Wested's Goatskin

[zebedee]

Has anyone got a Wested in goat? If so, what's the thickness like? Any pictures would be greatly appreciated, as I'm going to have them copy a car coat I like, hopefully in goat. I need something a bit lighter than an Aero but still durable enough to last a bit. I like the pebbling on the goat from their website.

J.

 

[Edward]

I have a Wested Raiders in goat. Noticeably lighter than my Aero goat, but never been in fear of tearing it, plenty solid. Excelkent warmer weather leather.

 

[Fanch]

I have a Wested Raiders in goat. Noticeably lighter than my Aero goat, but never been in fear of tearing it, plenty solid. Excelkent warmer weather leather.

G&B uses chrome tanned goatskin on a number of their lower priced jackets (USAF A-2, USN G-1, Expedition, etc.) that is also noticeably lighter weight than the veg tanned goatskin that they use on their much more expensive Mark 31 A-2. I have compared the veg tanned goatskin G&B uses for their Mark 31 A-2 and the veg tanned goatskin used by Aero, and found the two comparable. I suspect the goatskin used by Wested is chrome tanned and tough as nails but lacks the "character" and substance of the far nicer veg tanned goatskin. Nothing wrong with the thinner chrome tanned goatskin, just different.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Wested goat varies by the year. My jacket goat was thick and heavy and veg tanned. Aged and faded fast and beautifully.

You need to contact them to find out what's in stock right now.

 

[Edward]

G&B uses chrome tanned goatskin on a number of their lower priced jackets (USAF A-2, USN G-1, Expedition, etc.) that is also noticeably lighter weight than the veg tanned goatskin that they use on their much more expensive Mark 31 A-2. I have compared the veg tanned goatskin G&B uses for their Mark 31 A-2 and the veg tanned goatskin used by Aero, and found the two comparable. I suspect the goatskin used by Wested is chrome tanned and tough as nails but lacks the "character" and substance of the far nicer veg tanned goatskin. Nothing wrong with the thinner chrome tanned goatskin, just different.

I think you're probably right w.r.t. the chrome tanned. Certainly the Raiders I have has that same tendency to break in nicely, but keep the same 'tidy' look about it with minimal patina as when new - which is one of the things I really like about that type of goat, myself. (Mind you, I find the same with my Aero's, so it might not be the type of tanning at issue, as I think they're all veg).

Wested goat varies by the year. My jacket goat was thick and heavy and veg tanned. Aged and faded fast and beautifully.

You need to contact them to find out what's in stock right now.

I've certainly heard of them having some thicker hides recently. It does indeed pay to talk directly to them - after all, leather being organic will always have some variance in its propoerties, even between animals let alone batches.

 

[Plumbline]

I too have a Wested Raiders jacket in Goat ( @ 2007 ) .... it's stayed a favourite while Aero, Eastman and BK goatskin jackets have been sold on. The reasons are three fold :

1. The Wested goatskin is a really unusual colour .. not seal and not tan ... sort of in the middle like milk Chocolate .... and I really like it.
2. The Wested Goat has a softer hand and better drape than both all of the three above ... the skin is only 0.1mm thinner than Aero and Eastman at 0.9-1mm ... but it's noticebly softer.
3. The lack of knits on the Raiders jacket makes it much nicer to wear ( I go through periods of thinking knits are a great ideas and then find them annoying and uncomfortble ( especially cuffs ) and getting rid of jackets with them on )

The goat I have has shown much more ageing and creasing than all the others ( Aero / Eastman / BK) what's more all Goat ( regardless of manufacturer) has been very weatherproof ... it is such an underated hide. What's more The Raiders jacket cost 20% of most high end manufacturers ... BARGAIN.

 

[zebedee]

I'm doing it. Cheers, guys.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I'm strongly considering the same, a Raiders from Wested in goat, as I think the horsehide would be too heavy for me and for this climate. Is their goat jacket a really dark brown as it appears on their website? A dark chocolate? "Milk" chocolate, as Plumbline said above, to me would be more of a medium brown. Anybody have a picture?

 

[nick123]

So funny. I have spent the past two months going through all of the $1000+ jacket manufacturers, trying to find the next "one". And here is this post, and the Wested Elvis '68 jacket. Yeah baby. Thanks for the input.

 

[Pdxgeo]

Their stuff is almost frighteningly inexpensive. Can anyone speak to what you get for the money?

 

[Benzadmiral]

Their stuff is almost frighteningly inexpensive. Can anyone speak to what you get for the money?

I did a search earlier today. According to several other posters here between 2006 and 2012, they are good jackets for average use. Not as tough as horsehide jackets, not as superbly constructed as the ca. $1000 jackets, not as accurate in fine details as A-2 jackets from those makers. But reasonably tough. Search for "wested" in this forum, and you'll see more than a few comments.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I can hazard a guess towards one reason why Wested's pricing is so reasonable... They are primarily a film/TV wardrobe shop - jumping from one project to another (likely with busy times and dead spots). They started web sales based on Peter Botwright's connection to the Indiana Jones jacket... and found a bonanza with Indy fans. With that lucrative new aspect of the biz, it's since expanded to offer a nice range of jackets on the web... which probably represents a lot of sales, and more consistent and predictable work for a significant staff.

They are still essentially a wardrobe shop first, but they now have a second channel that I suspect keeps the workload and revenue stream more balanced. Besides allowing them to keep the staff consistently working, they get economies of scale by buying larger amounts of hide, fabric, hardware, etc. And since they have no retail operation (yes, they do some factory-visit sales, but it can't amount to much), and aren't competing to get into fancy stores (or trying to prove to anybody that they're the best possible jacket you can buy)... they can operate more modestly. And the savings is passed on to the buyer!

Disclaimer 1: I've had no personal communications with Wested beyond the couple of jackets I've purchased (and one [unexpectedly free] repair). I have never spoken to them about the biz. I am just guessing here... based just on being in this forum, and others, and watching the jacket game for 16 years.

Disclaimer 2: I am the farthest thing from a business analyst you can imagine. So I have no idea if anything I said makes sense in the real world!

 

[bn1966]

As previously posted, I had Wested build me a custom G-1 / M-422A jacket in goat based off of a Star Sportswear G-1 jacket I owned.

The results were beyond my expectations, admittedly knits & zipper weren't from Wested (sourced from other jacket makers).

I ended up with a very wearable, made in the UK, well priced goat skin jacket that has seen lots of wear over the last 12 months. Admittedly it's the lightest of my goat hide jackets but still tough & practical.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Wested's selling of fan jackets has overtaken their movie work. Their jackets are well made. You can't fault the hides used or the stitching. I would suggest that lining materials and pocket lining particularity are not always robust but the LVC Menlo copy I just got off them is as well made as any vintage leather jacket I have seen (and I have seen dozens). I have just returned for exchange it as it was too small.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Has anybody gone for the Last Crusade model, in any of the hide choices? Their website says that the LC model has a "larger and sharper collar than the Raiders jacket." Not sure what that means; I've written to ask. But the collars don't look much different. The LC has the extra 2 button snaps at top and bottom that the Raiders doesn't -- but then I never use the collar snap on my old department store A-2 style. Anyway, are they otherwise pretty much the same jacket? Any pics of the LC model?

 

[Pdxgeo]

Bn1966 would you post pics of the jacket they made you? I am particularly interested in how they did the fur collar.

Thanks!

 

[bn1966]

Bn1966 would you post pics of the jacket they made you? I am particularly interested in how they did the fur collar.

Thanks!

There is a thread on here about the building of that jacket, also if you go onto 'Outerwear' page 3. "The Indiana Jones Jacket" p.10 has the most recent photo of this jacket showing how it's breaking in

 

[Benzadmiral]

It's done; I went for the Raiders model in goat, stock size of 40. I'll post some pics when it arrives.

ETA on 12/6: Email says it's already been dispatched! And they estimate 2-3 working days. Man, it might be here by Friday!

 

[Benzadmiral]

The Wested goatskin Raiders jacket arrived (ordered Monday morning, received Thursday afternoon!), is lightweight, and fits perfectly at size 40. I'll try to take a pic or two tomorrow morning when I get to work. Odd, that the zipper runs down along the left side of the jacket, instead of down the right like every other zippered item I've ever known. So I'll have to use my left hand to free the zipper from its bottom clip, instead of my right. Interesting.

 

[nick123]

The Wested goatskin Raiders jacket arrived (ordered Monday morning, received Thursday afternoon!), is lightweight, and fits perfectly at size 40. I'll try to take a pic or two tomorrow morning when I get to work. Odd, that the zipper runs down along the left side of the jacket, instead of down the right like every other zippered item I've ever known. So I'll have to use my left hand to free the zipper from its bottom clip, instead of my right. Interesting.

British styling!