Great choice of jacket, Jin! Perfect fit (as always, as others have already observed ). The hide looks very nice, too.
I think it has been said elsewhere before, but for what it's worth: The term "Luftwaffe jacket" is misleading insofar as there hasn't been a designated short leather jacket for WWII fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe. Rather, some pilots (certainly some that have been photographed regularly for propaganda purposes) have adopted civilian/utilitarian jackets that were popular around that time.
Short length and trim fit certainly made those jackets suitable for in-cockpit use, but one can assume that "looks" played a role as well. Many german pilots would have felt slightly envious towards their american/british counterparts whose flight jackets have been quite iconic from the start (a lot of german officers, especially in the navy, wore "Irvin" jackets of british origin during their tours of duty.).
One wonders why german command was so lenient about the use of civilian (or even foreign army) apparel (in the field and even more in propaganda photographs.). These days, this "univil" mix-and-match doesn't sit well at all with superior NCO´s etc., that's for sure...
Before I will end this massive derail of the thread (sorry, Jin, all caused by yet another spectacular jacket of yours...), I have a question for those in the know:
I have never been able to track down the reference to a "french cyclist jacket". Could be that the overall trim fit and lightweight hide had some resemblance to cycle-race jerseys, but other than the fact that race-cycling has been and continues to be massively popular in France, I am absolutely in the dark about the term.
I think it has been said elsewhere before, but for what it's worth: The term "Luftwaffe jacket" is misleading insofar as there hasn't been a designated short leather jacket for WWII fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe. Rather, some pilots (certainly some that have been photographed regularly for propaganda purposes) have adopted civilian/utilitarian jackets that were popular around that time.
Short length and trim fit certainly made those jackets suitable for in-cockpit use, but one can assume that "looks" played a role as well. Many german pilots would have felt slightly envious towards their american/british counterparts whose flight jackets have been quite iconic from the start (a lot of german officers, especially in the navy, wore "Irvin" jackets of british origin during their tours of duty.).
One wonders why german command was so lenient about the use of civilian (or even foreign army) apparel (in the field and even more in propaganda photographs.). These days, this "univil" mix-and-match doesn't sit well at all with superior NCO´s etc., that's for sure...
Before I will end this massive derail of the thread (sorry, Jin, all caused by yet another spectacular jacket of yours...), I have a question for those in the know:
I have never been able to track down the reference to a "french cyclist jacket". Could be that the overall trim fit and lightweight hide had some resemblance to cycle-race jerseys, but other than the fact that race-cycling has been and continues to be massively popular in France, I am absolutely in the dark about the term.