My answer

[ Reply ] [ The Indyfan Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Michaelson from leospace047.utsi.edu on January 18, 2001 at 16:05:39:

In Reply to: Beats me! posted by Fall Guy on January 18, 2001 at 14:38:45:

Read your own heading...."Beats me", and I'm with you there! (grins) Just food for thought, I guess. I totally agree on the throw away society point. In terms of specifics, though, the circle I'm talking about here is the leather coat buying crowd. If you take a look at the same discussion regarding the fedora, the same seems to hold in that circle. Most of us (me included) want our hats to last until they nail the coffin closed over us, and any "sane" person knows that physically this type of item will more than likely do a great job for many many years, but will need to be replaced due to shrinkage, age, damage, etc. unless a very expensive version is purchased made of expensive felt that can be "rebuilt" many times. Yep, we're a weird lot, but we like our stuff to last for some reason, and like you point out, that just isn't the norm anymore. Maybe one more reason we like Indy so much, it harks back to the time when more of us thought that way. Regards. Michaelson

: I'm not so sure about your suggestion of two different schools of thought regarding the longevity of consumer goods. We are all living in a "throw-away society". I should know, having lived for half my life in Europe. My impression was that generally (By making this sweeping statement, I have one foot in a trap already!) Americans are even more of "let's dump it and buy a new one" consumers than Europeans. You can tell by how often people buy cars, how new their personal electronic equipment is, and also by how long goods (cars, clothes,etc.) last - either because they are being made with longevity in mind, or because they are being taken care of with great care.
: Don't get me wrong, I've known wasteful and quality oriented people here AND there.
: As for what Peter wanted to say by calling his jackets "costume jackets", I'm not sure. Based on the quality of the jacket that I received, I made up MY mind. I realize that there is a number of legit complaints (with erratic shipment being mine), and a newspaper (even if it's high-brow!) as backing sounds rather insane (for lack of a better word).
: Say, Michaelson, where is all this going?
: Fall Guy

:
: : ... lately I've tried not to read anything into what anyone says much anymore, as 9 times out of 10 I end up being wrong. I was just clarifying that Peter calls it a costume jacket himself, and as it's not a phrase we've coined. Whether it's mean't as a descriptive term in appearance, or on longevity, I can't say. I do know (and have said before) that the European and US clothing makers have totally different slants on outer garment manufacture. Overseas it's thought that you wear it until it wears out (no time period figured), then you replace it. Nothing wrong with that. In the US, we buy it with the intention of keeping it for our great grandchildren to wear. No amount of wear will be accepted, except for some distressing. Well, nothing wrong with that either, but you say which is the most difficult to achieve. It's just two completely different schools of thought. Now back to your question....from his point of view, what do YOU think was mean't? I'm sure I don't know, but I do know that we are aware of jackets that fulfill both requirements from both sides of the big water made by Wested, so go figure. Regards. Michaelson

: :
: : : Well, "costume jacket" could mean a few different things, right? The term could be used to describe a design jacket (which the Wested certainly is), but I don't think it stands for the equivalent of costume jewelry (cheap and fake). Does it once again come down to semantics? ;)
: : : Peter may have referred to the jacket as a costume jacket, but I don't think it was his intention to say that this was a cheap (Note that I'm NOT saying "inexpensive") piece, but a design based on jacket made for the movies. That's of course my interpretation, and maybe I'm wrong...
: : : FG
: : : PS: Maybe he meant "custom jacket"? Just kidding...
: : : :
: : : :
: : :

: : : : Peter himself refers to it as a costume jacket, so no problems there. Regards. Michaelson

: : : : : I was just talking with my Wife last night about that Indiana Dog moron, his abusiveness and the fact that Peter vists and posts on the forum. I was one of the people that refered to the Wested jacket as a 'costume' jacket, but this was in defense of the jacket. I meant to imply that the jacket was made as part of a costume for use in the hottest of climates, thus justifying the lightweight construction. I recently used Wested AND Herbert Johnson as examples of why I feel the common fan like myself is often not taken seriously by businesses. That view applied to ALL bussinesses, again, they were only examples. The Wested jacket is still the ONLY "Raiders" jacket out there. I don't give a rat's ass about stitch spacing and this or that being off by a millimeter. Fact is, every film uses many near-identical versions of a given article, and trying to nail the EXACT thing is as futile as trying to find Indiana Dog's pecker in a box of straight pins. Sorry, but for nearly turning Peter agaist us, you deserved that one. Indiana Jones only exists on the screen, and all the items of gear need to appear as they do on screen. Go through your photo album and then look at the clothes you were wearing in any given photo. NOTHING appears in person as it does on film. Looking at my Halloween pictures, my Wested looks like it came straight out of "Raiders"; the cut, color, drape, fit, etc. But in person it looks different somehow. I have the US Authentic jacket, too. It's a nice jacket but needed a lot of work to get 'the look'. It's horribly inaccurate off the shelf, not to mention the hefty $420.00 tag. There's the US Wings jacket, but I've heard terrible things about their customer service as well. Flight Suits may make a great jacket SOMEDAY but at this rate, by the time they nail Patterson's specs, I'll have one just in time to be burried in it. I've yet to hear one good thing about the fit of the FS, a surprise from a company with their reputation. And don't forget the extra $100.00 + for a proper fit! Peter's jacket comes that way to start with. The original jacket for a lot less cash; not a bad deal. If your's didn't I suspect you have a thing or two to learn about taking measurements. Mine fits me exactly as Harrison's did in the film, from the fit of the sleeves to the taper of the waist when zipped. I know that most complaints are about the service and e-mails and such. First of all I don't think Peter is all that computer friendly. Most people beyond our generation seldom are. Despite reputation Wested is still a fairly small company, family owned and operated the same way for many years. They are not an automated factory, nor are they a vending machine. The bulk of Peter's business comes from the film industry; mass orders from a single source. It's probably a pain in the ass to track so many individual orders when you're not used to doing it. As for quality, I've never had a problem. Satin lining in ANY jacket is asking for trouble. Leather is dead, dried flesh; you're going to get a bad run from time to time. It's unfortunate that some people have had these problems, but it hardly means that Peter is the Devil. As far as the misrouting of orders goes, who doesn't have a Postal horror story? I still have mail going to an address I haven't lived at for six years. When I got my Wested the Post Office forgot to charge me the $19.00 customs fee. I got a bill for it yesterday. Oh, well. Just remember, not everything is Peter's fault.
: :
: :




Follow Ups:



Post a Followup:

Name:    
E-Mail:  
Subject: 
Comments:

Optional:

Link URL:   
Link Title: 
Image URL:  


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Indyfan Forum ] [ FAQ ]