Rutger
Well-Known Member
After having tried and rejected an ELC Werber 42 (too tight), ELC Roughwear 44 (too bulky) I got this one about a month and a half ago through ELC agent Tattersall over here in Enschede, Holland.
I bought it for layered wearing, but due to summer not really being a summer for the better part of the last two months, I've been wearing it quite often, albeit with only a t-shirt on most of the time.
Although a bit too long in the sleeves and the body (well, according to my own taste that is), it allows me to actually make movements with arms and body to reach the radio knob in my car, which was not the case with the ELC time worn Werber 42.
I also figured when fitting it, I could relatively easy find someone to have the sleeves shortened, if I still considered that a necessity after moderate wear. As it immediately felt good (apart from being new, with its stiffness), I decided to buy it on the spot.
I also tried on another Roughwear, which was marked 46, and surprisingly felt better than the 44 Roughwear tried a month earlier.
There certainly is some inconsistency in sizing.
It feels definitely less bulky then the Roughwear that I tried a couple of months ago.
It also has considerably less shoulder droop than the Roughwear.
The arms are more tapered, right up to the shoulders.
I did several luke warm water treatments on it to see if I could shorten the sleeves (and the body).
I would spray-mist warm water on it for about five minutes front, back, arms, until the outer skin would be sort of soaked (not quite deep though), then put it in a large pillow cover and put it into the dryer, set at refreshening, low temp, for about half an hour or so. I did include a couple of short cycles at elevated temperatures. The leather would be dry then by like 70-80%. Hanging it in the closet, the remaining humidity would sort of migrate to the outer surface, and it could be felt that there still was enough water in it to experiment with slightly longer drying periods (in the future). Having also wettened the inside of the pockets to include those parts of the jacket in the proces, this quite expectedly turned out to have only dried partially, in no way to the extend of the rest of the jacket.
The main results: some minor shortening partly due to wrinkles in the elbow pit, the leather became more supple, and the grain came out just a bit more, and very pleasing: the collar would get more supple and tension in the leather would curl it towards the way they're usually curled after use. They don't stick into my neck, chin and jaw anymore.
It does look indeed just a bit more used after the treatment, but that was not the object, and it is very mild.
I have to admit that none of my fears turned into reality; no wrecked leather, no ridiculously shrinkage, no weakened cuffs, waist, liner.
I do consider applying some leather conditioner, I feel the humidity and warmth will have had some effect on the surface.
Some pics down here, a few zipped (which I hardly ever do), the rest unzipped.
Feel free to comment (just don't mention the overweight issue
).
I bought it for layered wearing, but due to summer not really being a summer for the better part of the last two months, I've been wearing it quite often, albeit with only a t-shirt on most of the time.
Although a bit too long in the sleeves and the body (well, according to my own taste that is), it allows me to actually make movements with arms and body to reach the radio knob in my car, which was not the case with the ELC time worn Werber 42.
I also figured when fitting it, I could relatively easy find someone to have the sleeves shortened, if I still considered that a necessity after moderate wear. As it immediately felt good (apart from being new, with its stiffness), I decided to buy it on the spot.
I also tried on another Roughwear, which was marked 46, and surprisingly felt better than the 44 Roughwear tried a month earlier.
There certainly is some inconsistency in sizing.
It feels definitely less bulky then the Roughwear that I tried a couple of months ago.
It also has considerably less shoulder droop than the Roughwear.
The arms are more tapered, right up to the shoulders.
I did several luke warm water treatments on it to see if I could shorten the sleeves (and the body).
I would spray-mist warm water on it for about five minutes front, back, arms, until the outer skin would be sort of soaked (not quite deep though), then put it in a large pillow cover and put it into the dryer, set at refreshening, low temp, for about half an hour or so. I did include a couple of short cycles at elevated temperatures. The leather would be dry then by like 70-80%. Hanging it in the closet, the remaining humidity would sort of migrate to the outer surface, and it could be felt that there still was enough water in it to experiment with slightly longer drying periods (in the future). Having also wettened the inside of the pockets to include those parts of the jacket in the proces, this quite expectedly turned out to have only dried partially, in no way to the extend of the rest of the jacket.
The main results: some minor shortening partly due to wrinkles in the elbow pit, the leather became more supple, and the grain came out just a bit more, and very pleasing: the collar would get more supple and tension in the leather would curl it towards the way they're usually curled after use. They don't stick into my neck, chin and jaw anymore.
It does look indeed just a bit more used after the treatment, but that was not the object, and it is very mild.
I have to admit that none of my fears turned into reality; no wrecked leather, no ridiculously shrinkage, no weakened cuffs, waist, liner.
I do consider applying some leather conditioner, I feel the humidity and warmth will have had some effect on the surface.
Some pics down here, a few zipped (which I hardly ever do), the rest unzipped.
Feel free to comment (just don't mention the overweight issue
).
