Advice on leather jacket

Encrustment

Fabric cuffs on a leather jacket?

Yay or Nay.

I'm thinking of buying this one:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/100-AUTHENTIC-BLACK-REAL-LEATHER-UTILITY-JACKET-BY-RIVER-ISLAND-R-R-P-170-/111214827909?pt=UK_Men_s_Coats_Jackets&var=&hash=item19e4eb9985

Any other leather jacket advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Hazys

The seller has one previous sale and 90 Euro for a 100% AUTHENTIC BLACK REAL LEATHER is very cheap so probably poor quality.

Caveat emptor on that item anyway

LOTD

Nay to fabric cuffs on a leather jacket, I like the 70's looking leather jackets you know the ones like Bruce Springsteen or Lou Reed had, sorry if that's vague. Remember style is a personal choice if you like it go for it. My only other advice would be, I'd rather try it on in a shop then you get the real feel and look of it.

Encrustment

I've already tried it on in River Island in town

Miaireland

I think the jacket looks very dated tbh.

beakerjoe

Id avoid that, better buying from a respectable seller or river island. It may be cheap but usually the more you spend, the longer it will last

Encrustment

There's another seller on ebay who has this jacket. In fact there's a few of them.

Soooo... the main problem here seems to be the fact that he has 1 feedback. The other seller has over 100 I think.

I'm a total n00b to leather jackets. How is it dated? Can somebody give an example of a "modern" leather jacket? I'm specifically looking for this style - small collar and slim fitting.

beakerjoe

Encrustment wrote: »

There's another seller on ebay who has this jacket. In fact there's a few of them.

Soooo... the main problem here seems to be the fact that he has 1 feedback. The other seller has over 100 I think.

I'm a total n00b to leather jackets. How is it dated? Can somebody give an example of a "modern" leather jacket? I'm specifically looking for this style - small collar and slim fitting.

Its all a matter of taste, if you like it go for it, don't worry about anyone else. I don't like it myself but I don't like loads of things, skinny jeans, chinos, duffel coats for example.

If your buying a jacket, id avoid ebay for clothes, that's just me.

old gregg

Traditionally, a good quality leather jacket will be made up of not many pieces. For example, each sleeve will be a single piece of leather. A quick (but not the only) way to gauge the quality of a jacket is to count how many pieces of leather have gone into it. The leftover scraps are what cheap jackets are made of. The one in the pic looks like a cheap jacket.

Wibbs

Encrustment wrote: »

I'm a total n00b to leather jackets. How is it dated? Can somebody give an example of a "modern" leather jacket?

Well.. most "modern" leather jacket designs are based on twists on decades old designs. The one on ebay is a mishmash of a world war two American pilots A2 jacket. They also had the cloth elasticated cuffs and waist. The biker leather jacket is also based on a very old design. Pre world war two, motorbike(and push bike) leather jackets, often bought as private purchases by pilots, particularly fighter pilots. The German guys did this a lot*. Bomber pilots jackets varied. The British ones were thick well insulated jobs, that you could plug in to heat up in the unheated aircraft. The US guys tended to wear the A2, original example below.

So unless you buy something very "high fashion" most leather jackets don't really date. The wearer may alright, but not the jacket Same for denim jackets. The Lee ones haven't changed since the early 30's and the Levi's since the late 50's. One of the advantages of being a bloke is that you could dress from head to toe in original vintage gear from the 1930's and you wouldn't stand out and if you got into a time machine and showed up at a WW2 airbase wearing that ebay one nobody would bat an eyelid, until you had to explain the internet






*I was offered one of these private purchase jobs a good while back. Worn by a stuka pilot. He and his mates got them made by a shop in France when old adolf was on his European tour. Apparently they spotted the design on a local bloke on a pushbike and asked him where he bought it. It looked very like a modern biker jacket only in brown. Great condition and was a real bargain price too as they normally go for big money, but sadly there comes a time in a man's life when he looks in a mirror wearing a leather jacket and thinks "oh god, midlife crisis man" so...

beakerjoe

Wibbs wrote: »

*I was offered one of these private purchase jobs a good while back. Worn by a stuka pilot. He and his mates got them made by a shop in France when old adolf was on his European tour. Apparently they spotted the design on a local bloke on a pushbike and asked him where he bought it. It looked very like a modern biker jacket only in brown. Great condition and was a real bargain price too as they normally go for big money, but sadly there comes a time in a man's life when he looks in a mirror wearing a leather jacket and thinks "oh god, midlife crisis man" so...

I feel like that sometimes, and im only 29..... oh the humanity

Sleepy

Since you seem a bit of an expert on this Wibbs, can I bend your ear?

I've a suede James Dean cut leather jacket which was far from cheap when I bought it but it's been through the wars a bit (zip broken, baby puked on it) and I ended up just putting it away until I could spare the cash to get it properly sorted. Can you recommend anyone in Dublin for getting it scraped and re-treated?

RDM_83 again

The leather in that jacket looks like it could be very thin? Possibly pig skin (especially at that price point). Take a look around for leather jackets in the second hand and charity shops.

If your in Dublin Harlequin (between Drury street and South William street) would be a good place to check (a bit overpriced IMO but it has a selection and is convenient).

If you do buy one it might be worth picking up some Mink Oil (you can buy online or in cobblers etc) especially if you are going to wear it out in the rain.

AFAIK you should not use Saddle Soap if you want it too stay soft and flexible, Saddle soap is for harder leathers

Wibbs

Sleepy wrote: »

Since you seem a bit of an expert on this Wibbs, can I bend your ear?

I've a suede James Dean cut leather jacket which was far from cheap when I bought it but it's been through the wars a bit (zip broken, baby puked on it) and I ended up just putting it away until I could spare the cash to get it properly sorted. Can you recommend anyone in Dublin for getting it scraped and re-treated?

TBH S, I'm as much use as a comb to a bald man on that score. Being a cheap bastard I used to fix them myself with leather oil type stuff and the like. I've no idea where you'd bring it to be repaired in Dublin. Sorry.

Wibbs

beakerjoe wrote: »

I feel like that sometimes, and im only 29..... oh the humanity

I hit that point at 35. The joke is my closest mate the same age as me who on paper shouldn't be able to get away with a leather jacket can. The bastard. Whereas at 25 I'd rock one better than him. Did I mention he's a bastard. He can work the suit thing too. Some guys just can work the lot. Yep. Utter bastard. :mad::D

LOTD

Wibbs wrote: »

I hit that point at 35. The joke is my closest mate the same age as me who on paper shouldn't be able to get away with a leather jacket can. The bastard. Whereas at 25 I'd rock one better than him. Did I mention he's a bastard. He can work the suit thing too. Some guys just can work the lot. Yep. Utter bastard. :mad::D

Do I have to give up my leather jacket at a certain age

I'm still a bit peeved that it's deemed by social convention that I can't have lights in my shoes, I'm only 23

beakerjoe

LOTD wrote: »

Do I have to give up my leather jacket at a certain age

I'm still a bit peeved that it's deemed by social convention that I can't have lights in my shoes, I'm only 23

Screw it, im going to buy a leather jacket! Screw you mid life crisis.

old gregg

20 years ago when about 30 I paid good money for a black leather blazer (always loved them). It's still in perfect condition, only worn on special occasions. Sadly, because my hair is still really long I no longer look like a rock star wearing it, now I look like Steven Seagal :P

234

old gregg wrote: »

Traditionally, a good quality leather jacket will be made up of not many pieces. For example, each sleeve will be a single piece of leather. A quick (but not the only) way to gauge the quality of a jacket is to count how many pieces of leather have gone into it. The leftover scraps are what cheap jackets are made of. The one in the pic looks like a cheap jacket.

That doesn't really hold true at the higher end of the market. If you want a jacket that is somewhat fitted or shaped then you need to include separate side panels. This increases the number of pieces but actually involves more effort and greater craftsmanship.

http://www.permanentstyle.co.uk/2013/08/the-bespoke-leather-jacket-part-4.html#.UoYCcsTgS-M

Guyanachronism

As I mentioned on another thread I think Zara has some nice biker style leather jackets this season and there is a shop called Genius by the Powerscurt centre Clarendon st D2. They have some nice leather jackets in the window but the place doesn't look cheap.

I would stay away from River Island for any large item that you expect to wear year after year. I got a really nice winter coat for €150 and it faded and frayed after a year.

I got a nice faux leather jacket from Zara a couple years ago and it has held up well. It has some very nice detailing.

You can't beat a good leather jacket.

_Kaiser_

It's threads like this that make me wish I had a clue about fashion.

Well, not fashion as such I guess.. more what suits me etc - too many years spent in IT wearing business casual cheap stuff (no point buying expensive clothes when you're crawling under desks after cables and declogging CPU fans/PC cases of years worth of dust balls).

Now that the day-to-day stuff like that is behind me I find I wouldn't have a clue and everything looks very expensive!

awec

This post has been deleted.

Guyanachronism

awec wrote: »

I don't like ones with the fabric on them, nor do I like the really shiney / smooth ones. And the loose fitting older-man type ones.

Something like this is much more my cup of tea: http://www.allsaints.com/men/leathers/allsaints-conroy-leather-biker/?colour=360&category=9

That is nice. I like the asymmetric zip. Usually the distressed look would put me off but it seems to work with that jacket and slim fit to boot.

I better start saving though.

awec

This post has been deleted.

old gregg

234 wrote: »

That doesn't really hold true at the higher end of the market. If you want a jacket that is somewhat fitted or shaped then you need to include separate side panels. This increases the number of pieces but actually involves more effort and greater craftsmanship.

http://www.permanentstyle.co.uk/2013/08/the-bespoke-leather-jacket-part-4.html#.UoYCcsTgS-M

I actually don't see your point here. Obviously a fitted jacket will use more pieces regardless of whether it's high or low end. But even the finished jacket in the photo uses less pieces than a similar design on a cheap jacket might.

234

old gregg wrote: »

I actually don't see your point here. Obviously a fitted jacket will use more pieces regardless of whether it's high or low end. But even the finished jacket in the photo uses less pieces than a similar design on a cheap jacket might.

My point is that a simplistic "less panels = better quality" statement is unhelpful. There is a lot more to it and an uninformed observer might easily write-off a jacket as cheap because of the number of panels where this might not be justified.

old gregg

234 wrote: »

My point is that a simplistic "less panels = better quality" statement is unhelpful. There is a lot more to it and an uninformed observer might easily write-off a jacket as cheap because of the number of panels where this might not be justified.

I think you may have missed the point. Panels required to benefit the fit of a jacket were obviously never an issue.

234

old gregg wrote: »

I think you may have missed the point. Panels required to benefit the fit of a jacket were obviously never an issue.

I know that, but from the content of the original post an amateur wouldn't.

RoscommonTom

I think it looks lovely, very classy

ofcork

beakerjoe wrote: »

I feel like that sometimes, and im only 29..... oh the humanity

Im 42 and I have a few leather jackets I would wear on nights out,one I bought in river island about 10 years ago and still like it after picking up a gant jacket in bt and seeing it cost 900!