how many leather jackets did it take?

[wild_balls]

Hi,

It takes a lot of years, and a lot jackets to find the right/perfect fit. My mistake in the beginning was to buy jackets that I thought I could squeeze myself in. Looked good in pictures, but was very uncomfortable to wear in real life.
Bespoke jackets and good communication with the craftsman I think is the best solution. Might be expensive at first, but cheaper in the end!

Good luck!

Cheers, Joakim

 

[dgbrt]

Hi,

It takes a lot of years, and a lot jackets to find the right/perfect fit. My mistake in the beginning was to buy jackets that I thought I could squeeze myself in. Looked good in pictures, but was very uncomfortable to wear in real life.
Bespoke jackets and good communication with the craftsman I think is the best solution. Might be expensive at first, but cheaper in the end!

Good luck!

Cheers, Joakim

This is pretty good advice. I'm learning that just because it 'fits,' doesn't mean it'll actually be fun to live with. For my body type though, sizing up doesn't usually yield a very flattering fit but I guess that's part of the fun of finding what works best.

 

[jerryoldiee]

This is pretty good advice. I'm learning that just because it 'fits,' doesn't mean it'll actually be fun to live with. For my body type though, sizing up doesn't usually yield a very flattering fit but I guess that's part of the fun of finding what works best.

dgbrt, fair point on sizing up not being flattering. One thing worth keeping in mind is that shoulder fit is the hardest part to fix later, while sleeve length and body length are easier to adjust. So if the shoulders sit right, it’s often worth looking for a slimmer or shorter cut from the maker rather than going up a size. What’s been the trickiest part for you so far, shoulders, length, or sleeves?

 

[dgbrt]

dgbrt, fair point on sizing up not being flattering. One thing worth keeping in mind is that shoulder fit is the hardest part to fix later, while sleeve length and body length are easier to adjust. So if the shoulders sit right, it’s often worth looking for a slimmer or shorter cut from the maker rather than going up a size. What’s been the trickiest part for you so far, shoulders, length, or sleeves?

Good question. Stuff that fits well in the shoulders for me tends to not have a slim enough chest or enough taper in the waist. I have a thin-ish frame, and live in California, so am after more of a t-shirt fit with a lot of the jackets I'm after. But conversely, once the chest and waist taper is good, often the shoulders are too narrow (Fine Creek, looking at you).

 

[jerryoldiee]

Good question. Stuff that fits well in the shoulders for me tends to not have a slim enough chest or enough taper in the waist. I have a thin-ish frame, and live in California, so am after more of a t-shirt fit with a lot of the jackets I'm after. But conversely, once the chest and waist taper is good, often the shoulders are too narrow (Fine Creek, looking at you).

dgbrt, that’s a tough combo and a common one with a thin frame. Patterns that cut slim through the chest often run narrow in the shoulders too. If you ever look at a made-to-measure, ask whether the maker can adjust shoulder width separately from the chest. Roughly what are your shoulder and chest measurements? It might help people point you toward the right cuts.

 

[floater]

Good question. Stuff that fits well in the shoulders for me tends to not have a slim enough chest or enough taper in the waist. I have a thin-ish frame, and live in California, so am after more of a t-shirt fit with a lot of the jackets I'm after. But conversely, once the chest and waist taper is good, often the shoulders are too narrow (Fine Creek, looking at you).

I’m similar, broad shoulders, slim waist, socal weather and usually go for a slim fit.

I’ve also been very lucky with my jacket purchases, since arriving here just over 2 years ago, I’ve bought 10 jackets and I still have all of them, although I also agree with others that 5-6 is the sweet spot.

I know my measurement ranges well and I don’t fluctuate much, but I never pull the trigger, no matter how tempting it gets, until I know 3 things for sure, it’s gonna fit well, it’ll work with my style and wardrobe, and I’ll have opportunities to wear it.

So far it’s worked great although it’s gotten better since I started as the first 3 out of the 10 that I’ve bought since arriving here are the least worn, I think my best advice is to calm your temptation with the best counter argument you can make for whatever is tempting you, most of the time my counter arguments win, when they don’t then I buy it.

As far as sizing jackets for your body type, I would suggest to always go for the model of the design you’re interested in that has waist suppression via cinch straps, tabs, laces, etc. most jackets look good even if the chest is a bit baggy as long as the shoulders and waist are good, also always ask for the hem width measurement, some cinch straps won’t cut it if the starting point is over 2-3” from your target.

Some specific designs I would suggest would be cropped halfbelts, chp’s, some cafe racers like tfh and rc that have waist suppression and wider shoulders, I would also suggest to look for specific designs that have narrower shoulders, longer sleeves and wider armholes, sounds weird I know but it works on some models, I have one and I have fwd sloped shoulders, it’s more comfortable than having the shoulder seam sitting on my shoulders, it kind of feels like wearing a vest with sleeves.

Here’s a fit pic, this is around 4cm below the usual s2s measurement I take with narrow armholes.

 

[aorange]

I’m similar, broad shoulders, slim waist, socal weather and usually go for a slim fit.

I’ve also been very lucky with my jacket purchases, since arriving here just over 2 years ago, I’ve bought 10 jackets and I still have all of them, although I also agree with others that 5-6 is the sweet spot.

I know my measurement ranges well and I don’t fluctuate much, but I never pull the trigger, no matter how tempting it gets, until I know 3 things for sure, it’s gonna fit well, it’ll work with my style and wardrobe, and I’ll have opportunities to wear it.

So far it’s worked great although it’s gotten better since I started as the first 3 out of the 10 that I’ve bought since arriving here are the least worn, I think my best advice is to calm your temptation with the best counter argument you can make for whatever is tempting you, most of the time my counter arguments win, when they don’t then I buy it.

As far as sizing jackets for your body type, I would suggest to always go for the model of the design you’re interested in that has waist suppression via cinch straps, tabs, laces, etc. most jackets look good even if the chest is a bit baggy as long as the shoulders and waist are good, also always ask for the hem width measurement, some cinch straps won’t cut it if the starting point is over 2-3” from your target.

Some specific designs I would suggest would be cropped halfbelts, chp’s, some cafe racers like tfh and rc that have waist suppression and wider shoulders, I would also suggest to look for specific designs that have narrower shoulders, longer sleeves and wider armholes, sounds weird I know but it works on some models, I have one and I have fwd sloped shoulders, it’s more comfortable than having the shoulder seam sitting on my shoulders, it kind of feels like wearing a vest with sleeves.

Here’s a fit pic, this is around 4cm below the usual s2s measurement I take with narrow armholes.

View attachment 822265

I wonder if it’s a shoulder shape difference for me then. I have broad square shoulders and I find the wide armhole trick leads to triangle shaped drag on the sleeves (on top of being uncomfortable).

 

[floater]

I wonder if it’s a shoulder shape difference for me then. I have broad square shoulders and I find the wide armhole trick leads to triangle shaped drag on the sleeves (on top of being uncomfortable).

Likely yes, I have an athletic build with developed trapezoid and broad fwd sloped shoulders so my jackets usually get pulled in different directions, I usually feel them pull from the back collar to the front armpit instead of s2s or p2p, but that’s the only jacket I have with narrow shoulders, all the rest are 3-4 cms wider with narrower armholes, and some fit slimmer than that one.

 

[morrison2951]

So I collect watches and sunglasses and a few other things that are a little easier to judge on a page before putting down cash. Got bit by the heritage leather jacket bug last fall and after grabbing a Y2 Single Rider that (in my view) fit perfectly, picked up a few other complimentary jackets in the subsequent months to round out my wardrobe options, but can't seem to find anything else that fits OTR without a concession of some sort. Now I have a rack of pretty neat pieces that cover the spread, so to speak, but each introduce their own nitpicks. I've never noticed quite this much fit disparity in more designer stuff (Todd Snyder, YSL, Celine, etc.) so is getting lucky on fit more of a feature than a bug with most heritage/repro Japanese brands? Or do I just need to keep looking? Almost went MTO on a recent Johnson's visit in SF but a lot of their stock patterns left me feeling a little lukewarm. How many jackets did it take before you struck gold?

Gold! GW Admiral Byrd