I completely agree that it doesn't matter and it's why I settled for the Schott when I was after the style, but fans sometimes like to convince themselves of things.
And I'm thinking... Let's face it, even wearing the very jacket that was actually used onscreen won't make you look like Brando. So what's the point.
What I really don't understand is why doesn't Schott just make a repro of that jacket? Many people who are after this look first turn to them for the jacket. They constantly get asked that same question and instead of constantly making stuff up about Brando wearing a 618, why not actually make a jacket people want? They certainly have the means to do it so why just not move the sleeve zippers around, tweak the pattern here and there a little and be done with it? I'm convinced that some kind of limited edition replica in, say, Horween, with a period correct hardware would be sold out within minutes.
This wouldn't be the first time Schott has decided to reverse engineer a jacket design in order to justify taking credit. One of the more notable examples of this is the James Dean cover photo on Life Magazine wearing a Cal LAPD. Schott claims it's their jacket, develops a CHP variant to match and works with his family to credit Schott for the jacket that is on display in the JD museum. After many years of heated debates and threatened lawsuits, it was Rinn Tanaka that finally convinced the family his jacket was actually a CAL LAPD and not a Schott, when he photographed the jacket for his book. To think, there are STILL Schott CHP jackets that have a photo of James Dean on the liner. So if the true bottom line is to make money, and there is little concern over legal threat, I wouldn't blame Schott for making a "anniversary" jacket of this to "celebrate" the perfecto from the movie.
