At the beginning of this year, I started a thread entitled "One Man's Search For A Cafe Racer," and got some great feedback so I wanted to take the time and recount the whole experience for those who are in the hunt themselves as well as an homage to Diamond Dave's great work.
In the posting I've done, I've expressed apprehension about buying a jacket without being measured in person and I've whined about being a tough fit so this was my primary concern. My secondary concern was not having the maker or even measurer in person to weigh in with suggestions. I have my opinions and small modifications but they are all negotiable as I've seen too many people fall short of jacket utopia with excessive changes. Without having someone there in person, I felt a little like I was walking the proverbial tightrope with no net.
Up for consideration was Langlitz, Aero, John Chapman, Lost Worlds and a few others. I went by process of elimination as follows:
1) Langlitz- no horsehide.
2) John Chapman/Goodwear- 18 months wait time.
3) Johnson Leathers- came in close second but I believe they don't typically have horsehide in stock…I could be wrong especially nowadays.
4) Lost Worlds- no disrespect but too many suspect customer experiences.
5) Aero- for whatever reason, I came to realize I wanted my jacket made by a small outfit- something bespoke, collectible, a little story. Not that Aero is in Macy's but you get the idea.
6) Bates- I was in California when this whole thing got started but couldn't get much feedback on them. I wanted to visit them since I was in the relative area but couldn't get enough intel on their work.
7) Himel Bros- after trying on one of their jackets at Self-Edge, I was worried that getting the right fit would be difficult. A few exchanges with Dave H. that I recounted in another thread did not put me at ease but I blame myself for this.
There were a couple of other companies like Lewis (no horsehide) that made the long list but I don't recall them all. I wanted a horsehide jacket because I've never owned one. How did I end up with Diamond Dave (his company is now called Howl Clothing Co. I believe)? I bumped into a few of his postings and he seemed genuine and passionate about his work and I assumed knowledgable. I did not know enough myself to assess Dave's expertise and at this juncture, consider myself to be an entry level intermediate in the world of jackets but I am confident that Dave knows his stuff.
I gave him a call and we started talking. He's happy to talk shop on the phone and his aforementioned passion for what he does is helpful. In my research, I had fallen in like with the Buco J-100 pattern and this is one of the jackets he regularly makes. I gave Diamond Dave my "I'm tough to fit zen speech," and he threw back his "this is how we do it," mantra. Game on.
As mentioned in other threads, I'm a little under 6'4", weight 245. People say I'm sneaky big as in I don't look as tall as I am and the guess your weight at the San Gennaro Festival here in NYC is O for a lifetime in guessing my weight. Consistently, people guess my weight a good 20 pounds less than actual and even seasoned tailors have had genuine difficulty fitting me. On paper I'm a 48 long but I've yet to try on a 48 long that fits. I'm not quite sure why.
Dave had me take measurements. Dave himself is interesting- his mom worked in theater as a seamstress and this was the genesis of his interest in clothing. He spent some time in the military, went to college for graphic design and can paint. He's artistic in the sense that he preferred video to pics of someone in order to gain a sense of how they move, walk, talk to help him with ideas. To some that may sound corny but anyone that interested in me in order to make a jacket, is into their work and he would prove that. He decided to make a denim mock up for me- this was cool because he put slash pockets on the denim so I could see what they would look like if I wanted them. He also used a thick wool lining to approximate the bulkiness of the cotton drill he planned on using.
Here were my deal points:
1) Nothing too short
2) An inside pocket.
3) Some heft but I don't want to spend a lifetime breaking it in.
4) Fitted but a thin cashmere sweater or flannel gets under.
Caveat- To this point in my life, I had only seen horsehide in stores. I tried on a Schott Horsehide Jacket- too shiny for my taste and the armhole was very low for me. Himel Brothers- great looking hide but felt very stiff (which may have been the fact that the jacket was way small) and a Real McCoy number down at a place called Blue and Green in Soho- great looking. I could not get my arm into their size 46.
Dave uses a three ounce horsehide and promised that it is essentially waterproof if you wear it dry once it's gotten wet and further added that the break in is minimal.
This is where the story gets interesting if you haven't been captivated to this point
The denim mock up arrived and was enormous. I took some pictures with it on. Thing swam on me. Dave said no problem. He felt confident that he could nail it and I was kinda worried. As for the main event, we had decided to do a two tone with brown horsehide sleeves and accents and the rest in black. I sent back the denim number and in a hurry, the two tone horsehide jacket arrived…
It was not close to fitting. It was too short and just fit weird in a way I can't quite describe. Dave was perplexed and I sent him some pics of me wearing the jacket. He agreed that it did not fit well at all. It looked kind of tubular. The other thing that disappointed me a little was the brown horsehide. It looked a little "plastic-y" to me and I never saw that coming. I had heard that Dave uses the same horsehide as John Chapman so the quality was not in question but for me (and perhaps me alone) it felt light and looked a little artificial. As a noob, there were some other things I never noticed in pictures before. The J-100 traditional has full cut upper arms for flexibility. They looked kind of poofy to my eyes and I realized that I preferred ball and chain zips. I thought I liked the minimal mandarin collar at first but in person I wasn't so crazy about it. My mind was beginning to find fault with everything so I left it alone.
On Dave's end, he retooled like nothing had happened. I felt kind of bad for him, knowing that he's a one man show and all but he was not the least bit deterred. He even said that this was a good learning experience for him because most of his work has been with straight sizes. He also told me if I was patient, he would find a solution. Patient? He was way faster than most makers as his turnaround time of a month was great and the mock up was at my door in two weeks, the first horsehide in three weeks. I was in no rush.
He kept in touch weekly which was helpful. He had to return two batches of horsehide for being sub par. I sent him all my concerns and had a few more suggestions and this is where the expert's personal interest paid off. To be melodramatic, I needed to be talked down. The Buco J-100 pattern is a classic because of its inherent qualities. To mess too much with this would be a mistake and Dave reminded me of that when I was thinking about changing collars etc. He even said that he strayed some from this classic pattern because of my measurements and this was his mistake.
For the record, I have no attachment to the historical accuracy of my jacket. It did not have to be a reproduction so long as it met my now growing list of requirements.
Anyway, Dave talked me out of trying to reinvent anything but suggested ball and chain zips for the pocket which I like, a #5 Waldes nickel zipper out of Japan, a strategically placed inside pocket, adding another inch of length while shortening the normal 4" split/split on the bottom of the jacket because I did not like the way the J-100 can flare out at the bottom. We also decided to go all black and scrap the two tone. At this juncture, I was worried that he was going to miss the mark again so I said for him to make it bigger to be assured that it would fit. if it were less fitted, I could put more on underneath but too small, forget about it.
Dave finally got some horsehide he was happy with and said it was going to be the weight that I wanted. Heavier than the last batch but still pliable. I had my fingers crossed.
When the new jacket arrived, I could feel the weight in the box. It was 5.5 lbs. I asked my wife (an eternal pessimist) if it was going to fit and she said yes. I put it on and boo ya! The grain was beautiful, the weight was perfect and sure enough it fit. Dave's got a brass pair because he went for a perfect fit again and hit it. I have to say, the mock up and the first jacket were not close so I don't know how he did it but he nailed it just as I wanted it. He could have just made the jacket bigger and I would have been fine with that but it fits me as the brochure said it would. I could go on but will spare any tired eyes that have actually toiled through this whole saga. I have yet to wear this jacket without receiving a compliment and that is literally true. I've probably worn it a 12-15 times and received as many compliments…granted NYC does have a lot of people who would notice but this is not the norm and I've got an assload of outerwear.
During our conversations, Dave busted my chops about my New York accent and had to see so many pictures of me in ill fitting jackets, I decided to make a little video for him so he could see his finished work on a happy customer.
Enclosed is the link…hopefully.
[video=youtube_share;7rFDM6XLQuQ]http://youtu.be/7rFDM6XLQuQ[/video]
Please let me know if that works and feel free to have a laugh at my expense.
PS- As mentioned, the zips are #5 Waldes not #4 as I say in the video.
In the posting I've done, I've expressed apprehension about buying a jacket without being measured in person and I've whined about being a tough fit so this was my primary concern. My secondary concern was not having the maker or even measurer in person to weigh in with suggestions. I have my opinions and small modifications but they are all negotiable as I've seen too many people fall short of jacket utopia with excessive changes. Without having someone there in person, I felt a little like I was walking the proverbial tightrope with no net.
Up for consideration was Langlitz, Aero, John Chapman, Lost Worlds and a few others. I went by process of elimination as follows:
1) Langlitz- no horsehide.
2) John Chapman/Goodwear- 18 months wait time.
3) Johnson Leathers- came in close second but I believe they don't typically have horsehide in stock…I could be wrong especially nowadays.
4) Lost Worlds- no disrespect but too many suspect customer experiences.
5) Aero- for whatever reason, I came to realize I wanted my jacket made by a small outfit- something bespoke, collectible, a little story. Not that Aero is in Macy's but you get the idea.
6) Bates- I was in California when this whole thing got started but couldn't get much feedback on them. I wanted to visit them since I was in the relative area but couldn't get enough intel on their work.
7) Himel Bros- after trying on one of their jackets at Self-Edge, I was worried that getting the right fit would be difficult. A few exchanges with Dave H. that I recounted in another thread did not put me at ease but I blame myself for this.
There were a couple of other companies like Lewis (no horsehide) that made the long list but I don't recall them all. I wanted a horsehide jacket because I've never owned one. How did I end up with Diamond Dave (his company is now called Howl Clothing Co. I believe)? I bumped into a few of his postings and he seemed genuine and passionate about his work and I assumed knowledgable. I did not know enough myself to assess Dave's expertise and at this juncture, consider myself to be an entry level intermediate in the world of jackets but I am confident that Dave knows his stuff.
I gave him a call and we started talking. He's happy to talk shop on the phone and his aforementioned passion for what he does is helpful. In my research, I had fallen in like with the Buco J-100 pattern and this is one of the jackets he regularly makes. I gave Diamond Dave my "I'm tough to fit zen speech," and he threw back his "this is how we do it," mantra. Game on.
As mentioned in other threads, I'm a little under 6'4", weight 245. People say I'm sneaky big as in I don't look as tall as I am and the guess your weight at the San Gennaro Festival here in NYC is O for a lifetime in guessing my weight. Consistently, people guess my weight a good 20 pounds less than actual and even seasoned tailors have had genuine difficulty fitting me. On paper I'm a 48 long but I've yet to try on a 48 long that fits. I'm not quite sure why.
Dave had me take measurements. Dave himself is interesting- his mom worked in theater as a seamstress and this was the genesis of his interest in clothing. He spent some time in the military, went to college for graphic design and can paint. He's artistic in the sense that he preferred video to pics of someone in order to gain a sense of how they move, walk, talk to help him with ideas. To some that may sound corny but anyone that interested in me in order to make a jacket, is into their work and he would prove that. He decided to make a denim mock up for me- this was cool because he put slash pockets on the denim so I could see what they would look like if I wanted them. He also used a thick wool lining to approximate the bulkiness of the cotton drill he planned on using.
Here were my deal points:
1) Nothing too short
2) An inside pocket.
3) Some heft but I don't want to spend a lifetime breaking it in.
4) Fitted but a thin cashmere sweater or flannel gets under.
Caveat- To this point in my life, I had only seen horsehide in stores. I tried on a Schott Horsehide Jacket- too shiny for my taste and the armhole was very low for me. Himel Brothers- great looking hide but felt very stiff (which may have been the fact that the jacket was way small) and a Real McCoy number down at a place called Blue and Green in Soho- great looking. I could not get my arm into their size 46.
Dave uses a three ounce horsehide and promised that it is essentially waterproof if you wear it dry once it's gotten wet and further added that the break in is minimal.
This is where the story gets interesting if you haven't been captivated to this point
The denim mock up arrived and was enormous. I took some pictures with it on. Thing swam on me. Dave said no problem. He felt confident that he could nail it and I was kinda worried. As for the main event, we had decided to do a two tone with brown horsehide sleeves and accents and the rest in black. I sent back the denim number and in a hurry, the two tone horsehide jacket arrived…
It was not close to fitting. It was too short and just fit weird in a way I can't quite describe. Dave was perplexed and I sent him some pics of me wearing the jacket. He agreed that it did not fit well at all. It looked kind of tubular. The other thing that disappointed me a little was the brown horsehide. It looked a little "plastic-y" to me and I never saw that coming. I had heard that Dave uses the same horsehide as John Chapman so the quality was not in question but for me (and perhaps me alone) it felt light and looked a little artificial. As a noob, there were some other things I never noticed in pictures before. The J-100 traditional has full cut upper arms for flexibility. They looked kind of poofy to my eyes and I realized that I preferred ball and chain zips. I thought I liked the minimal mandarin collar at first but in person I wasn't so crazy about it. My mind was beginning to find fault with everything so I left it alone.
On Dave's end, he retooled like nothing had happened. I felt kind of bad for him, knowing that he's a one man show and all but he was not the least bit deterred. He even said that this was a good learning experience for him because most of his work has been with straight sizes. He also told me if I was patient, he would find a solution. Patient? He was way faster than most makers as his turnaround time of a month was great and the mock up was at my door in two weeks, the first horsehide in three weeks. I was in no rush.
He kept in touch weekly which was helpful. He had to return two batches of horsehide for being sub par. I sent him all my concerns and had a few more suggestions and this is where the expert's personal interest paid off. To be melodramatic, I needed to be talked down. The Buco J-100 pattern is a classic because of its inherent qualities. To mess too much with this would be a mistake and Dave reminded me of that when I was thinking about changing collars etc. He even said that he strayed some from this classic pattern because of my measurements and this was his mistake.
For the record, I have no attachment to the historical accuracy of my jacket. It did not have to be a reproduction so long as it met my now growing list of requirements.
Anyway, Dave talked me out of trying to reinvent anything but suggested ball and chain zips for the pocket which I like, a #5 Waldes nickel zipper out of Japan, a strategically placed inside pocket, adding another inch of length while shortening the normal 4" split/split on the bottom of the jacket because I did not like the way the J-100 can flare out at the bottom. We also decided to go all black and scrap the two tone. At this juncture, I was worried that he was going to miss the mark again so I said for him to make it bigger to be assured that it would fit. if it were less fitted, I could put more on underneath but too small, forget about it.
Dave finally got some horsehide he was happy with and said it was going to be the weight that I wanted. Heavier than the last batch but still pliable. I had my fingers crossed.
When the new jacket arrived, I could feel the weight in the box. It was 5.5 lbs. I asked my wife (an eternal pessimist) if it was going to fit and she said yes. I put it on and boo ya! The grain was beautiful, the weight was perfect and sure enough it fit. Dave's got a brass pair because he went for a perfect fit again and hit it. I have to say, the mock up and the first jacket were not close so I don't know how he did it but he nailed it just as I wanted it. He could have just made the jacket bigger and I would have been fine with that but it fits me as the brochure said it would. I could go on but will spare any tired eyes that have actually toiled through this whole saga. I have yet to wear this jacket without receiving a compliment and that is literally true. I've probably worn it a 12-15 times and received as many compliments…granted NYC does have a lot of people who would notice but this is not the norm and I've got an assload of outerwear.
During our conversations, Dave busted my chops about my New York accent and had to see so many pictures of me in ill fitting jackets, I decided to make a little video for him so he could see his finished work on a happy customer.
Enclosed is the link…hopefully.
[video=youtube_share;7rFDM6XLQuQ]http://youtu.be/7rFDM6XLQuQ[/video]
Please let me know if that works and feel free to have a laugh at my expense.
PS- As mentioned, the zips are #5 Waldes not #4 as I say in the video.
Last edited:
