Five Star Leather Jackets

[bn1966]

I have one 5 Star custom G-1 jacket and can see other purchases happening over time. Whilst not an Eastman, the jackets are solidly made in my experience, look good and make a reliable daily wearer that you don’t have to worry about at the price point. Shaun is great to work with and on mine was happy to allow me to send him zippers, knits and bits to spec the G-1 as I wanted it

 

[Hobbes1]

Also some of the best quality hides come from India and Pakistan.

I find this statement very interesting. My knowledge is limited so I am wondering if you or anyone can elaborate on it?
What makes a great hide? Do they have local tanneries that are used for these jackets? I thought I saw another comment that horse hide was "back ordered from Brazil" and that is why not available.
I'm quite interested in expanding my knowledge base if anyone cares to educate me. Thanks!

 

[CBI]

how would I "rate" Five Star?

well, if a normal person who loves leather jackets, military aviation, vintage clothing, etc. wants a quality custom made jacket that looks super and is well made, then it is perfectly reasonable to say that normal enthusiastic jacket wearers need look no further than Five Star.

well, for forum members...............

OCD folks who will pay a fortune for jackets and go totally mental over every micro detail and flip jackets constantly...........Five Star still has a little ways to go but they are processing quickly. Based on some pics, a broken in Five Star can compete already with some of the big boys depending on the style and hide.

Main thing at this point.........are Five Star's 1/4 to 1/6 as good as premium? Yes, waaaaaay better!

Not say'n I don't love my ELC's, GW's and Aero's from past lives...........but I'm just say'n..............

 

[jonesy86]

how would I "rate" Five Star?

well, if a normal person who loves leather jackets, military aviation, vintage clothing, etc. wants a quality custom made jacket that looks super and is well made, then it is perfectly reasonable to say that normal enthusiastic jacket wearers need look no further than Five Star.

well, for forum members...............

OCD folks who will pay a fortune for jackets and go totally mental over every micro detail and flip jackets constantly...........Five Star still has a little ways to go but they are processing quickly. Based on some pics, a broken in Five Star can compete already with some of the big boys depending on the style and hide.

Main thing at this point.........are Five Star's 1/4 to 1/6 as good as premium? Yes, waaaaaay better!

Not say'n I don't love my ELC's, GW's and Aero's from past lives...........but I'm just say'n..............

Hey, who you calling normal?

 

[jonesy86]

I find this statement very interesting. My knowledge is limited so I am wondering if you or anyone can elaborate on it?
What makes a great hide? Do they have local tanneries that are used for these jackets? I thought I saw another comment that horse hide was "back ordered from Brazil" and that is why not available.
I'm quite interested in expanding my knowledge base if anyone cares to educate me. Thanks!

I know that both David Himel and John Chapman prefer Indian Goatskin. I have two GWs made out or Indian Goatskin and I can say that they are pretty hefty and stiff at first, but definitely settle in, shape to the body and show nice graining and creasing with wear.

Here is what JC said about the Indian goatskin he used for my Dubow:

"It's made in Indian goatskin, which is a tick heavier and stiffer than the Horween horsehide that you've gotten in the Hercules".

Here is what DH says about his Indian Goatskin:

"The best goatskins come from India and we order our goat specially specifying larger hides. They are vegetable tanned fully shrunken uncorrected full grain skins. The skins are tanned to bring up a beautiful pebble finish then spray dyed, oiled and wax coated. The goatskins feel very heavy yet very bendy and are primed to break in and mold to the body very quickly. The black colour is dyed right through and the medium brown and dark brown will show the natural lighter colour of the undyed skin with wear over time. According to the tannery they are certified environmentally friendly with full treatment of waste water, and use of green dyes and waxes".

 

[navetsea]

Indian cowhide?

 

[Jin431]

Thanks! I requested steerhide and asked for a heavier weight.

Alright, interesting indeed. Lots of people have high hopes on this leather. Pls let us know how you like it when you receive it.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I find this statement very interesting. My knowledge is limited so I am wondering if you or anyone can elaborate on it?
What makes a great hide? Do they have local tanneries that are used for these jackets? I thought I saw another comment that horse hide was "back ordered from Brazil" and that is why not available.
I'm quite interested in expanding my knowledge base if anyone cares to educate me. Thanks!

Jonesy covers it in his response. I know very little about leather but this does come up in discussions with makers. Additionally, when I have friends raise their eyebrows at me about a jacket made in Pakistan, I have to remind them of that country's great tailoring tradition and impressive legacy of manufacturing fabrics and leathers.

 

[Imuricecreamman]

Not the best showing of what 5* can do. Ideally I'd have this in the premium vowhide (tm) and a size 38 length, but this Will do.

 

[ton312]

Not the best showing of what 5* can do. Ideally I'd have this in the premium vowhide (tm) and a size 38 length, but this Will do. View attachment 265298

Looks damn good to me! I hope mine fits that well!

 

[handymike]

Not the best showing of what 5* can do. Ideally I'd have this in the premium vowhide (tm) and a size 38 length, but this Will do. View attachment 265298

Your Bison looks great, what's wrong with it?

 

[Imuricecreamman]

Your Bison looks great, what's wrong with it?

Nothing wrong, but I've always felt they Come UP with better options after I buy In a couple of months I've figured it out

 

[MrProper]

but I've always felt they Come UP with better options after I buy

same for me *lol*

 

[Hobbes1]

Disclaimer: I'm not as skilled a photographer nor as knowledgeable a member as many at TFL. However, given the enjoyment I've had here and the wealth of knowledge, I wanted to try to make a humble contribution to the board.

My recent order from 5* was scheduled to be delivered by DHL on 10/5/2020 but showed up today. What a nice surprise! Immediate verdict: I like the jacket a lot.
Stats: I requested a heavier Steerhide in Seal Brown and I got a jacket that weighs 4 pounds on my scales at home. It's a soft feeling jacket, looks nice and seems well constructed. I do not have any Aero/LW/SB etc. jackets to compare it directly with but I feel like it's a well made garment.

My inspiration for the jacket was along the lines of Highwayman and Sheene type jackets and 5* had to apparently adapt/create the pattern for this one and I believe it's now an option on their website (I have no affiliation with the company, just bought a jacket from them). This is my first MTO/custom jacket.
The only "con" for me is that I think this style is a trim fit by definition and it is snug on me in the torso. It is tagged as a 44 but I would definitely step up to a size 46 if doing it over. It is also bringing home to me, to lose some DadBod weight! I am just under six feet tall and just over 200lb. How'd that happen!? Covid?? Hmmm...
Anyway, the twill lining seems nice and I would really put it along the lines of a good pair of chinos pants...it is not, as far as I can tell, super thick, but does have some heft to it. The sleeves have a Seal brown, satin lining and it's pretty easy to get the jacket arms on and off. This is really good, given the snugness of the jacket, if it were twill lined sleeves, I might not be able to wrestle myself in and out very easily.
The leather pulls are, to me, just thin little scraps of leather and I might cut them off altogether. I did not originally request those but when the finished jacket was photo'd and emailed, they had installed it on the main pull so I asked for matching leather on the sleeve zipper pulls. The pulls are repro Talons and feel solid. They are nickle-brass and I took that option vs YKK in antique brass which was the only antique brass available at the time.

Shawn at 5* was very good, helping me work through the process and all in all, it was an easy and painless experience. I will likely get another jacket from them in the foreseeable future.

 

[Hobbes1]

So, now, on to some pictures. It is raining here and so no outside shots. Just quick cellphone pics.
These start with the "unwrapping" and move through how it looked immediately out of the shipping bag.

 

[Hobbes1]

Next are more pics prior to first wearing.

 

[Hobbes1]

Last, a few pics of the jacket while I am wearing it. Sleeves and a (partial) front shot. As I said before, I am no skilled photographer! I hope you enjoyed the review. Cheers!

 

[ton312]

Awesome Hobbes! More fit pics damn it!!! Jacket looks sweet! Fit looks great!

 

[Marc mndt]

Looks pretty well built. Crazy they can make something like this at this price point. Congrats!

 

[Hobbes1]

Awesome Hobbes! More fit pics damn it!!! Jacket looks sweet! Fit looks great!

Thanks! I need to study the way others here have gotten good pics. Never paid any mind to the mechanics of that. There are some members here who have a knack for taking great selfies.... I'll do better when the rain stops