My New Rainbow Country x Mushmans A2 and a Question on Modified A2 Jackets

[Fireflame]

That jacket looks incredible. Fit is spot on also. Not to mention, the color on that leather is great!!

congrats on such a beauty!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

I had to do a double take also. I thought to myself, I thought this dude was around a 44 or so. I had to ask myself, size 36 can't be right. Isn't this a Japanese brand also, aren't they made smaller from the start. Then I had to ask myself, maybe this is Jin431 posting or something. Maybe my mind is still in a fog after the Browns game. lol.

Nope, this was Dude in a Japanese size 36! Wow! Congratz my friend. You look great in this jacket. Those boots are crazy. I would be afraid to go off road with them.

I voted never buy an A2. Take that with a grain of salt. I wouldn't buy anything that wasn't a cross zip.

Great review as always.

It is slightly snug, but otherwise it fits great. I pretty much always have to size down in the chest at this point. Haha well I'm glad you like how mine looks on me then

Nice jacket. A-2s are my favorite. It’s an airplane thing.

Thank you!

Looks great, Jake! The slim silhouette and ever so slightly longer body work extremely well on your physique. The color is out of this world!

It’s fine zipped up too but looks a bit restrictive over the chest. Not a visual issue for sure, but I hope it doesn’t bother you.

I much like A-2’s. I insist on accuracy but only in the following sense: An A-2 needs to follow mil-spec, i.e. it must have all the features so it COULD HAVE BEEN an actual contract. I don’t care about accurate repros of actual contracts. In this - very subjective- sense, your jacket is absolutely fine.

Another cool look, and once again another unique piece!

Yes it is a little restrictive in the chest. It is significantly sized down in the chest, but I will almost never actually zip it up so it's not too much of an issue. This will also mostly be worn with t shirts and thin button ups because of my climate.

Also, size measurements deviated commonly then. So theoretically, if you were to order a custom A-2 today with an inch added, it could have fallen within spec from back then. They’re discussing this on VLJ with Platon’s A-2s, where he does not offer anything except for stock sizes. However, original J.A. Dubow examples probably exist in the same size that are longer than Platon’s stock measurements. So it’s not totally un-authentic to order a jacket slightly longer or shorter. If I’m wrong I stand corrected.

That's a great point! I had not really thought about that. Thanks for pointing that out!

Flight jackets are the OG of cool leather jackets. The history and the graphics that came with them are never dull either. Burgundy brown takes that A2 jacket up to a new level. Very nice jacket!
I voted for modified or customized A2. There were already many different contracts then, it doesn't hurt to have some variations now.

I would love to get a good original one with the graphics on them. They look amazing.

You wear it well! Congratulations on another great jacket Jake.

Thank you very much!

Awesome jacket, awesome fit and unique color to boot!

Thanks man much appreciated!

By the way, I always enjoy reading your reviews. Very informative. Thank you.

Thanks. Are you referring to my short write up here or the blog? Just curious.

These boots, man. Work of art. So much so that any scuff on them would hurt me like a wound. I know that they are meant to be worn hard, age, yadda yadda. Jake, how do you deal with that? They still look new.

Haha well I've beat up the other pair I have from him so I know these will get broken in eventually too. He is an artist. I just wear them and am generally light on my feet so it takes my boots a while to get scuffed for the most part.

Fits nice and trim compared to some in the small knowledge I have of the accurate
A-2 repro rabbit hole. Very nice!

Yeah this is definitely slimmer. I also sized down.

I am more into the civilian side as you can imagine, but this looks good!

Historical accuracy has never been a concern of mine, I just want the jacket to look good on me

As for the belt, I think the colour works really well with red, I would certainly not call it a gaffe, quite the opposite in fact. I would push this further by saying that your boots have a really beautiful shade of burgundy/red. I woud wear such boots with many colours!

Yeah I don't think the belt looks awful, I just pointed it out because technically it was a gaffe on my part

That jacket looks incredible. Fit is spot on also. Not to mention, the color on that leather is great!!

congrats on such a beauty!

Thanks! I'm very pleased with how well it matches the boots.

 

[Marc mndt]

Thanks. Are you referring to my short write up here or the blog? Just curious.

The write ups here. I have read a couple of your blog posts as well and some of them were really helpful, like the top 10 leather jacket brand list: I first learned about a lot of these niche leather jacket makers through your blog. But on some subjects I think you tend to overthink things. Like your article about cuffing vs hemming, or when you discuss color matching your outfits. Personally, I'd say let's forget about clothing rules. Just wear whatever you like and wear it however you like to wear it.

 

[Worf]

I've enough A2's and A1's. I wear them in early Spring and late Fall. When I first got into leather jackets, A2's were all I was interested in, now I wear them only occasionally and do not see myself ever buying another.

Worf

 

[ton312]

I'm not a fan of A-2's, to me these are the pinnacle of least flattering fit for any jacket. They always seem to look bulbous and make the wearer look sort of round/onion shaped, droopy shoulders, bloated gut, etc. I like the leather on yours dude, and I think the trimmer fit certainly helps a bit.

 

[El Marro]

Congratulations Dude, those boots absolutely steal the show! I am naturally skeptical when I read a sentence claiming that someone is the “best bootmaker in the world”, but looking at the photos you posted I can certainly see why you say that and I wouldn’t argue with you.
The jacket is nice and it fits very well for an A-2. This was one of the styles that brought me into leather jackets and I learned early how tricky it can be to get one that fits as well as yours.

 

[Fireflame]

Forgot to ask, how was the ordering process with Mushmans. I know in the past I’ve seen jackets I loved but wasn’t sure how the transaction would have turned out so never went through with it.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

The write ups here. I have read a couple of your blog posts as well and some of them were really helpful, like the top 10 leather jacket brand list: I first learned about a lot of these niche leather jacket makers through your blog. But on some subjects I think you tend to overthink things. Like your article about cuffing vs hemming, or when you discuss color matching your outfits. Personally, I'd say let's forget about clothing rules. Just wear whatever you like and wear it however you like to wear it.

Ah OK thanks! I appreciate the feedback. That's really good to know! It looks like we will have to agree to disagree on those last points though . I quite strongly disagree. We all adhere to clothing rules to some degree. All of our comments on jacket fit follows some sort of clothing "rule." You are just drawing the line in a different place than I am which is totally fine, but let's be honest, we are all overthinking this whole clothing thing. I am just also thinking more about other aspects as well such as color coordination and trouser length. Those articles certainly aren't for everything of course, but they are my favorites to write.

I've enough A2's and A1's. I wear them in early Spring and late Fall. When I first got into leather jackets, A2's were all I was interested in, now I wear them only occasionally and do not see myself ever buying another.

Worf

Would you say that you sort of got them out of your system in a way?

I'm not a fan of A-2's, to me these are the pinnacle of least flattering fit for any jacket. They always seem to look bulbous and make the wearer look sort of round/onion shaped, droopy shoulders, bloated gut, etc. I like the leather on yours dude, and I think the trimmer fit certainly helps a bit.

That's a very fair point. I do think it's kind of hilarious how most articles and write ups talk about how slim/trim A2s were, but to me they always look baggy in original photos. That's why I quite like the slimmed up Japanese versions.

Congratulations Dude, those boots absolutely steal the show! I am naturally skeptical when I read a sentence claiming that someone is the “best bootmaker in the world”, but looking at the photos you posted I can certainly see why you say that and I wouldn’t argue with you.
The jacket is nice and it fits very well for an A-2. This was one of the styles that brought me into leather jackets and I learned early how tricky it can be to get one that fits as well as yours.

Yeah I can understand the skepticism, but I feel pretty darn confident about him. Also, I do clarify that it's only for casual style boots. I would assume there are dress shoe makers who also make boots who are even better. I'm quite happy with how this fits.

Forgot to ask, how was the ordering process with Mushmans. I know in the past I’ve seen jackets I loved but wasn’t sure how the transaction would have turned out so never went through with it.

I did not order this one from Mushmans as this one is used, but I have ordered from them before. I started the process on instagram and then it went to email. It was pretty straightforward. I am sure you could just email them.

 

[navetsea]

your A2 looks slim that huge plus, and you wear it as already look broken in, most I see have muffin top /blouse fit, perhaps with military badges and harness and that yellow vest thing they wore in the war, it look the part as a uniform piece. but when worn without all those accompanying pieces, it looks round and make the wearer looks unnecessarily fatter especially when brand new like few years ago around here.

 

[willyto]

Unsnap the collar and it will look better.

The leather looks great but I’m not a fan of A2 anymore.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

your A2 looks slim that huge plus, and you wear it as already look broken in, most I see have muffin top /blouse fit, perhaps with military badges and harness and that yellow vest thing they wore in the war, it look the part as a uniform piece. but when worn without all those accompanying pieces, it looks round and make the wearer looks unnecessarily fatter especially when brand new like few years ago around here.

Yeah the muffin top thing was something that I wanted to avoid and I think I managed to accomplish that with this jacket. It also helps that the jacket is well broken in. As you said, these jackets can make people look rounder when brand new... like with my Aero A-1

Unsnap the collar and it will look better.

The leather looks great but I’m not a fan of A2 anymore.

It might, but I actually like how the collar looks right now to be honest. Do you think unsnapped it would be more casual or something?

 

[JMax]

If everyone has their own rules, there are no rules. Lol. Seriously though, I know my preference. I know when a jacket meets my expectation and when it doesn’t. I know when it feels right and when it doesn’t. I rarely post fit pics and focus on the jackets. They are why I come here. It what I want prefer to look at. Thats me though. I get the whole concept of fit pics etc.

This style of jacket is not for me, but I gotta say, this one has me thinking a bit. A little bit, but hey, it’s a start. There is a vintage HH civilian flight jacket that has my interest. I may go for it. And this one does look good on you dude. And I appreciate the quality of your pics, for sure.

 

[El Marro]

It might, but I actually like how the collar looks right now to be honest. Do you think unsnapped it would be more casual or something?

First off, I think the collar looks just fine as it is and if you like it that way leave it alone!
From my past immersion into the world of A-2 collectors and collecting I seem to remember that there is an unwritten rule that the collar is to be worn unsnapped. It is more authentic that way or something…
I personally think that it looks a little neater buttoned up and I have one A-2 jacket that I only wear that way myself because I don’t like the way the collar flops when it is unbuttoned.