If you're reading this then we assume you like jackets. We also assume that you own at least one and if you own one you may likely own five. Such is the way when it comes to wax jackets. 

This article was prompted by an email we received from one of our customers in the US asking for advice on jacket sizing. Buying overseas can be risky and nothing disappoints more than the perfect jacket arriving on your doorstep only for you not to be able to fasten the zip. 

Hopefully, this article will offer some tips on how best to avoid that. 

The Sizing Lottery

I tend to be a 'true' size medium in most things. Add an inch to my height and I'd be a tailor's dream, so how can I fit perfectly in a size small AND a size XL jacket from the same brand?

The question that landed in our inbox asked why vintage wax jackets run larger than modern pieces. Here's why. 

The traditional Barbour waxed jacket was made for working on farms and the outdoors through the harshest of weathers. It needed to sit over your handmade woollen jumper and the subsequent layers that sat under that. The cut was boxier with more room to accommodate. The sleeves were shorter too which helped avoid snagging in machinery or getting in the way of anything/everything that required your hands to get dirty. The practicality was perfect. 

When they started appearing on the high street, that cut didn't work so much. Especially around the time when slimmer or fitted was de rigour in menswear. Barbour specifically started cutting a more contemporary silhouette to suit. So in turn, the dimensions changed and a roomier size medium from the 80's became far more fitted in the 00's. 

Lets look at Belstaff. The company has changed hands a few times over the years from starting as weatherproofing specialists made for riding motorcycles into more of a status piece seen in sports cars. Again, the older vintage pieces have more room to accommodate layering underneath and you need that room just to move under that amazing, solid fabric. 

Belstaff adopted Italian sizing over the standard S-XL which for some, made it quite hard to navigate. In short, the 'standard' UK/USA size chart is based on height and weight, the Italian/European takes that up a notch to measure on more acute body measurements i.e 38/40/42 etc. This isn't new though and has been the case for many years across the continent. 

In my previous guise a a cyclist, I would regularly search for size XXL in Castelli clothing to fit my UK medium frame. There are cultural differences to consider and unpick too but the common consensus is that Italian sizes tend to run smaller than UK. 

How do I buy the right jacket?

Buying vintage and secondhand is a great way to buy into heritage brands whilst picking up some real gems but how to gamble on getting the correct size? Here's what we do. 

Lay your favourite jacket on flat surface and measure the distance from armpit to armpit, across the chest. This is commonly known as the 'ptp'. For me, I sit around 21".

When looking to buy secondhand or new, you should use this measurement to test that the jacket you want to buy measures the same. 

We find this is usually enough for us to get the right fit but you can go further and measure the arm length and shoulder to hem for a more accurate reading. Doing it this way, you can pretty much disregard the label size which can be misleading in many cases. 

Hopefully you found this useful and happy hunting. 

Ryan