New Leather Jacket Advise

[johnnycanuck]

Got one. Bought one off of our friend johnnyjohnny, its a 1987 Avirex (cockpit usa)

http://casablancawatch.com/watches/under500view.asp?wid=232

A little baggy but I can't beat the price. At least I will see if I like the style before making a larger investment. The two things that stand out straight off the bat is lack of pockets and how short it is. just covers my belt. As I say, we will see how I like it.

Oh and Johnnyjohnny is a pleasure to deal with. Very patient and answered all my questions.

Johnny

 

[johnnycanuck]

Two days and no one has posted a thing. Positive or negative. Wow, makes me wonder.

Well I found out what the wife hates about the A-2's. First is the light brown/beige colour they used to be made in. Showing her the cooper and the Avirex, the Avirex was darker so she liked it better. Second she hated how the jackets were made longer, so the bottom of the jacket bulged out when pulled up to waist height. Can't really blame her if she had images of the old MacGyver jacket in mind. http://www.macgyveronline.org/ I am sure if I tried to break out the white tube socks, duct tape and Swiss army knife, she would try to kill me. lol
Johnny

 

[JLStorm]

Two days and no one has posted a thing. Positive or negative. Wow, makes me wonder.

Well I found out what the wife hates about the A-2's. First is the light brown/beige colour they used to be made in. Showing her the cooper and the Avirex, the Avirex was darker so she liked it better. Second she hated how the jackets were made longer, so the bottom of the jacket bulged out when pulled up to waist height. Can't really blame her if she had images of the old MacGyver jacket in mind. http://www.macgyveronline.org/ I am sure if I tried to break out the white tube socks, duct tape and Swiss army knife, she would try to kill me. lol
Johnny

While, its blasphemy on this board, many companies make A-2 style jackets in excellent quality built for the real world as it stands today. That means pockets to put your gadgets in and a bit oversized or in longer lengths as required. I know Schott does this and Im sure most of the custom companies mentioned here do it if asked. The only problem with the custom companies as I see it is that you are paying for replication and exacting quality, when really..you dont want replication, you just like the style. There is nothing wrong with that, that is why most A-2 styles now are made similar to the originals, but with the additions that most people desire...like a place to keep your hands, keys, cell phone, etc.

Just my $0.02

 

[Senicko_Spain]

Two days and no one has posted a thing. Positive or negative. Wow, makes me wonder.

Well I found out what the wife hates about the A-2's. First is the light brown/beige colour they used to be made in. Showing her the cooper and the Avirex, the Avirex was darker so she liked it better. Second she hated how the jackets were made longer, so the bottom of the jacket bulged out when pulled up to waist height. Can't really blame her if she had images of the old MacGyver jacket in mind. http://www.macgyveronline.org/ I am sure if I tried to break out the white tube socks, duct tape and Swiss army knife, she would try to kill me. lol
Johnny

It looks good, as you pointed out, it's a bit baggy. I prefer a trimmer fit, almost to the point of being too small. Nothing says that the A-2 can't be a bit baggy as they were issued without much regard to size anyway so the average airman just got what was given to him by the QM. As for being short, well that's a matter of opinion. Looks good.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

It appears the wife is a Seal Brown rather than a Russett girl, eh?

It looks good to me. A baggier, more modern fit than the war-era repros, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you're not a] gonig for a fully accurate vintage look, and b] it feels much more comfortable to you. and as Senicko says above, there was a lot of variation in sizing back in the day. To my eye, while yours is a baggier fit than would be my personal preference, it still looks reasonable on you - it looks like a slightly baggy jacket, as opposed to the more regular modern type that are so oversized they make the wearer look enormous.

I know what your wife means about the length - one of the things that actually put me off these for years was how most of the modern jackets, being so baggy in cut then pulling in at the waist would make me look much heavier in the middle than I actually am - not a flattering look by any stretch of the imagination. The one thing you might find limiting about your jacket is that the armholes look quite low.... though again if you're used to a modern styled jacket, you probably won't find this bothers you.

On the matter of pockets.... there are a few options here. You could either have yours altered, or you could, if planning a future purchase, go to a company who are prepared to make a modified version for you. Aero are generally very open to customisations, for one - you might perhaps see if they would be able to put a chest pocket into your jacket similar to those in the USN jackets (M445, AN6552, G1 etc). Another alternative would be to go for something like this:

This is one of the Eastman 352nd Fighter Group repros - all the A2s issued to this group were, as I understand it, made with these interior canvas pockets, designed to carry survival kit / compass / maps etc etc as later in the war they flew deeper and deeper into enemy territory. This was the only group where they had the jackets made with these additional pockets..... though it seems to me that if funds didn't quite stretch to one of the Eastman models (GBP448 at present), it might well be that Aero would consider adding something like this to one of their Real Deal A2s, for instance (which come in at GBP300 as stock). Some out there would frown on this sort of modification, of course, though if it is accuracy that you're concerned with, it seems to me hardly inconceivable that an individual USAAF aircrewman might have decided to make such modifications off his own bat and had them installed by a private tailor..... I've also read about pilots in the AVG stitching their bloodchits inside the jacket on only three sides, so as to provide an interior map pocket....

The other option you have if you find your A2 lacking in pocket space is always:

 

[Feraud]

The jacket in the following pictures look too big in the shoulders for you. The shoulder seam appears to hang...2-3(?) inches off your shoulder.

 

[Senicko_Spain]

The jacket in the following pictures look too big in the shoulders for you. The shoulder seam appears to hang...2-3(?) inches off your shoulder.

According to who? WW2 fit as I have always said is a fallacy. No such "fit" ever existed, they were all over the place. Have a look at the picture of the guy in the back row far right....

And this guy, second from the right...

Fit was whatever was thrown your way....

 

[Feraud]

According to who?

According to the opinion I just posted.
I am not talking WWII accurate fit here. I dislike overly large leathers that appear to be sliding off the shoulders.
Based on the pics and especially this one, the word that comes to mind is "drippy".

It is a decent jacket and all. Just throwing in .02 cents for consideration towards future purchases.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

According to the opinion I just posted.
I am not talking WWII accurate fit here. I dislike overly large leathers that appear to be sliding off the shoulders.
Based on the pics and especially this one, the word that comes to mind is "drippy".
It is a decent jacket and all. Just throwing in .02 cents for consideration towards future purchases.

Well..it's for sure a blousey oversized fit,but perhaps that's how he likes a leather jacket. Near or accurate repro of a WW2 A-2? Not like I've ever seen,and I've seen quite a few.
HD

 

[Senicko_Spain]

Well..it's for sure a blousey oversized fit,but perhaps that's how he likes a leather jacket. Near or accurate repro of a WW2 A-2? Not like I've ever seen,and I've seen quite a few.
HD

Well Van, I must admit, I agree with you, I'm not saying it's a WW2 copy cuz it's not, what I'm trying to say is it's a fit as would be if thrown at the average airman in 1943. Blousey yes, but so were many issued jackets.

 

[Feraud]

Well..it's for sure a blousey oversized fit,but perhaps that's how he likes a leather jacket.

Agreed. The person wearing the jacket has the final word on the matter.

 

[johnnycanuck]

DAMN

This may come to a complete shock to all you A-2 fans out there but I have come to a few conclusions.
1. I am spoiled with my Wested jackets, the 44r fits great with higher arm holes then most, smaller collar size and not to much extra fabric around the waist. I now expect more from my jackets.
2. I am not a size 46. Its just to big for me.
3. I need a new a-2 jacket/upgrade
My wife is on board with this and is encouraging me. "Just sell it and buy a new one". So the question is, "who do I buy from?" Cost is a bit of a factor as to how long it will take me to save up the cash. Only other thing is I have long arms (shirt size 16-16.5 34/35) so I will need a jacket that accommodates that without going larger in the mid section. Recommendations with pictures will be appreciated.
Johnny

 

[johnnyjohnny]

johnny to joHNNy...

hi there mr. canada...it's johnnyjohnny, who you bought that very (apparently) controversial jacket from...

first, let me say that 'THAT' jacket is the reedition by cockpitusa of their 1988 original issue...so no need for people to even discuss any relation to ww2 a-2s...this was the first of the modern era, resized for a fuller fit...it makes no pretense at being a ww2 fit...

that said, my pal from espana points out well, that there were all sortsa fitting a-2s in ww2...

i'm saddened to think it might not do the trick, but it sounds like you are generally happy with the quality, which i think you and i must admit is excellent...you might need to up the bux and buy a custom fit jacket to get the next one just as you like it, unless you find a manufacturer that has your particular cut

one last thing, regarding the length, while some may think it short, i have to say it comes down lower than the jackets of a lot of very very proud people who post their ww2 style jackets here, which often come down to the top of their pants...not necessarily a bad thing, but this one definitely comes down further than most of the posted pix of a-2s i see here

annnnnnyway, i'm glad you enjoyed our repartee in purchasing it, and indeed for the price you paid, it's a great jacket, even if you leave it in the car and just wear it in emergencies...very stylish emergencies...

just a note, when i first started with the military jackets about a year ago, i was aghast at how high they came up...i started getting everything in Long...meaning about 28" back neck seam to bottom in the back...

i found out quick that the jackets ended up looking like coats when i left them unzipped in the front...which in los angeles is mostly how you wear one...and even zipped up they looked like a tube sock coming down too far...

so i've ended up buying a lot of stuff again, back in regular length, even though i am 6'...they look a lot better...tho it may take a little getting used to

anyway, thanks for the nice mention, and i would have chimed in sooner had i seen this thread earlier...annnnnnd, i like how the jacket loox (suprize!)