vintage Filson sizing all over the place?

[photomike72]

Lurked about and found the old Alaskan vs newer slim fit descriptions but I'm checking jackets of the same model #'s and sizes on Ebay in particular and alot of L's and XL's are all over the place with pit to pit sizing. Really the tin cloth stuff is what I've been looking at, so unsure if it translates to the wool cruisers and shirts also. I know the way older vintage stuff could have a 44-46 label and be 50-52 in real size to accommodate layering.

Rolled the dice and have a nice 620 coming, but were these all still being made by individual cutters in the late 90's early 2000's that would explain the many inch difference in some of these measurements and stated sizes? Or were the looser ones all done at 4:45 pm on a Friday perhaps?

Thank you gents!

 

[El Marro]

I do not have a ton of experience with vintage Filson, I’ve got quite a bit of experience with her new stuff, and I have found their sign in the wool Mackinaws and the tin cloth jackets to be damn consistent. Is it possible some of what you were coming across Is incorrect measurements taken by the sellers?

 

[photomike72]

I do not have a ton of experience with vintage Filson, I’ve got quite a bit of experience with her new stuff, and I have found their sign in the wool Mackinaws and the tin cloth jackets to be damn consistent. Is it possible some of what you were coming across Is incorrect measurements taken by the sellers?

Alot had rulers placed across so you could see, here's an XL example

Pardon Our Interruption...

Different jacket but here's another XL from the same timeframe

Pardon Our Interruption...

here's the same style but an XL as well
this XL is almost 29" !!

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[photomike72]

Alot had rulers placed across so you could see, here's an XL example

Pardon Our Interruption...

Different jacket but here's another XL from the same timeframe

Pardon Our Interruption...

here's the same style but an XL as well
this XL is almost 29" !!

Pardon Our Interruption...

and another XL at 24"

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[photomike72]

Just wondering how there's so much variation when these were still made in USA at this point and the variation in the same jacket lines seems dramatic.

 

[Trouser Bark]

I've owned roughly two dozen Filson jackets and vests and still have several. I also have a pair of their woolen overalls. Vests always seemed to be pretty predictable in years past as they were sized consistently by their P2P dimension. That changed when the company was sold to a new owner w/ more of a skinny pants beardy man marketing approach that often had a S-M-L-XL view of sizing.

If there were an aspect that I always thought strange it was that once you stepped outside their woolen product offering their sizing became consistently larger than it had been labeled. I first noticed it when Filson sold tin jackets through Costco. There would be a heap of them on a typical Costco table and I reached for several different versions of a size I thought would fit but all were grossly large compared to their tagged size.

 

[robrinay]

Lurked about and found the old Alaskan vs newer slim fit descriptions but I'm checking jackets of the same model #'s and sizes on Ebay in particular and alot of L's and XL's are all over the place with pit to pit sizing. Really the tin cloth stuff is what I've been looking at, so unsure if it translates to the wool cruisers and shirts also. I know the way older vintage stuff could have a 44-46 label and be 50-52 in real size to accommodate layering.

Rolled the dice and have a nice 620 coming, but were these all still being made by individual cutters in the late 90's early 2000's that would explain the many inch difference in some of these measurements and stated sizes? Or were the looser ones all done at 4:45 pm on a Friday perhaps?

Thank you gents!

I’ve just bought a size L July 96 Seattle made 620 and it’s still on its way. I’ll let you know the pit to pit when it arrives (the pics on the listing look like it’s a 24” pit to pit).
Looks like it was called the 'Tin Jacket' and came with a wool liner and two lengths in the version in this catalogue

 

[Schambach]

One thing to keep in mind with older filson stuff is that it can shrink. Both wool, and the tin cloth.

They also had two totally different fits for a while, the "alsaska" vs the "seattle" fit, and neither was labeled as such.

 

[photomike72]

Nice! Thanks for the responses, I'll post a pic of the 620 I got, almost new condition, size XL, Feb 2000 manufacture date. Very happy with it!

I’ve just bought a size L July 96 Seattle made 620 and it’s still on its way. I’ll let you know the pit to pit when it arrives (the pics on the listing look like it’s a 24” pit to pit).
Looks like it was called the 'Tin Jacket' and came with a wool liner and two lengths in the version in this catalogue

Looks like a winner!! Thank you for the note back and the pics! Let us know how it goes once you get it in!

 

[photomike72]

One thing to keep in mind with older filson stuff is that it can shrink. Both wool, and the tin cloth.

They also had two totally different fits for a while, the "alsaska" vs the "seattle" fit, and neither was labeled as such.

Nice, thanks for the heads up. Super hard to pull the trigger on an "expensive" piece when you don't know exactly how it's gonna go. Luckily, I'm super happy with my purchase, but it was looking dicey there for a bit. Glad I checked in here with you gents first!

 

[Doctor Damage]

Here's the measurements for a couple of old Filson model #53 safari jackets I had several years back, before selling them as they were too snug for me. Were they mis-tagged or just c.r.a.p. quality control? Decide for yourself, haha

Size 44 = chest 24", length 31", shoulders 18", sleeve 25"
Size 40 = chest 24", length 31", shoulders 17.5", sleeve 24.5"

 

[photomike72]

Man I always figured the sizing would be super consistent with a flagship brand known for their level of quality. All of the ones we are talking about here were made well in advance of being sold to Brentwood in 2005.

Snagged mine on eBay as almost new, was marked L but tag picture was XL. Pit measurement 26-27” fits me perfect and can still layer. No fraying or imperfections of any kind. Seller had some other Filson duck hunting jackets listed but those were well worn. Glad I picked this one up!

 

[photomike72]

Here's the measurements for a couple of old Filson model #53 safari jackets I had several years back, before selling them as they were too snug for me. Were they mis-tagged or just c.r.a.p. quality control? Decide for yourself, haha

Size 44 = chest 24", length 31", shoulders 18", sleeve 25"
Size 40 = chest 24", length 31", shoulders 17.5", sleeve 24.5"

wow, that's crazy!

 

[robrinay]

Nice! Thanks for the responses, I'll post a pic of the 620 I got, almost new condition, size XL, Feb 2000 manufacture date. Very happy with it!

Looks like a winner!! Thank you for the note back and the pics! Let us know how it goes once you get it in!

Before a machine darn of a slight tear, cleaning and rewaxing and after - v pleased?

 

[photomike72]

Before a machine darn of a slight tear, cleaning and rewaxing and after - v pleased?

Looking good bud!!

 

[robrinay]

Why thank you. For the record as it's an unlined jacket I was able to lightly scrub away the dirt stains with cold water hand soap and a soft nail brush and rinse thoroughly, dry and then re-wax it with no fear of the wax soaking into the lining as allegedly is the problem with lined wax cotton jackets. ps I've posted elsewhere my method for rewaxing lined jackets that have been de-waxed by inexperienced sellers who machine washed them. - at your own risk obviously!
Here is what I did,

I bought a 1948 Belstaff Trialmaster (Ché Guavara) that looked a bit dry and sure enough when it arrived it had a slight wax smell but also a smell of detergent. It had been washed. You’re thinking tragedy and not repairable according to t’interweb’ as a rewax will bleed onto the lining. So I negotiated a partial refund and the seller kindly agreed. Plan a was to have the lining removed by a local tailor before the rewax which I quickly rejected when I was told the cost. So on to plan b - picking open about 12 inches of the bottom seam turning the jacket inside out and masking off the lining with low tack masking tape bin liner and clingfilm then turning it right side out before rewaxing and blowing over with a hot hair dryer. Finally I pulled out the tape bin liner and cling film turned the jacket right side out and sewed up the hem- sorted!

 

[photomike72]

Why thank you. For the record as it's an unlined jacket I was able to lightly scrub away the dirt stains with cold water hand soap and a soft nail brush and rinse thoroughly, dry and then re-wax it with no fear of the wax soaking into the lining as allegedly is the problem with lined wax cotton jackets. ps I've posted elsewhere my method for rewaxing lined jackets that have been de-waxed by inexperienced sellers who machine washed them. - at your own risk obviously!
Here is what I did,

I bought a 1948 Belstaff Trialmaster (Ché Guavara) that looked a bit dry and sure enough when it arrived it had a slight wax smell but also a smell of detergent. It had been washed. You’re thinking tragedy and not repairable according to t’interweb’ as a rewax will bleed onto the lining. So I negotiated a partial refund and the seller kindly agreed. Plan a was to have the lining removed by a local tailor before the rewax which I quickly rejected when I was told the cost. So on to plan b - picking open about 12 inches of the bottom seam turning the jacket inside out and masking off the lining with low tack masking tape bin liner and clingfilm then turning it right side out before rewaxing and blowing over with a hot hair dryer. Finally I pulled out the tape bin liner and cling film turned the jacket right side out and sewed up the hem- sorted!

Wowza! Man I can def appreciate your level of detail on this, not for the faint of heart for sure! Awesome job!