Five Star Leather Jackets

[VolkswagenNerd]

Yeah, I too still think the waist knit looks very wide/long....and the leather bottom hem seems to start abnormally high above the waist.....

The contrasting color doesn't help, but after wearing it for a day I'm ok with it. I just wish it was more obvious the knit was taller when I requested this G1 version. They have since updated the photos on the website so it's obvious.

 

[MinhNhat]

Type G1 have Bi Swing back. Does Five Star's G1 jacket have an elastic band inside to avoid the bat wing? I want to make a G1 jacket. But I worry the jacket will be bat winged if there is no elastic inside.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

^^^^^
Now that knit and leather length looks much better IMO.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Here's my original 1968 tribute G-1 jacket knits.....

 

[VolkswagenNerd]

Here's my original tribute G-1 jacket knits.....

View attachment 288130

That one has the newer style knits. Here is a Goodwear 55j14 repro, similar height knits as the Five Star but the matching brown doesn't draw the eye to the knit as much. Although I will admit my jacket should be an inch longer in the body.

 

[VolkswagenNerd]

Type G1 have Bi Swing back. Does Five Star's G1 jacket have an elastic band inside to avoid the bat wing? I want to make a G1 jacket. But I worry the jacket will be bat winged if there is no elastic inside.

Yes, all of the Five Star G1 jackets have the elastic strap in the back.

 

[MoFo]

My jacket arrived late yesterday, it only took 4 days to make it from Pakistan ... goatskin ...

How does the goat leather smell? Does it stink as a dead cat or so? I've had a bad expierence with goat leather made in Pakistan...

 

[Carlos840]

Compared to 5* build and leather ? View attachment 288029

The fact that they used a prong buckle but cut off the prong rather than a prong less buckle is pretty low budget/cheap looking...
I also doubt these buckles would hold their position without the prongs.
That would annoy me:

 

[Edward]

Pakistan has been a big source of manufacture for leather jackets sold in the UK, both fashion and bike styles, really since the bulk of the UK bike brands especially started dying out in the eighties. It does seem it can be hit and miss- really, I think it's largely dependent on what price the jackets are made to. Despite significantly cheaper labour costs, a jacket at £90 (as some of the eBay options are - including the at-source version of the A2 that AVI were selling) simply can't be as good as something costing markedly more in the UK. There will, of course, be a sweet spot I'm sure where the finished article can be well made with good materials and still much cheaper - that's where it gets more complicated and choice becomes about the intangibles.

This hasn't been established as a fact yet, so perhaps not. My money is on Turkey, where many leather garments are made on to spec for 'manufacturers.'

Turkey's where Pop's is, isn't it? Much closer Greece.

As above, BK state their stuff is all made in Athens; I wonder who by. Back when BK were first started up the impression we were given was that it was a sort of a sideline venture for a company that had been making leather clothing for many years for the fashion market. It did always strike me as an unusual choice to be as secretive as they seem to be, but maybe for some reason they just don't want their brands associated?

View attachment 288068
you would have to be a first rate douchebag to write something like that about yourself. These guys make Stuart of LW look humble by comparison.

Mn. Talking up your own product is one thing; I'm less convinced that it's a good idea to go on the attack on other makers (or your target market) directly. TBH, the main thing I think when I see ranting is just hoe exhausting it must be to be that angry all the time (assuming it's not an online persona designed to appeal to a particular market; I've seen that in the past).

 

[Monitor]

Turkey's where Pop's is, isn't it? Much closer Greece.

As above, BK state their stuff is all made in Athens; I wonder who by. Back when BK were first started up the impression we were given was that it was a sort of a sideline venture for a company that had been making leather clothing for many years for the fashion market. It did always strike me as an unusual choice to be as secretive as they seem to be, but maybe for some reason they just don't want their brands associated?

I found this on Film Jackets forum, posted by a member named afalzon:

"Of course, there are several persons working for BK. I am just the spokesman and the one responsible for the correspondence and customer service. I am not the owner. The onwers are US Expats who live in Greece. The staff of the company includes Greek, Half Italian and Maltese (myself) persons. One of the Greek persons involved (the designer) is family related with one of the owners and is mainly responsible for the development of the Indy jacket. He is also acquainted with you Rick (you have bought one jacket from him).

The absence of the address is mainly because the WWII jackets are a US product and customers expect them to be "Made in USA". An address outside USA, in a crisis hit country, would be an immediate turn off for customers. Instead, there is a message stating that if you need any other info, please contact us by email. Someone with serious interest in getting a jacket would write us.

Bill Kelso does not exist as a person, although it's a very common name. In fact billkelso.com domain was already taken by a real estate agent.
It was also the name of a baseball player (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kelso)"

 

[Edward]

It was also the name of a baseball player (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kelso)"

I always rather assumed the name was a reference to Wild Bill Kelso, the character played by John Belushi in 1941 - in much the same way as Buzz Rickson was Steve Macqueen's character in The War Lover.

 

[handymike]

I believe you are correct.

 

[Monitor]

I always rather assumed the name was a reference to Wild Bill Kelso, the character played by John Belushi in 1941 - in much the same way as Buzz Rickson was Steve Macqueen's character in The War Lover.

I think it was but they're making stuff up to avoid copyright issues, as Rick of Filmjackets noticed & mentioned as well:

"I have seen several gratuitous uses of intellectual property from Bill Kelso Mfg. Starting with the name of the business borrowed from John Belushi's character in the film 1941 (including the jacket art for the character which is also used on the site)."

 

[El Marro]

The fact that they used a prong buckle but cut off the prong rather than a prong less buckle is pretty low budget/cheap looking...
I also doubt these buckles would hold their position without the prongs.
That would annoy me:

Good eye (as usual) @Carlos840. I did not see that when I looked at the photo the first time but I agree that that is a pretty lame move.

 

[VolkswagenNerd]

How does the goat leather smell? Does it stink as a dead cat or so? I've had a bad expierence with goat leather made in Pakistan...

A bit of a leather smell, nothing bad.

 

[Bahabp100]

Agreed but the buckle does work and I wasn’t retuning the jacket over it. I guess I could ask him to send me replacement buckles but I haven’t and it’s not noticeable when wearing. Here are some fit picks featuring TFL trademark “dialed in” fit as suggested by Ton and others. Thanks guys, I always wore my jackets baggy and I’m a 50L or xxl, so how is the fit?

View attachment 288200

 

[red devil]

Mine is schedule to arrive on Tuesday, if all goes well, I will be able to post detailed pictures

 

[Bahabp100]

A bit of a leather smell, nothing bad.

Agreed

 

[Carlos840]

I found this on Film Jackets forum, posted by a member named afalzon:

The absence of the address is mainly because the WWII jackets are a US product and customers expect them to be "Made in USA". An address outside USA, in a crisis hit country, would be an immediate turn off for customers. Instead, there is a message stating that if you need any other info, please contact us by email. Someone with serious interest in getting a jacket would write us.

This makes no sens to me.

So he is saying that people who are expecting "Made in USA" would rather not have an address of provenance rather than an address that isn't American. Nonsens...
And to then say "there is a message stating that if you need any other info, please contact us by email" is also pretty nonsensical, people don't want an address to order by mail, they want an address to figure out where the jacket is made.

 

[Edward]

I think it was but they're making stuff up to avoid copyright issues, as Rick of Filmjackets noticed & mentioned as well:

"I have seen several gratuitous uses of intellectual property from Bill Kelso Mfg. Starting with the name of the business borrowed from John Belushi's character in the film 1941 (including the jacket art for the character which is also used on the site)."

There is, of course, no copyright in a character name - the relevant protection there would be Trade Mark, but that one's obscure enough that it's unlikely Spielberg & co would have registered a mark for it (the film, as I recall, bombed at the box office and was never merchandised), and again it's obscurity would probably count against them if they went after it on grounds of unregistered / passing off.... (A lot can also depend on *where* marks are registered - Aero's marks, for example, are registered in the UK and not Greece, which is largely why they can't do anything about BK flagrantly using the "Aeronaut" name - a business in the UK doing that would be eaten alive in court under the terms of the Trade Marks Act 1994).

The artwork could land them in problems, though, if it's directly copied from a piece made originally for the film. Likely it's just one of those things where it's obscure enough to have flown under the radar. That happens often enough with properties that aren't as vigilant on the enforcement as some can be (Lucasfilm are notoriously hard on this), and individuals are prepared to run the risk.