Morning all
thought I would chime in here as this thread has never really concentrated on the jacket before and apart from some of the shirts and pants, they are the only costume pieces I'm interested in. Also, I thought since my jackets were mentioned I should clear up a few things as some of your assumptions are just that I'm afraid.
Firstly, my lightweight browner jacket is a very soft lamb skin. It's extremely lightweight and because it is so light, when sitting on the hanger the collar flops down and makes it look larger, it is the same size as the other jacket. The leather this jacket was made from I personally hand picked from about 20 samples that Jonathan sent me. I asked him to find a leather that was dark red in low light and brown in bright light as I didn't always want to wear a red jacket. I picked the leather based on indoor daytime light and matched it to the x-mart jacket colour as closely as possible, which for me is the perfect colour. The X-mart jacket is a prototype and not some wonder find in a thrift shop. JAL made that jacket based on Kaplan's designs.
As for my red jacket, I have worn that pretty consistently for 5 years now, and yes it is heavy and very thick, but it is very supple and soft now and hangs beautifully. The leather does need to be heavier to hang like that and vintage 60s and 70s leather jackets that this is based on were even heavier. Also as it's got older I have noticed that the collars are indeed starting to point out further, the pictures you have been posting of JAL jackets have been brand new and either unworn or straight out of the box and JAL clearly states on his website that jackets are bought in brand new condition, patterns are exact and the leather is as close as possible to the original, but they're not distressed in anyway.
This is is my browner jacket straight out of the box
The picture above shows the colour variation it has. From left to right, standing by a large window.
This picture is from JALs workshop while it was being constructed
Worn, showing the collar is the right size and not looking too much like an idiot.
And this is fresh out of the box and almost captures the colour perfectly.
It's obviously very hard for you to understand texture and weight from photos, and shadows change perception and the look of the jackets when seen photographed online. I had that problem before I got the jacket as well.
Me in my red jacket, sorry for quality of picture, but trust me even though its heavy it's very supple and soft and holds its shape beautifully, my arm is lifted to take the picture,so the lapel looks folded out, but it lies flat.
Hope to helps to clear up some speculation. Oh and Soul, I want one of the Tucson and Maple leaf shirts so please keep me in the loop buddy.
Cheers
rupert