-
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
WW2 Fit for the billionth time
- Thread starter ZuZu
- Start date
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
What modern repro makers get wrong is that they increase the size of the shoulders instead of making a square boxy body- thus even a jacket which is tight has droopy shoulders:
When a modern repro maker makes shoulders square the body and sleeves get too weird and small:
When a modern repro maker makes shoulders square the body and sleeves get too weird and small:
Last edited:
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
Even my boyfriend GW teeters on the edge of shoulders too large- eg. this GW Dubow:
As compared to a WW2 46 Dubow:
The difference is that the angle between sleeve and jacket body on many WW2 contracts is severe. A lot of this is caused by sewing techniques such a sleeve cap relief and a lot is caused by the fact that modern men are literally bigger in the shoulders. GW can't make the smaller shoulder as seen on the actual original 46 Dubow because it wouldn't fit many customers. (Being bespoke however- when I get a GW made for me I'll insist on the WW2 proportion between shoulder and square body!)
The Japanese can pull it off:
But they are built like US WW2 flyers!
As compared to a WW2 46 Dubow:
The difference is that the angle between sleeve and jacket body on many WW2 contracts is severe. A lot of this is caused by sewing techniques such a sleeve cap relief and a lot is caused by the fact that modern men are literally bigger in the shoulders. GW can't make the smaller shoulder as seen on the actual original 46 Dubow because it wouldn't fit many customers. (Being bespoke however- when I get a GW made for me I'll insist on the WW2 proportion between shoulder and square body!)
The Japanese can pull it off:
But they are built like US WW2 flyers!
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
Wider shoulders maybe but the squareness was built in because of the angle of sleeve/shoulder:
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
Here's my WW2 Dubow. You can see that the proportion of shoulder to body is smaller than any modern repro maker- in fact at 46 this jacket fit me perfectly in the shoulders (sleeves too short) even though technically I'm a modern L or 44. You can also see the tiny sleeve end cap relief up at the top of the right shoulder- this causes the sleeve to work more independently of the body and not pull the end of the shoulder down...
Last edited:
CoopDog
Active Member
I see what you mean. But if WWII proportion jackets won’t fit modern, fit, muscular men, then why manufacture them? Back in WWII the men in the service did not have television, junk food, were not couch potatoes and many were malnourished farm boys coming out of the depression. Did you ever see the size of the average man back in the American revolution? Tiny!! Newly manufactured jackets need to be able to fit us modern dudes. I am only in avg shape and I have a 7” drop from chest to waist. I need wide shoulders. Not a square box, but a little bit of a V
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
That's the paradox! That's why these guys munch over this stuff over and over. That being said- I think if modern repro makers concentrated on copying the slightly loose body look with the squarish shoulders we'd have better jackets.
Some of us can wear an exact copy! Also- if you look at the photos above you can see this modern repro attains that same WW2 look...
CoopDog
Active Member
We can ALL wear an exact copy, just may need a bigger size. In WWII everyone got an A-2 regardless of their size and build. They just tried on jackets from the pile and kept the one that fit best. They weren’t tailor made to the individual and few of the photos i have seen from the war look like the fit in the photos you posted from Goodwear
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
Exactly! Although at large sizes 46+ WW2 jackets start getting big collas, big bodies, big sleeves but often not much of an increase in length. Pockets look small...
jeremiah
Well-Known Member
Who took the bullet to the arm?
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
You can see the big bodies and square shoulders. This is a look to be emulated! There are also of course examples of ugly droopy shoulders but why copy that? I think that instinctively Eastman could see this flaw in their old jackets so they made a massive correction. I honestly don't know the fit of the new Aero of Scotland jackets but if it's like their old jackets the shoulders will be way too large. Again- There will be period photos justifying almost any look. But why copy the ugly look?
ZuZu
Well-Known Member
I know. That weird stain always bothered me...
saucerfiend
Well-Known Member
That shoulder fit is what gives the WW2 V-drape to the A-2.
Serghei87
Well-Known Member
Guys can you tell me what do you think of the fit on mine? When i tried it at Pop Up shop last week (size 44), i felt super comfortable with no disconfort. The Eastman guys told me it was a perfect fit on my body but maybe they said that to sell the jacket. They didnt have the 42 size, so i went with the 44 they had. I mean i like the looser fit as it is perfect for colder weather as i like to use thick pullovers or a vest but i also like a modern slim fit. Probably i will have to get another in the the future with a tighter fit lol. Maybe a .50cal that i loved so much at their shop.What is your opinion on the fit below
?
DiamondDave
Well-Known Member
Sadly, as I stated in another thread, there was no “pile to try on”. A supply sergeant threw a jacket at a cadet and thats what he had. Period.
