Following on (sort of) from this thread. I like a leather flying jacket, and the ‘Irvin’ is one of my faves.
A friend posts over at The Fedora Lounge, and she sent me a link to a thread about these jackets.
Lots of good historical pics and pics of historical jackets.
My Irvin is a non-authentic one from Avirex (handwarmer pockets, ‘Avirex’ markings on the buckle). Beautiful sheepskin. Based on my friend’s enthusiastic recommendation, and the very good reviews on the website, today I ordered this 1942 pattern Irvin jacket. I’d like to have a more authentic pre-war reproduction, but the one I ordered today is 1/3 the price. My friend has an Eastman, and she says she likes the WPG jacket better.
That was Thursday. Today is Saturday. And I have my new jacket. Freakin’ amazing!
First the bad news: It’s a bit snug. Wearable zipped, but snug. I bought it a size smaller than my Avirex, which is just a little roomy. But I’ve been losing weight, so it should be fine in a couple of months. The chest, arm, and shoulders fit much better than the Avirex ‘mall jacket’ version.
Now the good news: The jacket is not as bulky as the Avirex. This means it will be more comfortable to wear around, since I won’t feel like the Michelin Man. The finish and colour of the exterior match wartime jackets. I think Avirex was going for a ‘distressed’ look, which I don’t care for that much. The What Price Glory offering is much better. The Avirex zips always seemed a little cheesy. The zips on the WPG jacket feel a lot better. WPG also has the front zipper ‘reversed’ (i.e., the pull tab is on the left) like the originals. It will take a little getting used to, but it’s proper. All of the WPG zips have leather tabs on the pulls. The sleeves on the Avirex jacket don’t. (Some originals had tabs, some didn’t.) Finally, the belt buckle is nicer than the Avirex one, and it doesn’t have AVIREX cast into it. The prong might be a little light, but I’m not worried.
Now the inside. The fleece in the Avirex jacket is very plush and pretty straight. The WPG fleece is more compact and curly. Again, this is like originals I’ve seen. (I’ve also seen it like Avirex.) The Avirex fleece is a nice honey colour. WPG’s fleece is a bit darker. It pretty much looks like this original, except that the buckle is brass instead of silver metal.
This jacket is going to get a lot of wear, once I drop ten pounds, not only because it looks better than the Avirex ‘fashion jacket’, but because it’s less bulky and won’t get in the way. I still want a pre-war pattern Eastman. But for 1/3 the price, I can’t fault the WPG! 
ETA: [Here’s a pic of a guy wearing a WPG jacket](Tapatalk - Free Forum Hosting, Free Forum Mobile App.. Mine looks just like it.
.
I hope yours fits better at the waist.
