Survey: Your Favorite A-2 Jacket (Original or Repro, Expensive or Cheap as Hell!)

[Gene]

The only A2 I own, a repro from US Authentic. Painted and patched myself. A lot of bang for not a lot of buck.

 

[Jaguar66]

My Goodwear Monarch A2. Most original looking (to me) that I own.

 

[bretron]

@Gene

Nice fit, and customizing- DYI is the way it should be! Like my grandpa making homemade wine in Okinawa during WWII!

 

[ButteMT61]

We know a lot of people here love the skin tight, sorry, fitted jackets, we get that. As it happens, i think they look as ridiculous on slim people as they do on overweight people, but I recognise that here I'm in the minority. I can live with that.

Well, I'm with you too. I am big. 6-4", 235. I have a physique that wears clothing well. Tight jackets look and feel dopey. And they're impractical in all but the mildest weather.
Again, my two cents. Everyone has different likes. I just lost 27 pounds this spring to look better. An expensive jacket won't fix that.
Smaller guys are lucky. You have many more choices.

 

[Seawolf]

I sort of agree that a slim jacket might be a bit too fashion forward. However, I've learned a lot from my wife about this lately, and that's that properly fitting clothes are best. I wear polo shirts for work, and I'm 6'1" 180 lbs. So, naturally, I think I'm a tall guy, and I should be wearing large. She always tells me how I'm "swimming in the polo shirts." One day we were at a store and she urged me to try on a small. A SMALL!?!?! Guess what? It fit, and I looked great. So much more put together. It was like the shirt was cut for me, and I felt good too. So, I think the Loungers who like their fitted jackets have the right idea. For a guy like me, I typically buy large clothing for the sleeve length, and the torso ends up way too wide, and I'm stuck with extra, baggy material. Why spend top dollar on a premium leather jacket that puts everybody into three size categories, "S, M, or L." Some manufacturers use chest size, but sleeve length gets longer as chest size get wider. Same sort of problem.

Transversely, wearing a skin tight jacket, just because it's "slim fit" doesn't make sense if it's too small. It's all about properly fitting clothes. Jan Solo and Gancho have it right, and their jackets look wonderful on them. They're not tight, but definitely cut for them, and fitting properly.

This conversation reminds me... I need to take some shirts to the tailor to have them taken in. Too much material around the torso

 

[Rudie]

Exactly my point. That's why I love Aero and the customization options. My arms are way too long compared to my chest and waist size to look good in ready-to-wear. I started having my shirts and trousers made bespoke and I have all jackets altered. It makes a huge difference. The best and most expensive clothes look like crap if they don't fit. I'd rather have cheap clothes that fit than expensive ones that don't.

 

[ButteMT61]

FWIW, Jansolo was my inspiration for getting more jackets. I like his style and his jackets fit right (to me)
I've seen others that just look too small for the owner. I like bigger for one reason - versatility. I can layer so it's more useful. But as I acquire more jackets, and I am, I can have some fit more tightly and not worry about it.
I tend to steer clear of "fashion". I like what I like, and my wife and daughters set me straight if I veer off course

I sort of agree that a slim jacket might be a bit too fashion forward. However, I've learned a lot from my wife about this lately, and that's that properly fitting clothes are best. I wear polo shirts for work, and I'm 6'1" 180 lbs. So, naturally, I think I'm a tall guy, and I should be wearing large. She always tells me how I'm "swimming in the polo shirts." One day we were at a store and she urged me to try on a small. A SMALL!?!?! Guess what? It fit, and I looked great. So much more put together. It was like the shirt was cut for me, and I felt good too. So, I think the Loungers who like their fitted jackets have the right idea. For a guy like me, I typically buy large clothing for the sleeve length, and the torso ends up way too wide, and I'm stuck with extra, baggy material. Why spend top dollar on a premium leather jacket that puts everybody into three size categories, "S, M, or L." Some manufacturers use chest size, but sleeve length gets longer as chest size get wider. Same sort of problem.

Transversely, wearing a skin tight jacket, just because it's "slim fit" doesn't make sense if it's too small. It's all about properly fitting clothes. Jan Solo and Gancho have it right, and their jackets look wonderful on them. They're not tight, but definitely cut for them, and fitting properly.

This conversation reminds me... I need to take some shirts to the tailor to have them taken in. Too much material around the torso

 

[HighandDry]

I sort of agree that a slim jacket might be a bit too fashion forward. However, I've learned a lot from my wife about this lately, and that's that properly fitting clothes are best. I wear polo shirts for work, and I'm 6'1" 180 lbs. So, naturally, I think I'm a tall guy, and I should be wearing large. She always tells me how I'm "swimming in the polo shirts." One day we were at a store and she urged me to try on a small. A SMALL!?!?! Guess what? It fit, and I looked great. So much more put together. It was like the shirt was cut for me, and I felt good too. So, I think the Loungers who like their fitted jackets have the right idea.

I think that many Americans buy clothes that are way too big and that manufactures make clothing that is not the right size. A medium in most shirts is still too big for me (5'10", 160 lbs, 40 chest). I tend to think that this reflects the fact that most people are overweight.

Seawolf, you should try the Brooks Brothers "slim fit" polos and dress shirts. The medium fits me perfectly- they cut out all the extra material in the torso.

 

[767fo]

This is Good Wear's No-Name 42-18246-P ( S.H. Knopf of Boston) and this contract is one of my favorites from John.

 

[pjstrass]

nice jacket and fit ! which leather is it ? thanks.

 

[767fo]

nice jacket and fit ! which leather is it ? thanks.

Thank you, It is John's Japanese seal aniline horsehide.

 

[Corky]

Gibson and Barnes A-2 Mark 41

My choice is the Gibson and Barnes A-2 Mark 41:

It's a full cut (and face it fellows, many of us become full cut people after our once lean and muscular bodies have aged a few years).

Plus Gibson and Barnes has a showroom in Southern California. This means that it is possible for those of us who live nearby to drive there and try on jackets to one's heart's content until one finds a jacket that fits properly.

I suggest that you find someplace near you where you can actually try the jackets on before you make your selection.

Look at the near-new high end jackets regularly posted for re-sale in the Forum Classifieds. What you see are the results of people who purchased custom jackets sight unseen and came down with bad cases of buyer's remorse.

My advice is to find the jacket that fits you and be certain you are happy with it with BEFORE you plop down your credit card.

 

[UWEZ]

My Aero, 2 yrs old

 

[borisna]

very nice jacket UWEZ

 

[feltfan]

My choice is the Gibson and Barnes A-2 Mark 41:

Corky, how is the leather aging? Can you post an "after" picture?

 

[Atticus Finch]

Here's my favorite A-2...but is it an original or is it a repro? I've read long arguments on another forum that never really resolved that question. It’s a 1992 Orchard (Branded Leather) jacket that was actually issued by the Air Force and (I'm told) actually saw service. BTW, please note the deco pocket flaps. Of all the new A-2s, Orchards are the closest in appearance and in cut to the WWII jackets.

AF

 

[Phantomfixer]

Atticus great fitting jacket. I like the new issue A-2s. Agree also that Orchard makes a good jacket. Their goatskin is usually very thick. I really like your jeep and bumper sticker! BTW what patch is that?

 

[bretron]

What everyone think of the this Eastman '33 Weber? It has the "time worn" treatment. The extra leather aging cheesy?

 

[Sir Jacket]

Doesn't buying the leather 'aged' detract from the whole point of a leather jacket, which is that it ages as you do? The interesting reversal is that the jacket improves in appearance while we, after a time, don't. Sir J

 

[bretron]

that's my thought too...Like acid washed 501s or those $40 department store quality bombers from the 80s (e.g. with all the fake patches and seals). Guys offering this one for a reasonable price, but I always fall in the trap that is buying the "wrong" jacket! This I'm afraid will meet that definition as well. Patience is not one of my strong suits...
Shameless plug de jour: if anyone's selling a 40 or 42 with a chest approx 22ish hit me up!