To alter a Schott or leave it stock?

[blobsterroll]

I have thoroughly enjoyed my Schott 618hh, as described in my lengthy thread at https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...ait-horsehide-shootout-aero-vs-schott.102446/ after wearing it almost everyday since December, the shine has knocked off some and now does not feel as stiff. Not quite like a 2nd skin yet. Lots of compliments all the time, tho.

My thing is now that I wont be wearing it for a couple of months since it warming up, I am now considering altering it to address the beer belly question. My chest is now 42 inches but damn there is A LOT of room in the belly area. Maybe change the hardware to black too. But my concern is it might not look right... the other is finding a great leather tailor here in Germany that speaks a good amount of English since my German is not as strong yet.

I bought this jacket to keep it for life. So I am considering the reliability aspect as well.

 

[blobsterroll]

From the other thread's pics. Check out that extra material...

Probably will have them change the lining to a thinner one, and definitely at least have them sew on some pockets for my EDC

 

[TREEMAN]

IMO this type of alteration is always a roll of the dice ...

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

It's typical Schott sizing problem. I did the same to my 141 because chest is pretty close, but waist and bottom were too big. Tailor made some silly mistakes with the finishing, but he nailed the cut. Completely transformed the jacket. But I would never do again. I would rather just buy a jacket that fits properly. It's not like we're talking about rare items here. There's dozens of makers, styles, etc.

618 though should not be that baggy. The sleeves seem really long too. You probably can go down a full size at least and maybe the fit will be close enough. But I feel your pain of having to start over with the break in.

 

[navetsea]

alter it, give it a waist, doesn't need to be tight fit if you want to layer or want to make sure it fits x years from now, but just give it a waistline, make a big different if a jacket have a waist or not.

but personally I'm against black hardware, they won't stay black anyway, some blacking over copper or brass will fade nicely if the button cap has some emboss on it, but some blacking over chrome is just hideous, anodized or powdercoated chrome will turn back into chrome in very short time anyway if you touch it often.

 

[blobsterroll]

618 though should not be that baggy. The sleeves seem really long too. You probably can go down a full size at least and maybe the fit will be close enough. But I feel your pain of having to start over with the break in.

So in my other thread is lots of fit pics. It fits well around the chest and shoulders area. The waist area is huge.

I am just afraid I will look like I want to fight pirates if the tailor I hire dont know english or what he is doing and will take what I say literally.

 

[navetsea]

taper the waist by taking the side panel don't cut the front and back panel, sew back using the same hole if possible, I would say something like that, and see if you need to reduce the belt length.

from the way you pull it from the side it looks a lot
but based on your fit pit on the other thread I say leave it alone.

 

[Monitor]

If it's that much bigger, sell it and buy another jacket. Schott HH jackets fetch a good price, especially in Europe so you ought to be okay. Always size down with Schott, just to be sure. Two sizes down for an actually good fit.

 

[El Marro]

I’m with navetsea as far as black hardware goes. It always looks cheap and crummy to me. There’s just something really nice about the contrast of either chrome or brass on a cross zip and I don’t think you should mess with it.

 

[Edward]

For me, Schott are the classic example of a pattern either working for a certain bodyshape or not. For some time - I think since the late 80s from memory - Schott have been cut with a fairly boxy shape; if you're a very pronounced V in the body with a significant chest to waist drop, you may find this doesn't work for you. My 618 is good on the shoulders, and then hangs pretty much straight down. Fine on me, but if I still had the 32" waist I did twenty years ago, it could look odd. Might be worth looking at the Aero pattern in this style - it's cut looser than a half belt, but with a very definite nip in at the waist (see the fit of Brando's Durable in the Wild One for an example of what I'm talking about)- loose on the chest, tight on the waist, how they were worn in the 40s / 50s.

I personally wouldn't pay a lot of money to have a jacket altered with no guarantee it will work when done. There's a chance it won't, and then you're not only out the extra money, but it might well be harder to sell on. The HH Schotts are pretty rare on the used market, so if it were me I'd be looking at selling and finding something that fits.

As to hardware, I don't personally care for black hardware. Always looks wrong to my eye, too 'modern'. Reminds me of the sort of bike jackets that were coming out as new designs around 1992. Personal preference, of course, but for myself I always stick to brass or chrome.