Everyone sitting down? Alrighty, good.
IT'S FRICKING HERE.
Somehow, DHL got hold of a Delorean or in some other way changed the space-time continuum and delivered my Solo jacket (as well as a Sideshow 3PO) a whole day early. It boggles the mind, dunnit? (Again, keep in mind that I paid a extra to get DHL Express shipping...)
So... very quick review:
It's
very nice. No, scratch that.... it's actually
great overall. Better than most China/Pakistan/India-made leather I've owned. If that seems underwhelming, keep in mind that I'm usually horribly nitpicky with clothing fit... if something is a few mm off on one side it'll bug the hell out of me- especially when it comes to suits. I had my Logan Browncoat tailored, as well as my Anovos TOS and TNG premiere tunics. I'm generally a nightmare to deal with when it comes to custom clothes.
Now, I haven't had time to scrutinize the details yet compared to the screen jacket but here are some comments:
Fit:
The fit is
fantastic for a "store bought" jacket. The Large is spot-on. I'm neither slim nor chunky and this closes nicely without looking baggy. The often dreaded "duck tail" back you find on many off-the-rack leather jackets is NOT present here. A+ for that Anovos. Sleeves are at a perfect length for me (as has been the case with all Anovos L-sized items except the first Picard jacket, which was completely whacko in terms of size). The leather is pretty stiff at the moment, so even though the sleeve width is very good, they look a tad wide around the elbows because the leather does not yet "settle".
Construction:
Overall, very nice. Stitching looks good... straight and even for the most part. NOTHING like the Jyn Erso gloves we saw last year. I haven't yet found any odd wrinkles or misaligned pieces, so all good there. If I had one thing to comment on, it might be that due to the stiffness of the leather, the shoulder seams are not perfect- i.e. the leather doesn't "flow" perfectly, but that will hopefully sort itself out as it gets worn in. (The shoulders are nice and square though. There's also a small "wrinkle " where the collar meets the front edge, most likely (again) due to the stiffness of the leather combined with having been folded flat for several weeks. The magnetic closures seem fairly strong, but will probably pop open if you do a fast/violent movement.
Material:
Leather has an even grain. Thicker than I expected, possibly thicker than the screen jacket (which looks paper-thin). Maybe a conscious choice to give better durability, since many of us will be wearing this out. Some scratch-tests indicate that this will weather very nicely. It's a bit still at the moment, but some leather polish and time should take care of that. It arrives in lightly distressed condition, with a matte sheen and some very, very light edge-weathering. The lining is acetate- slightly disappointing as I was hoping for screen-accurate cotton. (Maybe I'll have that changed.) The included ammo cartridge-greeblies are "OK"... spray-painted resin castings, but since they're a freebie it's hard to complain. (I have my aluminum machined copies in the photos, so it's fine.) Color of the leather is a dark chocolate brown... seems accurate enough.
Verdict:
Was it worth the money and wait? I got it at the initial $500, so overall I'd say absolutely,
yes. And lest the naysayers jump in with some kind of accusation, I'm not just happy to "get something" at this point- I am definitely happy with this so far, that I didn't jump off or request a refund, and will absolutely be wearing it. I'm actually wearing the thing as I write this, haha! (Certainly, I'd rather have gotten it a long time ago, but aside from the excruciatingly long wait time, Anovos delivered the jacket they promised. ) Is it worth the current $800 asking? I don't know...
maybe... IF it turns out to be the most accurate overall, then yeah... but if one of the other makers is more accurate (which I don't think at the moment, but could be wrong about) then maybe not. When I have time, I'll go back over my old research files (I helped both Danny and Magnoli with detailing on their versions) and see how it looks overall.
And now, what you really wanted... the
photos. Keep in mind that this is hanging on a mannequin that is MUCH too skinny for it, so it looks more baggy than is does on me and it's still a little affected by the flat shipping. (We'll see if I get around to uploading a picture of me wearing it once the leather relaxes a bit.)
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In closing, while I don't consider everything "forgiven", nor are Anovos out of the woods yet, but this was a VERY good sign for them and makes me think that the ship will get righted in the end, though it might take a while yet.
Agreed. 1960s patterning was just... odd. People were shaped differently!
