Wested Indiana Jones jacket finally ordered!

Whoohoo!

Sherman, set the WABAC machine to approximately 20 years ago...

Before I learned of Wested, I made a special trip from Raleigh, NC to Disney/MGM Studios in Florida to purchase a Disney/Cooper 'Indiana Jones' jacket from the only official source I was aware of, the Adventure Outpost shop next to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Price, $350, not including $37(!) park entry fee and gas for the trip.

I wore this jacket pretty much every day for 10 years, 'weathering' it naturally as life happened to both it and me. Used it for Indy costuming every chance I got (especially after acquiring a David Morgan 12' kangaroo-hide IJ whip in early '95). Over the years, to my eyes, the deeply weathered leather appeared just as Indy's jacket would have after decades of traversing the globe through any and all conditions.

I can't explain the mixed feelings I had when I learned that a Wested jacket, made by the same hands that made the originals, would cost me roughly $250, custom-fit to my measurements. But I could not justify the cost, and the weathering would start from Day 1 all over again - why bother?

Fast-forward to 6 years ago, when I met my wonderful wife. One look at the jacket that had seen me through the years, and the term 'hairy eyeball' never had so much meaning. Given an outside perspective, the (admittedly cheap), unknown leather had become dry, flaky, grey and homely rather than weathered and rugged as my biased vision had seen. It hung in the closet, dejected and unworn except for twice that I dressed up as Indy, including the prize-winning time Jacquelyn joined me as Elsa Schneider.

Fast-forward again to yesterday, when, after scrimping and saving for 6 months, and a year of research of options, choices, problem avoidance and leather samples, I finally placed my order for a Wested 'Raiders' IJ jacket. Final price with shipping is about what I paid for that old Disney/Cooper jacket, but barring difficulties or mis-sizings, it will be worth it to have my favorite jacket conforming itself to me over the new 20 years.

Crossing my fingers for no speed bumps in the process between ordering and receiving...

Good luck with your jacket and I hope you enjoy it when it arrives !! I have a Wested, an older jacket I bought second hand from another member on another forum, and I am very happy with it. The best advise I can give you is that when ordering from Wested, or any other custom clothes manufacturer, give them your correct measurements. If you did your homework you gave them arm length (from shoulder seam to end of cuff), chest size (flexible/ semastress tape measure around your chest under armpit), and length specifically back length (which is from bottom of collar stand to bottom of jacket). Everybody's body size is different so keep that in mind. Also Indy's jackets changed from movie to movie with Raiders being the most form fitting and the later movies being a little more loosely worn. Hope this helps and enjoy !!

I have 3 Westeds: Lamb, goat, & cow. I love them all but the goat is my go-to jacket most of the time.

So, Zeitgeist, what were the specs you ordered?? What kind of leather? Pre-distressed? Which film? 80's Raiders? Updated Raiders? LC?

((If you didn't get it pre-distressed, you'll have some work to do.))

I have a Wested, and I'm certain you will be more than pleased. For me, it's a prize possession.

Here are the specs I *finally* decided on, after about a year of research, asking questions and compiling answers and details... (copied/pasted from my order on the Wested site)

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Custom 'Raiders' Jacket

Jacket Size: 44

Sleeve Length: 26.5

Back Length: 26

Skin Type: Goatskin

Lining Type: Cotton Body / Satin Sleeves

Side Straps: Buckle + X-Box Stitch

Extra Inside Pocket: Yes

Special Requests? (May incur extra charge)
- WESTED (not LC) tag
- 5-gauge Antique Brass zipper with small pull
- stop zipper 1" above bottom hem
- hidden snap at bottom of storm flap
- right hand (US-style) zipper
- Antique Brass Tri-Glide side buckles

Gussets: Yes
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There was a slight extra charge requested by Gemma, but she acknowledged the details listed. We shall see how things turn out, but I am hopeful all will be well.

I received five leather samples from Wested - softtouch lambskin, soft grainy hide, horsehide, novapelle and goat. I tested each sample three ways: by scratching it with the tip of an X-Acto blade, by folding it and rubbing it with steel wool, and by folding it and rubbing it with 120-grit sandpaper.

I wanted to find the one that hid or recovered from the scratches the best and also displayed a nice weathering look from the rubbing.

The novapelle and the lambskin were the first two crossed off my list - far too soft and delicate for my taste. Very nice leathers for a dress jacket, but nowhere near rugged enough for what I'd like to own.

The soft grainy hide and the horsehide were crossed off next - they did relatively well with scratch recovery, but the sandpaper test actually took grains/pills of leather off the surface, even though I did not feel I was being abusive with the degree of rubbing I was doing.

This left the goatskin as the clear winner - excellent scratch recovery, and no pilling when sanded. Nice grain/texture, and I have read it has a history of being very long-lasting and weather-resistant. It was also more pliable than I thought it would be.

I was surprised, but in my experience with the samples provided, the goat was the one that gave the best balance of those results. I have heard that the goat lasts the longest and takes the most time to show natural weathering, but I'd like this jacket to last the rest of my life as my 'go-to' jacket on a near-daily basis, and if needs be, I can help gently hasten the weathering a bit if I need to.

It will be a long few weeks of having to be patient, but it feels good to have finally moved forward with the purchase!

"You have chosen...wisely."

twlightzone1205 said:

"You have chosen...wisely."

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Thank you!

Congratulations! You will not be disappointed. I have had my Wested Raiders(distressed cowhide) for 9 years, and for most of that time it has been my go to jacket. It still looks great.

EXCELLENT choices, Zeitgeist.

After extensive research, I chose goat as well. Almost as soft as lamb, but extremely durable.

LZeitgeist said:

I'd like this jacket to last the rest of my life as my 'go-to' jacket on a near-daily basis, and if needs be, I can help gently hasten the weathering a bit if I need to.

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It will be that go-to jacket.

Let me tell you, though, you will need to do a lot more than "gently hasten" the weathering. You'll have to beat the hell out of it.

Honestly, at first I was very disappointed when my new jacket arrived, because it was *SO* new. Dark-dark brown (almost black) color, with pristine, polished leather all around. Didn't look anything like an Indiana Jones jacket.

My distressing involved a few hours with rags and a full quart of acetone to get the color down to a good looking brown. And then numerous more hours with sandpaper, rocks, and other implements of destruction to weather it. A lot of time in the dryer (no heat) to bump it around a little. Slept in it a few times. Used it as a pillow a few other times. Wiped it down with water a bunch and let it dry it out a bit.

Probably the most enjoyable part was the distressing with the rocks and sandpaper. This is where you really want to take your time and focus. I've seen pics of some terrible jobs where people took heavy grit paper and just rubbed it all over the jacket in big, random circles. Bad idea.

I put my jacket on, bent each arm, and then used the sandpaper on the raised spots -- the natural creases. Same on the elbows, and around the corners, collar, pocket flaps, shoulders, etc., as well Not random, but specific wear points.

It's such a tough jacket, it would have taken 10 years of regular wear to get it looking right.

All that said, don't be dismayed by the look of the "new" jacket. And definitely take a "before" pic as soon as it arrives. You'll want to have it for comparison.

Thanks for the kind words, and the AWESOME advice.

I will definitely be taking your suggestions to heart - I will probably walk roughly midway between your advice and seeing how it holds up on its own - I tend to err on the cautious side. But it is terrific to have your exact experience to apply to mine once I'm ready...

Day 17... time moves slowly... good things come to those who wait.

I'm cautiously hopeful that it will fit me like a glove right out of the box, but I'm also prepared to discover that perhaps a size 44 jacket won't fit me as I believe it is supposed to, so I'm trying to temper my excitement... I will be patient and calm and find out when it arrives.

Sending up a prayer to guide Peter's hands and eyes in creating the jacket I've really wanted for quite some time...

Day 18 - I'd sent an e-mail to Gemma reiterating that if they needed to change the jacket size to something other than Size 44 in order to properly fit my 43 inch chest, I trusted them and their expertise to do what they needed to do, and this morning she replied and said that my jacket 'will be cut tomorrow', so here we go!

Day 21... time passes.

Winds blow.

The planets scribe their arcs through the solar system.

And I wait.

Patiently, I wait.

For good things come...

Day 23... was idly poking around the Wested website a bit, wondering whether or not a leather collar stand was standard on the custom Raiders jacket, and I noticed a new item there under Product Categories: Gemma's getting married!

Peter wrote that she'll be getting married Oct. 4th in Cypress, so for two weeks he's 'the boss'.

Congrats, Gemma!

Day 26... just received an e-mail from Wested updating my order to 'Dispatched' - for those who have ordered, does this mean that the jacket has been completed and SHIPPED already...?

LZeitgeist said:

Day 26... just received an e-mail from Wested updating my order to 'Dispatched' - for those who have ordered, does this mean that the jacket has been completed and SHIPPED already...?

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YES--your jacket is now on it's way!

WOW! Holy smokes, that's two weeks before I thought it would be done. They turned that around quick!

Don't forget to take a pic of it fresh out of the package. It's the "before" image.

Yup, that's the plan.

Not sure the best place to upload pics for posting, but I guess it's time to finally figure that out...

LZeitgeist said:

Yup, that's the plan.

Not sure the best place to upload pics for posting, but I guess it's time to finally figure that out...

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Photobucket.

Upload, then copy the the DIRECT LINK--then click the image icon in the post reply and paste the code