Greg Gale
Well-Known Member
Attention, long post - sorry for opening a new thread but I think this will prove to be helpful for anyone who’s about to buy such a jacket.
TL: DR - Heureka, I’m a size 40! And a russet convert
The story starts in the summer of 2022 when I arrived to Duxford with Brett to the airshow. I was wearing my size 42 BK 27752 in seal brown. It’s a very nice and comfy jacket, plenty of room for layering but maybe a little too much room in the torso - I could be smuggling a football…also at the airshow we saw some russet jackets and I realized how cool they looked, especially one reenactor who was wearing a 23380. That’s it, I’ll put in an order, I said, which I did.
Andy was super helpful, we exchanged several emails triyng to figure out the right measurements, I sent him the dims of my 27752 and some videos of me wearing it and moving around.
He said of course my 27752 feels baggy, my body size is a 40! Albeit a tall one. Jimmy Stewart syndrome.
So the result was a size 40 Long, with custom chest and shoulder size. Shoulder of a 42 (surfing!) a size 41 chest, size 40 waist. I said this is either gonna be the jacket of a lifetime or a huge miss.
Dims:
Chest: 21.5
Shoulders: 18
Sleeves: 25.5
Back: 25.5
Fast forward 6 months and I got the jacket. And it’s gorgeous!!!
I’m not such an expert of stich counts, thread color and such as others around here so I’m not gonne go into those details. BK is right at the top when it comes to quality and accuracy, there are plently of other testimonials to prove it.
First, the color: I was afraid if I would like the russet. I’m red-green color deficient, I have a lower perception of red but my eyes compensated for it and developed a sharp ability to identify different shades. The lighter a color, the more vivid and bright the same color saturation will look. Therefore, the lighter you go, the less color saturation you need. This is a trap many if not all top jacket makers fall into IMO, their russet being too bright reddish, or god forbid, if they mess up the hue, orangish or pinkish. The only ones that looked great to me on photos were BK - and Platon’s.
The result didn’t disappoint. In direct sunlight the jacket has a subtle reddish hue but otherwise it’s a beautiful mid-brown, like a light seal. Mind u, it never looks the same in person or on photos. It has a 1000 faces depending on the light. In some lights it’s almost the same shade as the mid brown knits, in others it’s a lot lighter. But it’s gorgeous! I absolutely love it. The russet goes better than expected with my other clothes and it looks more unique and special. It even has a bit of 1970s rock n roll vibe for a non-jacket aficionado eye. My wife also says it looks way better than the seal.
What’s interesting is that it looks quite different from Jan’s russet BK. Different batch? Different light? Both?
The surprising thing is that it feels a lot thicker and a bit more rigid than my 27752. Pinching the hide they seem to be the same thickness so it’s probably due to the fact that the 27752 is already broken in?
The next order of the day: sizing: the sleeves and shoulders of my 27752 worked perfectly so I dared not change it- and rightfully so. But instead of the baggy, balloony feeling when I wear my 27752 this one feels snug but in a good way. I like to ‘feel’ the leather. It’s not as snug as my ELC Star was, it’s not restrictive at all but there is definitely a lot less superfluous leather around my body. It fits like a good glove. And the fit/ look is way sharper! Definitely has more of that fighter pilot look. I’m so happy!
The only ‘downside’ is that at first it felt a bit short in the torso. Not in the back but in the front. Standing still it just barely covers my belt. First I thought there was a mistake and it’s not 25.5, but then I compared to my 27752 and it’s exactly the same! Lesson for everyone: the same body length can feel very different depending on how much ‘buffer room’ there is in the torso. I could use an extra 0.5 inch but I don’t think it’s too bad at all. Proportion wise it looks great I think. Correct me if you think I’m wrong.
In the next post I’ll upload some comparison photos. Bottom line is: I think I found THE jacket! Thank you Andy!
TL: DR - Heureka, I’m a size 40! And a russet convert
The story starts in the summer of 2022 when I arrived to Duxford with Brett to the airshow. I was wearing my size 42 BK 27752 in seal brown. It’s a very nice and comfy jacket, plenty of room for layering but maybe a little too much room in the torso - I could be smuggling a football…also at the airshow we saw some russet jackets and I realized how cool they looked, especially one reenactor who was wearing a 23380. That’s it, I’ll put in an order, I said, which I did.
Andy was super helpful, we exchanged several emails triyng to figure out the right measurements, I sent him the dims of my 27752 and some videos of me wearing it and moving around.
He said of course my 27752 feels baggy, my body size is a 40! Albeit a tall one. Jimmy Stewart syndrome.
So the result was a size 40 Long, with custom chest and shoulder size. Shoulder of a 42 (surfing!) a size 41 chest, size 40 waist. I said this is either gonna be the jacket of a lifetime or a huge miss.
Dims:
Chest: 21.5
Shoulders: 18
Sleeves: 25.5
Back: 25.5
Fast forward 6 months and I got the jacket. And it’s gorgeous!!!
I’m not such an expert of stich counts, thread color and such as others around here so I’m not gonne go into those details. BK is right at the top when it comes to quality and accuracy, there are plently of other testimonials to prove it.
First, the color: I was afraid if I would like the russet. I’m red-green color deficient, I have a lower perception of red but my eyes compensated for it and developed a sharp ability to identify different shades. The lighter a color, the more vivid and bright the same color saturation will look. Therefore, the lighter you go, the less color saturation you need. This is a trap many if not all top jacket makers fall into IMO, their russet being too bright reddish, or god forbid, if they mess up the hue, orangish or pinkish. The only ones that looked great to me on photos were BK - and Platon’s.
The result didn’t disappoint. In direct sunlight the jacket has a subtle reddish hue but otherwise it’s a beautiful mid-brown, like a light seal. Mind u, it never looks the same in person or on photos. It has a 1000 faces depending on the light. In some lights it’s almost the same shade as the mid brown knits, in others it’s a lot lighter. But it’s gorgeous! I absolutely love it. The russet goes better than expected with my other clothes and it looks more unique and special. It even has a bit of 1970s rock n roll vibe for a non-jacket aficionado eye. My wife also says it looks way better than the seal.
What’s interesting is that it looks quite different from Jan’s russet BK. Different batch? Different light? Both?
The surprising thing is that it feels a lot thicker and a bit more rigid than my 27752. Pinching the hide they seem to be the same thickness so it’s probably due to the fact that the 27752 is already broken in?
The next order of the day: sizing: the sleeves and shoulders of my 27752 worked perfectly so I dared not change it- and rightfully so. But instead of the baggy, balloony feeling when I wear my 27752 this one feels snug but in a good way. I like to ‘feel’ the leather. It’s not as snug as my ELC Star was, it’s not restrictive at all but there is definitely a lot less superfluous leather around my body. It fits like a good glove. And the fit/ look is way sharper! Definitely has more of that fighter pilot look. I’m so happy!
The only ‘downside’ is that at first it felt a bit short in the torso. Not in the back but in the front. Standing still it just barely covers my belt. First I thought there was a mistake and it’s not 25.5, but then I compared to my 27752 and it’s exactly the same! Lesson for everyone: the same body length can feel very different depending on how much ‘buffer room’ there is in the torso. I could use an extra 0.5 inch but I don’t think it’s too bad at all. Proportion wise it looks great I think. Correct me if you think I’m wrong.
In the next post I’ll upload some comparison photos. Bottom line is: I think I found THE jacket! Thank you Andy!
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