Well, people, here we are... After tracking it all the way from Seattle, across the Atlantic, and then up to Glasgow, I took ownership of my GW Dubow this evening...
So, wielding a knife carefully, I prised open the box, which, all credit to John, was unlikely to be opened casually by anyone wondering what was inside...
So far, so good... and with no further ado... the big reveal!
It is, in short, absolutely stunning. The colour and grain of the Italian horsehide, the quality of construction, attention to detail, everything that you've heard about John's craftsmanship is true - there isn't a stray thread or stitch out of place. As always, the pics don't really capture the depth of colour and the light was fading, so hopefully when I do some fit pics later, I'll get a better representation of it.
Talking of which, the fit is absolutely spot-on. I won't lie, this was something I was genuinely fearful of. Sending a set of measurements to somebody thousands of miles away and expecting them to get it right on the first bounce is not something I do lightly, but John obviously has honed his art and it looks, as you'd expect, made for me: a close, but not overly-tight fit, I can probably get a light jumper under it, it sits about an inch beneath my belt, so it doesn't feel too short. Sleeve length is on the nail too, an area that I have perennial problems with and the one aspect I thought might have tripped John up. Thankfully, he didn't mention the final size of the jacket - a 40! As somebody who has spent his life in 36s and 38s, if he'd told me that was what he was going with, I'd have been even more of a nervous wreck than I already was. I can only imagine that back in the day these people were seriously undernourished!
Overall, it's exactly what I wanted: a new old stock A-2 that, if it was thrown at a pilot in 1942, they would think that it was the nicest jacket they'd ever seen but apart from that they wouldn't give it a second glance.
Anyway, fit pics to follow, and in the meantime I now have to resist jumping back on the queue immediately to get myself a seal one...
So, wielding a knife carefully, I prised open the box, which, all credit to John, was unlikely to be opened casually by anyone wondering what was inside...
So far, so good... and with no further ado... the big reveal!
It is, in short, absolutely stunning. The colour and grain of the Italian horsehide, the quality of construction, attention to detail, everything that you've heard about John's craftsmanship is true - there isn't a stray thread or stitch out of place. As always, the pics don't really capture the depth of colour and the light was fading, so hopefully when I do some fit pics later, I'll get a better representation of it.
Talking of which, the fit is absolutely spot-on. I won't lie, this was something I was genuinely fearful of. Sending a set of measurements to somebody thousands of miles away and expecting them to get it right on the first bounce is not something I do lightly, but John obviously has honed his art and it looks, as you'd expect, made for me: a close, but not overly-tight fit, I can probably get a light jumper under it, it sits about an inch beneath my belt, so it doesn't feel too short. Sleeve length is on the nail too, an area that I have perennial problems with and the one aspect I thought might have tripped John up. Thankfully, he didn't mention the final size of the jacket - a 40! As somebody who has spent his life in 36s and 38s, if he'd told me that was what he was going with, I'd have been even more of a nervous wreck than I already was. I can only imagine that back in the day these people were seriously undernourished!
Overall, it's exactly what I wanted: a new old stock A-2 that, if it was thrown at a pilot in 1942, they would think that it was the nicest jacket they'd ever seen but apart from that they wouldn't give it a second glance.
Anyway, fit pics to follow, and in the meantime I now have to resist jumping back on the queue immediately to get myself a seal one...
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