Ok here is the story.
I was planning a small and simple wedding, my own. My wife likes the hair sporran and I thought I’d pick up a few things for the wedding that would be used also for the long haul: Hair Sporran, New Jacket, New Hose and a few nice new white shirts. I happen to love the cut of the Number 2 service dress jacket for day wear but I wanted it in Black. So I happen to find a place online in India that advertised that they made them and after a brief correspondence could do it in a Black Barathea "custom made" (if you want the name of the place, please PM me for details). So I used pay pal and order the Jacket it was $82 shipping included. Sent my measurements and sure enough a month later the jacket arrived.
It was well made though not a No 2 SD. The jacket was too long for a kilt and it had a center vent, which I just can’t do with a kilt. The pockets were not scalloped like the picture and they put buttons on the lower pockets… and the buttons were silver not black as we agreed on. It was like a No 2 but not what I had hoped for.
(borrowed my friend's WWI black watch for the photo, mine were not available.)
I am not one to settle for something other than I purchased. So I talked to the man via email and he agreed to fix it, so I sent it back. Then he asked for more money because he would have to re-sew the jacket to fix it.
Now at this point I was aware of the precarious situation the Jacket was in, so I went with a Scottish jacket maker and had a Wallace by St. Kilda sent over, it was a very reasonable price for a new jacket and I had it tailored to fit.
I was not done with the No. 2 however and so I did what I could to see what could be done. Eventually things were at a stand still and I thought, this black No.2 is not going to happen. It was my understanding that this person made the 1902 SD jacket for an online seller here in North America so I thought, why not ask the man who now had my black “No.2” to do what he does well and send me a 1902 SD and be done with it.
I sent him a picture from his own website and he agreed.
A month later a green “No.2” arrived. I was baffled and chuckling. It did have scalloped pocket flaps and no buttons on the lower pockets, but still too long for a kilt and center vent. So I did what perhaps any frustrated “No.2” jacket owner might do, I went to the tailor. My tailor (who is in Berkeley and I am not anymore) thought she could train some of her people on some more difficult issues like the cut-a-way, closing the vent, and bringing the shoulders in. I went by a place where someone “local” collects the dropped antlers and makes buttons etc from them. Picked up some of those buttons and gave her the jacket+ buttons. She charged me half of what it would cost and kept it a month.
In the end I got this Green Day jacket which I really enjoy. All in all it was half the price of my Wallace Jacket and became a nice day-wear jacket of which I had none.
I'll leave the moralizing aside.
Peace,
justin
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