Aero Highwayman / Sizing

[wild_balls]

My height 174 cm, weight 73kg, FQHH HWM regular size 38! excuse my non happy face!

Cheers Joakim

 

[Julian Harding]

Nice looking Hwm and a great fitting jacket.

 

[RMF308]

To achieve a slim fit downsizing a Highwayman in size and adding length to the body and sleeves is what Thurston has advised me and it came out perfect. For reference I'm 5-11, 165 pds with a 39.5 chest and I wear a size 36 Highwayman (with added body length and sleeve length). For reference I wear a size 40 in the premier 30's half-belt and Bootlegger, and a size 38 in a standard half-belt; all with the appropriate length and sleeve length.

btw- Just wanted to add that all of my jackets above are close fitting as I wear only t-shirts under them in this mild Seattle weather.

 

[Edward]

To achieve a slim fit downsizing a Highwayman in size and adding length to the body and sleeves is what Thurston has advised me and it came out perfect. For reference I'm 5-11, 165 pds with a 39.5 chest and I wear a size 36 Highwayman (with added body length and sleeve length). For reference I wear a size 40 in the premier 30's half-belt and Bootlegger, and a size 38 in a standard half-belt; all with the appropriate length and sleeve length.

That sounds about right. Numerical sizes can't be relied upon across different brands or sometimes even models; I'm a 44 in most of the pre-war Aero designs, a 42 in a HWM and several post-war designs, and a 46 in an M442a. If I wanted to wear a heavy sweater and layerup under the HWM, I'd go to a 44. I've heard crazy ideas, though, with folks downsizing to a 40 when they normally wear a 44 and such, in the HWM; sometimes you have to ignore the numerical sizing and go with what fits, but downsizing two or more sizes with the HWM in order to get a trim fit doesn't add up - it's a boxy jacket, not meant to be trim like the HBs. I imagine this is why the Sheene evolved...

 

[Worf]

I just scored my first HWM, used off the Bay. It's a size 48. I started out a size 52 when I first got the bug but now have Aero's ranging in size from a 46 to a 50. I'm assuming, but no sure, that by getting it in a 48 I'll have covered both bases? It'll be here some time next week.

Worf

 

[Edward]

What other Aero jackets / sizes have you got, Worf? a 48 HWM should fit you like a 50 in a 30s HB, I'd have thought.

 

[AeroFan_07]

So this is a topic I have put a little thought into as well. I am typically a size 44L suit coat, 195 lbs / 6'1" and size 36 waist for jeans. My Café Racer, which is quite close fitting, is a 42 but typical of Insurrection has extra body & sleeve length. My 30's Half-belt is a 44 also with extra body & sleeve length from Insurrection as I wanted to be able to layer under it.

When I stopped out there last year I was fully intending to purchase a Highwayman, in Cordovan. What I discovered is that the Highwayman just didn't fit as I liked, it's a little more boxy overall than I expected. Also I found that with the extra body & sleeve length, I would size down to a 40 if I only wanted a few light layers underneath, and just into a 42 for sweatshirts and sweaters under it.

So all that to say that a 44 in a Highwayman for me would be too large. It's a little confusing, however when working with so many vintage patterns, I can only guess that Aero has to make some concessions to keep the styles in check.

 

[Monitor]

It's oversized. I wear 40/42, depending on a style. 40 CR was super tight, so was J106. 42 MC jacket was great but the size 40 HWM wasn't. The 38 would fit me the way it is intended to fit, I believe - baggy and boxy, and that's not something I would have minded at all. In fact, that's what I had hoped for. However, the 40 that arrived was a bit more than just baggy and boxy. I could overlap one chest pocket over another, wearing just a tee shirt underneath, with no trouble, how much room that thing had. It literally looked on me like it did on Vicious, and that's not exactly what I was going for. Even with the side buckles pulled all the way through, the jacket wasn't even nearly slim at the waist and when I'd walk, the shoulders would shift from one while falling from another, and backwards.

I could not live like that.

Thurston recommends going 2 sizes down. I do too. Hell, I've been looking at the 36's and I am absolutely positive I could comfortably wear the 36, still with enough room for that intended boxy effect to shine in it's full glory.

Other than that, it was a great jacket and one that I miss so much. Would I buy another HWM? Yes. A Premium one, and no mods, please!

 

[Fanch]

AeroFan_07 you might find that a 1930's better fits your frame than a HWM or 1950's. Like you I also wear a 44L suit coat but found a size 42 HWM and even my size 42 Pioneer (similar to 1950's cut) fit me big. However, I found my size 42 Mulligan and Maxwell, both based on the 1930's cut, are far more form fitting. My size 42 Sheene (based on the Cafe Racer pattern) with 2" added to the circumference of the waist is virtually a perfect fit. As a point of reference I am just under 6'2" / 185 lbs and wear 36 to 38 jeans depending on the make.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Fanch, I wear 32 inch pants, a 42 chest in suits and am six two (182 pounds). Size 40 in a highwayman for me?

 

[Capesofwrath]

Really not sure why anyone would want to buy a HWM if they wanted a different fit. As Edward wrote in 2012 above on this thread it is a boxy fifties British fit. The one I had made for me in a standard 42 was 25” pit to pit and I could get a very heavy jumper on under it easily. It was a bit too boxy really with fairly low cut armholes, and there was a lot of leather at my sides which came up when I lifted my arms. But if anyone wants that style in a slimmer fit then they brought out a version like that fairly recently didn’t they?

Of course what I just wrote doesn’t apply if it’s a used jacket. In that case sizing down would work perhaps. But not more than one size I would think. Many people seem taken by the current fashion for very slim fitting, or as I would call them tight jackets. But I aways think that you should be guided by how the original jacket was meant to fit at the time. Not follow it slavishly because we aren’t the same shape as our fathers and grandfathers and we don’t all wear high waisted trousers either. But a nod to it at least.

 

[Worf]

What other Aero jackets / sizes have you got, Worf? a 48 HWM should fit you like a 50 in a 30s HB, I'd have thought.

Well I've the following:
LHB FQHH 50
ThunderBay 50
Veste De Rallaye 46
Bootlegger 50
Teamster 48

I think that's all that's all that's relevant. The 50's all fit big on me now... but that's alright right now.

Worf

 

[Edward]

If you're happy with the Bootlegger, the HWM should fit just about the same, I think.