Five Star Leather Jackets

[PilotJens]

That sounds perfect . Can't wait to make the first prototype

 

[Imuricecreamman]

A few fresh shots of the the 5* Dubow. Love this jacket.

 

[Wardo1974]

My "bootlegger" arrived!

I'll post some pics later as I'm still working. But some fast impressions:

1.) Tony's wild exhortations about the leather thickness had me really worried: would this thing be a suit of armour? I was relieved to get the jacket and realize it's just a heavy and above average thickness leather jacket. I actually already have a couple just as thick, I just didn't realize it was considered thick until now. Maybe Canadian jackets are sold thicker than others?...the Brooks Brothers CR I got off eBay feels comically thin by comparison, not jacketlike at all.

2.) It is stiff but my heavyweight Brave Star jacket is much worse. Just wearing this jacket a bit, it's already softening it up, I wish my denim jacket would.

3.) Colour and quality of leather feels really good. Smells nice.

4.) This is my first custom buy. I'm unsure about the fit, I hope you guys can give me some ideas for alterations. I know someone who can do it for cheap.

 

[ton312]

My "bootlegger" arrived!

I'll post some pics later as I'm still working. But some fast impressions:

1.) Tony's wild exhortations about the leather thickness had me really worried: would this thing be a suit of armour? I was relieved to get the jacket and realize it's just a heavy and above average thickness leather jacket. I actually already have a couple just as thick, I just didn't realize it was considered thick until now. Maybe Canadian jackets are sold thicker than others?...the Brooks Brothers CR I got off eBay feels comically thin by comparison, not jacketlike at all.

2.) It is stiff but my heavyweight Brave Star jacket is much worse. Just wearing this jacket a bit, it's already softening it up, I wish my denim jacket would.

3.) Colour and quality of leather feels really good. Smells nice.

4.) This is my first custom buy. I'm unsure about the fit, I hope you guys can give me some ideas for alterations. I know someone who can do it for cheap.

Get to the pics!! I’m surprised to hear your thoughts on the leather. My Aeros felt like lunch meat in comparison and it’s thicker than any of the LW’s or Cals/Vanson I’ve had. Even the last JL I sold was thinner and that was almost the thickest hide I’d handled to that point!
Anyway. Pics ASAP! And some close-ups of the leather too. I thought yours looked a bit more refined than mine, at least from the shots from Shawn.

 

[Riu]

My "bootlegger" arrived!

I'll post some pics later as I'm still working. But some fast impressions:

1.) Tony's wild exhortations about the leather thickness had me really worried: would this thing be a suit of armour? I was relieved to get the jacket and realize it's just a heavy and above average thickness leather jacket. I actually already have a couple just as thick, I just didn't realize it was considered thick until now. Maybe Canadian jackets are sold thicker than others?...the Brooks Brothers CR I got off eBay feels comically thin by comparison, not jacketlike at all.

2.) It is stiff but my heavyweight Brave Star jacket is much worse. Just wearing this jacket a bit, it's already softening it up, I wish my denim jacket would.

3.) Colour and quality of leather feels really good. Smells nice.

4.) This is my first custom buy. I'm unsure about the fit, I hope you guys can give me some ideas for alterations. I know someone who can do it for cheap.

Yeah, let's see those pictures! As for the alterations, if you need them, they better be good not just cheap. I made the mistake to pay quite some money for a crappy job on my CR.

 

[Wardo1974]

Well, it's definitely thick, but it isn't oppressive to me. It felt roughly comparable to the two Aero CRs I had last summer. The stiffness is more of an obstacle and it's already looser just typing on my computer.

Here's a couple of pics on my lawn (lol, I know). Fit pics later on.

 

[Wardo1974]

I got my 8 year old to snap a few.

Definitely not a warm weather jacket.

Alterations: she's good. I am wondering about a smaller p2p. Also the back panel seems too wide?

 

[ton312]

Well, it's definitely thick, but it isn't oppressive to me. It felt roughly comparable to the two Aero CRs I had last summer. The stiffness is more of an obstacle and it's already looser just typing on my computer.

Here's a couple of pics on my lawn (lol, I know). Fit pics later on.

Yours definitely looks a bit nicer and I’d say even a bit thinner. Mine is full of scars, pores cuts, etc. it’s also gone much lighter brown in very short order. I wonder if my jacket was cut from the prototype batch…I’ll be curious to see if yours ages with the same speed. It’s kind of a hazy brown now and the top coat looks like the fuzz on top of a glass of root beer.

 

[ton312]

I got my 8 year old to snap a few.

Definitely not a warm weather jacket.

Alterations: she's good. I am wondering about a smaller p2p. Also the back panel seems too wide?

Fit looks good. Maybe a touch loose but that’s not a bad thing with this hide. I’d let it fully break in first. It will soften up really quickly.

 

[Wardo1974]

Well, whatever finishing wax that's on it is wearing off fairly quickly and creases are visible at bend points. I'd say it's going to be one of those patina type jackets, which is kind of what I'm after. I like how yours looks relicked basically out of the box.

 

[Wardo1974]

Fit looks good. Maybe a touch loose but that’s not a bad thing with this hide. I’d let it fully break in first. It will soften up really quickly.

What about the back?

 

[ton312]

What about the back?

I'd say let in break-in further before any alterations are attempted.

 

[Wardo1974]

For sure.

I wish I knew more about how things should fit.

This doesn't fit poorly. 5* did everything I asked. I'm wanting your patented fit.

I'm VERY glad I ignored Shawn's fit advice. He wanted me to upsize the chest by 2.5 inches because he said the leather was thick. That would have been a terrible mistake.

 

[Canuck Panda]

@Wardo1974 For a thick stiff leather jacket The Fit doesn't get better than that out of the box. To get Ton312's fit we must either go through hundreds of jackets from all different brands, or get a Vanson E as I was told. Which I just did.

 

[TheDonEffect]

I got my 8 year old to snap a few.

Definitely not a warm weather jacket.

Alterations: she's good. I am wondering about a smaller p2p. Also the back panel seems too wide?

That leather is gorgeous, and it does seem less unwieldy than Ton's. Seriously gorgeous, looks as good as anything coming out of Chicago, and the color is spot on.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Yours definitely looks a bit nicer and I’d say even a bit thinner. Mine is full of scars, pores cuts, etc. it’s also gone much lighter brown in very short order. I wonder if my jacket was cut from the prototype batch…I’ll be curious to see if yours ages with the same speed. It’s kind of a hazy brown now and the top coat looks like the fuzz on top of a glass of root beer.

And you did treat it like it owed you money too, lol.

 

[Wardo1974]

That leather is gorgeous, and it does seem less unwieldy than Ton's. Seriously gorgeous, looks as good as anything coming out of Chicago, and the color is spot on.

Thanks man! I'm very happy with it. What other company can do better at this price?

 

[TheDonEffect]

Yeah, fit is a very finicky thing to get right. Consider that when getting a normal suit made, with wool fabric being much easier to work with than leather, let alone the types of leather we fawn over here, even a Savile Row tailor will need at least a couple fittings to get the fit right. There's a ton of engineering and experience that goes into a leather jacket, making alterations sorta creates a whack a mole situation where you minus this, then this needs to be fixed, so on and so forth. Good tailors/alterators listen to what you're after, take the measurement, but oftentimes they're making other small adjustments to get what you're after.

And for me, given my body type, I have no illusions of grandeur that anything will fit as good on me as it does on Ton, lol.

 

[Wardo1974]

Yeah, fit is a very finicky thing to get right. Consider that when getting a normal suit made, with wool fabric being much easier to work with than leather, let alone the types of leather we fawn over here, even a Savile Row tailor will need at least a couple fittings to get the fit right. There's a ton of engineering and experience that goes into a leather jacket, making alterations sorta creates a whack a mole situation where you minus this, then this needs to be fixed, so on and so forth. Good tailors/alterators listen to what you're after, take the measurement, but oftentimes they're making other small adjustments to get what you're after.

And for me, given my body type, I have no illusions of grandeur that anything will fit as good on me as it does on Ton, lol.

This is true. Since this my first custom attempt I think I did well. I may leave it as is as I'd certainly wear it in cold weather with a bulkier shirt under it. Or do the traditional Canadian layer: a jean jacket under it.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Thanks man! I'm very happy with it. What other company can do better at this price?

Seriously, this new leather is a total game changer for me.

The challenge though of course is that you need to be heavily involved in the process. On the other end of the spectrum, from what I read about say FL, they really get the fit right far more often than not, as FL does alot of the fine tuning, whereas with 5* you really need to know your measurements and how those measurements translate into a wearable jacket on your body. Great tailors like FL for instance, figure out your body type, and figure out how to make it look the most flattering while meeting your usability goals. Anyone can make a jacket look good if you never plan to move your arms and stand forever for instance.

That said, watching the progress of 5* through the trials and tribulations of others before us, and with these new leather offerings, Shawn is really becoming a force to reckon with to the point they have elevated in my eyes to the point they can't be ignored anymore...