What size flight jacket do you wear?

[Sloan1874]

All the A-2s I've owned have been 38s. A 36, even if it's fine on the body, the sleeves just saw under the armpits - not sure if that's as a result of my gym routine or not.

 

[kojax]

all my a2 jackets are size 38 i have one g1 jacket size 38 i am 5/7 130 pounds

 

[AdeeC]

I wonder what diet has to do with modern body shapes even without gym and artificial enhancers? One hears of all the steroids used in the chicken, pork and beef industry. The connection has been made.

 

[Smithy]

Others have mentioned that men in days past were generally thinner than today, which one need only take a look around a Wal Mart parking lot on a Saturday afternoon to prove to themselves (I don't mean that in a sneering way, by the way). Another thing is the cult of muscles which grips modern people; today the ideal male form is heavily muscled with big shoulders, pecs, and biceps, but in days past skinny muscle was preferred and before that a barrel chest with skinny arms and sloping shoulders was preferred*. It is no surprise that a vintage A-2 jacket cut to fit a skinny man with normal sized shoulders won't fit someone today who is overweight or who works out a lot.

* The latter particularly so in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, something that is totally ignored in internet discussions about Scholte and the "drape" cut.

I think that's a pertinent point.

I was about to pull the trigger on an Aero A-2 after seeing Sloan's new one but I've been working out a bit lately that I've put on 3'' in my chest and 3.5'' in my shoulders over the last 10 months so I'm worried that it won't fit. I've already gotten too big for about 3 jackets I have which I'll have to fob off here or on ebay.

I'm going to have to wait for any new jackets until I hit my "maintenance" weight.

Oh well, joys of picking out new jackets to get I suppose.

 

[Doctor Damage]

I read an article recently about changing societal and cultural perceptions about penis size, but that's a topic for another day...

 

[Worf]

I read an article recently about changing societal and cultural perceptions about penis size, but that's a topic for another day...

SPEW!!!!!! That's too funny, might get your post deleted or some bannage but that was funnneeee!

Worf

 

[Big J]

50 years apart, spot the differences?

View attachment 32837 View attachment 32838

It's the hair, right? I need to start waxing again (and sucking lemons for that Daniel Craig 'expression').

 

[Big J]

All the A-2s I've owned have been 38s. A 36, even if it's fine on the body, the sleeves just saw under the armpits - not sure if that's as a result of my gym routine or not.

lol! (that was a joke, right?).

 

[Big J]

I wonder what diet has to do with modern body shapes even without gym and artificial enhancers? One hears of all the steroids used in the chicken, pork and beef industry. The connection has been made.

Yeah, that's a really good point. People always say that we're getting bigger due to better nutrition compared to the war years, but I wouldn't be surprised if modern farming, err, 'techniques' were having some other effect. After all, people are only just looking at the link between leaded petrol and violence[huh]

 

[Big J]

I'm going to have to wait for any new jackets until I hit my "maintenance" weight.

Yeah, me too. I'm going to guess that back in the day, people didn't generally over-indulge in the kind of bad diets that people do today. And they were likely more active (lower car ownership in the 30's and 40's), so I guess it was much easier to maintain a regular weight?

My weight goes down over the summer because it's too hot and humid to eat, and then goes up again over the winter.

 

[Seb Lucas]

50 years apart, spot the differences?

View attachment 32837 View attachment 32838

Well those are actors and movie beefcake has a long tradition. I think the salient point is in 1965 and earlier few men and not many actors had muscles. Many guys today do.

 

[Big J]

I read an article recently about changing societal and cultural perceptions about penis size, but that's a topic for another day...

You know, what got me started thinking about this was looking at suits of Japanese armor that looked like they'd only fit a 12 year old Japanese kid today.

 

[Smithy]

Yeah, me too. I'm going to guess that back in the day, people didn't generally over-indulge in the kind of bad diets that people do today. And they were likely more active (lower car ownership in the 30's and 40's), so I guess it was much easier to maintain a regular weight?

My weight goes down over the summer because it's too hot and humid to eat, and then goes up again over the winter.

TBH, that post of mine looks a bit wanky, "ooh look I've put on this much weight" but I didn't mean it that way when I posted it.

It was meant more of a warning to fellow members who might go to the gym and exercise. You can seriously change your shape in a relatively short time and that can seriously bugger up your jackets. I've been working out fairly seriously for 10 months and doing some landscaping since we got the house here and I went to put on my WPG A-2 last week which I wore heaps last year and now I can't even get into it. I'm lucky that it was only a $150 jacket but I would've been ****** if it had been a $1,000 jacket.

Just a word of warning for anyone here, be careful if you have a nice jacket collection and you're working out/doing lots of manual labour you might get a nasty surprise when you go to put on that favourite jacket of yours.

Maybe the silver lining is I can start deciding what I'm going to get jacketwise all over again.

 

[bn1966]

Good post Smithy...I've been worrying about the same issues & decided that I need to avoid too much working out or manual labor in order that my jackets continue to fit. Mind you, my A-2 zipped up a lot easier when I was exercising daily

 

[Sloan1874]

lol! (that was a joke, right?).

 

[Big J]

TBH, that post of mine looks a bit wanky, "ooh look I've put on this much weight" but I didn't mean it that way when I posted it.

It was meant more of a warning to fellow members who might go to the gym and exercise. You can seriously change your shape in a relatively short time and that can seriously bugger up your jackets. I've been working out fairly seriously for 10 months and doing some landscaping since we got the house here and I went to put on my WPG A-2 last week which I wore heaps last year and now I can't even get into it. I'm lucky that it was only a $150 jacket but I would've been ****** if it had been a $1,000 jacket.

Just a word of warning for anyone here, be careful if you have a nice jacket collection and you're working out/doing lots of manual labour you might get a nasty surprise when you go to put on that favourite jacket of yours.

Maybe the silver lining is I can start deciding what I'm going to get jacketwise all over again.

No problem!
And thanks for the warning!
Theres no way I'm gonna work out, or do any physical exercise! lol

 

[Jwag]

34. 34 short if avail.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Not everyone's shape changes. I've been pretty much the same weight since I was 20, several decades ago. A leather jacket I bought in 1985 still fits me well. It's largely luck or genes, I've never exercised but I've also never eaten badly. I fit 40, 42 or 44 depending on the pattern.

 

[Big J]

Not everyone's shape changes. I've been pretty much the same weight since I was 20, several decades ago. A leather jacket I bought in 1985 still fits me well. It's largely luck or genes, I've never exercised but I've also never eaten badly. I fit 40, 42 or 44 depending on the pattern.

I'm jealous!

 

[tonypaj]

Anything from 42 to 46, I'm 6'0 and 175-180 lbs. The best fits? Well, that depends on the day. Star Sportswear 55J14 original size 46 is my favourite jacket, both fit and feel. I'm nowhere really size 46 even in originals, but this one is just what I want. Repros, who knows, I get an approximate fit and then mess with it. Just bought a repro 46 A-2, but it needs shrinking (shrinks are quite useful...). One way of spending time when it's too hot or cold for golf (shrinks or jackets, you choose).

Anyway, flight jackets are hard to fit, A-2s especially, they are not very flattering unless you nail it. Civilian ones are way easier for me. I have a 42 Stuart that is perfect, one of the 3 jackets I have that go nowhere.