Let's see your old Eastman RAF jackets

[John Lever]

I know that there are several here like me that love the old ten year plus jackets so why not post some photos and a brief description of the date they were bought/sold or made.
I'll kick off -
My very most fav. jacket of all time sadly now residing somewhere in Canada, I think Rick also regrets selling it. 20 years old ?

A younger jacket probably 15 years old, more worn nice fleece, not Merino-

A 20 years plus size 40 Merino , too small so sold -

The jacket I sold to Paddy, now belonging to Shiloh or is it Paul ?

A darker type jacket with the russet seam tape and slightly odd fleece colour, sold as it was too small -

A lovely worn out Merino size 48 sold -

My current 'Best ' jacket, a 17 year old semi Merino one -

 

[Roughwear]

Wow John! I knew you love the early ELC RAF jackets, but had no idea you have owned quite so many! BTW. How can a jacket be semi Merino? Do you mean it is close to Merino fleece?

 

[philip.ed]

Some lovely jackets. I notice, on the areas were there is light surface cracking, there are light undertones. Is this correct to original jackets? I've never seen it before

 

[Roughwear]

Some lovely jackets. I notice, on the areas were there is light surface cracking, there are light undertones. Is this correct to original jackets? I've never seen it before

It is particularly noticeable on some of the spray finished B-3s and Irvins. The light undertones are from the original pre-coloured skin.

 

[John Lever]

Andrew I have a few ...I really do like them as you can see. I find it interesting how over the years, Eastman have searched for new hides as an improvement but always state that the current spec. is the correct one. This has led to quite a large variation in fleece type and colour as well as differing colours and sheen levels of the acrylic outer coat.
My current ' best ' jacket is nearly there but the leather is quite robust when compared to the ones like the size 48 with the very worn look. That jacket is shirt like in it's softness.
Regarding the cracking of the outer coating, this happens on the merino jackets that usually have a thin shiny brittle outer coat.
IMO the older the better.

 

[Grant]

And I thought I was crazy about Irvins. You've had a number of beautiful ELC jackets go through your hands. I agree the latest one you have is quite nice. If you ever decide to upgrade you know who to call! Thanks for posting.

 

[Andrew]

I suspect even i'd be happy with one of these in a 46. Why the heck can't they just go back to this style of fleece?

 

[John Lever]

Any pics anyone ??

 

[rich]

Just the one John. Your 'semi Merino' is the dogs.

 

[John Lever]

Nice one Rich.
It's interesting how quickly the cuffs wear, does this bother you ?
Come one there must be others out there !

 

[shiloh]

Just 2 Irvins,

The ELC Merino one,

And the size 44 ELC one I bought from Paddy, unfortunately too big for me.

Regards,

Shiloh
quote="John Lever"]Nice one Rich.
It's interesting how quickly the cuffs wear, does this bother you ?
Come one there must be others out there ![/quote]

 

[rich]

Nice one Rich.
It's interesting how quickly the cuffs wear, does this bother you ?

Doesn't really bother me John, it does seem inconsistent though - the cuffs on my 70-odd year old Irvin are in much better shape, and I'm guessing they took a much bigger beating than this one ever has.

 

[Andrew]

These all look great, Rich as usual your worn jackets are superb.

JL, in all your discussions with the Eastmans have you discussed why they have diverged from this style of production? They say they are striving for more authenticity but in the process it appears to be going a different direction.

 

[rich]

I cheated a bit with this one Andrew, I had help from John Lever and his nefarious washing machine technique - it works a treat.

 

[John Lever]

These all look great, Rich as usual your worn jackets are superb.

JL, in all your discussions with the Eastmans have you discussed why they have diverged from this style of production? They say they are striving for more authenticity but in the process it appears to be going a different direction.

Don't even go there. They will not make any jackets like these they are committed to the new types of hide. They changed tanneries a while back and also tell me that they had problems with the durability of softer hides.
At one point I had an idea of a mass Merino order by fellow members but there was little interest.
The only hope is Lewis Leathers, I think Derek want to use Merino skins for the Aviakit jacket, so fingers crossed.

 

[gyrobroyeur]

And the size 44 ELC one I bought from Paddy, unfortunately too big for me.

Regards,

Shiloh

Hi Shiloh.

... The oversizing is not so evident on your picture...

Cheers

 

[asiamiles]

... The oversizing is not so evident on your picture...

Especially as Irvins were issued oversized - right? - so that they could be worn over uniform. The Irvin is a fairly forgiving jacket, and I think looks fine either fitted or loose.

 

[shiloh]

Yes, this Irvin is the right size according to WW2 standards. I can wear a BD or SD blouse underneath it. But, ofcourse nowadays no one wears a service dress underneath a repro Irvin. So it's a bit too loose on me.
I am looking for an older ELC 42 pattern. Regular size 42. I am sure that will fit me better.

regards,

shiloh

... The oversizing is not so evident on your picture...

Especially as Irvins were issued oversized - right? - so that they could be worn over uniform. The Irvin is a fairly forgiving jacket, and I think looks fine either fitted or loose.

 

[m444uk]

This jacket was on Ebay last week and looked to have nice fleece. An early ELC B3 ?

 

[John Lever]

I have an identical jacket. It 's a mint merino B-3, this one sold for £450, more than the new price. The Anj-4 sold for £500.