Any opinions on what this one is?

[mulceber]

I think my first Eastman and Sefton were both £135 each.....

This falls under the category of “reasons I wish time machines were real.”

 

[Micawber]

This falls under the category of “reasons I wish time machines were real.”

Yep, I remember those prices but salary and wage levels were somewhat lass back then too. Go back 40/50 years and original WW2 gear was everywhere and regarded as just old military surplus gear and cheap as chips.

 

[mulceber]

Not to mention a time when one would have their pick of jackets in any condition.

 

[ZuZu]

IMO those sleeve wrinkles are ghastly- never seen on originals! That being said this old Eastman has been worn to its full capability of character- what you see is about all you're going to get out of that glassy leather. In its own way it is kinda cool- just as hipster outerwear...

 

[Micawber]

IMO those sleeve wrinkles are ghastly- never seen on originals! That being said this old Eastman has been worn to its full capability of character- what you see is about all you're going to get out of that glassy leather. In its own way it is kinda cool- just as hipster outerwear...

Lol!

No Sir, original issue jackets never creased in use during the war.

Hasn't the subject of creasing been done to death several times over already?

 

[mulceber]

That one on the left is a dead ringer for the Eastman wrinkles, IMO. That said, my original doesn’t have those distinctive, deep creases, so I suspect it varies.

 

[ZuZu]

Using a period photo for this discussion is silly. Original A-2s worn will of course show wrinkling in the sleeves-the wearer's arms force this- the difference is seen when you compare to an original today unworn. Just go through all the photos of originals in this forum- 90% will NOT show the weird variegated perma-fold wrinkles found on this Eastman. In fact a defining feature of many originals is how the sleeves don't show this ugly feature! the leather goes back to being flat- creased and full of grain- but flat.

 

[ZuZu]

The adoration of creases I think is akin to the adoration of whiskers and diamond fades on denim. It's kind of a thing but I think that if it is "authenticity" you want stay way from the weird leathers which will produce such grotesque tight weird-looking sleeves. Vintage A-2s are full of surprises and beauty but it is mostly subtle- I guess the 21996 Aero is the exception- variegated and multicolored often.

 

[mulceber]

I’d point out that using photos of them 80 years later, after the wrinkles have been pressed out by the jacket being folded up and shoved in a box for a few decades isn’t exactly good arguing either.

But I don’t really care on this point: I like the look of the jacket, and it looks like A-2s did at the time. If it fits, I’ll wear the heck out of it.

 

[ZuZu]

As Marisa Tomei says in My Cousin Vinne "I like to argue!" I'll post a picture from this forum of an original worn- it almost bolsters your POV. What's missing you'll notice is the weird multicolored effect of the Eastman...

 

[ZuZu]

OK- so I'm really wrong apparently- period jackets could look exactly like yours-

 

[mulceber]

Well, I suspect it varied. A lot didn't. Some did. If nothing else, it was a great excuse to look at some killer jackets.

 

[B-Man2]

Yep ...you were wrong ...but you’re a stand up guy enough to admit it on an open forum.
That’s cool ... Cheers

 

[Skanstull]

I think there may be an ounce of truth in this as chrome tanned leather don't hold shapes/wrinkles to the same extent as veg tanned leather.

 

[Smithy]

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is thinking that how an original looks now (close to 80 years after the fact) is how they looked - and felt for that matter - in wartime. I've mentioned it before as we have a handful of originals in the museum here and all of them have sleeve creasing although it's less pronounced as they've lain flat in storage for many years. All those jackets above have sleeve creasing if you look closely, it's just flattened from years of storage and little if any wear in recent years.

Skanstull makes a very good point too. Veg tanned stuff tends to hold wrinkles, at least initially. If Blakeslee took off that jacket he's wearing in the photo above I bet you that arm creasing wouldn't be nearly so pronounced. One of my A-2s is chrome tanned and does exactly the same thing, creases up in the arms when I wear it, take it off and an hour later it's flattened out quite dramatically.

 

[ZuZu]

I've been at this business for many years now- if you are an old member you would remember me! I've been collecting since 1976 and have lived through Avirex, Eastman, Lost Worlds, Aero, RMNZ, Buzz Rickson etc. I've handled 100s of original jackets including an A-2 (Perry) still in the box in 1980. I actually think the "mistake" is thinking that originals today have gone through some magical transformation which makes them completely different from how they looked back in the day. They grow stiffer- sometimes- and the leather takes on a wonderful patina- mostly- but in my experience the accordion sleeve effect happens when the jacket is worn- if you were to take one of the examples shown in period photos and lay it flat and smooth it out with your hand it would flatten out. My complaint with many modern repros is that this accordion effect is a permanent effect because too thick leather is used on the sleeves and weirdly tanned leather very different from WW2 leather is used. Over-thickness is the main culprit. WW2 jackets were generally floobier and draped- they weren't the carpace-like armour items we see too often today. Real Mcoys Japan would be the main offender but most repro makers today share this. If you look at period photos you can see that issued A-2s didn't need a break in period...

 

[mulceber]

Not that there was any doubt about the sharp eyes on this forum...

More pictures to come.

 

[mulceber]

It’s a gorgeous jacket and the fit is excellent, apart from being a bit snug in the stomach, but I just don’t have that v-shaped torso that US soldiers did. I’m kind of shocked this counts as a long though. Lengthwise (in the arms and the body) it’s a pretty good match for my Original United Sheeplined, which is a 42.

The only down side to this is the modest damage to the armpit, but it doesn’t look like that’s getting worse any time soon, and I can have it fixed later.

Edit: I've done some measuring and I'm pretty well convinced this isn't a Long: standard back and sleeve measurements on an Eastman 1401P should be 25.5". A long should (presumably) be 26.5. The measurements on this jacket are a little short of 25 inches.