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Best Inexpensive Custom Leather Jacket Maker

bluesmandan

A-List Customer
Messages
303
Location
United States
Who is good for a custom fit leather jacket under $500? Only one i know of is Wested. Who else could you recommend? Curious how many makers there are in the sub $500 price range!


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bluesmandan

A-List Customer
Messages
303
Location
United States
(Dodging rotten fruit) Gustin! I'm not sure if it's still possible, but I remember Johnson Leather in SF had some offerings that were very nice.

Are either of them custom? They seem to only offer standard sizing. I’m a 41 chest 32 sleeve (like a 41 extra short suit jacket) so standard leather jackets usually fit me poorly.


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thor

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,011
Location
NYC, NY
Magnoli Clothiers does custom work and has reasonable prices.
U.S. Authentic (flightjacket.com) do military and civilian style jackets and can custom size them to your measurements.
I’ve heard great things about Johnson Leathers so I would definitely contact them as well.
 

El Marro

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,627
Location
California
Ton and Navetsea have offered the two best options I can think of here. If you have a little patience (and a little luck) you can find a sweet used Aero or similar in your size for around $500.
 

eugenesque

One of the Regulars
Messages
244
Magnoli is great but most of their custom jackets are nonetheless above USD 500 (although they are still very competitively priced). They do have a "white label" line where jackets go for USD 200 to 300 but I have never commissioned one before and to my understanding, options are limited. You might want to email and ask!
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,846
Location
New Forest
Who is good for a custom fit leather jacket under $500? Only one i know of is Wested.
Out of curiosity I put your question into a search. There is always a budget end of every market, except perhaps land & property. My enquiry came up with this company.
https://www.hidepark.co.uk/!/mens/
You ask, who is a good? Ah, good, what a loaded question, who knows if anyone at the budget end is good?
Some companies will ply their wares with, you get what you pay for, attitude, just so that they can up the price of their product. I can give you two classic examples.
VW cars, they take a standard VW, add a few extras and gizmos, then market the car as an Audi for about 25% dearer, for the same car. Here in the UK, network provider BT, have a budget network provider called Plusnet. Same company almost half the price.

If you like any budget leather, make sure you contact the company, preferably by phone, know your rights, can you return the goods? Five hundred bucks is still a lot of bang if you have bought a pig in a poke. Good luck.

By the way, the current exchange rate is a dollar thirty five to the pound.
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
Going custom, quality hide? That's a tough nut to crack under $500. Best bet is to be patient and find your size/style (or as close as possible) in the previously enjoyed market.
I completely agree. For around $500.00 Aero has some very tasty offerings on the secondary market. I've been checking it out at least a couple of times a week for the last eight or nine years. I'd either deal with them or with Thurston Bros., but I'd still like to see what Johnson could do for that kind of money. My experience of life has been that everything I've ever really wanted is always just that little bit more than I thought I could afford. If you want it badly enough, you just tell yourself you'll cut back on something else. And then you splurge and don't cut back on anything.
 

MET

A-List Customer
Messages
310
Location
Ankara
JL might be relatively expensive but craftsmanship is precise, have the best quality horsehides and there is almost no request that they can not fulfill. Alan is very communicative and helpful. He promptly replies all the questions and waiting time is in reasonable limits. Worth every penny. You should not be rich enough to buy cheap stuff. ;)
 
Messages
17,558
Location
Chicago
JL might be relatively expensive but craftsmanship is precise, have the best quality horsehides and there is almost no request that they can not fulfill. Alan is very communicative and helpful. He promptly replies all the questions and waiting time is in reasonable limits. Worth every penny. You should not be rich enough to buy cheap stuff. ;)
Absolutely true...All things are indeed possible with Alan and he's an absolute treasure and a treat to work with.
 

nick123

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,370
Location
California
Alan’s prices may have gone up in years’ recent?! I never paid more than 1k for a custom jacket there, but this was 3-5 years ago.
 

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