FIVESTAR LEATHER G1 JACKET

[MaydayWei]

Thank you for taking the time to write me a well thought out and informative reply. I don’t take offense, you did not come off as rude. I agree with you. At first I felt like I knew exactly what I wanted...then i went down the rabbit hole of the Internet reading every post I could find here, TFL, etc... and my ADD/OCD kicked in and I have been all over the place second guessing my decisions.

so starting with the liner, I like the look of yours as well. So this is the seal brown polyester (#1) on Shawns website? Interesting, on the website it looks almost black.(As you mentioned) this is helpful as I think this is what I am going for.

Hey, no worries. I think we all go through the customisation craze.
I believe I went with Seal Brown Satin; not sure if that's the same as SB polyester.
In all honesty, the hardest part about a fully made to measure and made to order jacket is exercising restraint.
Yes, every individual option may be beautiful in and of themselves; but (at the end of the day) they've all got to work together in harmony.
And its the ability to exercise a little restraint and being a little more conservative with your choices which, I think, will help greatly in making a jacket which works as a whole. All being said and done, its difficult to exercise restraint when you have a carte blanche and can choose whichever crazy options you want on your jacket.

 

[MaydayWei]

Ok. Next question.
Regarding fit.
I have pretty much an idea for the shoulders and sleeves. But, I’ve never owned a jacket with armpit gussets.
I have a 39” Actual chest measurement. Jackets I currently have range from 21-23” P2P. Different patterns tend to fit differently. So in this style with armpit gussets, what would you recommend to achieve a comfortable but form fitted look. Manufacturers tend to vary on what they recommend in inches over your natural chest size...3” maybe 4”? What has worked for you?

the second question I have is regarding back length. I measured my Thedi Zippered shawl collar jacket which has a 24.5” back length. It fits me damn near perfect. However. It does not have knits. I guess my concern here is the leather stopping to high/short and the knits just reaching the 24.5” mark extended. Is this an issue? In your opinions what has worked best for you guys? Would you add a little length?

again, thanks for the suggestions.

Honestly, Seank, I just measured a suede jacket's P2P and went from there. That was it.
You mentioned you had a few leather jackets; that should be the closest resemblance to the g-1's thickness. As such, take your most well-fitting leather jacket and use that P2P; that is what I would recommend. But again, I'm no expert and Shawn is the authority here.

As for length, I'm not sure what the posts above may suggest but for normal run of the mill goatskin; the knit will ride up a bit. And over time and with stretch become a little shorter. So, I'm not much help here, but I do think that if the Thedi is bang on perfect go for that.
No point anticipating the unpredictable; you can't tell if the knits will shrink nor to what degree.
Even if you can, you may over or underestimate the length and just end up with a jacket with a length you hate because you were anticipating it to change over time; yet had not put in enough time on the jacket (because you hate the length) to let it conform to the predicted length.

 

[Seank]

Ok.
So I just emailed Shawn my final measurements and requests.

seal premium goat leather( as thick as possible with all panels being equal in thickness including pockets)
Liner Seal heavy Polyester #1
Russet Brown Knits
Dark cognac thread
Horn buttons
Reddish brown mouton collar (wish it was a little darker brown that what his website shows but he told me he only had the 4 “new and improved” mouton collar colors available and this is the closest to the look I think I want”

Went with these measurments:
Shoulders 18.25”
P2P 21.5”
Back length 24.5”
Sleeves 25”
Hem 17.5”

also added a couple details to make this look more like a AN-6552 (such as just US in yellow on back of collar rather than USN, Small change to the label, and a request on the shape of the throat latch...which Shawn was willing to do for me)

anyway, wish me luck. Haven’t received the final proposal from Shawn as of yet, but I’m sure it will come very soon.

I’ll post jacket pics once it’s finished.
Thanks to those who gave me some helpful info regarding the choices and process.

 

[B-Man2]

Ok.
So I just emailed Shawn my final measurements and requests.

seal premium goat leather( as thick as possible with all panels being equal in thickness including pockets)
Liner Seal heavy Polyester #1
Russet Brown Knits
Dark cognac thread
Horn buttons
Reddish brown mouton collar (wish it was a little darker brown that what his website shows but he told me he only had the 4 “new and improved” mouton collar colors available and this is the closest to the look I think I want”

Went with these measurments:
Shoulders 18.25”
P2P 21.5”
Back length 24.5”
Sleeves 25”
Hem 17.5”

also added a couple details to make this look more like a AN-6552 (such as just US in yellow on back of collar rather than USN, Small change to the label, and a request on the shape of the throat latch...which Shawn was willing to do for me)

anyway, wish me luck. Haven’t received the final proposal from Shawn as of yet, but I’m sure it will come very soon.

I’ll post jacket pics once it’s finished.
Thanks to those who gave me some helpful info regarding the choices and process.

Outstanding commitment! .... you jumped right into the mix .
congrats

 

[Otter]

Good go hear, it sounds great, are the knits the rib rack ? You planning to keep it bare or are you patching it ?

 

[Seank]

Good go hear, it sounds great, are the knits the rib rack ? You planning to keep it bare or are you patching it ?

If you are asking me...I did not specify rib rack, I only asked that they be wool.
we haven’t finished corresponding yet so I may inquire about rib rack since the original jacket has that feature.

keeping it bare. No patches.

 

[Seank]

Update:
Got my “your jacket is ready to ship” email.
The jacket looks outstanding in the pictures. Overall he nailed it. There are some concerns though.

first, the P2P came in at 21”.I ordered 21.5”.

second, I followed the instructions on how to measure the hem on his webpage. The Pics show him measuring the narrowest part of the knit along the bottom. So I followed that and ordered 17.5”. The pic he sent of my jacket shows him measuring along the seam of the knit and the leather and equals 17.5”... the bottom appears to my eyes to be about an inch narrower so I’m guessing 16-16.5”? I’m really not sure if this is an issue or not?

3) he labeled the size incorrectly from what I asked (Labeled a 36, when I asked for a 40 which is a closer representation to what size I typically wear) Not a huge deal, just not what I asked for.

4) I ordered russet brown knits, the pics appear to be brown, this could just be a camera issue.

5) I asked for the interior pocket snap to be deleted, and leave it an open pocket. he forgot apparently and put in the snap closure. (No big deal)

Everything else looked spot on and I really do like the look of it. My main concern is really just the P2P and the Hem measurement being to small.

what do you guys think? Am I being to nit picky? I asked Shawn to address these with me before sending me the jacket. Waiting now to hear back.

 

[daw]

It looks like great build quality! I hope it fits-make sure to update with fit pics once it arrives-looking forward to hearing your impressions.

 

[Seank]

It looks like great build quality! I hope it fits-make sure to update with fit pics once it arrives-looking forward to hearing your impressions.

Yes, other than the fit concerns I have and a couple very minor things, the jacket looks amazing. The close up pics he sent that I did not post here show a gorgeous leather and the stitching and all the details look very good. I am impressed with the quality of the work from the pictures.

 

[Seank]

Second update:
Shawn reached out to me quickly (Same day) and addressed all of my concerns to my satisfaction. Also sent additional pictures.
looks like it’s a “go”. Will update with pics and fit pics once received.
Here is a teaser pic

 

[MaydayWei]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product in the flesh.
I'm sure you'll love it.

 

[YoungMedic]

Second update:
Shawn reached out to me quickly (Same day) and addressed all of my concerns to my satisfaction. Also sent additional pictures.
looks like it’s a “go”. Will update with pics and fit pics once received.
Here is a teaser pic

That's looking pretty promising, can't wait to see it

 

[ausreenactor]

It looks like great build quality! I hope it fits-make sure to update with fit pics once it arrives-looking forward to hearing your impressions.

They are a well constructed jacket.

 

[busdrivermike]

Second update:
Shawn reached out to me quickly (Same day) and addressed all of my concerns to my satisfaction. Also sent additional pictures.
looks like it’s a “go”. Will update with pics and fit pics once received.
Here is a teaser pic

The color in the teaser pic is really nice

 

[Seank]

Received the jacket:

It looks real nice. The leather doesn’t have any bad smell as some mentioned, it’s fine.
the leather is comfortable and I love the color of the leather, stitching, Knits and liner...all came together really well. The mouton though is a lot more red than I thought it would be, not sure how I feel about that. On the website, his “reddish brown” mouton IMO does not look this red. I feel like he can do better representing the color, because this is not what I had in mind...not that it looks terrible, it doesn’t, but was not at all what I was expecting.

I think it came in a bit short as well. I actually ordered 24.75“ (made a last minute change and added .25” to what I Posted above) and I think it’s closer to 24”. Idk. In his pic he measured it right on but I’m not so sure. Because when I measured it, I get 24”. I have some pics that show his measurement and mine. Maybe it’s the way he is Holding it in his pic? I’m measuring it flat on hard surface.

despite the measurement it also feels kind of short in the back. Someone on another forum mentioned it might be the 4” knits. They’re pretty long which makes the leather in the back come up pretty short when you look at total length...the leather stops about an inch higher than I would have preferred. I think I’d like this pattern better with 3” knits and a little more Length to the leather Portion.
Anyway, take a look. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[MaydayWei]

despite the measurement it also feels kind of short in the back. Someone on another forum mentioned it might be the 4” knits. They’re pretty long which makes the leather in the back come up pretty short when you look at total length...the leather stops about an inch higher than I would have preferred. I think I’d like this pattern better with 3” knits and a little more Length to the leather Portion.
Anyway, take a look. Let me know your thoughts.

Hey Sean, congrats on your jacket! IMO it looks great; but I think you might be right.
I'm inclined to think that slight variations in length arise out of the stretch in the back knit; stretch it a little and it adds a quarter of an inch to the total back length; scrounge it up a little and it takes off a 1/10th of an inch. I can see how some inconsistencies arise that way.
Maybe the knits themselves are another factor to consider. I often find that wool knits more readily ride up than their non-wool counterparts; so, that might also be why. However, that's just conjecture.

On the whole, I think the jacket fits you quite well; especially so in the shoulders.
As for the length... well I like to be able to access my pockets with my jacket zipped up; and it seems that the length perfectly allows you to access your pockets while fully zipped. But that's just my personal preference.
At the end of the day, its not what we think that matters; its what you think and (more importantly) how you feel that matters! So long as your'e happy, its a win.
In short, you're looking great!

 

[Nickb123]

You pull it off, spec’d it beautifully (despite collar turning out differently) and you certainly are on the right track. But I’d imagine you’d be happier with a slightly longer jacket, and perhaps a tiny bit more room?

I noticed Shawn measures the length not from the main seam down but from the next seams up. I know Navy jackets are tricky to measure, but I’m not sure if that’s standard.

eta* I see the zero on the tape starts there. Disregard!

 

[AlexLutov]

Hi, bro this is just my opinion..the back is an inch longer and the belly area is also an inch or two wider for you will be better, as for the jacket itself, it looks great!

 

[Seank]

Hi, bro this is just my opinion..the back is an inch longer and the belly area is also an inch or two wider for you will be better, as for the jacket itself, it looks great!

I agree. I just measured the P2P Again and it’s also to small. I ordered 21.5” it’s only 21”. Which is what the original picture showed when he first sent me measurement pics...and when I questioned it he sent me a second picture that showed 21.5”...but its clearly not, at least when I measure it.
I emailed Shawn all of these concerns. He’s been great to work with so far. I’ll see what his thoughts are. Maybe we can come to a resolution and get this sorted. I have no reason to believe he won’t.

 

[fongman]

I agree. I just measured the P2P Again and it’s also to small. I ordered 21.5” it’s only 21”. Which is what the original picture showed when he first sent me measurement pics...and when I questioned it he sent me a second picture that showed 21.5”...but its clearly not, at least when I measure it.
I emailed Shawn all of these concerns. He’s been great to work with so far. I’ll see what his thoughts are. Maybe we can come to a resolution and get this sorted. I have no reason to believe he won’t.

Do you consider the thickness of the jacket, both sides may give you roughly 0.5" extra to the measurement?