HPA Rep
Vendor
- Messages
- 855
- Location
- New Jersey
Dear TFL members:
Today I have a substantial announcement for those who have an interest in owning the ELMC Californian jacket and who prefer longer sleeve lengths than what is currently offered in the long fittings. I have been engaging Gary Eastman on this subject, whose company, Eastman Leather Clothing, produces the jackets and which we import into the USA for N. American sales. After considerable dialogue back and forth, I explained how some TFL members felt on the subject but Gary was still reluctant to make any changes, with the primary reason for his reluctance being that the concept for this jacket style was derived directly from the jacket worn by actor Jack Nicholson in the 1966 film, “Hells Angels on Wheels.” Please see the select photos below of Nicholson wearing this style, which is worn “nippy” and not long in any way; in fact, he wears his cuffs turned back, making the sleeves even shorter. This is essentially the ELMC Californian in Havana Brown that I am wearing in three photos below (front, 3/4 view, and back). And it is also true to say that Gary’s overall vision, which I happen to agree with and support, is for a sleek look that isn’t sloppy in any way, and which is what most vintage jackets styles were (also please see the sleeve length of a very similar jacket worn by actor Jerry Paris in “The Wild One” below).
However, I also believe in trying to find some middle ground that will both retain the concept image of the brand’s aesthetics while also satisfying the desires of some individuals who would otherwise not be customers of the style in its present form, so it is to this end that I was able to exercise whatever degree of influence I may hold after a business relationship with Eastman Leather and a personal friendship with Gary that now spans 27 years, thus getting him to agree to make a special production of the ELMC Californians that will be exclusive to History Preservation Associates.
These new sizes will have the same body lengths as the current long fittings in this jacket style but the sleeves will be an additional 0.5” longer from the current long fittings. It is extremely important to keep in mind when evaluating the sleeve measures to NOT think only in terms of the length as measured from shoulder to cuff, which is a too-common mistake that fails to consider the impact the shoulder width has on overall sleeve length. If you think you must have a sleeve length of, say, 26”, that is relevant to the width of the shoulders, because if one jacket has a shoulder width of 25” and another a width of 17”, yet both have 26” sleeves, surely the termination point will be much further down the arm on the jacket with 25” shoulders. You must factor in half the width of the shoulders to the sleeve length just as a tailor would do to determine the correct shirt sleeve measure for you in a dress shirt; this will better enable you to comprehend the termination point of the sleeve on your arm. The new measures can be found on our website on the following page by selecting the tab at the page top labeled "Product Measurements" and then adding 1.5" to the listed measures for arm length and 1" to the listed measures for back length:
https://www.historypreservation.com...ntage-style-half-belt-jacket-american-walnut/
These HPA Longs will be a special production that will be available for fall, so we are looking at completion near the end of September 2015, or sooner if production and hide supplies speed up. Orders will be accepted beginning immediately and the ordering period will close out May 22, 2015 3:00 PM EDT, at which time they'll be submitted to Eastman Leather. This may prove to be the only production of these sizes ever; only the successful response to these sizes would lead to subsequent productions, so those seriously interested should seize this opportunity since there is no guarantee of future production. There may be some surplus jackets from this order available as stock but this is not known yet, so I wouldn’t plan on that even though it could prove to be the case; what is certain is that we cannot add to the order once it has been placed and it’s unlikely there would be enough time for another production to completed in 2015 even if these sizes prove successful.
Please let me be clear that these are not made-to-measure sleeve lengths: the sleeve lengths and body lengths listed are what I chose as the best compromise for the desired result and there is an accepted tolerance of 0.5” plus or minus on these measures. Also, these are only being made for HPA and separate from normal ELMC production, so even if this new size proves successful, it will never be as available as the standard ELMC sizes and will always be part of special productions, with any stock at HPA being more limited unless demand dictates otherwise. Eastman Leather Clothing will not be offering this special sizing to other retailers and Eastman will not be offering these themselves as a purchasable jacket sizes to retail customers, so we are the only source in the world offering this special sizing, which is solely a result of feedback from TFL members, thus this could be called the TFL ELMC Californian.
All three colors (Black, Walnut Brown, and Havana Brown) will be available in Eastman’s premium WarHorse horsehide, which is a robust, fully vegetable-tanned, fully aniline-dyed, three-ounce leather imported from one of he finest tanneries in Italy (front views of me wearing Black and American Walnut are found below).
Regarding fit, I'm wearing size 40R and my build is as follows: chest 40", 5' 9" tall, waist 30", shirt sleeve 33", weight 147 lbs., lean, athletic build and I find this size extremely comfortable. Experience is indicating that those who are lean or lean and athletic will be fine in a size equal to their chest measure, but builds other than these types are happiest going up one size from their chest measure.
If you have questions about fit, I am available to work with any and all who wish to learn more to enable an order, and if anyone wants to try a size now that we have in stock to properly determine fit and/or to see the product before ordering the new HPA Long fittings, I would strongly encourage and support doing just that.
These new HPA Long fittings are available for sale to the world and not limited to N. America.
All items that we ship to Canada are assumed by Canadian customs officials to be of U. S. origin, thus qualifying for duty-free import under NAFTA, so Canadian customers benefit greatly and should only have to pay national and provincial taxes, which are, for the most, unavoidable and would apply to items even of Canadian origin.
Today I have a substantial announcement for those who have an interest in owning the ELMC Californian jacket and who prefer longer sleeve lengths than what is currently offered in the long fittings. I have been engaging Gary Eastman on this subject, whose company, Eastman Leather Clothing, produces the jackets and which we import into the USA for N. American sales. After considerable dialogue back and forth, I explained how some TFL members felt on the subject but Gary was still reluctant to make any changes, with the primary reason for his reluctance being that the concept for this jacket style was derived directly from the jacket worn by actor Jack Nicholson in the 1966 film, “Hells Angels on Wheels.” Please see the select photos below of Nicholson wearing this style, which is worn “nippy” and not long in any way; in fact, he wears his cuffs turned back, making the sleeves even shorter. This is essentially the ELMC Californian in Havana Brown that I am wearing in three photos below (front, 3/4 view, and back). And it is also true to say that Gary’s overall vision, which I happen to agree with and support, is for a sleek look that isn’t sloppy in any way, and which is what most vintage jackets styles were (also please see the sleeve length of a very similar jacket worn by actor Jerry Paris in “The Wild One” below).
However, I also believe in trying to find some middle ground that will both retain the concept image of the brand’s aesthetics while also satisfying the desires of some individuals who would otherwise not be customers of the style in its present form, so it is to this end that I was able to exercise whatever degree of influence I may hold after a business relationship with Eastman Leather and a personal friendship with Gary that now spans 27 years, thus getting him to agree to make a special production of the ELMC Californians that will be exclusive to History Preservation Associates.
These new sizes will have the same body lengths as the current long fittings in this jacket style but the sleeves will be an additional 0.5” longer from the current long fittings. It is extremely important to keep in mind when evaluating the sleeve measures to NOT think only in terms of the length as measured from shoulder to cuff, which is a too-common mistake that fails to consider the impact the shoulder width has on overall sleeve length. If you think you must have a sleeve length of, say, 26”, that is relevant to the width of the shoulders, because if one jacket has a shoulder width of 25” and another a width of 17”, yet both have 26” sleeves, surely the termination point will be much further down the arm on the jacket with 25” shoulders. You must factor in half the width of the shoulders to the sleeve length just as a tailor would do to determine the correct shirt sleeve measure for you in a dress shirt; this will better enable you to comprehend the termination point of the sleeve on your arm. The new measures can be found on our website on the following page by selecting the tab at the page top labeled "Product Measurements" and then adding 1.5" to the listed measures for arm length and 1" to the listed measures for back length:
https://www.historypreservation.com...ntage-style-half-belt-jacket-american-walnut/
These HPA Longs will be a special production that will be available for fall, so we are looking at completion near the end of September 2015, or sooner if production and hide supplies speed up. Orders will be accepted beginning immediately and the ordering period will close out May 22, 2015 3:00 PM EDT, at which time they'll be submitted to Eastman Leather. This may prove to be the only production of these sizes ever; only the successful response to these sizes would lead to subsequent productions, so those seriously interested should seize this opportunity since there is no guarantee of future production. There may be some surplus jackets from this order available as stock but this is not known yet, so I wouldn’t plan on that even though it could prove to be the case; what is certain is that we cannot add to the order once it has been placed and it’s unlikely there would be enough time for another production to completed in 2015 even if these sizes prove successful.
Please let me be clear that these are not made-to-measure sleeve lengths: the sleeve lengths and body lengths listed are what I chose as the best compromise for the desired result and there is an accepted tolerance of 0.5” plus or minus on these measures. Also, these are only being made for HPA and separate from normal ELMC production, so even if this new size proves successful, it will never be as available as the standard ELMC sizes and will always be part of special productions, with any stock at HPA being more limited unless demand dictates otherwise. Eastman Leather Clothing will not be offering this special sizing to other retailers and Eastman will not be offering these themselves as a purchasable jacket sizes to retail customers, so we are the only source in the world offering this special sizing, which is solely a result of feedback from TFL members, thus this could be called the TFL ELMC Californian.
All three colors (Black, Walnut Brown, and Havana Brown) will be available in Eastman’s premium WarHorse horsehide, which is a robust, fully vegetable-tanned, fully aniline-dyed, three-ounce leather imported from one of he finest tanneries in Italy (front views of me wearing Black and American Walnut are found below).
Regarding fit, I'm wearing size 40R and my build is as follows: chest 40", 5' 9" tall, waist 30", shirt sleeve 33", weight 147 lbs., lean, athletic build and I find this size extremely comfortable. Experience is indicating that those who are lean or lean and athletic will be fine in a size equal to their chest measure, but builds other than these types are happiest going up one size from their chest measure.
If you have questions about fit, I am available to work with any and all who wish to learn more to enable an order, and if anyone wants to try a size now that we have in stock to properly determine fit and/or to see the product before ordering the new HPA Long fittings, I would strongly encourage and support doing just that.
These new HPA Long fittings are available for sale to the world and not limited to N. America.
All items that we ship to Canada are assumed by Canadian customs officials to be of U. S. origin, thus qualifying for duty-free import under NAFTA, so Canadian customers benefit greatly and should only have to pay national and provincial taxes, which are, for the most, unavoidable and would apply to items even of Canadian origin.
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