Were there no 6'2" people born before the 1950's?

[Seb Lucas]

Just add this to the "life's lessons learned the hard way" file. I recently purchased a beautiful, old school CHP black leather jacket from a vintage online clothing store. Most likely it was custom-made for a motorcycle officer in the 1960's, but it may be from the 1950's - nice Talon zippers, may be horsehide but I'm not sure, etc. It was my size - 50, which was written in pen on the lining of the inside chest pocket. I'm told that was a common practice back in those days. The jacket arrived, and no doubt about it, it's a fine jacket, but way too small for me. It fits more like a 46 I think. I can't send it back because the store will only issue me a credit and they don't have anything else I want. But I like the style of this jacket so much that I just ordered a modified Columbia from Langlitz that should match the vintage one, and actually fit. I'll hold onto the old one, compare my new Langlitz to it, then sell the old one I suppose. But the real lesson for me is: NEVER buy without trying it on. Most of you vintage jacket buffs probably already know that, and I shoulda known, but I let desire overcome common sense.

Actually, the lesson is get the important measurements, ignore the size. I've bought many jackets without trying on. Never been a problem. Good vintage places will give you arm and back length and pit to pit.

 

[Haversack]

Being 6' 4" in height and 250 lbs. in weight, I generally do not bother to look at vintage clothing. However, a couple or so years ago I got very lucky while in London. (And no, I don't mean I pulled.) I found a pre-war double-breasted dinner jacket and trousers that fit like a glove. In fact when I brought it back to the states, the only thing my alterations tailor had to do was shorten the sleeves slightly. He also raved about the quality of the construction. With a bit of searching, we found the tailor's mark and the name of the person it had been made for. A younger son of the aristocracy, (an honourable hyphen), who up until 1939 owned a house on Grosvenor Square. I'm still trying to find a photograph of the individual to clinch the height. A few generations of a protein-heavy diet is a likely culprit.

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

A few generations of a protein-heavy diet is a likely culprit.

Well, I don't know, I remebered here my grand-grand-grandfather that stood at 6 feet 5 and something, and he was not aristocrat as far as I know;
also, there was that movie about Hannibal lecter, where Anthony Hopkins rambled something about farmers with short bones to Jodie Foster, if I remember correctly the scene: well, that sounded kind of weird to me, cause almost all the farmers I knew where quite tall guys, also the elder ones... and I live in Italy, where people is not supposed to be particularly tall!
so, who knows!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

As a lady who is 5' 9", it rules out vintage slacks/denim/blouses and more...as well as most brand new contemporary clothing.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

May be that clothing manufacturers are sizing for the more heavyset that are a geater portion of the population these days.

And "vanity sizing."

 

[ButteMT61]

As a lady who is 5' 9", it rules out vintage slacks/denim/blouses and more...as well as most brand new contemporary clothing.

So much for thinking I could make a "change" lol

 

[nick123]

The 6' club is the WORST when shopping for jackets. Very few items are long enough. It's crippling. To think I could pick up a vintage G-1 or nylon on the 'bay is but a pipe dream. I'm left with having to spend close to $1000 on a custom made anything. I also fall into the very long "monkey arms" category. You more average proportioned fellows, please don't take it for granted. This Thanksgiving, add a blessing of thanks for being blessed with average proportions to the supper table...
The tall 1940s-50s aviators got away with the look. Some high waisted trousers would go a long way in improving the appearance, but I'm not ready to swallow that pill-and that still leaves a too short sleeves conundrum.

 

[Big J]

The 6' club is the WORST when shopping for jackets. Very few items are long enough. It's crippling. To think I could pick up a vintage G-1 or nylon on the 'bay is but a pipe dream. I'm left with having to spend close to $1000 on a custom made anything. I also fall into the very long "monkey arms" category. You more average proportioned fellows, please don't take it for granted.

+1

 

[Big J]

And "vanity sizing."

Vanity sizing makes shopping a chore.

I'm 187cm, 48 inch jacket size. I'd like to buy some really nice clothes off the rack, some Paul Smith suits, and a Burberry raincoat, but I guess they don't want you wearing their clothes unless you're going to look like the thin as a rake models in their photo-shoots.

I'll just have to work harder, so that I can afford to buy everything made to measure in future.

 

[nick123]

On a positive note, I've found joy in seeing other's purchases of jackets I know will never fit me.

"You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you'll find you have what you need"...or however the song goes.

 

[Big J]

As a lady who is 5' 9", it rules out vintage slacks/denim/blouses and more...as well as most brand new contemporary clothing.

BTW, at 5'9", I'm surprised, since I always thought that models were all tall, so it wouldn't be a problem for a 'lady of stature', shall we say.

 

[Dixie_Amazon]

I am 5'9" and have similar problems, and how dare I have shoulders. My mother would sew false cuff on my jeans in novelty denim so that they would be long enough when I was a teenager in the seventies.

 

[Big J]

I am 5'9" and have similar problems, and how dare I have shoulders. My mother would sew false cuff on my jeans in novelty denim so that they would be long enough when I was a teenager in the seventies.

I'm honestly surprised. I never realized that ladies clothes were so limited to shorter people.

 

[armscye]

I've read this thread with interest, particularly the earlier anthropological/political comments. I'm reminded that when Terence Malick made "The thin Red Line"-- a world war II film set in the Pacific-- the costume designer bought a bunch of wartime era surplus Marine Corps uniforms, then found that they were generally too small for the actors. I also recollect my father telling me that in the Fifties Army the largest boot size was 14, which was not sufficient for his size 12 feet with double cold weather socks. And finally, in buying European clothing, I often find that the less export-oriented brands top out at the equivalent of a size 44. So this stray "grandmother research" suggests to me that Americans are getting larger, and remain to this day larger than Europeans.

Then again, I know a couple of tall Dutchmen...

 

[Mark Ricketts]

I remember the Canadian International rugby team touring Wales in the early Seventies. Everyone was amazed how tall and wide the Canadians were. The Welsh may not have caught up on the height yet, but we are making a manly effort with the width.

 

[Guttersnipe]

This seems like a grass is always greener issue. Being 5'8" with 38" chest and narrow shoulders, I have the opposite problem. About half the vintage suit jackets I see are too long for me. I also see an awful lot of really cool suits that are too big for me.

And don't even get me started on buy dress shirts. I wear a 14 1/2 or 15 x 32, depending on the brand. When you get under size 15 1/2, the selections of color/patterns gets way, way more limited.

 

[Jwag]

Let's see. How about 5'4", 120lbs. 33" chest, 31" waist.
Most of my stuff fits fine. But my next leather jacket purchase will most likely be custom. I want a more form fitting jacket.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Just want to say that most vintage clothes in your size are worn to ribbons and gone, anything you find thats 60 years old and new to be either too small or too big for anyone...least thats how I find it mostly in military Antiques.