Raf style flying jacket.

[jon11]

Hello, I am new to this great forum and live in Northern. Ireland. I need advice as to Irvin Flying jackets as there appears to be many suppliers out there with an array of prices. Can the experts tell me the best place to look, and secondly is a mint example of the real thing hard to find? I really would like one for everyday normal wear, walks etc. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Sloan1874]

There is an exhaustive thread on repro Irvins on the Lounge - search "repro" and "irvin" and it'll appear. The real Irvin thread is on the yellow-highlighted sticky section at the top of the front page. I'm currently researching them with a view to ordering a repro Irvin for everyday use myself, and I've picked up virtually everything I needed to make my decision from that thread (It's very long and will take you at least two to three evenings to get through the whole thing.) Happy reading...

 

[jon11]

Thank you just found it. I also found a member with fantastic Irvin Jackets from 1941-42, aswatland (Andrew) what can I say just blown away with this Gentleman's taste and eye for quality. You are right its going a bit of reading, but what I have discerned already there are a lot of members with vast knowledge on this subject. Many thanks for your advice.

 

[Sloan1874]

Oh believe me, if you ask, they will come, though Andrew's depth of knowledge on flight jackets - American and RAF - is amazing, and he is extremely generous with information. Personally, after much consideration, I'm pretty much sold on an Aero Battle of Britain Irvin, but opinions vary greatly in terms of accuracy and styling - Eastman are held up as the last word in accuracy, but so are Aces High, but I like the look of the Aero more.

 

[jon11]

Yes I agree Andrew knowledge is amazing, my knowledge is Nil unfortunately LOL, yes had a look at the Aero and Eastman site. Have to agree both offer super quality but a deep pocket is required.

 

[Edward]

The issue with the Aero is the sleeves... too "tubular" compared to the original design if you want that sort of accuracy, though of course that doesn't detract from quality as a garment. I would suggest, if you are not in a hurry to buy for this season, keeping an eye on ebay. I've seen good deals on near mint examples there.

 

[jon11]

Thanks Edward will bear that in mind. I also have read a few interesting posts from Smithy re his happy purchase of the Eastman's jacket.

 

[aswatland]

Welcome to the forum Jon. Thanks for the complement. Eastman make the most accurate Irvin repros and you can pick up a decent used example on Ebay for around £400 these days. Aces High make Wareings inspired Irvins and they are accurate repros. Both Eastman and Aces High use Lightning style zips which are far closer to original zips than the AM ones used by Aero. Aero have yet to make an Irvin that is as accurate.

 

[jon11]

Thanks Andrew have been trawling through the 170 odd pages about Irvin's very good stuff. Your taste and knowledge of these jackets is outstanding and your collection of mint 1940's onward of Irvin's mind boggling. Can you please tell me what is a UK Size 40" in the original Irvin? John

 

[jon11]

This could be a costly journey, one could get a real taste for these jackets and the history surrounding them

 

[aswatland]

Indeed it could be! So take care on the journey.

 

[jon11]

Andrew, can you tell me please is a 40" UK a size 5 or 6 in the original Irvin? Thanks, J

 

[aswatland]

There was variation in the tagged size of original Irvins. A size 5 would equate to a UK size 40-42" and a size 6 to a size 42-44".

 

[PADDY]

There's a full chart of Original WWII Irvin sizes at the TOP of the Outerwear Forum (compiled painstakingly by Andrew!).

 

[jon11]

Thanks Andrew much appreciated. J

 

[PADDY]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?12033-SIZE-CHARTS-(Includes-Original-Irvins)

FULL SIZING CHARTS - At top of the Outerwear Room. - Regards, Paddy.

 

[jon11]

Thanks Paddy, heading onto the page now. J

 

[Sloan1874]

The issue with the Aero is the sleeves... too "tubular" compared to the original design if you want that sort of accuracy, though of course that doesn't detract from quality as a garment. I would suggest, if you are not in a hurry to buy for this season, keeping an eye on ebay. I've seen good deals on near mint examples there.

Actually, I notice Aero are offering a more historically accurate arm style on a new model: http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=1155. Am I wrong or do the original ones have a very 'deep' arm hole which limit arm movement?

 

[aswatland]

The size and placement of the arm hole on originals varied according to the contractor. This trainee-produced jacket is quite a nice rendition of an early war jacket and I guess the sheepskin will not be white on the production jackets. It's a shame Aero are still using their inaccurate zips.

 

[aswatland]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?12033-SIZE-CHARTS-(Includes-Original-Irvins)

FULL SIZING CHARTS - At top of the Outerwear Room. - Regards, Paddy.

The measurements given on the chart are not the actual measurements of the jackets as they assume they are worn over RAF uniform.