The Indiana Jones jacket. Much hype, little substance?

Brettafett · Aug 18, 2013

Nice jacket Kukulcan. I had a Wested raiders in lamb years ago. It was neatly made and fit well, comfy... but I didn't like the lamb. It felt too thin and shiny and boring... Thats said, I was comparing it to my ELC A-2s in HH! So, not a fair comparison

A good point about Wested is that they do custom alterations galore, whatever you would want. So, in the case of a Raiders, if you order a custom jacket for perfect fit plus mods and one of the more hardy or unique hides, with postage, you are looking at around £225 +-....
Now that is below half of many of the other makers and these jackets are not that bad.
I agree though, that sometimes they drop the ball and get it way off.... but that has happened with ELC and Aero before also, so....
Anyway, a good jacket as an all purpose daily wearer...

Meerkat · Aug 18, 2013

Great thread..never hear of Wested till now so I must try their biker jeans......

Zombie_61 · Aug 19, 2013

Kukulcan said:
I got what Wested calls "Novapelle" Raiders jacket for a good price which fits perfectly...I don't feel like I look like Indiana Jones nor really like an adventurer from the time, but I am an Indy nut and happy this works as an everyday jacket for autumn or warmer winter days...

This statement sums up my thoughts about my Wested "Raiders" jacket (also in Novapelle) fairly well. I consider myself a "casual" Indiana Jones fan (i.e., I've seen and enjoyed the movies numerous times, but don't have all of the little details committed to memory and don't feel the need to emulate Dr. Jones), and decided to order my jacket from Wested after seeing the fourth movie in 2008 simply because I've always liked the design. I was very pleased when my jacket arrived; Wested nailed the measurements I'd sent them, my jacket fit exactly as I wanted it to, and the craftsmanship was equal to any of the other leather jackets I've owned (i.e., it's a real jacket, not a "costume" jacket). The Novapelle is a beautiful cowhide, it's soft and comfortable, and not heavier than any of the other leather jackets I've owned.

That said, it's not the perfect all-around jacket. Novapelle tends to absorb water rather than repel it, so it's not really suitable for wet weather. And there's no insulation so, on it's own, it's not suited for temperatures below, say, 60°F, but that's easily solved by "layering" or wearing a sweater, sweatshirt, or thermal undershirt beneath it. Otherwise, it's a nice, comfortable jacket, and I've received quite a few compliments when I've worn it.

As for "looking like Indy", I've worn mine with my Akubra Fed IV several times and I've never once heard an "Indiana Jones" comment.

cm289 · Aug 30, 2015

Couple of years late to this party, but I'll crash it anyway. I loved the Indy jacket from the first time I saw it in '81. I'd seen the occasional repro in various mall shops in the late 80s but they just didn't look right and none of them fit me anyway.

I bought a USW steer-hide Legend a few years ago and it's been my go to winter jacket ever since. It's tough, warm, and looks great. So far, no one has recognized it as an Indy, but then I've never worn a fedora w/ it. I recently bought a Todd's for something a little more movie accurate, and I love it too, although it's nowhere near a tough as the USW.

As far as the criticisms about the Indy jacket not being accurate to the time period, all I can say is that my grandfather wore something similar in the 40s. Unfortunately, no one knows what became of it so I'll never know what the back looked like.

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The Good · Aug 30, 2015

That's a very cool jacket, and I like how he has a tie and hat with it!

cm289 · Aug 30, 2015

I'm not wild about the tie, but I love the rest of his outfit. I had a couple of his fedoras from the 60s, but they had much smaller brims. I'd love to have had this one. I also had four of his 3-piece suits when I was younger but my monkey arms got too long- sigh, they were great suits too.

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cm289 · Aug 31, 2015

Here's me trying to recreate the look. My tie is a Jerry Garcia; it's the closest I have to his.

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Barabus · Aug 31, 2015

Nicely done. Great look. Shoes do not seem to match?

cm289 · Aug 31, 2015

What? My shoes are matching each other[emoji12]

None of what I'm wearing is vintage, I just tried to find similar clothing items to his. My shoes are Alden 404s; his are probably some kind of dress shoe- I can't tell.

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IXL · Sep 1, 2015

Good job, but you might want to shorten the tie just a bit. That really is a pretty cool recreation image.

cm289 · Sep 1, 2015

Yup, the tie is too long. I tied the darn thing 4 times and either had it way too short or too long. Grrr!

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IXL · Sep 1, 2015

^^So we both learned to tie a tie at the same place?

cm289 · Sep 1, 2015

[emoji106]

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Zombie_61 · Sep 1, 2015

cm289 said:
Yup, the tie is too long. I tied the darn thing 4 times and either had it way too short or too long. Grrr!

I wear ties so infrequently that I have to look up the instructions for how to tie one every time I have to wear one of the stupid things. I'm not sure I've ever gotten the length right. lol

Great re-creation photo! :thumb:

jacketjunkie · Sep 1, 2015

Cool recreation image. Matter of factly I like the length we wear our ties at these days (->right to the belt) better than these short ones they wore back then. However your grandfather dons his hat in a way far too cool for any of us to possibly recreate.

CBI · Sep 4, 2015

if you go to pages 522-525 in this online catalog, you can bid on a real Indiana Jones jacket, hat and bullwhip used in one of the IJ movies. The jacket will only cost between $40,000-$60,000!!!!!!!

http://www.profilesinhistory.com/flipbooks/Hollywood74/index.html

Seb Lucas · Sep 4, 2015

CBI said:
if you go to pages 522-525 in this online catalog, you can bid on a real Indiana Jones jacket, hat and bullwhip used in one of the IJ movies. The jacket will only cost between $40,000-$60,000!!!!!!!

http://www.profilesinhistory.com/flipbooks/Hollywood74/index.html

Hmm, does that wonky last film even count as an Indy film? Was this one even used on screen? You can get a preloved Nowak just like that in the same leather batch from the COW classifieds for under $1000 if you're patient.

CBI · Sep 5, 2015

there's some pretty cool stuff in that Hollywood auction catalogue including Bob Crane's A-2 from Hogans Heroes, a Terminator jacket, etc.

Seb Lucas · Sep 5, 2015

None of that stuff interests me at all, I have to be honest, but I guess if you are interested in Arnold or poor Bob Crane then fair enough. There are certainly millions of fans and potential customers I'd imagine.

Worf · Sep 5, 2015

Personally I think you did a great job. Not my style... but you're small enough to rock that "Howard Hughes" look.

Worf

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