positive. Hope this helps.

ne1,

My recommendation would be to do a Search for "underarm gussets". this subject has been discussed at length, and you will benefit from all of the input provided in previous posts.

Welcome, Indyne1! Take off your fedora and stay awhile.

My best recommendation is to read through the jacket forum and read what others have said. As for the gussets, there is a theory out there which says that some of the Raiders jackets had gussets and some did not. Really, it comes down to a matter of preference. I have a Wested Raiders without gussets and I have no compaints whatsoever.

As for other modifications, it really comes down to what you want. Some of us get more than a little tweaky round here while others are happy with the jacket as is. The best advice I can give you regarding sizing, however, is to go to a tailor or men's shop and get measured every way possible. If you wish to call Peter at Wested, he is always a nice chap to talk to and he'll more than happily answer your questions.

Good luck!

bink

All the vendors on the main page have "authentic" looking jackets. Gussets are a small detail at best. Just like how deep the action pleat is, D-rings vs. sliders, width of collar, storm flap snaps, etc. etc. Each movie jacket was different in specific details, and even with those, each movie had different jackets for Ford, Stuntmen, etc. So you'll never reach that "one jacket" for every detail.

But, for a jacket to "look" like an Indy Jacket, it should have the following "main" details...

-Bucket cuffs with no snaps or elastic at the ends of the sleeves
-A-2 styled cargo pockets with hand warmers on the side with a scalloped look to the flaps
-Action Pleats on the sides with adjustable straps

All 3 ventors (Wested, USWings, Flightsuits) all carry this "look" to them. To the regular joe on the street, any of these will look like Indy's Jacket. It's just us and our nutty obsession in this hobby that gets technical about all the small details. Hope that helps. Order what YOU want and just enjoy it.

It's not a little weak at all - we all have to start somewhere and if your folks are happy to buy you a Wested, that's a very good thing!

As for the underarm gussets, it's a fact that some of the jackets in Raiders had 2-piece gussets and some didn't have gussets at all. Peter from Wested has said this outright several times, so that being the case either way (gussets or not) is accurate - it's just a choice you have to make based on your personal preferences.

You also need to consider which leather to go for - the authentic lamb is the way to go if you want screen accuracy, but I'd recommend the authentiic brown goat if you want the exact right colour but a tougher hide. Depends what you plan on using the jacket for. If it's just urban wear and adventures to the mall and so on, go lamb - it's a great jacket, lightweight, more than tough enough for that job and it looks great too - however if you plan on treating the jacket much more roughly than that (hikes, camping etc) consider going for the more durable goatskin.

The advice given above by other forumites is good - trawl through older posts and you should find everything you are looking for in the 'bowels of COW'

'The Bowels of Cow'?! Let's not go there. (grins)

You may also want to consider the new horsehide as well. Lots of good stuff there to consider. I envy your position...first Wested jacket and all. You only get to do a 'first' once, so enjoy the ride! Regards. Michaelson

ob1al wrote:As for the underarm gussets, it's a fact that some of the jackets in Raiders had 2-piece gussets and some didn't have gussets at all. Peter from Wested has said this outright several times, so that being the case either way (gussets or not) is accurate - it's just a choice you have to make based on your personal preferences.

Listen to the man! I will also add something here - if screen accuracy is important, as Al says you can go for no gussets or a two piece gusset. Sounds simple right? Wrong! If you do your order and say, "I want gussets," you'll get a one-piece gusset! Nice, but NOT screen accurate!

So if you do elect to go for gussets, and you want to be screen accurate, specify VERY CLEARLY that you want to the two piece gusset.

Personally, I went for a jacket without. Talk to people here, and read past threads, and you'll find that gussets don't do a heck of a lot, to be honest. They might help a little when you're driving for hours and your arms are stuck out infront of you. But it's only a little... my Wested is made from horse (much tougher than the lamb) and has no gussets... I have no problem driving or at any other time with movement.

A COW colonoscopy, UGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

Hello and welcome to the c.o.w.
When planning your first order I would recommend considering the following...

Climate: This would play a major role in your choice of leathers. For example, lamb is a good looking leather but it's not that warm and not suited for wet climates. I live in Virginia and found that Goat works well in the rain and keeps the warmth in as it is not as porus as other leathers and therefore does not beathe. If this is also your case then go for goat, horse or cow.

Fit: Wested are a custom fit made to your specs. Thererfore, if you do as I have and order a standard suit size (46reg. for example) you will get exactly that, 46 inches at the chest with little or no "room". So if you plan on layering a sweater underneath you'll have to factor that in as well.

Intended use: Will you be very active in the jacket or more on the pedestrian side. If you are just going to wear it to the mall or some other leisure activity then go with the lamb. But if you intend to get adventurous then opt for something tougher. Goat or horse would be good.

And lastly take your time and have fun with your quest. I hope my .02 helps.
Blue Skies,
Soulman

I wonder why adventures to the mall is always mentioned in reference to the lamb... <sigh> the new public domain of the 21st Century...

And to paraphrase from The Terminal, 'I sure love the Goat.'
(I couldn't resist)

Welcome to COW btw!

Neolithic wrote:I wonder why adventures to the mall is always mentioned in reference to the lamb... <sigh> the new public domain of the 21st Century...

Because Indy was just such a Mall kinda guy!

Hehehehe...I can't leave well enough alone, but just to keep from actually getting off topic myself and derailing THIS thread, if any ya'll want to follow the 'lamb/mall' connection, go look at page two of this thread, that got hijacked by it.

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic ... c&start=50

Back to the program already in progress, as I understand it the gussets are primarily to provide more freedom of movement. I understand Peter looked into changing the angle of the shoulder seam recently, if he did in fact make such a change to all the standard patterns, that would also reduce the need for gussets. Unfortunately, I didn't see any comeback on that thread, so I'm probably just chumming the waters here...

J