Buying a leather jacket

[lthr]

Side-note: I love 'classic' apparel, and I do not wear 'modern' clothing unless I have no choice (which comes from having little money). In other words, this forum sounds like a nice place.

Anyway, I'm looking to buy a leather jacket; I've been wanting one for a long while now, just didn't have the money to do so.

Style: I'm a fan of both bomber and racer styles (reference to the guide at artofmanliness here). Though I'm bit afraid that the bomber style is for the fall/spring (I live in Europe, weather's almost identical to that of England's, except it gets a couple of Celsius colder in the winter)... And the racer style seems to go well even when it's a bit warmer, and if you have something warmer underneath it - it's also perfect for cooler weather, hence it seems more flexible, hence should be my choice, as I can't afford more than one jacket.

Material: First of all, I like leather jackets black. As for the material, I would like to have the kind of jacket that looks better with time, not worse. I.e. I was gifted a way oversized jacket that was probably lamb leather. It looks really good and is so smooth, but where it's worn off, it looks pretty bad, and in the back - it's slightly stretched out in the back due to the owner leaning back on his car seat for years. I was also gifted (again - very oversized) jacket that was made out of very thick leather, the 'grain' is out of huge chunks and it doesn't bend too easy. It's very heavy, too. I didn't like it much at all - the material. So, from what I know, I would guess that I should go with top grain steerhide or horsehide. Oh, I also hate suede and nubuck leather ever since I first saw some guy wearing suede leather shoes, so... Definitely not suede or nubuck leather, haha.

Budget: I honestly don't how much a leather jacket may cost me. Maybe I should even consider a used one, though I have never bought any used clothing before. I would prefer to spend as little as possible, as I make ~$300 a month, so it's kinda hard to save up. But, since I would like to own that jacket for many years to come, I do not want to skimp on quality.

I have no idea what to look for when checking the quality of a leather jacket. I also think that I should buy one online, as I doubt that I could get anything good at local stores - the best leather store here is Bison, which I don't think is very good. Though if I'm to buy online, I need to know the measurements that I should be looking for, as you cannot get a leather jacket tailored. I own a suit, but I know that the measurements differ for a leather jacket.

P.S. Ask anything that would help you help me.

 

[handymike]

Welcome!
Take a look at the Thurston Bros. site.
They have both new and used.
Cheers.

 

[aswatland]

Welcome to TFL. Check out the Classified Section or start a wanted thread there. You can buy cheap leather jackets on Ebay of course!

 

[kowalski]

Hi
lthr

All roads lead to A2 jacket. You go this road

 

[Seb Lucas]

Sounds like you will struggle to afford one of the more prominent brands here, even at second hand prices. You're looking at several hundred for a preloved jacket. Before you start looking, what's your actual budget? No more than?

I have found some okay vintage style thrift shop jackets in cowhide ( much stronger stuff than lamb) for between $20 to $80 and have been almost as happy with them as I was with Aero or any artisan jobbie I have owned.

 

[lthr]

Welcome!
Take a look at the Thurston Bros. site.
They have both new and used.
Cheers.

Thanks! Seems like now I know the best brands, assuming that's what the site is offering. And considering that I'v seen the name "Aero" a lot all over the internet, I presume that it's one of the best. The prices there are a bit steep though, definitely not what I'd expected, to be honest. But I already wrote about that under the last quote. Either way, I appreciate the link - if anything, it's great for reference, too. Some very nice pictures to look at to, uhm, 'get a feeling' about high-quality leather jackets and such.

Welcome to TFL. Check out the Classified Section or start a wanted thread there. You can buy cheap leather jackets on Ebay of course!

Thanks! And I will, I already started to, but I thought I'd reply first. However, if I'm to go that route, I need to know how to know whether or not the jacket I may be interested in isn't of a low quality, and I have no idea how to tell that when it comes to leather jackets. As you can tel, I have never bought one.

Hi
lthr

All roads lead to A2 jacket. You go this road

A2 is a bomber style jacket, and I'm bit afraid to go that route due to it being less versatile as I mentioned in the first post. However, based on some light googling, I've found one of the best bomber jackets I've seen.

Sounds like you will struggle to afford one of the more prominent brands here, even at second hand prices. You're looking at several hundred for a preloved jacket. Before you start looking, what's your actual budget? No more than?

I have found some okay vintage style thrift shop jackets in cowhide ( much stronger stuff than lamb) for between $20 to $80 and have been almost as happy with them as I was with Aero or any artisan jobbie I have owned.

I suppose $250 would be a very good range for me. I also have a nubuck leather jacket with synthetic fur on the inside for sale, so if I'll be able to sell it somewhere, it could go up to $300. From what I've seen (~$1000) on the site I was linked to, that's way below the budget, it seems. I was under the impression that leather jackets aren't as costly as I skimmed through Ebay and - a while ago - asked someone who 'supposedly' knows the prices of certain merchandise, including leather jackets.

 

[handymike]

eBay has Vintage Beck cafe racers for reasonable prices. Vintage horsehide jackets are $250-450 usually. Folks also like the Schott cafe racer.

 

[LouisBailie]

What size jacket are you looking to get? Post that and I will send you links to items forsale.

A very nice alternative to high end would be Branded Orchard made in NY and priced in your range new. Very good quality jackets

 

[Barman]

Maybe you could check Wested Leather's website, they're in Europe, so no import duties.
Their products are also priced in your budget, and the quality seems fair. I would check them out.

 

[lthr]

eBay has Vintage Beck cafe racers for reasonable prices. Vintage horsehide jackets are $250-450 usually. Folks also like the Schott cafe racer.

I'm going to follow those searches. Thanks!

What size jacket are you looking to get? Post that and I will send you links to items forsale.

A very nice alternative to high end would be Branded Orchard made in NY and priced in your range new. Very good quality jackets

I think leather jacket size measures by chest? If so, it'd be 32-34in. Let me know if you need something else, or if I should use some different guidelines or such.

Thanks, I'll follow that search on Ebay as well!

Maybe you could check Wested Leather's website, they're in Europe, so no import duties.
Their products are also priced in your budget, and the quality seems fair. I would check them out.

Thanks, I'll look into it after I post this message.

 

[navetsea]

Sometime, in some countries with weaker currency to dollar or euro, probably a local jacket maker is the way to go. I don't say local mall, but directly to the workshop, where you can speak and to be measured by them.

There you can see the leather before it is cut, so you can tell if they are real or not since you see the suede back, and you also see how the dye application only on the surface or all the way in (depending on how you want it to look when it ages), and the thickness, and most importantly the fit, since it seems like you want to just have one leather jacket.

 

[lthr]

Sometime, in some countries with weaker currency to dollar or euro, probably a local jacket maker is the way to go. I don't say local mall, but directly to the workshop, where you can speak and to be measured by them.

There you can see the leather before it is cut, so you can tell if they are real or not since you see the suede back, and you also see how the dye application only on the surface or all the way in (depending on how you want it to look when it ages), and the thickness, and most importantly the fit, since it seems like you want to just have one leather jacket.

My country has Euro and things cost just as much as any other country. Though I have tried finding a tailor a couple of months back. Most tailors told me right off the bat: "we don't wanna touch leather, it's too hard to work with." One of them was willing to do pretty much anything, but I don't think she's very qualified. Anyway, she said she'd only work with faux leather, probably because it's not as costly. Oh, there was one more tailor who said she's interested but she went 'under the radar' for a couple of weeks, then reemerged and said that she's "afraid to touch it." I'm not sure why they refuse to touch leather, but they just do, it seems. Appreciate the suggestion though.

That's most interesting! I didn't know that how a leather jacket ages depends on the dyeing! Hah. That's really neat. I thought that it ages just the way it ages, there's no difference. Anyway, that's really interesting.

 

[Monitor]

ithr, welcome!

I think that with these terms, eBay is your best bet. Problem is, with so many leather jacket manufacturer in business, there really isn't anything that guarantees quality, other than the brand name. You could go for a cheapo, the internet is full of 'em but with online shopping, it's a risky business as you don't have a clue what you're going to get until it's too late. There are just too many methods of creating leather out of rawhide and some you'd definitely want to avoid. Like split or corrected grain leather. It's just not worth it. With brands you at least have some guarantee.

There's quality and then there's durability. I guess quality lambskin probably does exist, at least that's what The Style Forum claims (thought even some lambskin jackets go for over $5000, I still don't believe it for a second XD), but quality in this case doesn't automatically mean durability. I'm going to assume that you're looking for a jacket you plan on sticking with for a few years and if that's the case, what you should be looking at is a jacket made of a thick(er), full grain cowhide or horsehide leather. Deerskin, buffalo and kangaroo hide are just as good. I think you've mentioned you don't want a very heavy jacket and while your jacket doesn't need to have ten pounds, some weight is good.

All this sounds simple enough but unfortunately, that's where the budget comes in. Obviously, you don't need to drop a grand just to get a good leather jacket, of course, but to make sure you're getting something good, you should look into paying a bit more than what you were hoping to spend (at least for a new jacket). And this is where brands come in handy. For $300, you should be able to find good quality jacket in a great condition on eBay, perhaps even something new(ish), but you are going to have to hunt.

 

[SpeedRcrX]

My country has Euro and things cost just as much as any other country. Though I have tried finding a tailor a couple of months back. Most tailors told me right off the bat: "we don't wanna touch leather, it's too hard to work with."

Most of the time,, tailors who don't specialize in leather doesn't have the tools to work leather. So there is a good chance for them to broke their equipments and mess the leather in the process

 

[navetsea]

probably they refuse leather since leather is not uniform, so it is much harder to place the pattern on to make more or less balanced panels yet using the material effectively, if your tailor is not already making leather stuff don't force them to do, it is a different trade.

Totally different alternative is, if what appeal to you mostly is the design of a cafe racer jacket rather rather than the material used, there are also waxed denim jackets in racer style, waxed thick denim also form creases and will follow your body after a while just like leather jacket but just not in leather (still a much better option than faux leather)

 

[handymike]

pit to pit measurement should be chest + 4". So if your chest measures 34" then your ideal pit to pit should be close to 19"

 

[lthr]

ithr, welcome!

I think that with these terms, eBay is your best bet. Problem is, with so many leather jacket manufacturer in business, there really isn't anything that guarantees quality, other than the brand name. You could go for a cheapo, the internet is full of 'em but with online shopping, it's a risky business as you don't have a clue what you're going to get until it's too late. There are just too many methods of creating leather out of rawhide and some you'd definitely want to avoid. Like split or corrected grain leather. It's just not worth it. With brands you at least have some guarantee.

There's quality and then there's durability. I guess quality lambskin probably does exist, at least that's what The Style Forum claims (thought even some lambskin jackets go for over $5000, I still don't believe it for a second XD), but quality in this case doesn't automatically mean durability. I'm going to assume that you're looking for a jacket you plan on sticking with for a few years and if that's the case, what you should be looking at is a jacket made of a thick(er), full grain cowhide or horsehide leather. Deerskin, buffalo and kangaroo hide are just as good. I think you've mentioned you don't want a very heavy jacket and while your jacket doesn't need to have ten pounds, some weight is good.

All this sounds simple enough but unfortunately, that's where the budget comes in. Obviously, you don't need to drop a grand just to get a good leather jacket, of course, but to make sure you're getting something good, you should look into paying a bit more than what you were hoping to spend (at least for a new jacket). And this is where brands come in handy. For $300, you should be able to find good quality jacket in a great condition on eBay, perhaps even something new(ish), but you are going to have to hunt.

Thanks!

First off - appreciate the detailed reply.

If brands is the only determining quality, then I can automatically eliminate anything local, and assuming the aforementioned brands are the ones I should be looking at, I may not find something online either. Either way, it's quite different than say determining the quality of a suit. I've seen some real nice jackets at the sites of these brands though, and at least judging from the pictures, they are incompatible with anything I've seen in real. Especially if we're talking about the jackets at a local marketplace - they look horrible in comparison. A good analogy would be a cheap polyester suit vs. s150 wool. I find that rather peculiar, to be honest.

And yes, I'd like to stick with it for around a decade, I guess. No real timeline, but that sounds like a nice round 'number'. Also, I have never seen deerskin or buffalo skin jackets, and I have never heard of kangaroo skin jackets. Oh, and I don't mind some weight, I think that jacket was so heavy because it's probably XL size, so it's just a lot of leather that is heavy. Bigger bodies are used to carrying bigger weights naturally.

From the looks of it, I'd need to have $700, or at least that's what the jackets cost on the sites I looked at (of the aforementioned brands). I'm counting in shipping and customs, of course. I'm tempted to walk away from this thread and stick with following those searches on Ebay with little expectation of getting a jacket, while saving more money for a while.

Anyway, thanks again for a very detailed reply...

Most of the time,, tailors who don't specialize in leather doesn't have the tools to work leather. So there is a good chance for them to broke their equipments and mess the leather in the process

That makes sense, I suppose. But that means that there are no tailors who work with leather here. I suppose leather tailors are more of a... 'rich' commodity?

probably they refuse leather since leather is not uniform, so it is much harder to place the pattern on to make more or less balanced panels yet using the material effectively, if your tailor is not already making leather stuff don't force them to do, it is a different trade.

Totally different alternative is, if what appeal to you mostly is the design of a cafe racer jacket rather rather than the material used, there are also waxed denim jackets in racer style, waxed thick denim also form creases and will follow your body after a while just like leather jacket but just not in leather (still a much better option than faux leather)

While that is an interesting idea (and a discover apparently - I wasn't aware of 'waxed' denim), it's not something that I find appealing to own. I may prefer a denim jacket in that case, as it looks a bit more 'natural' to me. But I prefer to stick with jeans if we're talking denim, so that's still unlikely. Anyway, appreciate the suggestion (as well as the 'discovery').

pit to pit measurement should be chest + 4". So if your chest measures 34" then your ideal pit to pit should be close to 19"

Oh, I see! Then yes, my pit-to-pit is 19", which means my size is 38 (or S), at least according to Vanson's chart - my waist also falls into that category. Which, from the looks of it, makes finding a used jacket significantly harder, as most common sizes seem to be 42-44, it seems.

 

[handymike]

Pit to pit is not always equal to size.
If buying used, know your measurements, and hope the seller measured correctly. One jacket usually leads to many. If you don't pay too much, you can usually get it back if it isn't right for you. Many of us enjoy the process of looking for "the one".

 

[lthr]

Pit to pit is not always equal to size.
If buying used, know your measurements, and hope the seller measured correctly. One jacket usually leads to many. If you don't pay too much, you can usually get it back if it isn't right for you. Many of us enjoy the process of looking for "the one".

Hmm. I think I know what you mean by enjoyment. When I was buying my suit, I enjoyed the process trying them out and all that comes with it.

Anyway, that's local though. trying out like this means lots of shipping costs. Leather is quite heavy, so even shipping in within Europe would cost around $40 (assuming it weights 4.4-6.6lbs), if it's 2.2-4.4lbs though, it'd cost around $15-20, which is still a lot of money (for my 'budget' anyway). US-EU shipping would cost even more... So unfortunately I can't really go the 'try out' route on this one.

I think I'll just do what I mentioned in my previous post - wait a while until I have $600-700 and buy it then. In the meantime I'll follow the searches I was suggested earlier, perhaps some small-sized jacket will show up and no smaller-man will notice and/or want it. I think that's the smartest move considering all that I've read. Certainly learned a lot though.

 

[Monitor]

Thanks!
First off - appreciate the detailed reply.

Any time. That's why we're here.

If brands is the only determining quality, then I can automatically eliminate anything local, and assuming the aforementioned brands are the ones I should be looking at, I may not find something online either.

You don't necessarily have to eliminate your local leather shops, not at all, but be sure to know what you're paying for. Ask about the leather they're working with, make sure it's the good stuff, etc. With brick and mortar stores you have the luxury of inspecting the goods yourself before dropping your hard earned money for it and that's important.

From the looks of it, I'd need to have $700, or at least that's what the jackets cost on the sites I looked at (of the aforementioned brands).

Look at this Vanson:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Vanson-Leathers-House-Jacket-Sz-40/181684833061
It's the first one that popped up when I eBay-ed for 'Vanson leather jacket'. Looks mint, it's in your size and you might even be able to get it for less than $500, which is a very good deal. And trust me, you cannot buy a better leather jacket than that. So if you like this style and if it's within your budget, I'd say that in theory this pretty much concludes your search for a leather jacket.

This is just an example of course but yeah, don't give up on... online shopping just yet!