Hi guys im new here had a question about my new schott perfecto 618

Schott have endlessly readjusted the handwarmer pockets on their Perfecto. The angles and the positioning absolutely haven't been set in stone since the development of the jacket in the late 1920's. There is a webpage I stumbled across recently that gives a decade by decade breakdown of the changes Schott made to the Perfecto, and the handwarmers have been the most fiddled with element.

Edit: I've worn jackets from other brands where it was near impossible to get my hands in the handwarmer pockets- much too high and too far back. I agree it visually appears to be a pleasing place for pockets, but it makes them non functional. I had one Cafe Racer which looked cool but I couldn't get my hands in any of the 4 front pockets! Chest pockets raised up to look good, but out of reach whilst wearing the jacket. In such instances I don't know why they bother to go to the effort of installing pocket bags.

Edit 2: For anyone interested, here's the link with a list of changes to the Perfecto over the years: https://www.schottnyc.com/forum/posts/schott_perfecto_timeline.htm

Carlos840 said:

There is no such thing as a jacket "opening up" with wear, if it starts out too tight it will always be too tight.

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Those are my thoughts as well. A jacket will certainly soften up and become less restrictive with wear but it will not grow to fit its owner.

to a point both can be achieved using water, when the jacket is completely soaked, put it in dryer it will shrink or wear from wet to dry, it will mould, might pop a stitch or two if the jacket really is too small, but leather can expand, and broken stitches can be fixed, really not so different than raw jeans to think of it, but if the liner is synthetic it will not expand and the metal zipper can not expand nor shrink, so probably the end result is a bit janky with wavy zipper or puckering here and there where due to construction that part is less affected than area surrounding it.

Rich22 said:

Schott have endlessly readjusted the handwarmer pockets on their Perfecto. The angles and the positioning absolutely haven't been set in stone since the development of the jacket in the late 1920's. There is a webpage I stumbled across recently that gives a decade by decade breakdown of the changes Schott made to the Perfecto, and the handwarmers have been the most fiddled with element.

Edit: I've worn jackets from other brands where it was near impossible to get my hands in the handwarmer pockets- much too high and too far back. I agree it visually appears to be a pleasing place for pockets, but it makes them non functional. I had one Cafe Racer which looked cool but I couldn't get my hands in any of the 4 front pockets! Chest pockets raised up to look good, but out of reach whilst wearing the jacket. In such instances I don't know why they bother to go to the effort of installing pocket bags.

Edit 2: For anyone interested, here's the link with a list of changes to the Perfecto over the years: https://www.schottnyc.com/forum/posts/schott_perfecto_timeline.htm

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Great link, thanks! Interesting to know they've played that much with the pocket placement. If you're going to use them at all, it does help to be able to get at them while wearing the jacket. For me, if they're only intended as somewhere to stick otherwise dangling hands, it makes more sense for them not to be zipped, but tbh I never use those pockets for that on any of my jackets that have them as none are too long for me to more comfortable transfer hands to my trouser pockets.

TREEMAN said:

Funny …when someone’s leather jacket is too big they hopefully think that it will become smaller and mold to their body and fit correctly.
Then when someone has a jacket that’s too small they assume the jacket will somehow loosen itself to fit correctly…

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It's much the same with boots, isn't it? Though it's harder to convince yourself boots are right when they're wrong, I'm sure many of us have tried at least once! 'Too big' is, of course, both more subjective and easier to live with than too small. What took me a few goes to figure out was: just because you can fasten it up doesn't mean it fits.

I'm also rather reminded of the old Are you being served? line: "The sleeves will ride up with wear, sir."

Edward said:

Great link, thanks! Interesting to know they've played that much with the pocket placement. If you're going to use them at all, it does help to be able to get at them while wearing the jacket. For me, if they're only intended as somewhere to stick otherwise dangling hands, it makes more sense for them not to be zipped, but tbh I never use those pockets for that on any of my jackets that have them as none are too long for me to more comfortable transfer hands to my trouser pockets.



It's much the same with boots, isn't it? Though it's harder to convince yourself boots are right when they're wrong, I'm sure many of us have tried at least once! 'Too big' is, of course, both more subjective and easier to live with than too small. What took me a few goes to figure out was: just because you can fasten it up doesn't mean it fits.

I'm also rather reminded of the old Are you being served? line: "The sleeves will ride up with wear, sir."

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Its crazy too cuz none of this knowledge about fit with leather jackets can be gained except through ex

Edward said:

Great link, thanks! Interesting to know they've played that much with the pocket placement. If you're going to use them at all, it does help to be able to get at them while wearing the jacket. For me, if they're only intended as somewhere to stick otherwise dangling hands, it makes more sense for them not to be zipped, but tbh I never use those pockets for that on any of my jackets that have them as none are too long for me to more comfortable transfer hands to my trouser pockets.



It's much the same with boots, isn't it? Though it's harder to convince yourself boots are right when they're wrong, I'm sure many of us have tried at least once! 'Too big' is, of course, both more subjective and easier to live with than too small. What took me a few goes to figure out was: just because you can fasten it up doesn't mean it fits.

I'm also rather reminded of the old Are you being served? line: "The sleeves will ride up with wear, sir."

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I'm new the leather jacket game. Always wanted one since i was a little kid. Finally did my research and discovered Schott recently. Purchased a size too small on the Schott 618 because i saw many on the internet who know their leather jackets ordered their exact size. Tried to make that jacket work but after wearing it for a week, concluded that the shoulders were too small. So went the next size up and it's much better now. Learned a lot from the Fedora Lounge, like too small is too small, and too big is too big. And also a jacket cut that doesn't fit your body is a thing and in that case, no size of that particular cut will work for you. Also learned that

Hey guys so i got the size 44 (size 42 indeed was too small, thank you to all who were saying that. But of course with jackets, its something we need to figure out ourselves. And it feels much better. Only thing now is that one of the epaulets was folded when i took it out of the package. It didnt fold once i started wearing it. Will it flatten eventually? Pic attached. It just kind of irks me every time i look at in the mirror- that fold in the middle of the elaupelet on my left shoulder. Schott customer service said it would flatten as the jacket breaks in. Any of u guys experience that with your jackets? If so did they flatten over time?

Saxena107 said:

Hey guys so i got the size 44 (size 42 indeed was too small, thank you to all who were saying that. But of course with jackets, its something we need to figure out ourselves. And it feels much better. Only thing now is that one of the epaulets was folded when i took it out of the package. It didnt fold once i started wearing it. Will it flatten eventually? Pic attached. It just kind of irks me every time i look at in the mirror- that fold in the middle of the elaupelet on my left shoulder. Schott customer service said it would flatten as the jacket breaks in. Any of u guys experience that with your jackets? If so did they flatten over time?

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you shouldn't have to do this because it's an expensive jacket that you bought new, but sometimes it's just easier knocking things out yourself.

wet the epaulette, not like dripping wet, but thorough. Place a book or something flat on top. Obviously not a paperback or anything that will bleed. Then put some weight on top and let it dry over night. If you have the right sized dumbbell it might fit perfectly on there directly.

That'll get it to lay flat. If there's a full blown deep crease, I'd send back. You could try water, towel on top, then iron through the towel. Something I'd do if it was a used jacket. But brand spanking new, not sure I'd go through all this work.

So

TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead said:

you shouldn't have to do this because it's an expensive jacket that you bought new, but sometimes it's just easier knocking things out yourself.

wet the epaulette, not like dripping wet, but thorough. Place a book or something flat on top. Obviously not a paperback or anything that will bleed. Then put some weight on top and let it dry over night. If you have the right sized dumbbell it might fit perfectly on there directly.

That'll get it to lay flat. If there's a full blown deep crease, I'd send back. You could try water, towel on top, then iron through the towel. Something I'd do if it was a used jacket. But brand spanking new, not sure I'd go through all this work.

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so what was the problem with it in the first place? Also do u think it'll flatten over time by just wearing it?

Saxena107 said:

And also a jacket cut that doesn't fit your body is a thing and in that case, no size of that particular cut will work for you. Also learned that

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Way back, I wore my jackets "too big", like everybody did. Then I got into vintage and tried to wear them too small.... takes a bit to figure it out. Knowing what cuts suit you or will or won't fit is the trickiest bit, but sounds like you're figuring it all out fast.

congrats enjoy!

On the size 44 Schott Perfecto 618 that im currently wearing, everywhere felt fine except for some shoulder fatigue. The shoulders arent saggy or too tight looking; pic attached. I thought its just because the jacket is heavy and so thats what im feeling. Then i looked at the jacket measurement chart on legendary USA.com and saw that the cross shoulder length on this jacket is 19.75 inches. And my shoulder length is 20 inches. Is a quarter of an inch shortness significant with shoulder length on jackets? Would that explain the shoulder fatigue?

19.75" is plenty for that p2p for almost everyone, and a quarter of an inch isn't going to make any difference of note.

TREEMAN said:

Wear the jacket and enjoy it. Stop fretting over every little thing…

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This was good advice on Thursday and it’s even better advice today. If you can’t relax and enjoy the jacket then leather jackets might not be your thing.

El Marro said:

This was good advice on Thursday and it’s even better advice today. If you can’t relax and enjoy the jacket then leather jackets might not be your thing.

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Ive seen lots of other posts on here where people get really specific with their questions with no kickback from other people. So i dont see how im being any different. Leather jackets are an expensive long term investment so questions and concerns should be expected and welcomed. I understand its human nature for there to be a pecking order and so senior posters get more respect and new guys are likely to get told to shut up and just wear it (which i have been). Its just a question if ur annoyed u dont have to respond. I know though that im not being overly anal with my questions ive seen tons of other posts on this forum with similar questions and respectful responses.


Also the first time i was recommended to stop fretting over every little thing, it was regarding a shoulder strap that was bent, and so it didnt look good. Im paying my hard earned money for an expensive jacket so my questions matter. If the people on this forum faced this problem, i guarantee many if not most people on here would notice it and have questions about it. My second question after that shoulder strap question was regarding shoulder sizing measurements. And its a another valid question, because it could lead the questioner to eventually seeking a custom made jacket later on down the road. So none of my questions are invalid, so being told to stop fretting over every little thing is disrespectful and a new guy doesnt have to take it. Its not my fault that there have been back to back problems with my recent schott 618 purchases. I believe i also mentioned loose stitching on one of the jackets, which falls in line with the notion (found on this forum) that schott stitching has more mistakes on average than almost any of the other big name leather jacket brands.

Just figured I'd chime in here to try to be helpful.

Saxena107, I think you're misinterpreting Treeman and El Marro's recent posts. Pretty sure they weren't annoyed, at all. It sounds like your recent jacket is causing you wayyyyyy more of a headache than enjoyment. I am confident their intent is not to be condescendingly dismissive, but to try to be helpful when advising you to just relax and enjoy your new jacket. Just to emphasize here "Helpful", not "kickback." It's painfully obvious that your recent purchase is causing you a fair amount of stress, and is also coloring your perception of other forum members' efforts to try to help you avoid stressing.

I rarely post on here, but have been a member and regular visitor for what's gotta be 12 years or so now. In that dozen or so years, I've owned a little over a dozen or so jackets by Eastman, Schott, Vanson, Thedi, Pegasus, Bill Kelso Mfg, and Lost Worlds. With the exception of the one Lost Worlds, all of the jackets had flaws that you can pick out pretty easily if you're looking for them. In a couple of instances they were severe enough to send back to the manufacturer to be repaired, but most of them were just minor but enough to set off my OCD (like, legit, I'm OCD). With the ones that were repaired and sent back to me, the presence of the repairs put them in that category for me all the rest were already with their minor flaws.

It's disappointing, but I've bregudgingly accepted that these flaws go with the territory. Like, there's no way I'm that unlucky that less than 10 percent of my leather jackets purchased since 2008 met the standard of QC I thought should be the industry standard. If 90 percent of my jackets had minor flaws/QC issues, for better or worse, THAT IS the industry standard, I'd say, lol. If the industry standard isn't up to the consumer's standard, then it's not a good match, plain and simple. Luckily when it's a non-essential subindustry of something like fashion, the consumer can move on if it's unacceptable to them.

I think you might want to reconsider labeling the well intentioned advice meant to try to help you enjoy your jacket as somehow being disrespectful.

erikb02809 said:

Just figured I'd chime in here to try to be helpful.

Saxena107, I think you're misinterpreting Treeman and El Marro's recent posts. Pretty sure they weren't annoyed, at all. It sounds like your recent jacket is causing you wayyyyyy more of a headache than enjoyment. I am confident their intent is not to be condescendingly dismissive, but to try to be helpful when advising you to just relax and enjoy your new jacket. Just to emphasize here "Helpful", not "kickback." It's painfully obvious that your recent purchase is causing you a fair amount of stress, and is also coloring your perception of other forum members' efforts to try to help you avoid stressing.

I rarely post on here, but have been a member and regular visitor for what's gotta be 12 years or so now. In that dozen or so years, I've owned a little over a dozen or so jackets by Eastman, Schott, Vanson, Thedi, Pegasus, Bill Kelso Mfg, and Lost Worlds. With the exception of the one Lost Worlds, all of the jackets had flaws that you can pick out pretty easily if you're looking for them. In a couple of instances they were severe enough to send back to the manufacturer to be repaired, but most of them were just minor but enough to set off my OCD (like, legit, I'm OCD). With the ones that were repaired and sent back to me, the presence of the repairs put them in that category for me all the rest were already with their minor flaws.

It's disappointing, but I've bregudgingly accepted that these flaws go with the territory. Like, there's no way I'm that unlucky that less than 10 percent of my leather jackets purchased since 2008 met the standard of QC I thought should be the industry standard. If 90 percent of my jackets had minor flaws/QC issues, for better or worse, THAT IS the industry standard, I'd say, lol. If the industry standard isn't up to the consumer's standard, then it's not a good match, plain and simple. Luckily when it's a non-essential subindustry of something like fashion, the consumer can move on if it's unacceptable to them.

I think you might want to reconsider labeling the well intentioned advice meant to try to help you enjoy your jacket as somehow being disrespectful.

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I've been reading posts on this forum extensively lately, learning a lot about leather jackets. And i've seen posts where people were asking very specific questions, including things like specific measurements of their jacket of interest and comparing them to their body measurements. These questions were happily answered. I see now that my numerous questions are showing my stress, and i suppose that stress is being experienced when people read my questions, which is leading them to become frustrated with my questions. I totally get that. (Since a youth i was always the kid asking question after question, not to be annoying but because i was actually intensely curious. And i know from experience that people usually end up getting frustrated, wanting me to stop asking questions. But hey that's how i've been able to succeed in life- by asking questions). Yes i am stressed. It was a big purchase, and i want a jacket that i'll wear for the rest of my life. So I want to get it right, and i know everyone on this forum understands and relates to that desire. There were problems with the three jackets i purchased (size 42, 44, and 46 of the schott perfecto 618). Either the problem was it was the wrong size, or there was some loose stitching, or the shoulder strap was bent making it look unattractive. Thank you for letting me know from your extensive experience that leather jackets generally come with small imperfections most of the time. That info is very helpful to a first time buyer. Regarding the shoulder length question i had, in your opinion- If the cross shoulder length of a jacket is a quarter inch shorter than my actual shoulder length, and the rest of the jacket fits fine, is that a significant enough difference that it would cause noticeable tightness/discomfort in the shoulders? Or is a quarter of an inch of tightness in the shoulders not a big deal and does not mean it's too tight? I ask because i have been experiencing shoulder fatigue. I've been wearing the jacket for the last 5 days for about 10 hours a day, which is a long time. So is it that it's just a heavy jacket (it's heavy steerhide, 3-3.5 ounces i believe), and so wearing it for 10 hours a day will eventually cause some shoulder fatigue? I've read on this forum that with certain jackets, because they're so heavy, that they can't wear their jacket for too long otherwise it becomes uncomfortable. I know my jacket isn't the heaviest but it's still pretty heavy. So is that what's causing the shoulder fatigue, or is it that the jacket shoulder length is a quarter of an inch short. I personally feel like a quarter of an inch shouldn't make a difference, and that it's really just my body being shocked to the jacket's weight. And as i get used to it, the shoulder fatigue will go away. Or at least that's what i'm hoping.

outside lambskin/ sheepskin/ goatskin/ calfskin, it is pretty normal for a brand new jacket in steer, thick cow, or horse to feel stiff at first and you just have to go through it. broken in jacket same like broken in boots and raw jeans will take some wear to get there.

if you keep sizing up to the point the jacket fit comfy from the start it will look sloppy visually, by the time it is broken in you won't be happy with it.

At some point one year ago my jacket was doing this kind of impossible poses unsupported


It was very stiff and the very dry. I feel pain on the seams where folded leather edges is pooling since jacket fit very snug on me
In the thread WJDYWT i wear this same jacket today totally comfy.

erikb02809 said:

Saxena107, I think you're misinterpreting Treeman and El Marro's recent posts. Pretty sure they weren't annoyed, at all. It sounds like your recent jacket is causing you wayyyyyy more of a headache than enjoyment. I am confident their intent is not to be condescendingly dismissive, but to try to be helpful when advising you to just relax and enjoy your new jacket.

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Thank you @erikb02809, that is exactly where I was coming from.
To the OP, I meant what I said but I did not mean to insult you and I apologize if it came off that way.