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I apologize in advance for the long post.
Several years ago, I came across an original Buco J-100 at the RRL store that was in great condition and fit me perfectly – they also had a gorgeous Beck 666. At the time, I had never heard of either Buco or Beck, and I knew exactly nothing about vintage leather jackets. I loved both jackets, but was hesitant given my lack of knowledge and the substantial prices for “used” clothing. Thus, I decided to pause, do a little research, and thereafter decide whether to purchase one of the jackets. Over the next couple of days, I researched Beck and Buco jackets and educated myself a bit (merely a thimble full compared to certain TFL members). I decided to pull the trigger and returned to RRL ready to hand over a wad of cash. Much to my disappointment, RRL sold both jackets during the intervening two days.
The foregoing experience was, in many respects, the beginning of my interest in vintage repro jackets. I already appreciated the styling and had purchased a couple of vintage repro type jackets – e.g., a LVC café racer and Menlo – but I had no idea about the relationship between the current models and vintage jackets. During my research of the Beck and Buco jackets, I discovered the many present day manufacturers of vintage repros. I discovered that my LVC café racer was not a new design, but rather, loosely based on vintage café racers from years past. Unfortunately for my pocket book, I also discovered that my LVC café racer was not a particularly good representation of the original, and the leather was not on a par with the leathers offered by other manufacturers. Thus commenced my full scale immersion into the world of vintage repro jackets, beginning first by replacing my LVC café racer with a Real McCoys Buco J-100.
Although I filled the void of the missed original Buco J-100 with the Real McCoys replica, I remained interested in purchasing an original and kept my eyes open (I admittedly did not engage in an aggressive search). Unfortunately, larger sized original Buco J-100s are not easy to find in decent condition. Moreover, RRL scoops up a large number of the good condition original Bucos that come to market, and thereafter resells them for a king’s ransom. Last year, I came across an outstanding Buco J-100 at RRL and decided to buy it notwithstanding the insane price tag. However, just as I was handing over my credit card, I balked and, as before, I decided to pause and contemplate the purchase before completing the deal. The result was exactly the same as before – two days later, the jacket was sold and I again lost out (RRL has a remarkable following of buyers willing to pay $3,XXX for these jackets).
This past February, while at InspirationLA, I searched for a Buco J-100. I found a few, but they were either trashed or way too small (usually both). I started up a discussion with one of the vintage clothing/jacket vendors – who had a great condition Buco that was too small – and told him about my quest. Turns out that this gentleman is a regular supplier of vintage jackets for RRL. He told me what I already knew: good quality larger sizes are rare and hard to come by, and RRL buys most good examples for resale in their stores at exorbitant prices. Nevertheless, he took my phone number and promised to call me the next time he came across one. That was February.
Last week, my new friend texted me with good news – he had a size 42 original Buco J-100 in good condition. I met him yesterday. The jacket was perfect – exactly what I was looking for in terms of wear versus condition. More importantly, it fit like a glove. And thus I finally own a vintage Buco J-100 (for considerably less than what RRL charges).
Again, I apologize for the excess verbiage preceding the far more important photos.
Several years ago, I came across an original Buco J-100 at the RRL store that was in great condition and fit me perfectly – they also had a gorgeous Beck 666. At the time, I had never heard of either Buco or Beck, and I knew exactly nothing about vintage leather jackets. I loved both jackets, but was hesitant given my lack of knowledge and the substantial prices for “used” clothing. Thus, I decided to pause, do a little research, and thereafter decide whether to purchase one of the jackets. Over the next couple of days, I researched Beck and Buco jackets and educated myself a bit (merely a thimble full compared to certain TFL members). I decided to pull the trigger and returned to RRL ready to hand over a wad of cash. Much to my disappointment, RRL sold both jackets during the intervening two days.
The foregoing experience was, in many respects, the beginning of my interest in vintage repro jackets. I already appreciated the styling and had purchased a couple of vintage repro type jackets – e.g., a LVC café racer and Menlo – but I had no idea about the relationship between the current models and vintage jackets. During my research of the Beck and Buco jackets, I discovered the many present day manufacturers of vintage repros. I discovered that my LVC café racer was not a new design, but rather, loosely based on vintage café racers from years past. Unfortunately for my pocket book, I also discovered that my LVC café racer was not a particularly good representation of the original, and the leather was not on a par with the leathers offered by other manufacturers. Thus commenced my full scale immersion into the world of vintage repro jackets, beginning first by replacing my LVC café racer with a Real McCoys Buco J-100.
Although I filled the void of the missed original Buco J-100 with the Real McCoys replica, I remained interested in purchasing an original and kept my eyes open (I admittedly did not engage in an aggressive search). Unfortunately, larger sized original Buco J-100s are not easy to find in decent condition. Moreover, RRL scoops up a large number of the good condition original Bucos that come to market, and thereafter resells them for a king’s ransom. Last year, I came across an outstanding Buco J-100 at RRL and decided to buy it notwithstanding the insane price tag. However, just as I was handing over my credit card, I balked and, as before, I decided to pause and contemplate the purchase before completing the deal. The result was exactly the same as before – two days later, the jacket was sold and I again lost out (RRL has a remarkable following of buyers willing to pay $3,XXX for these jackets).
This past February, while at InspirationLA, I searched for a Buco J-100. I found a few, but they were either trashed or way too small (usually both). I started up a discussion with one of the vintage clothing/jacket vendors – who had a great condition Buco that was too small – and told him about my quest. Turns out that this gentleman is a regular supplier of vintage jackets for RRL. He told me what I already knew: good quality larger sizes are rare and hard to come by, and RRL buys most good examples for resale in their stores at exorbitant prices. Nevertheless, he took my phone number and promised to call me the next time he came across one. That was February.
Last week, my new friend texted me with good news – he had a size 42 original Buco J-100 in good condition. I met him yesterday. The jacket was perfect – exactly what I was looking for in terms of wear versus condition. More importantly, it fit like a glove. And thus I finally own a vintage Buco J-100 (for considerably less than what RRL charges).
Again, I apologize for the excess verbiage preceding the far more important photos.
