My JAL came on Friday. It's beautiful and really impressive. I have to be honest, this jacket never did it for me as much as the Mayhem and I was a little unsure how I would like it being this red too, but it really turned out to be gorgeous and I adore it. I might still like the Mayhem better, but I've certainly been wearing this one more lately.
It IS very red. In fact, as you'll see, I believe it is more red than my Mayhem. I also think the leathers are extremely similar, even to where they could be the same leather, but perhaps different batches. The grain is extremely similar and the way it feels is too, but they are clearly different colors in person. It's almost indistinguishable, but it's there. Could be because the Mayhem is older, I'm not sure, but it's darker, more of a "cherry red" where the FC1 is a more "candy red." So maybe the leather is different, I'm not sure. My initial thoughts of the leathers being the same could be wrong.
Anyway, it turned out wonderfully and I'm not sure how screen-accurate everyone thinks it is – it COULD be a bit red but I trust AJ's opinion and I think maybe it could be that it is a little different in different light than the original. It does seem conceivable that even thought leather might be the same color in one light setting, that they could be different in another due to the depth and qualities of each leather. This is speculation though.
Aside from the color, I think it is extremely close to the original. The leather isn't as wrinkly yet, and I think that would definitely take some time, but water could help that. I need to do some testing on the leather sample I have before I do anything drastic, but I am fairly willing to experiment on this jacket. The buttons are different, as all JALs are, but otherwise I think it is pretty spot on. The only other thing that's off in my mind is the custom lining I put in, but I actually really LOVE this lining and I am very happy to have it in there. Big thanks to Rupe for the inspiration!
The final thing I want to mention is the fit. It seems very accurate to me. It also occurred to me that the way the jacket is worn is very dependent on the posture of the person, which could maybe cause some confusion. I think you need to wear this jacket, at least mine, with great posture – shoulders straight and chest pushed out appropriately. I don't always have the best posture, as I think most people don't and I have to wonder if over time this has influenced people's perceptions of the fit.
I have noticed that this addresses a few things: It addresses the length of the sleeves. When worn with the shoulders wider and good posture, the sleeve length is about down to the knuckle. In other positions, the cuff is higher, such as in the iconic image of Brad outside the bar when he has his hands on his hips at the beginning of the movie. During the Raymond K Hessel scene, the length of the sleeves looks longer and the back of the jacket looks to have some room for movement, suggesting he's wearing the jacket looser in the shoulders. Also, this addresses the look that Dan picked up on where the shoulders look a bit wider. This pushes the shoulders of the jacket back a bit. The shoulder pads help a lot with this. And then finally, this also makes the chest more open. When you combine this with the collar folded over, enough chest is exposed.
I'm not sure how well I explained that, but the point is that Brad Pitt's posture has a great effect on the fit of the jacket, which is fairly obvious I guess but I think something that is often overlooked when analyzing the cut of these jackets. Especially since so many people don't have the greatest posture.
Anyway, here are some pics. Thanks to everyone here and at FilmJackets for their input over time, I can't find any stitching that is off. Particular thanks go to Jonathan of course, and AJ for taking the time to be thorough about checking with the screen-used jacket and getting the ball rolling on this idea. Cheers!
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And here are some obligatory pics of me in some Durden clothes. My pants need hemming big time so I'm not wearing them or the Hodgman's, haha.