BK Durable "The Wild One" One Star Double Rider

[red devil]

The psychology of retail pricing is fascinating. I remember years ago working in my student job when a new DIY widget of some sort came in. The sort of thing where it's inherently cheap because it's a low cost item, not because they're low quality. Anyhow, normal retail across the board on this sort of item was about a pound. The boss I remember remarking when a new batch came in as a new line of this particular widget that he couldn't see how they could do it so cheap. In the end he had to decide to keep the retail price stable because even though he felt it was a crazy mark-up from cost, if he'd suddenly started charging less than a pound, nobody would have bought it - "seems to cheap to be any good." At a much higher price, there was a time not so many decades ago when Gibson couldn't sell Les Pauls beyond a hardcore market for love nor money. A new management team came in, doubled the price. Result? They couldn't make 'em fast enough. Same thing has happened in many markets (including one of the software firms my brother worked for over the years). Perceived market value is definitely a thing. If another company is charging that much more, maybe they didn't want to look like the cheap option. Perceived exclusivity - if they charge that, it must be worth that.

On the other hand.... I know a costumier who was making high-end, perfect copies of stage costumes back before anyone had even heard of "cosplay". She specialised particularly in making corsets. Thing she hated, though, was doing the full sequinning of a corset, so she had one price for plain, then a whacked up price for the full hand sequinning. That way, most orders, people would DIY it, rather than ask her to do a time consuming job she hated, but on the other hand on the rare occasion when someone came to her that was prepared to pay what she charged, it was an earner which sweetened the deal. It wouldn't surprise me entirely if they're simply not that worried about selling this jacket for whatever reason, but they're not going to refuse of someone comes along who is prepared to pay the big money.

Of course, I also remember when the BK range shot up hugely in retail price, but they were doing regular 'half price' or 'buy one get one half price' deals, so it could be preparing for a bit of market psychology that way as well.

Regsarding BK, considering they are selling in Japan through Mushmans, I wouldn't be surprised if they are hoping to start charging as much as RMC soon

 

[Monitor]

What you think buying a $3000 Durable repro is going make you look...

What it actually makes you look like...

 

[jacketjunkie]

I love the man‘s performances in almost everything I have seen him in but I have never been a fan of Brandos outfit in the movie to begin with. The jacket was too short on his frame and the cap is downright silly. I recall reading about even he himself making a remark about that. I don‘t know why people hold up this outfit so high like it‘s the holy grail of biker outfits. It‘s his performance that made the movie, his demeanor that made the character, not this look.

 

[Leigh H]

What you think buying a $3000 Durable repro is going make you look...

What it actually makes you look like...

LOL!

 

[Edward]

Regsarding BK, considering they are selling in Japan through Mushmans, I wouldn't be surprised if they are hoping to start charging as much as RMC soon

That would make sense if they're aiming at that market, right enough. Puts it way beyond what I'd be comfortable spending, but there's obviously a market there or brands like Mushman wouldn't be on the go in the first place. Quite a journey for BK, from their 'period-if-not-contract-accurate' early A2 days to where they are now.

What you think buying a $3000 Durable repro is going make you look...

What it actually makes you look like...

Ha! I like Willy's look, but yeah...

I love the man‘s performances in almost everything I have seen him in but I have never been a fan of Brandos outfit in the movie to begin with. The jacket was too short on his frame and the cap is downright silly. I recall reading about even he himself making a remark about that. I don‘t know why people hold up this outfit so high like it‘s the holy grail of biker outfits. It‘s his performance that made the movie, his demeanor that made the character, not this look.

I'd say it's the magnetism of Brando's performance and charisma that played a big factor in making the look iconic. It was a fairly credible biker look at the time, though raising it to the level of Hollywood iconic seems to have in a perverse way killed it by turning it into a costume in a way. The killer for the caps in a big way was really the arrival of, on the one hand, the drop off in popularity of hats as a rule, and the other the gradual rise of the motorcycle helmet must have played a role too. In that sense, time has been kinder to the Lee Marvin look from The Wild One, though that was already the vibe the post-war outlaw MCs were already developing anyhow.

 

[dmoser1978]

Lotta negatives waves on a forum devoted to people spending too much money on clothes they don't need.

 

[dmoser1978]

I mean, The Wild One is one of my favorite movies and Brando's jacket in that movie is one of my favorite film jackets of all time. I've owned Perfectos and while similar they are not the same.

I do own a vintage Durable jacket, though it is not a 1 for 1 for the screen jacket, it's close enough for me. I don't think I'll by another vintage Durable as they are getting hard to come by, always need work, and usually aren't in my size. Besides, I've got one, why do I need to soak up more?

I did purchase one of the Toys Mccoy jackets, it was a bit of an adventure getting it through customs as above a certain price point US Customs requires more details about the item and took a lot of back and forth to get the proper information to them and get the jacket delivered.

Now, do I think paying $3k for a jacket is ridiculous? Yeah, though it's as close as I'm going to get to a brand new original and I'm never spending that much on a jacket again. I have money from an 11 month deployment to Afghanistan so I'm not putting myself in the poor house over it.

Do I think a piece of clothing makes me "cool?" No, of course not, as stated upthread it's a person's personality that does that, not the clothes they wear.

Do I think that the Durable replicas better than a $1000 Perfecto? No, only in the sense that they have the details that I wanted.

I definitely wouldn't pay that much for a Bill Kelso jacket, but I understand their logic, if another company's replica is going for 3 times their asking price, why not raise the price on theirs? And if anyone thinks the price is too high, then don't buy it.

 

[navetsea]

this morning I sat down to watch this supposedly legendary movie that started off perfecto and jeans and engineer boots and such. I never watch this movie before I was born in late 70s this movie is way before my time, I only look at stills and closeups and sure they looked somewhat cool.

But watching a moving pictures is something else... then there he is a soft spoken guy, slightly chubby, wearing jacket a touch too small for his waist and make him look paunchy from the front , and his pants made him look large assed, wearing a brand new looking hat that also look too big and too new. maan... I don't get it..

 

[Carlos840]

this morning I sat down to watch this supposedly legendary movie that started off perfecto and jeans and engineer boots and such. I never watch this movie before I was born in late 70s this movie is way before my time, I only look at stills and closeups and sure they looked somewhat cool.

But watching a moving pictures is something else... then there he is a soft spoken guy, slightly chubby, wearing jacket a touch too small for his waist and make him look paunchy from the front , and his pants made him look large assed, wearing a brand new looking hat that also look too big and too new. maan... I don't get it..

I felt the same way when i watched it for the first time last year... I also don't get it.

 

[Leigh H]

this morning I sat down to watch this supposedly legendary movie that started off perfecto and jeans and engineer boots and such. I never watch this movie before I was born in late 70s this movie is way before my time, I only look at stills and closeups and sure they looked somewhat cool.

But watching a moving pictures is something else... then there he is a soft spoken guy, slightly chubby, wearing jacket a touch too small for his waist and make him look paunchy from the front , and his pants made him look large assed, wearing a brand new looking hat that also look too big and too new. maan... I don't get it..

I guess you have to see it from a 1950’s point of view, Brando was such a ground breaking actor an upcoming star, he’d already done street car named desire and Julia Caesar.

But this film marked the first time that movie audiences were exposed in any significant way to the existence of organized motorcycle gangs, and it spawned an entire genre based on the theme of the outlaw biker.

As for the fit I’ve always imagined was very much the style of the time, large jeans and high waisted jackets.
Maybe it was just Hollywood’s version of an “outlaw biker” and not true to life.

 

[Monitor]

I guess you have to see it from a 1950’s point of view, Brando was such a ground breaking actor an upcoming star, he’d already done street car named desire and Julia Caesar.

But this film marked the first time that movie audiences were exposed in any significant way to the existence of organized motorcycle gangs, and it spawned an entire genre based on the theme of the outlaw biker.

As for the fit I’ve always imagined was very much the style of the time, large jeans and high waisted jackets.
Maybe it was just Hollywood’s version of an “outlaw biker” and not true to life.

Exactly.

We'd all be wearing track suits if it wasn't for that movie and this specific style.

 

[Carlos840]

I definitely wouldn't pay that much for a Bill Kelso jacket, but I understand their logic, if another company's replica is going for 3 times their asking price, why not raise the price on theirs? And if anyone thinks the price is too high, then don't buy it.

The difference to me is that all of Toys Mccoy's leather jackets are somewhat in the same price range.
They also have A2s that sell for more than their Wild One jacket.
BK on the other hand is selling their regular jackets for 1/3 of the price of their Durable one Star jacket.
Considering there is no difference in quality or in leather choice for that model you are literally paying three times the price for nothing other than fulfilling your dream of looking like Marlon Brando.
What is tomorrow 5 star started making a Durable copy, would they be justified to sell it for 2000$ whilst they carry on selling their custom jackets for 350$?
IMO it would be just as ridiculouse as BK trying to sell theirs for 2100GBP.

 

[Monitor]

The difference to me is that all of Toys Mccoy's leather jackets are somewhat in the same price range.
They also have A2s that sell for more than their Wild One jacket.
BK on the other hand is selling their regular jackets for 1/3 of the price of their Durable one Star jacket.
Considering there is no difference in quality or in leather choice for that model you are literally paying three times the price for nothing other than fulfilling your dream of looking like Marlon Brando.
What is tomorrow 5 star started making a Durable copy, would they be justified to sell it for 2000$ whilst they carry on selling their custom jackets for 350$?
IMO it would be just as ridiculouse as BK trying to sell theirs for 2100GBP.

They know it'll sell. Quality, material, etc. doesn't matter at all at this point. Thing is, and I'm merely speculating here but the way I see it, most people consider standard BK's pricing to fall in the insane category, especially when it comes to a straightforward Perfecto as with just a tiny bit of searching, you can score a really great jacket for very little money, so people who are reluctant to pay $800 or whatever, definitely won't buy this jacket.

But there are guys who want it & can afford it and BK knows this. They're willing to pay whatever the cost to get exactly what they want, which in this case would be a very accurate reproduction of The Wild One jacket. It is, after all, the most significant leather jacket in the world (even more so than the A2). And I get that though at this point in life, I would NEVER pay that kinda money for it as I know it won't do nothing more that my ol' Excelled wont. But that's me.

Anyway, that's what BK's going for. They know that everyone who can afford this jacket will pay for it, regardless of the price. I'm willing to bet that any other price tag would have marginal effect on the number of sales they've had on this jacket so far, as I don't believe that the three grand price-tag have alienated a single potential buyer.
People might complain a bit more but ultimately, having no alternative, if you want this jacket, you're going to dish out the amount of money BK's asking for it.

What I've been saying before, paying anything past $500 mark for a leather jacket is insane but that's what were here for. Like you yourself said, it's got nothing to do with any measurable attribute of the product anymore.

 

[red devil]

From their point of view, a customer who wants that jacket but thinks it is too expensive will simply go for another jacket that is cheaper in their line-up. It is a low risk test to see how much of a market they can have at that price range.

It is not the first time they raise the price on something by such a margin.

 

[Monitor]

Also, re. comments on fit... It's not about the fit. It's never about the fit but how you wear it and Brando wore it. None of us do. But that's Marlon Brando.

 

[Blackadder]

Interesting thing is- 2 of my friends bought the Toys McCoy painted version. Do they know BK also make Durable? They do and they have known and talked about it. Have they looked at and handled BK's products in person before? They have. Yet over the years they have decided not to order one from BK. When TM came out at a much higher price and taking pre-order, they went and placed their orders fully paid almost immediately.

 

[nick123]

It’s not so much the price as it is the price hike. Maybe this is the model they’re experimenting with to test the waters before they all go up in price.

 

[Edward]

I guess you have to see it from a 1950’s point of view, Brando was such a ground breaking actor an upcoming star, he’d already done street car named desire and Julia Caesar.

But this film marked the first time that movie audiences were exposed in any significant way to the existence of organized motorcycle gangs, and it spawned an entire genre based on the theme of the outlaw biker.

As for the fit I’ve always imagined was very much the style of the time, large jeans and high waisted jackets.
Maybe it was just Hollywood’s version of an “outlaw biker” and not true to life.

Brando's jacket fits as they were commonly worn at the time. His look was based on how a lot of bikers did dress in those days, though I suspect they made him just a little more clean-cut - he did, after all, have to appeal to the audience as the 'misunderstood bad boy with a heart of gold' type. In the real world, while a lot of kids were copying versions of the Brando look, the older, outlaw MC types were already dressing like Chico (Lee Marvin) and his gang. At first glance looking at the film through modern eyes, Chico almost seems out of place when we first see him as compared to Johnny's gang. Less iconic as a screen image, but it's the one that ultimately reflects how many OMCs still dress today.

If you want to talk about distortion of reality, don't look to the Wild One itself, but instead Time and the rest of the MSM of its day that turned a somewhat boisterous party weekend into The Hollister Riots. Pretty much every famous photo thereof was staged.

 

[dmoser1978]

Also, re. comments on fit... It's not about the fit. It's never about the fit but how you wear it and Brando wore it. None of us do. But that's Marlon Brando.

Here, here.

Anyway, I'll try to get a write up on the TM jacket done sometime this week. I'll just post it here since this seems to be the thread for the Brando jacket.

 

[dmoser1978]

I will say this, for as much mileage as Schott gets out of claiming that Brando was wearing one of their jackets, you'd think they would come out with one that was closer to the one in the movie.