Aero M422a Fit Advice/Opinions

[adfrost]

I purchased this size 48 Aero USN Type M422a jacket "like new" off a member on the old forum waaaayyyy back before it got wiped. Sadly upon receiving it, I wasn't crazy with the fit at the time and then proceeded to gain enough weight to make it unwearable. However, I kept it around in my closet and it's basically never been worn out & about either by the original owner or by me. I've lost about 35lbs over the course on 2019, and I can actually wear the jacket again, so I'm pondering what to do with it: keep or try to sell. I will say fit aside, I think the jacket is amazing. The leather looks stunning to my eye and has a lot of character out of the box. Very heavy & pebbled. Construction is fantastic. The only complaint is that the zipper action isn't very smooth.

With that out of the way, I'd like to get some opinions on how it fits. My general feelings:

• The shoulders seem wide & quite square to me. Maybe they'll relax a bit with wear?
• The sleeves also seem too long. Most photos I see of M422s on others, the knits are "extended", whereas these tuck into the sleeve on me.
• Chest is fine but a bit restrictive with movement, but this is the only leather jacket I've ever really owned other than my B-6, so perhaps that's just how it fits.

So here's the photos. I welcome your opinions/advice. If this is the wrong forum for this kind of question, perhaps it could be moved.

 

[B-Man2]

I think it fits fairly well. If your thinking about selling it, I think you have to be here a while before your allowed to put it up for sale. I honestly think it looks good on you.

 

[mulceber]

There’s something that looks slightly off about it, imho. I don’t think it’s the fit though. If I had to guess what it is, I’d say repros have just gotten closer to the real deal since this jacket was made. But I don’t spend a ton of time looking at M-422s, so it might just be me.

 

[crism1]

I do think some jackets can get away with looser fits, especially vintage-inspired\miltiary ones, but the shoulder\arms behaviour in the third picture shows all the landmarks of a jacket that's a bit big.

However it's hard to tell since the arm construction is a bi-swing and there's no picture of your body without the jacket on. If you have broad shoulders the fit would be absolutely perfect

 

[adfrost]

I think it fits fairly well. If your thinking about selling it, I think you have to be here a while before your allowed to put it up for sale. I honestly think it looks good on you.

Yeah, not posting for a decade and having all posting history before that wiped has some downsides.

 

[adfrost]

I do think some jackets can get away with looser fits, especially vintage-inspired\miltiary ones, but the shoulder\arms behaviour in the third picture shows all the landmarks of a jacket that's a bit big.

Yeah, the sleeves were my biggest issue from the moment I got it. But I also can't imagine fitting into the body of a size 46 either. Had I ordered this directly from Aero, I'm sure they could have adjusted the fit to match me better, like they did with my B-6. But alas, I hoped to save a couple hundred bucks at the time getting it Like New.

 

[adfrost]

However it's hard to tell since the arm construction is a bi-swing and there's no picture of your body without the jacket on. If you have broad shoulders the fit would be absolutely perfect

Ask and ye shall receive!

 

[crism1]

Oh well you shoulders look to be super broad even without the jacket. I did a very quick juxtaposition on photoshop of the two pictures, the ones where you have your hands on your hips and the jacket follows naturally your body. The shoulder "effect" is not very refined, it's true, but it's probably accentuated because of the bi-swing detail.

I'd say keep it

 

[Smithy]

Looks fine from here. I'd just wear it. We can sometimes get a bit too caught up in pedantic details when it comes to fit, but if it looks good, it's not uncomfortable to wear, then just wear it and enjoy it. The more you wear it the better it'll feel and look so another reason to just wear the brown stuff out of it.

 

[MikeyB-17]

I think it’s still quite new and stiff, the shoulders are quite boxy. I think it looks better undone. I do wonder if the goat might be a bit thick, I don’t think wartime Navy jackets were that heavy. Give it some wear and I think it will improve. The sleeves will certainly crease and shorten. A bit of candle wax will help with the zip. Give it a bloody good hammering and it will thank you for it. Don’t baby it. It’s a nice jacket, I quite fancy one myself.

 

[Boyo]

Very nice jacket! , Its really still a new jacket regardless of its age, give it some exclusive wear this winter.. don't wear a different jacket no matter what you're up to.. see where this is at come spring..

 

[adfrost]

Finally got some pictures of the jacket. One odd/unique thing about the pattern vs most of the other repros I've looked at is where the armpit gusset meets the jacket body. Most patterns I've seen, the seam is closer to the shoulder; about half the length of where the seam is on this jacket. It's lower on the jacket on the Aero. That is probably is playing a part in the shape of the sleeves and restriction/pulling of the chest.

Jacket Front by Aaron Frost, on Flickr

Armpit Seams by Aaron Frost, on Flickr

Goodwear Gordon Chapman:

Eastman:

Buzz Rickson's:

 

[ausreenactor]

Sadly upon receiving it, I wasn't crazy with the fit at the time and then proceeded to gain enough weight to make it unwearable.

That's commitment to the Aero cause! Well played mate, well played!

 

[Thomas Koehle]

i think it fits you pretty good - off Course it Needs to "mold" a bit more to your Body - which will happen whilst wearing it - other than that nice jacket

 

[ties70]

Sorry to disagree here, but I think @mulceber is correct...for Navy jackets I would have other repro makers in mind, not necessarily AERO.

The initial fit is consistent with some AERO M-422a jackets I have seen and tried on, though: It's trim in the waist area and massive in the shoulders.... If this would have come from Pakistan, we would have said "Boxy shoulder syndrome!!"

Of course, a lot of this could be enhanced by the tough / thick leather.
It's just my personal experience, but I always found the combination of new / stiff leather and rather flimsy single-woven rib-rack waistbands made "wearing the hell outta the jacket" so much harder, as it didn't feel comfortable right from the beginning....

Just my 2 cents...

Ties

 

[adfrost]

Just my 2 cents...

Ties

I pretty much agree with everything you wrote. It’s definitely got a taper, but I couldn’t go any smaller with the body to fit the shoulders better; it’s right at the limit of what fits me around the belly region. The leather looks fantastic, IMHO, and it’s a tank of a jacket, which will make it tough to break in. I have no other points of comparison with other repro makers, so I have no idea if they all use heavy goat like this.

The rib-rack waist band looks nice, but I feel like it’s going to get torn up sooner or later. There’s pretty much no flex on that bottom thread.

 

[adfrost]

So I received a lovely jacket from Five Star and now have a point of comparison. The biggest issue with the Aero is definitely that shoulder to sleeve attachment. It's like the entire top section of the sleeve is rotated forward, which causes the sleeves to have a more forward orientation, and causes binding in the chest. You can tell just from seeing the two side to side how a big a difference this makes in how the sleeves lay. The Five Star is much more comfortable & mobile, and it has a pattern like the examples in the earlier post. I don't think I'll be keeping it due to some other fit issues, but I'm confident I can work those out with Shawn & get it spot-on with some tweaks.

 

[busdrivermike]

The aero sleeves and gussets are similar to my schott bomber, the schott sleeves and gussets
Are designed to reach towards motorcycle bars, makes me wonder if the aero was built for the
Modern buyer driving cars and motorcycles