Shangri—La Heritage

[IrishStu]

Hey everyone, I could use your experience.

I’m the fresh owner of a Varenne, courtesy of kermitt22. (BTW, he was very helpful and answered all my questions!)
And I must say, it’s quite a change for me, moving from lower-tier jackets. Especially how tough and stiff I perceive it to be. The quality is way way better, though!

Here is how it fits with a t-shirt and a light sweatshirt underneath.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bowmz9x3M44iGNWK7

Where I need your opinion or advice based on your experience is on the following:
- I’m unsure if the sleeves are short. Here's how it pulls up when I raise my arms in front of me. I do feel that I would be more comfortable with just a bit more length.
View attachment 592990

- I can't tell if maybe, somehow, it's not right for my body. And I wonder if I can properly explain what I'm unsure about. When I put my hands in my pockets, I need to bend my wrists to reach the pockets and be able to slide the hands in. Somehow, it feels like I can't move my elbows back, enough to freely slide my hands in.
And I feel that the cause could be the area near the armpit - chest exterior. I tried to capture that in the photo below.
View attachment 592992 View attachment 592993

- Also at the back of my arms, I feel the material digging into my arms as I move my arms back. In the album linked above, the last pics with arrows show that.

Now, am I having the wrong expectations regarding fit/mobility?
Is there maybe something I could do to stretch it out? Both in the chest and the arms length? Is it even a good thing to try and do this?

The jacket looks like a good fit and the sleeve length is just where I like mine to be. My first horsehide jacket also felt like it was restricting my movement but either I've got used to it or its broken in a bit. Either way, heavy leather is never going to be as compliant as a softshell jacket, etc.

 

[TartuWolf]

@wukong
Sleeves : I'd like them a bit longer, but definitely within reasonable fit I'd say.
Mentioned chest discomfort : Seems to me that it's partly related to the relatively trim upper arms and partly related to rather narrow chest (not pit to pit!) and partly related to the armhole height (can't tell how high they are from the pictures).
Visually looks fantastic! Couldn't get a better fit if you went custom (apart from sleeve length). At least for standing still. Since you're asking about mobility - then it might not be ideal for you.

 

[wukong]

Thank you for chiming in! That's the reason I'm asking, as all three of you said, when I look in the mirror or at the pictures, I also like what I see...

@TartuWolf , what do you mean by narrow chest?
For the armpits, yes, ideally they would be just a bit higher.

 

[TartuWolf]

Well I look at it this way - mobility on jacket in general means moving your arms (at the shoulders).
You can basically move your arms in 4 directions : up, down, backwards and forwards.
Downwards is not an issue as they are already pointed downwards.
Bi-swing back, shoulder gussets and back pleats help with pointing them forward. Or extra space in the upper back.
Underarm footballs and high armholes help with pointing them up.
Only chest width (not pit to pit!) will help you move the arms backwards.

Sure there are a lot more nuances and this is very simplified version.
I have two jackets with very similar pit to pit and shoulder width.
But one jacket has 36cm chest width, the other has 38cm chest width.
It is much more restricting to move my arms or really puff out my chest with the first one than the second one.
Sure we don't do that much so this is not THAT important, but if you are trying to put your arms in the handwarmers - that involves moving your arms backward (albeit bent).

 

[wukong]

Now I understand what you were referring to. You gave me something to think about.
Thanks!

 

[jr30]

Hey everyone, I could use your experience.

I’m the fresh owner of a Varenne, courtesy of kermitt22. (BTW, he was very helpful and answered all my questions!)
And I must say, it’s quite a change for me, moving from lower-tier jackets. Especially how tough and stiff I perceive it to be. The quality is way way better, though!

Here is how it fits with a t-shirt and a light sweatshirt underneath.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bowmz9x3M44iGNWK7

Where I need your opinion or advice based on your experience is on the following:
- I’m unsure if the sleeves are short. Here's how it pulls up when I raise my arms in front of me. I do feel that I would be more comfortable with just a bit more length.
View attachment 592990

- I can't tell if maybe, somehow, it's not right for my body. And I wonder if I can properly explain what I'm unsure about. When I put my hands in my pockets, I need to bend my wrists to reach the pockets and be able to slide the hands in. Somehow, it feels like I can't move my elbows back, enough to freely slide my hands in.
And I feel that the cause could be the area near the armpit - chest exterior. I tried to capture that in the photo below.
View attachment 592992 View attachment 592993

- Also at the back of my arms, I feel the material digging into my arms as I move my arms back. In the album linked above, the last pics with arrows show that.

Now, am I having the wrong expectations regarding fit/mobility?
Is there maybe something I could do to stretch it out? Both in the chest and the arms length? Is it even a good thing to try and do this?

Well, I think the "Varenne" looks great on you. I really like this model and the "Terracotta Western" nubuck leather.

Yes, the arm length is borderline, but still within the acceptable range. You can see how well the jacket suits you from the linked video. But I know exactly what you mean: the subjective feeling of wearing it, with a pinch here or there, cannot be conveyed to the viewer. The bottom line is that the jacket looks like it was made for you. It's great that you found such a chic piece. Enjoy!

Greetings, Roman