Shoulder and pit to pit

[Pdawg]

Sounds extremely complicated for the average bloke!

 

[bn1966]

I ordered an Alpha Ma-1 Vintage series in blue following the great fit off of my Vintage series in sage. Jacket arrived & after half an hour of wearing the blue one I felt an ache in my shoulder area. Measured the seam to seam across top of shoulders and it was about an inch narrower than the sage one...moved it on. Recent custom G-1 was because of narrow (to me) shoulders in a lot of the service issue ones, 19.5 made me ache on my Star Sportwear so had the custom One set to 22" and now have a jacket that's comfortable. Shoulders are an issue for me...saying that though I have an ELC A-2 that only comes in at 20" but is totally comfortable..go figure

 

[Doctor Damage]

Sounds extremely complicated for the average bloke!

... and best left to the experts, if that's who you're using!

 

[Pdawg]

... and best left to the experts, if that's who you're using!

Yep, i agree and i got three jackets coming so i will provide an update then!

 

[singer]

I'm about the same size as you, with a 39" chest and 17.5" Shoulders (body measurements).

The custom Frobisher I recently bought based on my measurements is an ideal fit, and comes to:

- 21" pit to pit if I REALLY make an effort to flatten it out as much as possible. Just casually flattening I get about 20.5" p2p.
- About 18" on the shoulders, just a touch under.

Not tight, not loose--just right IMO for me.

The Shinki horsehide on this coat is 1.1 - 1.2mm, or around 3oz, or just a touch under.

Hope that helps!

As promised, here are some photos of my Himel Frobisher in Shinki Horsehide. Photos are straight out of an iPhone camera and resized--no filters, etc. No photography skills A couple days of wear on it.

Specs:

- Medium Brown Shinki in “Oil Tan” wax pullup finish. Aniline.
- Leather facings
- 2 inside pockets
- Custom measurements provided (around 38/39)
- Grainy leather preferred, if possible
- Lighter weight leather preferred, if possible
- Brass Hardware, zips
- Brass buckles instead of D rings
- Standard khaki cotton twill lining

Quick observations:

- The color and wax finish really stands out. I love it.
- The best smelling leather I've ever encountered. If they sold this as a cologne, I would buy it. It is quite potent now--my shirts smell like leather even after wearing the jacket. The Shinki smell rumors are true I feel like this alone is worth the upgrade to Shinki!
- The stitching has a "hand sewn" appearance, similar to the "european style" of stitching (for example in Hermes leather). It's machine sewn with cotton thread, but the Himel uses a needle that makes a 45 degree cut like this: /, giving an angled stitch. It's a nice little detail only the wearer would really notice. Looks about 9-10 stitches per inch, small stitches which work well with this weight of leather.
- Very comfortable out of the box. Pretty much no break in time, but will continue to crease and develop character if the first few days are any indication. Speaking of out of the box--it was folded quite compactly into a little cube, and had some heavy folds initially. But they relaxed very quickly--nothing permanent.
- The leather in this color & finish does water spot very easily. I've gotten a few drops of tap water on the cuff when washing my hands. The spots quickly created a wet spot (rather than stay on the surface or roll off). After drying, some spot remains. Just the nature of this type of aniline leather--it appears to have a minimal top coat. Only noticeable on really close inspection--by me. I know how to get water spots out, but I won't baby this coat.
- I imagine this leather will darken/patina over time in the sun and because of water. I get a lot of fog where I live, so there will be days where lots of micro droplets of water will darken the leather. I'm fine with that. I would not wear this in the rain though.
- Inside pockets are huge and functional. I can probably fit decent sized notebook pads in them.
- The brass zippers say "Universal" on the front. This was the original name of the Talon Zipper Company. The back of the zipper says YKK So definitely a replica zipper. I really like the zipper because it works very smoothly and doesn't get stuck, unlike an original vintage zipper.
- One odd thing I can't figure a good solution to: when I'm in a car, I just can't sit back comfortably without feeling the leather in the back seam area ball up and fold. If feels like I'm sitting against a hackey sack, and I can do nothing to smooth it out. It's because the bottom of the jacket pushes up when I sit, the yoke stays down on my shoulders, so that back seam pushes up and out. When I get out of the car, that back seam is pushed out like a little horn coming out of my back. It can smooth it away easily with my hand though. Just a bit annoying and can't quite get comfortable in a car.

Overall--I LOVE this jacket and think it's well worth the premium pricing. I will definitely be buying more Himel jackets in Shinki HH. (Perhaps another Frobisher, or a Canuck, or a Kensington Racer....)

View attachment 51332 View attachment 51333 View attachment 51334 View attachment 51335 View attachment 51336 View attachment 51337

 

[Pdawg]

I'm about the same size as you, with a 39" chest and 17.5" Shoulders (body measurements).

The custom Frobisher I recently bought based on my measurements is an ideal fit, and comes to:

- 21" pit to pit if I REALLY make an effort to flatten it out as much as possible. Just casually flattening I get about 20.5" p2p.
- About 18" on the shoulders, just a touch under.

Not tight, not loose--just right IMO for me.

The Shinki horsehide on this coat is 1.1 - 1.2mm, or around 3oz, or just a touch under.

Hope that helps!

Yeah i like that fit on you.....i might have to get the same one!

 

[Peacoat]

I'm about the same size as you, with a 39" chest and 17.5" Shoulders (body measurements).

The custom Frobisher I recently bought based on my measurements is an ideal fit, and comes to:

- 21" pit to pit if I REALLY make an effort to flatten it out as much as possible. Just casually flattening I get about 20.5" p2p.
- About 18" on the shoulders, just a touch under.

Not tight, not loose--just right IMO for me.

The Shinki horsehide on this coat is 1.1 - 1.2mm, or around 3oz, or just a touch under.

Hope that helps!

I have always had problems measuring my shoulder width (body measurement). Is there a generally accepted objective method for doing so? That is, where does the measurement begin and where does it end? I imagine it would be necessary to have someone actually make the measurement.

 

[singer]

Yeah i like that fit on you.....i might have to get the same one!

Do it! I'm pretty confident Himel will give you a great fit if you provide custom measurements.

I have always had problems measuring my shoulder width (body measurement). Is there a generally accepted objective method for doing so? That is, where does the measurement begin and where does it end? I imagine it would be necessary to have someone actually make the measurement.

The shoulders are the toughest to measure. Himel has a campy video he uses to teach how to do the measurements properly. Since I needed my wife to do the shoulder measurements, I had her watch the video. Even then it was hard.

We ended up drawing lines from the corner of my pit to the corner of my shoulder to use as a guide for my wife to measure

 

[Pdawg]

I get ke

I have always had problems measuring my shoulder width (body measurement). Is there a generally accepted objective method for doing so? That is, where does the measurement begin and where does it end? I imagine it would be necessary to have someone actually make the measurement.

I get measured by a tailor but i think it i

I have always had problems measuring my shoulder width (body measurement). Is there a generally accepted objective method for doing so? That is, where does the measurement begin and where does it end? I imagine it would be necessary to have someone actually make the measurement.

Do it! I'm pretty confident Himel will give you a great fit if you provide custom measurements.



The shoulders are the toughest to measure. Himel has a campy video he uses to teach how to do the measurements properly. Since I needed my wife to do the shoulder measurements, I had her watch the video. Even then it was hard.

We ended up drawing lines from the corner of my pit to the corner of my shoulder to use as a guide for my wife to measure

View attachment 56557

What other jackets do you have and are they all himel brothers?

 

[singer]

What other jackets do you have and are they all himel brothers?

Half of all my jackets are Himel Brothers. I have 2 leather jackets

I have a Johnson Leather riding jacket, but have found that I prefer lighter weight leather. That jacket is a beast in heavy steer hide, and I don't ride. So it doesn't get much wear. I should sell it.

I have ordered the Freewheelers Journeyman work coat in Tatanka Brown Shinki... Will report back soon.

Also on the hit list is a Himel Kensington, and perhaps a Freewheelers Four Corners. I'll probably try on some locally stocked Real McCoy's jackets at Standard and Strange soon as well--the j-100 and A-2.

Basically, I bought into the Shinki hype, and these are all top notch makers. Now that I have one, I'm confident with buying more in that leather.

 

[Pdawg]

What other jackets do you have and are they all himel brothers?

Half of all my jackets are Himel Brothers. I have 2 leather jackets

I have a Johnson Leather riding jacket, but have found that I prefer lighter weight leather. That jacket is a beast in heavy steer hide, and I don't ride. So it doesn't get much wear. I should sell it.

I have ordered the Freewheelers Journeyman work coat in Tatanka Brown Shinki... Will report back soon.

Also on the hit list is a Himel Kensington, and perhaps a Freewheelers Four Corners. I'll probably try on some locally stocked Real McCoy's jackets at Standard and Strange soon as well--the j-100 and A-2.

Basically, I bought into the Shinki hype, and these are all top notch makers. Now that I have one, I'm confident with buying more in that leather.

Very nice.....i would like to see it when you get the journeyman.

 

[Pdawg]

Half of all my jackets are Himel Brothers. I have 2 leather jackets

I have a Johnson Leather riding jacket, but have found that I prefer lighter weight leather. That jacket is a beast in heavy steer hide, and I don't ride. So it doesn't get much wear. I should sell it.

I have ordered the Freewheelers Journeyman work coat in Tatanka Brown Shinki... Will report back soon.

Also on the hit list is a Himel Kensington, and perhaps a Freewheelers Four Corners. I'll probably try on some locally stocked Real McCoy's jackets at Standard and Strange soon as well--the j-100 and A-2.

Basically, I bought into the Shinki hype, and these are all top notch makers. Now that I have one, I'm confident with buying more in that leather.

Do you own any cxl leathers? I was just wondering why there was so much love for cxl here....

 

[Monitor]

I like Himels liked videos.

 

[Pdawg]

I like Himels liked videos.

Thanks guys for all of your help and input...my jacket fits great!

My measurements: 39" chest, 17" shoulders
Jacket: 21.5" p2p, 17.75" shoulder, 38.5" bottom hem, 24.87" back length, 25" sleeves.

 

[singer]

Thanks guys for all of your help and input...my jacket fits great!

My measurements: 39" chest, 17" shoulders
Jacket: 21.5" p2p, 17.75" shoulder, 38.5" bottom hem, 24.87" back length, 25" sleeves.

That looks great on you! What jacket did you end up getting? Looks like a very versatile 1/2 belt style that you should be able to wear all the time

What does the back look like?

 

[handymike]

Looks great!

 

[Pdawg]

That looks great on you! What jacket did you end up getting? Looks like a very versatile 1/2 belt style that you should be able to wear all the time

What does the back look like?

It is an aero 1930s slim fit half belt in dark brown cxl horse.

That looks great on you! What jacket did you end up getting? Looks like a very versatile 1/2 belt style that you should be able to wear all the time

What does the back look like?

 

[MRB1248]

Thanks guys for all of your help and input...my jacket fits great!

My measurements: 39" chest, 17" shoulders
Jacket: 21.5" p2p, 17.75" shoulder, 38.5" bottom hem, 24.87" back length, 25" sleeves.

Very nice jacket. Good call!

 

[Pdawg]

Very nice jacket. Good call!

Thanks mrb and glad your jacket sold! Post some photos of your new jacket when you get it!

 

[bn1966]

Yeah..we want the evidence