WW2 Fit for the billionth time

[CoopDog]

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.

And if it didn’t fit he gave it back and said give me the next size bigger. But remember, in those days almost everyone wore a suit and knew their suit coat size. So, they probably asked for your size, gave you the once over and knew what would fit you

 

[ZuZu]

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 belowView attachment 27592View attachment 27593?

You definitely didn't want a smaller jacket! That one looks good.

 

[DiamondDave]

And if it didn’t fit he gave it back and said give me the next size bigger

Exactly so sir. But as I say, there was no rifling through a bin, of that I can assure you. Supply sergeants ran their fiefdoms as they saw fit, and I cannot imagine making a mess in a pile of neatly folded and packaged A-2 jackets would ever have sat well with the top kick.

DD

 

[ZuZu]

That all important angle:

 

[solo]

I never thought my fit photo would make it into the billionth A2 fit debate. I am still a newbie when it comes to the military jacket tradition, but for me, the shoulder has always been the most important criteria for fit. When I was searching for my ultimate A2, my biggest concern was not the accuracy, but, how the jacket would drape over my rather slender frame. Hence, I decided to go with the slimmer cut Japanese repro. Sometimes, I wish the jacket was 1/2" wider on the chest and torso, but, that would change the overall look.

As mentioned above, I don't think there is such thing as a WWII fit. Correct me if I am wrong, but, what I am seeing in these vintage photos is the difference of well-fitting vs. ill-fitting jackets. My Real McCoy will look really funny on someone with a larger midsection. Every Rough Wear contracts I've tried made me look like a kid wearing his grandpa's jacket.

I appreciate the OP's insight here as I believe shoulder is the foundation of all fit and style. I sometimes like that droppy shoulder on larger and taller folks, but for a short and slender folks like me, that style would never work. Here are just a few photos that prove how obsessed I am with shoulder fit.

 

[ZuZu]

Thanks for your photo- I hope you don't mind my using to illustrate a point. I think with modern clothing styles and veering into hipster stuff your jacket is actually what many people want. The shoulders ARE perfect and with a young frame the tight body looks good. However- I'll stick to my guns as far as WW2 fit- squarish shoulders maybe but a square loose body almost always:

 

[jeremiah]

Solo, I think you nailed it. I agree there were jackets that fit pilots during the war on a sliding scale with great fit to poor fit.
that’s the issue today though. Try as we all might, some of us just won’t ever find that “perfect” fit.

we may find one that fits “perfectly” in some areas but less than ideal in others.
without visiting the Taylor in person and having every inch of the jacket made to suit our different body types we may well drive ourselves insane finding that “perfect” jacket.

in the end it boils down to why I wear it in the first place. If I want the “perfect” fit I’ll have to visit the Taylor. If I want to just wear a replica to honor the men who fought for the freedoms we now enjoy, ill have to live with the WWII fit and I’m ok with that now. Just a piece of leather I wear and can get scuffed up, soiled and drenched in sunshine and continues to look better and better.

We should all wear our jackets with confidence. the jacket Shouldn’t give the confidence though, that needs to come from within.

 

[ZuZu]

Solo, I think you nailed it. I agree there were jackets that fit pilots during the war on a sliding scale with great fit to poor fit.
that’s the issue today though. Try as we all might, some of us just won’t ever find that “perfect” fit.

we may find one that fits “perfectly” in some areas but less than ideal in others.
without visiting the Taylor in person and having every inch of the jacket made to suit our different body types we may well drive ourselves insane finding that “perfect” jacket.

in the end it boils down to why I wear it in the first place. If I want the “perfect” fit I’ll have to visit the Taylor. If I want to just wear a replica to honor the men who fought for the freedoms we now enjoy, ill have to live with the WWII fit and I’m ok with that now. Just a piece of leather I wear and can get scuffed up, soiled and drenched in sunshine and continues to look better and better.

We should all wear our jackets with confidence. the jacket Shouldn’t give the confidence though, that needs to come from within.

That's all well and good- but if you actually LOOK at pictures of WW2 AAF guys in general you'll see that they generally wore loose jackets with non-droopy shoulders. I definitely don't wear my jackets to honor anyone- I'm way too old and cynical for that- I wear them because I'm obsessed straight up with getting that exact "look". There are many routes to that look but a tight-bodied jacket is not one of them and round shoulders- while they can be justified in many photographs- are UGLY.

 

[jeremiah]

You wouldn’t like me in my jacket then.

 

[ZuZu]

The reality:

A jacket big enough to be loose- but without droopy shoulders...

 

[ZuZu]

 

[ZuZu]

Perfect representation:

 

[Flightengineer]

Neverending story (c)
I think all these pilots, navigators, operators, air gunners would roll over in the grave if they had suddenly heard such conversations because the fit and angle of the shoulder did not bother them exactly in those days for sure.
These guys wore they jackets with any fit, and everyone in tons of these WW2 pics can found any for himself. Trying to deduce the rule about what fit was used more often (trim or loose) leads to deadlock as always, but the attempts to deduce this rule are apparently endless.

 

[ausreenactor]

'Cluster f#*k' was coined by miltary personnel for situations such as this.

 

[Micawber]

Lots of people working in the gents outfitting business quickly develop the knack of sizing a customer up before reaching for their measuring tape. You can instinctively tell just by using Mk1 eyeball if a guy takes a 42 off the peg regular jacket and 34 short trousers because you are dealing with people looking for gear day after day.
Guys working regularly in supply during WW2 would have been the same.

 

[Saint-ex]

Neverending story (c)
I think all these pilots, navigators, operators, air gunners would roll over in the grave if they had suddenly heard such conversations because the fit and angle of the shoulder did not bother them exactly in those days for sure.
These guys wore they jackets with any fit, and everyone in tons of these WW2 pics can found any for himself. Trying to deduce the rule about what fit was used more often (trim or loose) leads to deadlock as always, but the attempts to deduce this rule are apparently endless.

This is exactly the effect that all these threads are doing to me.
In the end we come to compare pictures of different people who wear identical jackets, and guess what? The rendering is different.

 

[ZuZu]

Neverending story (c)
I think all these pilots, navigators, operators, air gunners would roll over in the grave if they had suddenly heard such conversations because the fit and angle of the shoulder did not bother them exactly in those days for sure.
These guys wore they jackets with any fit, and everyone in tons of these WW2 pics can found any for himself. Trying to deduce the rule about what fit was used more often (trim or loose) leads to deadlock as always, but the attempts to deduce this rule are apparently endless.

The putative unconcern of WW2 flight crews with fit has absolutely NOTHING to do with this WW2 fit argument! There is a bit of dishonesty being a member of a forum which discusses these jackets ad nauseum and then saying- "I don't care about fit because the guys back then didn't"! There is a lot of hero worship and fantasy going on in these pages- in real life we have NO IDEA what these guys thought back then- the survivors have all been swept up in the "greatest generation" bullcrap- most have no real idea what they thought back then. Grim-faced supply sargents throwing out ill-fitting A-2s to fresh-faced kids who turn into square-jawed heroes is just fantasy- almost homo-erotic fantasy IMO.

The only thing we do know for sure is how the jackets look in films and photos which survive today. I'm saying if you are honest you'll see a certain pattern. What would be REALLY cool is if someone started a thread illustrated with original photos rebutting me!

 

[saucerfiend]

Some of you fellas have voiced your negative opinions about this thread. And that's fine. However, please don't get to the point of name calling and disrespect. I am thoroughly enjoying this thread as I'm sure others are as well. So, please DON'T RUIN IT!

Brian

 

[Brettafett]

Interesting thread.
Have to say, with all the WW2 pics I've collected, don't see a lot of shoulder droop. And by far the most common fit 'appearance' is a bit roomy as opposed to trim.
Surely, there's also something to be said about the type of contract. For examples, Dubows have narrower, square shoulders, whereas Roughwears... many tended to roll off the shoulder a bit. Pattern.

 

[mulceber]

Interesting thread.
Have to say, with all the WW2 pics I've collected, don't see a lot of shoulder droop. And by far the most common fit 'appearance' is a bit roomy as opposed to trim.
Surely, there's also something to be said about the type of contract. For examples, Dubows have narrower, square shoulders, whereas Roughwears... many tended to roll off the shoulder a bit. Pattern.
View attachment 27622
View attachment 27623

I think that’s the key. There’s not much point comparing random jacket photos, since contracts differ so much. My BK Dubow repro doesn’t fall off the shoulder. My ELC RW 1401-P does.