Himel Bros Imperial Fit

[ChienChilla]

Well when John Chapman designed that pattern it was not a long style:

That jacket was 1 size too large for me, but you can see the proportions are completely different.
IMO that Goodwear Imperial has "correct" vintage proportions, the Himel above looks too elongated to my eyes, the body is almost as long as the arms!

Yeah I too thought the body length being almost as long as the sleeves was odd. They most likely had to shorten the sleeves because they were too long to begin with, so I was wondering if the body needed to be short too - but since Dave said it was supposed to be a longer jacket, I thought maybe it just has to be that way. I’m guessing Dave would tell me to go pound sand if I were to ask for second remake though.

 

[Marc mndt]

Halfbelts can be worn with longer body lengths and look great, like the Himel Frobisher below. But they have to be in proportion and your's definitely isn't.

I’m guessing Dave would tell me to go pound sand if I were to ask for second remake though.

He should have made you a new jacket instead of altering the first one because the body length can't be shortened and your jacket is about 2 inches too long imo. If I were you I'd return that jacket and ask for one with 23" body length.

These are two of my longest halfbelt. I'm 5'11", these have a 25" body length.

 

[ChienChilla]

Halfbelts can be worn with longer body lengths and look great, like the Himel Frobisher below. But they have to be in proportion and your's definitely isn't.

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He should have made you a new jacket instead of altering the first one because the body length can't be shortened and your jacket is about 2 inches too long imo. If I were you I'd return that jacket and ask for one with 23" body length.

These are two of my longest halfbelt. I'm 5'11", these have a 25" body length.

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Well I’ll definitely reach out to Dave again about it, but I don’t think he accepts returns. At most I might be able to convince him to make another one.

I wonder if this pattern is just not right for me. Yours look good, but you’re taller and I’m guessing you have longer arms. I understand that the body length should be shorter than the sleeves, so if the body length needs to be shorter, it would just be a “regular” jacket length and not longer like what Dave says it should be.

 

[ton312]

The jacket is way out of proportion I think. I don’t like the denim dentists jacket either. Looks off. He looks like a short guy in a tall guys jacket.

 

[Marc mndt]

I wonder if this pattern is just not right for me. Yours look good, but you’re taller and I’m guessing you have longer arms.

I'm not sure but I think you might be the same height as Jeo, see pics below. The jacket looks great on him and there's no reason why this pattern can't look great on you too.

And here are the fit pics:

mine:

 

[newtojackets]

Halfbelts can be worn with longer body lengths and look great, like the Himel Frobisher below. But they have to be in proportion and your's definitely isn't.

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He should have made you a new jacket instead of altering the first one because the body length can't be shortened and your jacket is about 2 inches too long imo. If I were you I'd return that jacket and ask for one with 23" body length.

These are two of my longest halfbelt. I'm 5'11", these have a 25" body length.

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What do you notice as being out of proportion. Any dead giveaways?

 

[Marc mndt]

What do you notice as being out of proportion. Any dead giveaways?

Length vs width. Like said, the body is way too long relative to the chest.

Ignore the sleeve length on mine, too short sleeves are the perks of true vintage lol.

 

[newtojackets]

Length vs width. Like said, the body is way too long relative to the chest.

Ignore the sleeve length on mine, too short sleeves are the perks of true vintage lol.

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Ah that makes sense. I notice that too, but thought it was mainly just OP’s build rather than the jacket proportions

 

[ericsanpablo31]

I think the bothersome thing is the chest pocket placement for me mostly... feels too high which accentuates the torso length

 

[newtojackets]

Well I’ll definitely reach out to Dave again about it, but I don’t think he accepts returns. At most I might be able to convince him to make another one.

I wonder if this pattern is just not right for me. Yours look good, but you’re taller and I’m guessing you have longer arms. I understand that the body length should be shorter than the sleeves, so if the body length needs to be shorter, it would just be a “regular” jacket length and not longer like what Dave says it should be.

Himel has said a few times on this forum that they ensure the customer is satisfied and they will not allow lackluster jackets to be released. I believe they said they can count on one hand the number of times they couldn’t do this.

Will be interesting to see if they stay true to this

 

[Carlos840]

Himel has said a few times on this forum that they ensure the customer is satisfied and they will not allow lackluster jackets to be released. I believe they said they can count on one hand the number of times they couldn’t do this.

Will be interesting to see if they stay true to this

Personally Himel left me unsatisfied...
He admitted my jacket had construction issues but wanted me to pay for all shipping fees and taxes associated with a remake, so i kept my poorly made jacket.

 

[ChienChilla]

Personally Himel left me unsatisfied...
He admitted my jacket had construction issues but wanted me to pay for all shipping fees and taxes associated with a remake, so i kept my poorly made jacket.

How much were the fees and shipping?

 

[Carlos840]

How much were the fees and shipping?

Shipping both ways from Belgium to Canada + import fees to be paid again.
At least 250 Euros shipping, import fees would depend on the declared value but would be a bit more than 20%

 

[handymike]

I think both the halfbelt and hem should be raised up by a bit for your jacket.

I’m 5’10” and mine is 24.5” long down the back.

 

[Cyber Lip]

Liking a long jacket and elongating short jacket designs to make them long jackets are two different things.
I have nothing against long jackets by design, i don't like the modern trend of elongating short designs, it kills the porportions.

well it just depends on a person's tastes. personally i feel halfbelts look best longer. I really hate a halfbelt on a short jacket. to me it just looks poncey and effeminate.

when i see someone posting jacket pics of a jacket like that (short halfbelt), I'm thinking "nice" of the front shot, then the back shot makes me say "dude, eewwwwww" LOL.

But that's just me, different people have different tastes. Doesn't make anyone that happens to like a certain look "wrong"

I guess my point is that this guy's new himel, whether someone likes it or doesn't like it, is down to their own personal taste. Personally, I like it. But to say it's bad, or incorrect or wrong etc etc just isn't cool. Of course there ARE bad jackets regardless of tastes. But this guy's himel isn't one of them.

And some of the comments about how the arms shouldn't be shorter than the hem length...I mean WTF??? LOL. C'mon guys! To the original poster and owner of that himel I would advise you to enjoy that killer jacket, and not to listen to some of these weird posts. Some people on the internet have funny ideas. If you tried to incorporate all their comments into a jacket, you'd have a freaky frankenstein of a jacket. That way madness lies

 

[Marc mndt]

I guess my point is that this guy's new himel, whether someone likes it or doesn't like it, is down to their own personal taste. Personally, I like it. But to say it's bad, or incorrect or wrong etc etc just isn't cool. Of course there ARE bad jackets regardless of tastes. But this guy's himel isn't one of them.

The OP came here to ask for our personal opinions, we are giving him our substantiated opinions. How is that 'not cool'?

Imo this is a bad jacket because the high placement of the chest pocket combined with the long body and low halfbelt give the visual appearance of a thin and long torso.

And some of the comments about how the arms shouldn't be shorter than the hem length...I mean WTF??? LOL. C'mon guys!

Same reason, a jacket with sleeves as long as the body gives the visual appearance of an elongated torso. Which is OK if that's the look you want to portray but personally I like to portray a more masculine look.

But I guess we agree to disagree because in your eyes a halfbelt jacket with regular body length looks effeminate.

 

[Cyber Lip]

OK, so I'd like to address the issue of some people here confusing and discombobulating the OP and keeping him from enjoying his new jacket. So I'm writing this post directly to him.

OP, this forum here isn't just a regular style/leather jacket forum. It's primarily geared towards vintage style enthusiasts, and a lot of them are sticklers for vintage accuracy. Not everyone here fits that description, but many do. It's easy to forget that, and can be confusing to someone who's not aware of that and is just a regular guy seeking fit/style advice. So keep that in mind.

That's the reason for the short jacket fetish here. Jackets were short in the 40's and 50's because the style then was 'very' high-waisted pants with a belt-line above the navel, and shirts were 'always' worn tucked in. It was a 'short torso' look if you will. So that's why you get a lot of guy's here saying your jacket is too long. Because they are sticklers for vintage accuracy, and see any deviation from that to be an abomination.

The thing is, to wear a jacket like that you pretty much need the whole look...very high waisted pants with a belt line above the navel, and an always tucked-in shirt. If you wear one of these vintage accurate short jackets with modern styles, i.e.; pants with a belt-line below the navel, and/or a shirt un-tucked, it won't look good. They're made to look a certain way with the high-waisted pants style of the time. So for us regular guys who like elements of vintage styles, but don't want to go the whole hog with the full outfit, and walk around looking like we walked out of central casting for a period film, we opt for "vintage inspired". Which is a jacket like YOUR Himel Imperial...a jacket with vintage inspired stylings but cut for someone who wears modern (post-1950's) style clothes.

And that's where you'll get in trouble around here. Many of the vintage enthusiasts see vintage-inspired with a modern cut as an abomination. So keep that in mind when reading the comments here. I myself am just a regular guy that likes elements of vintage style, but not others. So vintage inspired jackets made to be worn with the types of modern pants and shirts I like is MY thing. IMO your jacket looks great. Take the comments here for what they're worth, and with a grain of salt, and enjoy the hell out of that jacket! I have a Himel Imperial myself btw.

 

[MrProper]

I see it differently and I'm certainly not one to stick to vintage.
I don't tuck in my shirts and I also wear low waist jeans. And yet this jacket is too long for my taste. The side adjusters seem to me to be placed too low down and not level with the natural waist. On the hips, however, neither are they. They seem out of place.
The whole thing looks like it was made for a longer torso.
If the OP likes it that way, wonderful.
However, since he explicitly asked for opinions, there seems to be at least some uncertainty.

Salt of grain is a good tip in any case, because taste is different and there is no arguing.

 

[Marc mndt]

For those who think 'short jacket fetishists' are condemned to wearing the full vintage look with 'very high waisted pants', in the pics above I'm wearing low waist slimfit denim. Belt line well below the navel, very much a contemporary fit.

 

[newtojackets]

Personally, I think OP’s jacket isn’t bad but has room for improvement, especially when you’re getting a custom jacket and paying Himel prices