New Eastman Star Sportswear A-2

[Brettafett]

That Star does look slick, and you both wear them very well...! Those jackets are going look amazing in a few years time. (but I guarantee... they won't be your last )

 

[Gutmann]

Gents,

I’m now also a proud member of the “star club”! I could not resist this jacket on this year flying legends air ELC pop up store. It’s a size 46. I really hope that the sleeves won’t get any shorter when broken in...

Have a good day everyone.

Best,

Philipp

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[Flightengineer]

Philipp, welcome to the Club!
Excellent photos, excellent jacket.You will not be disappointed!

 

[GregGale]

Welcome to the club! The sleeves will get 0.5-1 inch shorter as a rule of thumb, but as far as I see you have some spare room in the shoulders that will prevent them riding up, so it's going to be OK

 

[Dr H]

Despite the cold weather I've been trying to wear my Star A-2 as much as possible in order to break it in. I also gave it a very gentle shower (it didn't get soaked), and wore it while it dried. As a result of the above, now I have no doubt size 40 is my size, it got much more comfortable in the shoulders and the armpits. Fits like a glove!

However, the sleeves were just right before, and now after some creasing, they got a tad shorter than I imagined. I'm getting a bit worried that maybe I should have ordered a long version with an added inch. Then again, I remembered Brett's photo of Robert Morgan, and found this other one on the internet - looks like this is the way A-2s used to fit tall and thin pilots:

The sleeves of my A-2 is certainly longer than these. I'm also thinking that any added length would have thrown off the ratio of the factory pattern... I there such a thing as "post jacket purchase uncertainty syndrome"?

Is the officer in the Memphis Belle image wearing a Doniger? Looks very sharp.

 

[Gutmann]

Welcome to the club! The sleeves will get 0.5-1 inch shorter as a rule of thumb, but as far as I see you have some spare room in the shoulders that will prevent them riding up, so it's going to be OK

Hi Greg,

Thank you!

Please, don’t let it be 1 inch!

I directly asked garry and rob from elc if the sleeves would go up when broken in. Both said it wouldn’t be so much and the jacket would fit perfectly. I also tried the 48 but there was to much leather in the back and it looked quite bulky.

I even considered to go for a 46 long. But additional 1 inch in the back would be a bit to much. For the sleeves it would be good. Anyway let’s see.

Best,

Philipp


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[GregGale]

Philipp: it will fit you nicely, don't worry. The sleeves seem to be wrinkled enough as they are, so I can't imagine them shorten by too much. Also, you seem like a tall/slim guy, and pilots like you wore their sleeves like you do. Think about it this way: they didn't size up and let the jacket fit in an ill way everywhere else just to have longer sleeves. Conversely, those who are not that tall but are thicker in the torso have the opposite problem: too much tunelling. They can't go down in size to have shorter sleeves, can they? Like I said: don't worry about it.

 

[Sloan1874]

Looks good to me, well within the range of acceptability. I tried on an A2 that fit in every aspect but the sleeves were so long that the knits disappeared from sight completely!

 

[bn1966]

Looking good, should be fine, Gary & Rob know their business

 

[Flightengineer]

Looking good, should be fine, Gary & Rob know their business

Exactly

 

[Flightengineer]

Hi Greg,

Thank you!

Please, don’t let it be 1 inch!

I directly asked garry and rob from elc if the sleeves would go up when broken in. Both said it wouldn’t be so much and the jacket would fit perfectly. I also tried the 48 but there was to much leather in the back and it looked quite bulky.

I even considered to go for a 46 long. But additional 1 inch in the back would be a bit to much. For the sleeves it would be good. Anyway let’s see.

Best,

Philipp


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Philipp, do not worry about the sleeves length please. They do not shorten too much after wrink. Here are my Star's sleeves after 3 months of wearing (its last week pics). All is OK.



Your Star looks perfectly and fits you well.
Good luck!

 

[Carlos840]

In my experience the whole "sleeve shortening during break in" isn't really a thing.
IMO what happens is that a sleeve that is too long will stack and look shorter, but will mostly go back to "new length" when pulled on. A bit like if someone 5'2 wore 36" legged jeans. It stacks, but denim doens't have the same "shape memory" that leather has, so it just unstacks when taken off. Leather stays stacked on a lot more so it gives the impression it got shorter.

I have jackets with sleeves ranging from 25" to 27" and all of them reach more or less the same point of my wrist, even if some of that is due to varying shoulder width, it is obvious that the longer sleeves just crease and stack more, and the shorter sleeves less.
If your perfect sleeve length is 25.5", and you wear 26.5" sleeves, you will stack them and they might appear shorter. If you wear 25" sleeves, they won't move at all.

I don't think it is possible for leather to just shrink that much, unless it was badly processed, and stretched a lot during tanning.
If shrinking was a normal thing, we would all have oversized lining hanging from our sleeves and backs. I have never shrunk a leather belt, or wallet, or shoes, why would a jacket be different?

All that to say your jacket looks great, don't worry about it.

 

[Brettafett]

Guys, those Stars were made for you...

 

[willyto]

In my experience the whole "sleeve shortening during break in" isn't really a thing.
IMO what happens is that a sleeve that is too long will stack and look shorter, but will mostly go back to "new length" when pulled on. A bit like if someone 5'2 wore 36" legged jeans. It stacks, but denim doens't have the same "shape memory" that leather has, so it just unstacks when taken off. Leather stays stacked on a lot more so it gives the impression it got shorter.

I have jackets with sleeves ranging from 25" to 27" and all of them reach more or less the same point of my wrist, even if some of that is due to varying shoulder width, it is obvious that the longer sleeves just crease and stack more, and the shorter sleeves less.
If your perfect sleeve length is 25.5", and you wear 26.5" sleeves, you will stack them and they might appear shorter. If you wear 25" sleeves, they won't move at all.

I don't think it is possible for leather to just shrink that much, unless it was badly processed, and stretched a lot during tanning.
If shrinking was a normal thing, we would all have oversized lining hanging from our sleeves and backs. I have never shrunk a leather belt, or wallet, or shoes, why would a jacket be different?

All that to say your jacket looks great, don't worry about it.

I couldn't agree more. Absolutely true.

Sleeve's widht also play a huge role. If the cuff is wide the sleeve will hang covering the hands while if it's narrow it will stack.

 

[Gutmann]

Dear all,

Thank you all for your comments, tips and feedback!

It feels so good to be surrounded by guys with the same quite unique field of interest. ;-)

Have a good one everyone.

Philipp