Benny Holiday
My Mail is Forwarded Here
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- 3,792
- Location
- Sydney Australia
If it's a tailor-made suit, I think that the nature of the fabric and fit are very much connected: it is possible to narrow down the margin of error quite satisfactorily, especially if multiple fittings are involved.
I've never felt that this was the case with leather- sometimes there's a lucky fit on someone's used item, or you get a pretty much ok fit, but the variations in hide, weight, layering and expectation - especially when we're talking online ordering - suggest to me that a (good- to very-) reasonable fit is a good outcome. My goat 50's HB drapes in a totally different way to any of my other jackets, and it might not 'fit' as well as my Cafe Racer, but it's ok by me.
For all the great points about this place, the exposure to great jacket makers and swapping info about repairs and new products and shared likes/experiences, the downside, and this is of course just me talking, the downside is we've got to the point where we know what the ultra-perfect fit is we want to achieve and for many of us it's so obsessive that we let go of some really great jackets that still fit well - they just don't fit our neurosis about the all-consuming "perfect" fit. Now guys I'm not criticising anyone, far from it, I'm preaching to myself here - I know I over obsess about fit myself. And everyone who's said the jacket is too big, your opinion is every bit as valid as my 2 cents' worth.
I guess what I'm saying is that I've seen some exemplary jackets pictured here and the more you see that the more anything even slightly less than that photographed perfection falls short of the mark. If I hadn't looked at those pics, well, ignorance is bliss; I'd have been happy with a fit that is just what your average person who's into this style would dig - I'm not talking mall jacket blousiness here (is blousiness even a word?). Looking at old photos of halfbelts, Depression-era jackets and WWII flight jackets is good for bringing me back to reality. Not everything fit like it was bespoke, and yet it still looked good and many times rough and utilitarian.
So we know what Carlos means when he feels it's not as good a fit as his other jackets, but if I were to show his photos to some of my non-FL friends who are into vintage clothing and style, they'd just say what a cool jacket it was and how good he looks in it. They wouldn't pick up on it not being a super-duper perfect fit, because it fits well and looks cool.