This post is a comparison review. There are some questions I had that I wanted to find out for myself for a while.
M-500 xzip vs WWL-41 xzip.
M-500 is the current Bay area police department contract jacket, mine is in stock size 40.
WWL-41 is their other police jacket, and mine is in stock size 42.
M-500 on the left, WWL-41 on the right
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JL's M-500 pattern has been one of my favorite ever since I got it. Mostly because it's very comfortable and I can wear it all day. Practical and no nonsense.
The WWL-41 pattern is quite a bit flashier than the understated M-500 imo. But still has great range of motion. Quite amazing for a tight fitting jacket pattern.
If the M-500 is an modified unmarked cruiser putting down 500+hp at the wheels, then the WWL-41 is a Lambo police car.
That's all I got. Thanks for reading.
I wonder how different the patterns are when you equalize for sizing via shared PTP, because your size 40 M-500 measures very similarly to the size 44 WWL-41s I saw at the shop.
I bring this up because nothing about the WWL-41 has that "skinny fit" of many repro jackets (like the worst feature they have, skinny biceps that limit motion); the difference seems to be mostly in size numbering, with the WWL-41 doing the 1950s thing of the chest circumference being 2" more than the tagged size. So I wonder if it's really just the numbers.