The demise of the loose fit

[CBI]

Fit - pretty open interpretation. I love FL and vintage clothing but I would not go as far as to say this place “teaches” proper fit. FL celebrates vintage style and fit so the fit here is 50, 60, 70 years old. I love it but this vibe frequently looks totally out of place today. I have been wearing as much vintage as I can over the past decade and friends and family still think it all looks “off” - too form fitting. I have an average build and if I am completely honest about it, I look better in modern clothing and fit, loose (not baggy) and comfortable. Longer jackets, not high wasted. An emphasis on comfort and looking comfortable rules the day now and it probably will be for some time. I agree, we have gone through some extremely baggy times! Again, love the vintage “vibe” .....................if/when it works!

 

[Worf]

I don't mind a loose fit jacket. Matter of fact I prefer it personally. My feelings on loose fitting shirts had done a 180 though. Being retired, I don't need many fitted shirts anymore but those I have, have been or will be tailored. My shirts, in order to fit my 20 inch neck looked more like tents than shirts. I can't live with that anymore. As for jackets? Better a size to large than a size too small.

Worf

 

[tropicalbob]

The ultra-tight, too small Pee Wee Herman look has, I think, already crested. It's funny, though, how these changes in design change the way we perceive things. I have a number of jackets, mostly tweeds, that I've had for years and that slowly began to look too long. I'm 5'9", and any jacket longer than about 28.5 in. just looks wrong these days. I'm holding onto them, though, in the hope that things will return to some sort of equalibrium. I'd be very careful about shelling out $1000+ for a tight leather jacket, as I'd be afraid it would look as odd in a few years as an early 1980's, boxy-fit sports jacket looks today.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I never had any desire to wear or purchase an oversized loose fitting jacket, no matter that it was popular with much of society for a time. Being on the trim and slim side, I made the extra search for a more tailored looking leather jacket that better suited my build ( to me ). I've most generally tended to ignore fads ( and been repulsed by many ), more concerned with what I considered 'style' that seems more enduring from my perspective. Perhaps I just lean to a more conservative appearance rather than a fashion statement.....but wadda I know ( just works for me ).
HD

 

[Hypoxic]

I can't do tight jackets. Take the G-1 for example. I see a lot of posts about how a G-1 "should" fit and see a lot of accompanying photos of guys in jackets that look so tight in the body that it seems like it would bust at the seams if they were to bend over. The G-1 is a working jacket. If someone wore a jacket like that in my squadron they would probably be ridiculed to the point that they would run to the nearest disbursing officer seeking a trade-in. For me, a G-1 needs to be able to move, to bend, to reach up and crawl down into small places and still be comfortable. Not riding up my arms and back causing constant adjustment. Annoying. So I guess what I'm saying is that I prefer a jacket that fits just right. Not too tight and not so big that I could jump from pine tree to pine tree like a flying squirrel.

But in the 90s... Oh Yeah baby, like the others posted here, I was a super baggy guy. I wore XL t-shirts that I put on now and think... What in the world was I thinking?? I must have looked ridiculous by todays standards.

 

[emigran]

Tailored smartly... non -constricting... I'm just south of septagenarian... I tuck my shirts in... and I tilt my hats over one ear...

 

[Sir Jacket]

Baggy leather jackets look horrific. Skinny wear is only marginally less grotesque. Leathers should be trim: leather is a relatively heavy material and easily gathers into excess. Similarly, leather jackets don't work with protuberant guts. The two somehow cancel each other out. I am actually slimmer than I have been for probably 20 years, largely from barely drinking, so age doesn't necessarily equal porking out.

Anything to keep a halfbelt looking decent.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Like most, in the 90's and 00's
I wore a loose fit mainly because it was "comfortable" and I simply didn't know any better. I don't think many people did.

Whether it was a relic of childhood clothes that you bought to grow into or influenced by the whole grunge scene virtually everyone dressed poorly.

I definitely think people in shape look better with a trimmer fit, that's why most models etc wear slim fit. The trick is slim but not a sausage which can be tricky especially with thick leather.

 

[Benproof]

Younger .... looser fit jacket always.

It was a no brainer. How else can you do shoplifting?!

 

[kronos77]

Like most, in the 90's and 00's
I wore a loose fit mainly because it was "comfortable" and I simply didn't know any better. I don't think many people did.

Whether it was a relic of childhood clothes that you bought to grow into or influenced by the whole grunge scene virtually everyone dressed poorly.

I definitely think people in shape look better with a trimmer fit, that's why most models etc wear slim fit. The trick is slim but not a sausage which can be tricky especially with thick leather.

People in shape can also look really overbearing in slim clothes. They think they look good, but I bet most people who see them in person think they are just obnoxious. You are right though that the sausaging effect must be avoided in those cases.

As for models wearing slim clothes, I think they wear what is in fashion.

 

[Benproof]

...that was a joke by the way.


The problem I've always found is the interpretation of "loose". The shoulders fit, but the waist is almost *always* too loose. Maybe I don't have a spare tyre - my loss especially since any jacket like the Perfecto seems cut for a spare. The only way around it was to go for a boxy shaped car jacket where loose fits the style as a straight cut.

Motorcycle jackets taught me how to size properly: the armour cannot be loose; it has to be impact positioned. One of my favourite motorcycle shops had some great guys there who knew how to size and that kind of saved me from wearing the equivalent of a maternity gown jacket. I guess that is the style I stayed with since it doesn't feel right, if there are a spare few inches at the waist end of a zipped up jacket. Trying to find the right fit is really hard .. maybe why it's so easy to end up with multiple jackets....some for winter so that layering can fit under....and summer jackets with thinner lining and no spare space. The B2s and aircraft jackets have the dated looseness of a jacket that 1950's daddies might wear. It's not really a look which I find plausible on the streets although the Zara skinny lambskin leather kind of jackets make me feel just as ill seeing them everywhere.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I think part of the problem is definitions of the difference between trim fit, slim fit or even just fitted. That's if there is even a difference between all of those.

 

[Sloan1874]

The only jacket that I think looks 100 per cent better a size up from the wearer's usual is an Irvin.

 

[willyto]

The only jacket that I think looks 100 per cent better a size up from the wearer's usual is an Irvin.

I believe it has to do with the fact that they were supposed to be worn over tons of layers(Undershirt, shirt, uniform jacket, leather jacket ...) and we are used to see them worn like that.

Also I like to think that the fact that we all imagine trim fits on that era is because most of the pilots back then were tiny guys and for that very reason is normal to see slim fitting jackets on them look amazing but they still had comfort to move around. You can see that on Eric Hartmann pictures and other Luftwaffe pilots.

I've personally tried a vintage German leather jacket like the ones the pilots wore and although it fits close to the body you get a lot of arm and body movement. You all have to account for the leather thickness too, vintage leather jackets are lightweight compared to modern ones, they feel less restrictive.

 

[Otter]

Cockpits were tiny back then, you might be surprised if you have never looked at a WWII plane quite how small they are. Any loose clothing stood a good chance of being caught on a lever or switch.
I had the pleasure of going through a B-17 at Kermits Weeks place in Florid a, it is regarded as a big plane but even the waist gunner positions are staggered to prevent the gunners bumping into each other.

 

[Hypoxic]

Younger .... looser fit jacket always.

It was a no brainer. How else can you do shoplifting?!

Ha, ha... classic. Should I que up some Jane's Addiction "Been Caught Stealin".

 

[Justhandguns]

Interesting perspectives. I think if we are referring to leather jackets, there was only one bumpy period in the 80s' where everyone prefers the shoulderpadded ultra wide arm pits baggy look (yes, and the baggy jeans and white 3/4 Reeboks on top of that). Then we are having another extreme (probably dying off right now) of the ultra tight fit with body fitting cuts and women size sleeves. But, I guess most of us in this thread have gone past the age of going for the tip top of 'fashion'. I think a proper fit simply means the jacket looks good on your body shape, it has to be proportional.

 

[Cocker]

Been there too. I was used to loose fitting jackets, had no real other options seen my long arms. If I wanted my jackets to fit the arm length, I had to take it one size bigger at least. I'm getting much more critical about it now, especially since I have my A-2 that Aero custom fitted. But I still wear some jacket oversized, as my beater Alpha L-2. This doesn't bother me that much as the jacket is somewhat cheap, and when you look at period pictures, there were various fits, including very baggy ones.

Anyway, I still don't have much choice. If I want a jacket to fit tight and have arms/body long enough, it's generally a custom one.

 

[handymike]

I like a slimmer shilouette, but I dont like the low-rise skinny pant thing. I cant stand to have my arse pop out everytime I get in the car. I also agree that certain styles (like cargo pants) look a lot better looser. Id rather wear high-rise lower on my hips than low-rise higher -if you know what I mean

 

[nick123]

Perfect fit.