Aero Fit?

[Dude59]

So, I posted back in July when I received my jacket from Insurrection and was never quite sure on the overall fit. Well, 5-6 months later I find that I am still questioning the fit and was looking for some opinions. When I wear it I still feel like my chest is just swimming in it, maybe I ordered the wrong jacket and this is just the way it is supposed to fit but it feels like it is just too big. It is a half belt deluxe minus the big pockets, I ordered a size 44 at Insurrection's advice (albeit I may have not been completely sure of what type of fit I was looking for which never helps) I was measured at a 46" chest. Here are some pics, the white spots are because I didn't realize until after taking the pictures that there was a purple hand towel in the background that made it hard to see what was the jacket and what was the towel.









The last one you can see that with it zipped up I can grab a full 4 or more inches of leather, obviously it shouldn't be skin tight, but I would think even two inches smaller would help. Pretty much I am just looking for opinions, and maybe how much I should size down if I were to order a different jacket, maybe something meant to fit a little slimmer. I love the quality of the jacket and the feel of the leather just, every time I wear it, it just feels off somehow. Which is a huge issue as it was a gift from the wife after pestering her for a year+ and as I am in the military, I, like most of us, am not made of money.

 

[Sloan1874]

The length looks okay, as do the sleeves, but you have a lot of loose leather going on there and the sleeves are sliding off your shoulders a bit, which suggests to me that it's too big. Not sure what size you have, but I think you'd want to drop one.
The thing about having a jacket that doesn't fit, as anyone around here will tell you, is that it'll bug you to the point that you won't wear it, and it'll just sit in your closet. Biting the bullet and selling it to help fund the next one is a cost-effective way of getting something you'll keep wearing. The jacket in itself looks great by the way, so it shouldn't be hard to sell.

 

[Plumbline]

Looks OK to me but it's hard to tell how much you have the sides cinched in, I tend to have mine 1/2 way with just a T-shirt underneath. Sleeves are perfect, length looks 1" - 2" short for me though ( I tend to cover my belt and an 1" more ) and it looks to have sufficient room for a layer or two underneath ( Note of caution I tend to like jackets looser and a little longer than most on here).

It looks how I'd wear it ( length aside) .. which probably means for many FL'rs it will be a size too big

I guess if your asking the question then you aren't really happy with it and as Sloanie says .. which mirrors my experience .... if you're not happy now you never will be so either sort it to what will make you happy or punt it on and start again.

HTH

 

[Fanch]

I think PL brings up an excellent point regarding the side straps. The sleeves have creased beyond your original pics and appear fine. Either you are wearing your pants very low or you have a torso as long as a freight train since you had 2" added to the body length. Why don't you pull the straps all the way in and see where you're at. Cinch in the straps and send more pics.

 

[thor]

What are you wearing under the jacket? Looks like a lightweight Henley. Will you ever be wearing a sweater or fleece under it? Do you want room for layering? The fit doesn't look too bad if you intend to layer up underneath it (side tabs loose) and snug up the side tabs when you wear lighter weight clothes.

 

[Highwaymanman]

I think the advice that this is a good jacket for layering is sound. Wear it with a thick sweater and you have yourself a fine fit.

 

[Dude59]

Thanks all for the responses, the idea of layering was part of the idea of why I didnt want it too tight, but I can fit a sweater and more underneath, and while that would be great, it is never really needed in my life. I just spent a week back in CT and I wore jeans, and a River Driver shirt from L.L. Bean and the jacket which has a lightweight cotton tartan and I was still fine into the teens, which I rarely see down here in NC. I can tighten the straps all the way and it is a good fit at that point but it causes a, in my opinion, silly looking bell silhouette and the lower end is just still flopping around and it feels like a bunch of extra leather wrinkled around the chest. Maybe the solution is to keep this for my eventual move back north and layering, and convince the wife to allow me to save for another one for wear with a t shirt. Which is difficult since she thought it was ridiculous to buy a jacket online that I couldn't try on. She doesn't understand my obsessions but is tolerant, the latest was a pair of Gustin's that didn't fit, but Gustins was great enough to replace them with a better fitting more expensive pair for no extra charge.

 

[Peacoat]

The chest fit actually looks OK in the pictures, but it is too short (or else your jeans are too low), and it has all of that extra material at the bottom of the jacket. Looks as though it were made for someone with a large midsection.

 

[Sloan1874]

I thought from the way the jacket was pulled in that the cinch straps were already tightened. You're call but if you're thinking of having a go again, I'd have a chat with Insurrection, they'll send you fit jackets to try on, which removes the guessing game as well as soothing your wife's concerns!

 

[Dude59]

Those are Gustin straight fit pulled as high as they go without causing some issues down below.

 

[cloudylemonade]

When you say you're a 46" chest, is that expanded or natural? I always ask customers for the following measurements, to be taken over the clothes they would like to wear with the jacket... for example if you will wear it with a thick sweater, measure yourself whilst wearing one.

Height
Chest (relaxed)
Chest (expanded)
Stomach (at widest point)
Waist (actual waist, not jeans size)

If you have a 46" natural chest, a size 44" should give a reasonably neat fit... which this obviously doesn't look to be! That said, the fit of the jacket looks to me to be not too far off what the intended fit should be... the Half Belt Deluxe is a 1950s style, so designed to be loose cut, but there is probably room for you to size down.

If you'd like to send me your measurements for my advice please email me on holly@aeroleatherclothing.com and reference this thread.

Holly

 

[Damon B]

Like a lot of others have said, looks good to me! I always think that u have to have two jackets, one larger than the other, one to allow for layering in winter and obv one for summer with just a t shirt, so if u think yours is a bit large, keep it for colder days and get another smaller one for warmer days. That said, it does look right, but only u know if u r comfortable or not.

 

[scrawlysteve]

Come on Damon.... we have four seasons here, not two.... therefore extra jackets needed for spring and autumn....

 

[Damon B]

Yeah ok fair enough, u can have as many as u like! Wot im saying is thst u cant get the right fit with just one coz if its big enough to get a jumper etc under its gonna feel to loose with just a t shirt. Anyway, where we live all we should worry about is if the bugger is waterproof or not!!

 

[scrawlysteve]

You're not wrong there...half the country is under water.

 

[NavyDoc]

Looks spot-on to me. Wear with confidence!

 

[Dr H]

The fit about your chest/shoulders/arms looks fine, but the flare at the navel suggests that if the jacket hasn't been cinched then it needs to be (as that's not a flattering cut and it wouldn't really diminish when layered.
Try taking in the straps by half and photographing again.
For a more fitted A-2 I'd expect around 3-4" circumference about natural chest (e.g. Natural chest 42-43", vintage 46" size: pit to pit 23-24") so don't be alarmed that you can hold a handful of leather in a less fitted 50's cut.
If the straps don't alter that 'flared midsection' then I'd sell and start again. These jackets are too expensive to keep if you're not happy with the fit.
My turnover of jackets has been high, but I've learnt not to become emotionally attached to it (only a jacket after all). The end result is that I've bought/sold/swapped jackets to end up with a small number of jackets whose patterns fit comfortably and that get used regularly and seasonally.
Good luck.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Short and overly wide but not by so much people will stare. What matters is how you feel about the fit.

 

[sshack]

That's a lot of leather you're able to grab in the front. I think a tighter fit would be more flattering.