Size help - Cooper A2

I'm looking to dip my toes into leather jackets.

After doing some research, I'm thinking I'll try a Cooper A2 and getting a Real McCoy down the line.

Would you guys have any tips for sizing? buying second hand, I can't return if it is incorrect.

My suit jacket size is a 42.

Also - would anyone have any fit pics of a Cooper A2?

Oli2012 said:

I'm looking to dip my toes into leather jackets.

After doing some research, I'm thinking I'll try a Cooper A2 and getting a Real McCoy down the line.

Would you guys have any tips for sizing? buying second hand, I can't return if it is incorrect.

My suit jacket size is a 42.

Also - would anyone have any fit pics of a Cooper A2?

Click to expand...

Best sizing advice is ignore the size and follow the measurements. A 42 can vary according to year of manufacture and certainly the model. Sizes are not standardized. You need to establish your pit to pit, back, shoulder and sleeve measurements (based on a jacket you like) and go from there. That way I have never had much trouble buying from ebay.

I have two Cooper A-2 jackets. Both are from the early 1980's time frame. Both are 38R and mil spec, and measure exactly 40" chest. One is dark seal color, the other is more russet and has a velcro patch.
The Cooper jackets are known for being closer to vintage size. My chest is 38", my waist is 30", I am 5'10" and could probably go with a 38L. These jackets aren't tight around my waist, but they fit me perfect. The vintage cut makes them ride up if you raise your arm.

I have two Nineties Cooper A2s-- one an orange-label commercial, the other a military. My experiences are:

Both are cut very trim in the chest, as others have noted.

Even the long sizes are none too long in the body.

They ride up when lifting one's arms not because of the overall snugness, but because their armholes are distinctly low-- the batwing effect. In fact, I'm told there was a thriving business at Laviano and at one Turkish airbase in corrective tailoring: adding gussets to free up the arm motion, as well as inside pockets.

The rather coarse cotton lining "sticks" when putting the jacket on, even over a starched shirt.

The pockets are very small-- literally too small to get your fists into. They are definitely for carrying things, not hands. Modern flight gear has dedicated pockets for key items like shroud cutters and radios, but I'm not sure what the original designers of the A2 thought would be stored at the waistline, behind the seatbelts. The pockets are way too small for maps, and won't close when holding a decent knife, a scarf, gloves, goggles, a fabric flight helmet, or even a knit cap. Maybe cigarettes, presumably in the hard pack?

Coopers are known for their long-pointed, somewhat oversized "disco collar", whjich looks best snapped down, but does have a period feel.

The goatskin in one of one of my Coopers is thin but very tough. The other looks just like capeskin, though that was never an approved specification.

If this sounds like a Diss of all A2s, please note that I love the design and the history-- it's just not especially practical for day-to-day usefrom what I can see.

Picked up a Cooper A2 a short time ago and it fits well. I wear a size 42L in men's suits, from BB say, although my chest is more a 40"-41" depending on weight gain/loss and my arms aren't especially long. Anyways, this cooper is tagged a 40 and still has plenty of room in it for me to move around. Here's the measurements:

armpits = 22.5"
length = 24.5"
back = 18.5" (at narrowest point, more like 19" or 19.5" in a modern design)
sleeve = 36"
sleeve only = 25"
sleeve underarm = 18"

Reviving this because..... well, I've recently discovered repeats of The A Team on TV, and am appreciating Murdoch's jacket on a whole new level than I did when I was ten and he was the one I wanted to be.... Yeah..... toying with the idea of buying a Cooper and having someone do the tiger artwork on it.... Anyroad, sounds like the Coopers are sized roughly 2" below the actual p2p measurement - so if I wanted a 48" p2p, I should be looking for a jacket sized as a 46?

@Edward, I'm a measured 48 chest, and have two Cooper A-2 in size 48L.
I wouldn't size down just because the cut of this particular jacket is so odd for an A-2. The loose waist, big low armholes and all. Mine aren't slack around my upper chest but totally slack from there down. Very wide shoulders, then literally an inch down from that a snug fit, and then after that it becomes slack again. I think it's how the sleeves are cut that makes this happen.

My Coopers were both one size too big for me... Both 40... (39" to 39.5" chest, 5'10 tall)...
But with these, so much also depends on your body type.

@Brettafett, that's a fair comment. I've noticed that guys with a slimmer figure who tried sizing down did ok. My body type isn't like that. I don't even know how consistent fit of Cooper A-2s was over time. G&B (for example) seem to have had unannounced cut changes, I don't know if Cooper ever did.

Yes, and I will say... my first one... The commemorative WW2 Edition was an awesome jacket.It was a lovely colour. It was almost a good fit, but the sleeves were well short for me. It was trimmer than the second a few years later. The second, same size 40 felt like a full size up for me. But, if I was a 'bigger' guy, it would probably have fitted. I actually tried a third, but it didn't fit either so gave it to my Dad.

Brett, you should have tried 40L (I owned two with orange label, one still is and one I'm selling), that would be exactly right for you. They had almost the same torso as a regular, and the sleeves are much longer. But now I think you are unlikely to want this of course. Everything has its time.