Alpha jackets - Frankfurt, Germany

[JanSolo]

As long as you are in Frankfurt:

Make sure you visit "The Listener" on Stephanstraße 1. Great shop with a huge range of great products:

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ I'm sure that store has lots of great stuff, but that slogan is laughable and I'm pretty sure the store's owners nor any of their customers or employees would go within a hundred miles of a manual labour job.

 

[Edward]

^ I'm sure that store has lots of great stuff, but that slogan is laughable and I'm pretty sure the store's owners nor any of their customers or employees would go within a hundred miles of a manual labour job.

It's one of the great ironies of our age that there is such a big market for premium workwear which will never see anything like the use for which it was designed. But hey.... I'm sure there are those rolling their eyeballs at the market for preium A2 repros as well (likely a fair few of them who got theirs "for free" at the issue stand.... though a heck of a lot of them paid far more dearly for those jackets than any repro customer today). Funny old world, eh?

 

[Doctor Damage]

I'm sure that store has lots of great stuff, but that slogan is laughable and I'm pretty sure the store's owners nor any of their customers or employees would go within a hundred miles of a manual labour job.

It's one of the great ironies of our age that there is such a big market for premium workwear which will never see anything like the use for which it was designed. But hey.... I'm sure there are those rolling their eyeballs at the market for preium A2 repros as well (likely a fair few of them who got theirs "for free" at the issue stand.... though a heck of a lot of them paid far more dearly for those jackets than any repro customer today). Funny old world, eh?

I don't resent separating people from their money, since that's what makes the world turn, but I resent the slogans and marketing campaigns and the whole "lifestyle" that grows up around these fashion trends, and the glorification of the working man (nearly all of whom would have traded in their labour jobs for a comfy office job in a flash). Oh well, as you say, it's a funny old world!

 

[RailRoad]

I liked the look of the Breitling Alpha's on ebay, until I saw the logo splashed on the back. Didn't care for it on the front either since it would appear like my name was Breitling.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I don't resent separating people from their money, since that's what makes the world turn, but I resent the slogans and marketing campaigns and the whole "lifestyle" that grows up around these fashion trends, and the glorification of the working man (nearly all of whom would have traded in their labour jobs for a comfy office job in a flash). Oh well, as you say, it's a funny old world!

Slogans and marketing campaigns go hand in hand with, as you put it, separating people form their money. It's BS as much as anything else which makes the world turn. Always has.

 

[Edward]

I don't resent separating people from their money, since that's what makes the world turn, but I resent the slogans and marketing campaigns and the whole "lifestyle" that grows up around these fashion trends, and the glorification of the working man (nearly all of whom would have traded in their labour jobs for a comfy office job in a flash). Oh well, as you say, it's a funny old world!

Yes, it's all branding. I suspect some of those working men would have laughed, while others would be insulted. Much like the time when all the "rich" kids paid extra for holes in their denims. There's worse out there, for sure. The fetishisation of thwe working man scares me les than the increasing fetishisation / rose-tinted view of certain conflicts of the past, tbh, but that's a whole nother ballgame.

I liked the look of the Breitling Alpha's on ebay, until I saw the logo splashed on the back. Didn't care for it on the front either since it would appear like my name was Breitling.

I can't quite imagine what the market was for those - were they a promo thing? Rolex perhaps aside, watch branding always seemed to be more about subtlety to me? But then I've never really cared for clothes with an obvious logo (aside from the band t-shirts of my youth, of course.... ).

 

[Doctor Damage]

Slogans and marketing campaigns go hand in hand with, as you put it, separating people form their money. It's BS as much as anything else which makes the world turn. Always has.

Coffee Cart Man: Hey buddy. You forgot your change.

Joe Moore: [Takes the change] Makes the world go round.

Bobby Blane: What's that?

Joe Moore: Gold.

Bobby Blane: Some people say love.

Joe Moore: Well, they're right, too. It is love. Love of gold.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

One more observation - these Alpha's were all completely free of wrinkles. Could this be due to the extra heavy satin fabric? It looks like these jackets are wrinkle resistant, unlike the ones seen in the US.

The store clerk said these jackets were of USA origin. Do not think that can be correct.

 

[Sloan1874]

My N-3 arrived through the post today - brand new, tagged - and though it was folded over and wrapped tight, within minutes of being opened the creases had dropped. I'll say this though: current Alphas run large: I bought it as a small, and it definitely runs towards what feels like a medium.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

My N-3 arrived through the post today - brand new, tagged - and though it was folded over and wrapped tight, within minutes of being opened the creases had dropped. I'll say this though: current Alphas run large: I bought it as a small, and it definitely runs towards what feels like a medium.

Yes, the ones tried on in Deutschland did run on the generous side, with medium size being a good fit, and the large being, well LARGE!
Where was your jacket manufactured?

 

[Sloan1874]

It doesn't specifically say, unlike my 80s MA-1, so I'm guessing China.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

It doesn't specifically say, unlike my 80s MA-1, so I'm guessing China.

I am going to call Alpha Industries this week to inquire about these jackets sold in other countries, specifically if they are all the same, or made to different specs.

Before I would spend over $200 on an Alpha MA-1, the nice folks at G&B can make one for almost half that.

 

[bn1966]

I'd be very interested to know what Alpha say, I'm with Sloan on the China guess. Just scored another MA1 50's style Alpha 'Replica' series in XL (Blue this time), wool / cotton interlining, decent nylon shell..zips etc. This will compliment the sage one scored last year & the N2B scored last month from the same series (red & yellow / gold tag on sleeve). With regard to the MA1's, I feel comfortable with the 50's style on which despite me having a crop & Levi's hasn't attracted any 'Skin Head' comments. Sold my last USA 'orange lining' MA1 due to quality & size issues.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I am going to call Alpha Industries this week to inquire about these jackets sold in other countries, specifically if they are all the same, or made to different specs.

I wouldn't expect much success with their customer service helping you. They couldn't even provide me with measurements of their Slim M-65.
Having said that, after finding one on eBay I'm really happy with it. Made in China but seems pretty well constructed.

 

[bn1966]

I found their customer service worse than useless ....couldn't give me any measurements but stated I was a 3XL for an L2B (Chinese)....I was an XL with room to layer. Got more sense out of them years ago though.

 

[bn1966]

Gibson & Barnes have much better customer service, their products appear to run LARGE in my experience. Would be interested to know the thoughts of anyone that's purchased one of their standard MA1s, I purchased a 'light weight' version from them...XL Reg & found it a bit big to my taste but very well made.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

Gibson & Barnes have much better customer service, their products appear to run LARGE in my experience. Would be interested to know the thoughts of anyone that's purchased one of their standard MA1s, I purchased a 'light weight' version from them...XL Reg & found it a bit big to my taste but very well made.

We will be having them (G&B) custom make at least one cloth jacket for us.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

Just spoke with Alpha. The jackets in Deutschland are not the same as here. She said the quality would be the same as they have to meet certain standards to sell an Alpha product. Did not know the country of origin, but the jackets sold here all come from China.

The lady, who was very nice, did state that Alpha has a very liberal return/exchange policy - 45 days.

One BIG difference noted in my USA made B-15, and the MA-1's in Frankfurt...the insulation and lining. The MA-1 had a quilt patchwork heavy lining, where my B-15 has less than half the insulation. The MA-1 was "heavy" in feel.

 

[zhz]

Just spoke with Alpha. The jackets in Deutschland are not the same as here. She said the quality would be the same as they have to meet certain standards to sell an Alpha product. Did not know the country of origin, but the jackets sold here all come from China.

The lady, who was very nice, did state that Alpha has a very liberal return/exchange policy - 45 days.

One BIG difference noted in my USA made B-15, and the MA-1's in Frankfurt...the insulation and lining. The MA-1 had a quilt patchwork heavy lining, where my B-15 has less than half the insulation. The MA-1 was "heavy" in feel.

I don't think Alpha make any of their jacket in USA now, I've seen one Made in China MA-1, it is very nice. All the Made in USA jackets are deadstck I think. One more thing, dont go for their new M-65, the quality still good, but with very stupid design.