First Aero Highwayman Order - Questions.

[PDG]

Hi Gents,

I am about to order a custom Highwayman from Aero Leathers and was hoping the experienced members of Fedora Lounge could chime in and perhaps offer some advice.

My ideal arm length should fall at 27.5" from the shoulder seam. Should I add extra length to allow for leather creasing? If so, how much?

I am going to ask for a 2" Corduroy strip at the bottom of the lining for durability. Is it worth asking for a 1" inside leather hem on the sleeves? Are there any drawbacks to this?

If the back measurement is spot on (1/2" below the belt), how do I know the front length will also be? Have any members had the front length work out shorter than they had anticipated?

Can someone please explain to me "Roll-over stitching" and its benefits?

Kind regards
Peter

 

[ButteMT61]

Aero can answer any questions, but my limited knowledge is this - others will chime in for sure:

The strip, if corduroy, I believe to be free. Leather was ~$75 more. Good idea, and many have done it.
Sleeves, add from 1"-2", depending on how you like your sleeves. If you tend to want longer, go 1-1/2" or 2"
What are your numbers - height, weight, etc?

 

[Jack Burton]

My ideal arm length should fall at 27.5" from the shoulder seam. Should I add extra length to allow for leather creasing? If so, how much?

I think you're better off measuring from the center of the neck to the cuff, like a dress shirt. Shoulder seams can vary but your neck-cuff length will not. You certainly can give an approximate shoulder-to-cuff length though. I added .5" to my desired sleeve length to account for wrinkling but I haven't seen the finished project yet, so I don't know for sure.

Can someone please explain to me "Roll-over stitching" and its benefits?

The edge of the leather is folded twice instead of once when stitched to the adjoining piece. The pros are it looks nice, the cons are that the protruding bead of leather will abrade faster than the rest of the jacket. It's a common stitch on textiles but I imagine it's difficult to do with leather.

 

[ButteMT61]

@Jack: When I sent the neck measurement as you stated, Amanda replied that number doesn't mean anything to them.

From Amanda: "Sleeve length, we don’t measure from here, please re-measure from the top shoulder seam
Down the outside of the sleeve to the cuff… and tell us what that is..."

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Yes..I always measure from the shoulder seam to where I want the sleeve to end concerning leather jackets. My shirtsleeve measurement is 34"....and I'm comfortable with a 26 1/4 jacket sleeve length. At 6'2"..185 lbs..I also prefer a 26 1/2 body length from bottom of the back of collar to end of jacket.
HD

 

[Jack Burton]

@Jack: When I sent the neck measurement as you stated, Amanda replied that number doesn't mean anything to them.

From Amanda: "Sleeve length, we don’t measure from here, please re-measure from the top shoulder seam
Down the outside of the sleeve to the cuff… and tell us what that is..."

News to me. Then why do they ask you for your shirt size? It can't be for for the neck circumference

I've seen shoulder seams vary even though the overall sleeve length was the same. I'm surprised she told you that.

 

[ButteMT61]

News to me. Then why do they ask you for your shirt size? It can't be for for the neck circumference

I've seen shoulder seams vary even though the overall sleeve length was the same. I'm surprised she told you that.

I'm just the messenger. I sent more numbers than I could think of measuring. US and other places have different ways. I was PM'ing with another member in Germany who also said this shirt number was unfamiliar and of no use. So...when in Rome.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I think that Aero's shoulders on their utility jackets are pretty well squared up across the board and really do not differ within their range of styles(excluding some military jackets). According to size...36..38..40..42..etc have the appropiate stock shoulder measurements unless heavily customized. With that in mind...the simple shoulder to cuff measurement comes out pretty precise on where both cuffs end. If some of their styles had more rounded shoulders with seams that drooped over the shoulders..the shoulder to cuff measurement would prove inaccurate.
HD

 

[ButteMT61]

^^^ Makes sense, HD. I need a 50 shoulder and a 48 body with added length. That's why it took me so long to get comfortable with the numbers.
It's mind-numbing as you second-guess everything, but at some point you must trust and wait

 

[Jack Burton]

I think that Aero's shoulders on their utility jackets are pretty well squared up across the board and really do not differ within their range of styles(excluding some military jackets). According to size...36..38..40..42..etc have the appropiate stock shoulder measurements unless heavily customized. With that in mind...the simple shoulder to cuff measurement comes out pretty precise on where both cuffs end. If some of their styles had more rounded shoulders with seams that drooped over the shoulders..the shoulder to cuff measurement would prove inaccurate.
HD

Oh, I'm sure Aero's (same size) models are all close if not the same as far the shoulder to cuff. So if you already own an Aero, no big deal. My concern would be if they asked me to take the shoulder-cuff measurement of a well-fitting non-Aero jacket I already own and they wanted to use that number solely while neglecting my neck-cuff #. I am certainly no tailor but something about that seems haphazard.

 

[ButteMT61]

But she asked for neck to shoulder numbers too. Semantics, but she's the tailor, not me.
It's different than center of neck to sleeve's end as mentioned above.
Bottom line is to give as much accurate data as you can. Let the experts figger it out. They can use/ignore what they see fit to (no pun intended)

 

[HoosierDaddy]

^^^ Makes sense, HD. I need a 50 shoulder and a 48 body with added length. That's why it took me so long to get comfortable with the numbers.
It's mind-numbing as you second-guess everything, but at some point you must trust and wait

I think if you gave them your exact shoulder and waist measurement they should be able to taper the jacket accordingly. If you also are sure exactly where you want your cuff to end...and supplied that measurement to where it would end on the hand...and the measurement from bottom of the collar down the back to where you want the body length to end below the belt...you should be good to go.
HD