Fivestar ANJ-3 horsehide... how's the fit look from there?

[RumRunner]

My first new purchase from 5* arrived today. I was back and forth on the sizing, decided to go with a 48/2X according to the G-1 size charts on the site. Seems to fit properly everywhere (length, sleeves, shoulders) EXCEPT it is a bit snug when zipped up. To their credit, they did recommend a bigger size but I screwed up the measurements and was afraid I'd get something way too big (size 54/5X).

I've attached some photos. Should it be that snug? I think it looks fine unzipped and quite honestly that's probably how I'd wear it most of the time... but there's not much room underneath for a heavier shirt if it's cooler out (pics are just in a plain t-shirt).

I also included a couple pics of another old A-2 I just got off ebay that seems to fit just about perfect (size 48 as well, go figure). Are the sizings between G-1/ANJ-3 and A-2 different? Will the new jacket "stretch" a bit to fit my shape? (Caveat that I also have a goal to drop about 40 pounds this year.)

I really like the jacket, it's a beautiful horsehide and I like the dark brown color. Not opposed to selling it off and trying again. Any thoughts?

 

[B-Man2]

Suggestion
Post the measurements of that 5* size 48 2X, and your asking price
You might attract some potential buyers .

 

[RumRunner]

Suggestion
Post the measurements of that 5* size 48 2X, and your asking price
You might attract some potential buyers .

Haha, so it sounds like you're suggesting I pass this one along and try again.


Fair enough. I paid $395, I'd be willing to consider $345 shipped (I'm in the US; I have no idea about shipping to other countries).

I'm attaching the photos 5* sent upon completion, they do include the measurements. As nearly as I can tell:
- Chest: 63cm / ~25in
- Waist: 45cm / ~18in
- Sleeve: 60cm / ~23.5in
- Shoulders: 56cm / ~22in (not sure I'm reading this one 100%)
- Back: 69cm / ~27in

As mentioned, this is horsehide in their seal brown color. Also note that I added side-entry pockets by request.

It seems that I'm not yet allowed to post in the Buy/Sell forum, I don't want to skirt the rules by just posting this here instead. I will remove if needed!

 

[Garylafortuna]

Hi RumRunner..... About a year ago Five Star stitched me up an AN-J-3 very much like yours, with epaulets, inside wind flap, and two ply waist band knit. What I did was send the best fitting jacket I own which is a William Gibson G-1, to Five Star, and asked Shawn to make the AN-J-3 an exact copy, except
for the collar and the waist band knit.
I am not suggesting that you send your best fitting jacket to Shawn, and have him copy it, but instead of relying on size numbers, or 2 or 3 or 4 XL, carefully measure the jacket you have, then add to or subtract
from the existing numbers accordingly. Do this several times if necessary, until you are absolutely sure
the numbers are right for you, then talk to Shawn to discuss things you may not be entirely satisfied with,
or wish to change ( for example- shape of collar, or pocket flaps; choice of leather; choice of liner; or anything that you deem worthy of attention ). You will be happy with the results. Good Luck.

 

[asiamiles]

It also looks far too short to my eyes. Obviously you were putting your personal preferences above historical accuracy - what with the choice of horsehide*, hand-warmer pockets, adding epaulettes to the Navy variant, the small collar - and while that's absolutely fine, all these tweaks add up and I feel the result is a jacket that has rather lost its identity as an AN-J-3.
[*my Stevenson Overall AN-J-3 is also horsehide, and we've recently seen that the Canadian Navy G-1 was too]

 

[bn1966]

I sent Shawn a jacket of mine that fitted perfectly for the numbers on a 5* build, what came back was perfect to the cm.

 

[RumRunner]

Obviously you were putting your personal preferences above historical accuracy

It's true for now, I'm going more for the look than the details.

I also get the impression from reading the forum here that most of the highly-accurate reproductions keep to the original sizing. As I'm a big & tall fellow, I think I'd fall outside most of that in general.

 

[asiamiles]

It's true for now, I'm going more for the look than the details.

I also get the impression from reading the forum here that most of the highly-accurate reproductions keep to the original sizing. As I'm a big & tall fellow, I think I'd fall outside most of that in general.

I remember having a couple of repro Tanker jackets but felt they were too short for me, so when I saw a BR William Gibson one for sale (it was not only black but also longer) I gave it go. However, I found that slight increase in length resulted in a jacket that just didn't look like a Tanker any more. Someone posted pics of a B-6 repro recently that was cut shorter, and for me it completely changed the 'look'. So I think one has to be careful even when making what may seem very minor tweaks and maybe sometimes accept a particular style, no matter how much we like it, may not be not for us and move on to another one.