I picked up a couple of jackets from the local thrift store. One is light-to-medium gray with a tight weave and very large patch pockets. The other is a dark gray loose weave (woolen?) with conventional pockets. Both are long... much longer than would normally fit me, but there is method to my madness.

I figure the length is actually going to make them easier to shorten. Here is why. The pockets on the dark gray jacket are so low that they will be completely cut off, and there will be no need to figure out how to move them. The person altering the jacket could just create new ones in an appropriate place rather than worrying about a left over pocket slits that may be in the wrong place.

The other reason is the buttons. Because the lower button is so low it will be easy to make the cutout around the lower button and button hole without making a too-aggressive cutout.

The remaining button will be in a rather low spot, but I prefer low placement on a jacket anyway, so that should be OK.

The light gray has large patch pockets, so they will be easy to remove, cut down, and reattached at an appropriate spot. The lower button will be handled the same way as the first jacket.

Of course, there will need to be some alterations, mainly shortening the sleeves, and maybe doing a little fine tuning of the body profile.

Any thoughts on this scheme?