This item has been sold. Good Wear U.S. Navy 37J1 Jacket Price: $825.00 (very lightly used condition) — note shipping costs below Fit: this pattern is very comfortable in the correct size Leather: capeskin with seal sueded finish Lining: russet cotton twill knits: mid-brown with slight reddish tint Thread: mid-brown cotton Buttons: horn Backing buttons: horn Snaps: vintage United-Carr large line 24 snaps Size: 44 This jacket is our interpretation of a U.S. Navy 37J1 leather flight jacket from the 1930s. Jackets made for Naval airmen in the beginning of the 1930s were made in capeskin, and there were a good number of differing patterns. They all had a yoke back, two pockets in the chest area of the front, but the variation in body shape and pocket design is quite interesting. This jacket has been made to test the button hole sewing machine we use. We've gotten it working great with Shinki horsehide, and many other formats of leather, but with softer leather, the machine still needed much work. The solution was increasing the pinch of the clamps that hold down the leather when the machine sews. Sounds very simple, but we didn't even know this could be adjusted, and with a much firmer grip, soft leathers are now easy with the button holer. It's one thing to test scraps of leather and have success, and quite another to test a finished jacket as it fits on the machine. One does the button holes at the end of making a jacket, not in the early stages, so any failure of the button holer can be devastating. It's working very well now, and the machine is doing what it was designed to do. We lament that one cannot find directions on how to use a button holer with a wide variety of materials. The instruction book will tell a user what they "can do" to adjust the machine, but not why certain adjustments are needed. Example: with cloth, the two parallel bars of stitching may be very close to each other, and it keeps the button holes clean. With leather, if the bars are too close, the final cut of the button hole will actually cut the stitching. The bars must be adjusted farther from each other. Experience teaches this. We have been adjusting this Reece 104 for 11 months. Yes, it's been that long a road. We also own a Durkopp-Adler which has been at our industrial sewing shop for 17 months. We really wish that machine would be checked out as operational soon. Back to the jacket. The leather is a very soft, but good weight capeskin, with a finish that's similar to suede, but oddly it's not suede. Over time, the finish will darken as many more naked finishes do. Photos make the knits look more reddish than they are. The jacket has about two hours of wear. The jacket would ideally fit someone in the range of 5'10" to 6'1" with a chest of 43-45", and a weight of about 185-205 pounds. « Return  Jacket dimensions:  Front along zipper 24.25"  Front chest under arms 23.5"  Back width under arms 23.5"  Back height 28"  Shoulder width 20"  Sleeves, from shoulder to end of cuff 27" Good Wear U.S. Navy 37J1 Jacket Price: $825.00 (new condition) — note shipping costs below Fit: this pattern is very comfortable in the correct size Leather: capeskin with seal sueded finish Lining: russet cotton twill knits: mid-brown with slight reddish tint Thread: mid-brown cotton Buttons: horn Backing buttons: horn Snaps: vintage United-Carr large line 24 snaps Size: 44 Payment Payment can be made either by credit card, check, or using PayPal.com, with our moniker of info@goodwearleather.com. For credit cards, please email your intent to purchase the jacket, and we will email a SecureNet form to fill out with your credit card information. Shipping costs in addition are $50.00 for customers within the U.S.A, and $80.00 for customers outside of the U.S.A., using USPS EMS trackable shipping. « Return