Consider Teamster for my first aero, have some questions.

[wdw]

@firstoar, if you like the Work Coat style best, why don't you just size up one or two to get the fit you want, and maybe reduce the extra length?

 

[firstoar]

@wdw I asked Carrie that and she cautioned against it, that the coat wouldn't 'wear' properly. As well the issue I had with it was the slim nature of the arms and the high nature of the arm holes. Not sure if that would be changed by going up a size. All this is somewhat moot anyways because if I did want to try on size or two larger, I would a.) have to take a day to drive back seattle, and b.) wait until Insurrection had a fit coat in a size or two bigger. Still a good point though.

 

[wdw]

Thurston definitely prefer a neat fit by all accounts, hence their recommendations to go down two on the likes of the HWM and Stockman.

Going up is probably against the grain for them, but if it means you get what you want, then maybe you could investigate it more.

If you could get the dimensions of the next two sizes up, you'd get an idea of whether or not it might work.

My experience of the Work Coat was that the narrow shoulders seemed to make it feel a size down. If I'd gone up, it would probably have worked better for me.

 

[Fanch]

Today is a somewhat chilly day in N Texas and wore my Teamster to work with a Filson vest layered underneath. The only modification I made to my Teamster was one inside pocket without closure on the left side (I'm right handed). The body shell is lined with moleskin with cotton drill sleeve lining. At 6'2" I chose a 28.5" back but could just as easily chosen up to a 30" back. At any rate my Teamster is my go to jacket for colder weather here. If I lived in Chicago maybe I would also own a Stockman like wdw's who lives in Edinburgh, and I think owns two Stockman coats as well as one Teamster. My only warning is be careful making modifications on any established pattern. When attempting to reinvent the wheel, my experience more often than not is the wheel doesn't want to roll!

 

[firstoar]

@Fanch
Thanks for that detail about your length of your teamster. I'm 6' 4" and my length came out to being 30". was wondering if that was too long (seems to be in the right ballpark). The climate where I am is fairly mild year round, and I hope that I can get around 9-10 months use out of it. Point taken about making modifications on a established pattern. Many people here seem to be cautioning me in that direction.

 

[Fanch]

@Fanch
Thanks for that detail about your length of your teamster. I'm 6' 4" and my length came out to being 30". was wondering if that was too long (seems to be in the right ballpark). The climate where I am is fairly mild year round, and I hope that I can get around 9-10 months use out of it. Point taken about making modifications on a established pattern. Many people here seem to be cautioning me in that direction.

At 6'4" a back length of 30" sounds about right. Strongly recommend the Vicenza seal MWHH that is the nicest combination of color and feel I have ever seen, and is well worth the additional up charge and then some!

 

[firstoar]

@Fanch
Definitely going for the Vincenza just not sure if I'm going with Dark Seal or Black. I've been staring a samples for days, trying to get a sense of what colour change (if any will happen). Anyways, it's good to know that it is being well recieved by the community.

 

[Sockeye]

@Fanch
Definitely going for the Vincenza just not sure if I'm going with Dark Seal or Black. I've been staring a samples for days, trying to get a sense of what colour change (if any will happen). Anyways, it's good to know that it is being well recieved by the community.

Eggcarton has a dark seal premier work coat that looks fantastic. I am personally careful about long black leather jackets. As my wife says, they make me look like I might be up to no good.....

 

[Edward]

Well, good news - there is going to be a Top Gun 2! So now this might not be such a bad idea...

Jinkies, I hope Val Kilmer doesn't have to wear a G1 in this one - where would they find a goat big enough now?

Thurston definitely prefer a neat fit by all accounts, hence their recommendations to go down two on the likes of the HWM and Stockman.

Jings, yes. Way back before the Thurston affiliation, when they first posted on here (Mojo?) they really pushed hard the whole downsizing on everything. As a rule, of course, if you're looking for the same 'over-a-shirt, not a sweater' fit with a HWM as an A2, I do find it works better going down one size (In Aero prewar designsw I'm a 44; in their postwar stuff, I'm a 42, esp the HWM - though if I wanted to wear heavy sweaters with it, a 44 would possibly be better). Going down two sizes, though.... well, imo all you'll end up with is not a neater fitting jacket, but a boxy jacket that just looks too small. The fit jacket service should help iron everything out, though. Might be a slower process and a small hassle, but ultimately worth it.

 

[Janx]

Not to throw more doubt into the mix, but are you 100% sure you don't like the 1920s work coat fit? My second "premier fit" jacket is on the way now - high armholes, slimmer arms and general fit - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

When I first tried it on, it was like a lot of neat fitting clothes where I had to ask myself whether it was tight, but it was so much better when I move my arms around and the whole jacket doesn't lift with my arms. It's like general tolerance for closer fitting clothes - I have found that much of it is in my head, and once I get used to the feel, it feels great and looks so much better on me.

I can just fit a thin sweater with a button down on under mine and that's about it, but at the end of the day, these are not the jackets you want a bunch of layers under, so don't buy it with ultimate layering flexibility in mind. My normal use case is one shirt under it, and I'm glad it's optimized for that.

I'd also add that while Vicenza is more pliable than FQHH, it's a far cry from mall lamb skin, and it's still a very burly hide.

Anyway, you said you're a slim guy, so it seems like the work coat may be just the ticket. - maybe you just weren't familiar with the feel. Sorry if I've clouded things for you. Best of luck

 

[zebedee]

Go with the dark seal- I have one longer Aero in it, and it's a great colour which isn't nondescript as black can be. I have a Stockman in black- I don't wear it as much as I'd like because it looks a bit 'try hard' unless it's worn over light colours. Given another crack at the whip, I'd probably have had the Stockman made in either tumbled cordovan or battered tan. Or I'd have gotten a Teamster in one of those two colours, or possibly dark seal.

 

[firstoar]

Jings, yes. Way back before the Thurston affiliation, when they first posted on here (Mojo?) they really pushed hard the whole downsizing on everything. As a rule, of course, if you're looking for the same 'over-a-shirt, not a sweater' fit with a HWM as an A2, I do find it works better going down one size (In Aero prewar designsw I'm a 44; in their postwar stuff, I'm a 42, esp the HWM - though if I wanted to wear heavy sweaters with it, a 44 would possibly be better). Going down two sizes, though.... well, imo all you'll end up with is not a neater fitting jacket, but a boxy jacket that just looks too small. The fit jacket service should help iron everything out, though. Might be a slower process and a small hassle, but ultimately worth it.

I actually took a day and went down to seattle to try on coats. Unfortunately they didn't have a 44 in a HWM (what they use for a teamster fit jacket) so Carrie put me in a 46, which felt ok. But it was FQHH and felt a bit like wearing a suitcase. I was wearing a sweater and I wanted to feel comfortable in a sweater in my jacket, and this allowed me to do that. So I was surprised when she suggested going down to a 44 if I was going to get the Vincenza leather. This still kinda worries me.

 

[firstoar]

@Janx Thanks for the input. I'm 6"4" at 215 lbs, not a big guy by any stretch, but for me the fit coat they used for the 1920s just wasn't working. a.) because I do like to layer to get 10 months out of the year and the 1920s didn't seem to accomidate that as well. b.) between the fit coat for the 1920s and the fit coat for the teamster, the teamster just felt I dunno, more relaxed, less uptight? dunno how to describe it. I'm sure you are right that if they work broken it might make a huge difference, but I need to go with what I think will work for my year round needs. The teamster seems to be a better fit for that.

 

[firstoar]

Go with the dark seal- I have one longer Aero in it, and it's a great colour which isn't nondescript as black can be. I have a Stockman in black- I don't wear it as much as I'd like because it looks a bit 'try hard' unless it's worn over light colours. Given another crack at the whip, I'd probably have had the Stockman made in either tumbled cordovan or battered tan. Or I'd have gotten a Teamster in one of those two colours, or possibly dark seal.

Yah, I'm leaning towards the dark seal (today anyways LOL!) just because I like the rich nature of the colour. I'm a bit worried about how it will age though, if it will lighten in colour dramatically or stay that deep rich dark chocolate colour.

 

[firstoar]

Just wanted to say thanks to the various people on the forum for they opinions and suggestions. All of it helps towards an informed decision. Ultimately what I want is a coat that I feel comfortable in and can wear for a long time during the year, and a coat that I want to wear. So all this lends itself towards those considerations, and I thank you all for that. The only part that still really "scares" me is the fit of the coat, getting a jacket in a size that I haven't tried on kinda freaks me out.

 

[ButteMT61]

"Jinkies, I hope Val Kilmer doesn't have to wear a G1 in this one - where would they find a goat big enough now? "

Indeed. I think that most of the cast is either dead or way out of shape for much work there. But who knows, we may see mil jacket mania part II. I'm someone that enjoyed the original, for all it's cheese, etc. it was still much fun at the time. Granted, I was drunk 75% of the time and all I cared about were girls, motorcycles, cars and the next paycheck

 

[firstoar]

Query to all that have bi-swing backs on their jackets. I realize that they can be a good thing for movement if your jacket is buttoned or zipped up, but I was wondering if they make much of a difference in terms of day to day wearing if you don't zip/button your coat.

 

[Fanch]

Query to all that have bi-swing backs on their jackets. I realize that they can be a good thing for movement if your jacket is buttoned or zipped up, but I was wondering if they make much of a difference in terms of day to day wearing if you don't zip/button your coat.

Unless I am out in the cold, I also leave my jackets unbuttoned. The bi-swing back is part of the Teamster's charm. AGAIN, I caution against making changes from the original pattern, done at your own risk.

 

[ProteinNerd]

If you are worried about the pointed yoke looking too "western" why not try the non-pointed action back.
@dan_t has a great jacket with this mod.

 

[firstoar]

@Fanch I take your point. I've been wavering between my proposed modification and the standard back. And certainly some of the people here think it might not be a good idea, I guess in the end it all comes down to comfort for me, comfort in wearing and comfort in the style that I'm wearing.

@ProteinNerd That is an interesting mod. I looked at doing that with the teamster but the bifold back comes in a bit more than on that jacket so I think the width from the top of the bifold seam (from the yoke) to the shoulder seam would be wider. But a good thought none the less.

I can't help but think of something I found lurking on here about three weeks past. It was something to the effect of some of you are still looking for that "perfect jacket" . I dunno, maybe I should be looking at this as a stepping stone rather than an end unto itself. But I don't have the funds to buy 3 or 4 jackets to try and find that favourite or perfect jacket Anyways, thanks again for all the advice, it is always welcome.