In this guide we will go over how to measure yourself for a leather jacket from scratch and how to measure from a jacket you own.
The Rules
When having a jacket made there’s certain rules people often forget to consider, here’s a list of things to remember before going over the guide – PLEASE give them a quick read and do not just skip to the pictures! They are just as important.
- What jacket are you ordering? Is it a short jacket or a longer coat? Take a good look at the jacket and imagine where it would sit length-wise.
- If the jacket has a size chart take a look at those measurements against yourself, this will help you get a ball-park of where your measurements will sit.
- In the leather trade we work in inches, the smallest measurement we allow is a 1/2” as leather is very hard to get THAT close, if you are working with cm please round them up or down to the nearest 1/2”.
- When taking your chest size please give us your exact sizing – you do not need to add extra room for movement, the jackets have extra room built into them.
- Don’t over think your measurements, be thorough and if you’re unsure either email us at wested@wested.com or ask a tailor to check your measurements.
- Always read the descriptions of the jacket you want to buy, more often than not they have size information on them.
- Most importantly, do not try and change the style of a jacket with the measurements. For example, if the jacket style is a loose-fit, it will always be a looser fit, if you then try to make it really tight, it will become an uncomfortable bad fit.
Measuring from your person (from scratch)
In general we only ask for three measurements, chest, back and sleeve. In this PDF we will include a shoulder measurement also; shoulder measurements are slightly more difficult. For example, jackets like the The Last Crusade cannot handle a shoulder measurement as small as 5”, it throws the style and the fit off as it is meant to sport slightly bigger shoulders as it does in the film.
Measurement 1: The Chest
Measure your chest with a T-shirt on; we will put enough ‘breathing room’ in the jacket to allow you to fit a light jumper and shirt under the jacket. If you’re planning on wearing seriously heavy layers under the jacket it is worth considering putting them on when measuring to compare the two measurements for a happy medium – you may just want to take the size up from what you measure.
Measure from your underarms all the way round the circumference of your chest at the widest point, this will give you your chest size. A standard size Large would be a 44” chest for example, if you are an in-between size for example a 43” chest, we’d advise to go up a size rather than down – although this is YOUR choice.
FAQ: I often see a measurement pit to pit what is this?
Pit To Pit is the actual measurement of a jacket laid flat, zipped up, pulled out flat and measured from one side to the other (It is not your body measurement so don't try and take it) This is not just the full seam to seam but the full width across the jacket which may sometimes include parts of the back. When this measurement is doubled it will show you the actual dimensions of the jacket and how much ease of tollarance has been included.
Measurement 2: The Sleeve
Relax and stand front ways, measure the arm from the edge of your shoulder to where you want your sleeve to sit – some prefer a longer sleeve, some slightly shorter. Try to remember that when you lift your arm the sleeve may rise slightly. So if you’re planning to use the jacket on a bike it may be worth positioning your arm as if you are riding the bike.
Our shortest sleeve length accepted on any jacket is 22”, if your measurement is shorter than this you most likely would not fit in standard sizes, we can accommodate this but it would be non-refundable and custom made.
FAQ:
Will the sleeve get longer or shorter in wear?
Usually a jacket will crease at the bend of the elbow and may cause the sleeve to shorten by 0.25" - 0.5" over time.
Measurement 3: The Back
Relax and stand up straight, take the measurement from the nape of your neck to where you want the jacket to end. Some may want their jacket above the belt, some below, those who are ordering a coat may want it to sit above the knee. Take this into consideration before taking your measurement.
Also remember that if you shorten the back then the front will also be shorter which would include the raising of the pockets etc.
e.g on a Raiders jacket with a patch pocket the look would be quite considerably changed.
Measurement 4: The Shoulder
The shoulder is measured from the neck to the edge of the shoulder (where you’d imagine your shoulder seam would sit).
FAQ:
Why can’t you alter the shoulders on any jacket?
Technically we can alter the shoulders on any jacket but on certain jackets it can throw off the style and make the fit uncomfortable or look abnormal so as a general rule we simply make the jacket as small as possible without changing the style ordered. The most we would allow is around 0.5"
It’s as simple as that
If you take your measurements and think they are wrong please contact wested@wested.com so we can take a look. You can provide Chest, Sleeve & Back Length and these are simply the measurements that we absolutely require to custom make a jacket.
Anything else may be charged an extra fee dependent on difficulty.