Five Star Leather Jackets

[SPUdMurphy]

I don't understand why any Lounger who has read this thread would choose Five Star.. I'm assuming you ordered from them before you joined? I would demand a full refund and never look back. Never mind the QC photos - why would they even attempt to pass that work off in the first place? Where's the pride in their craft? Self worth?

Maybe I'm being harsh (I am truly a newbie to leather) but this is the final nail in the coffin of Five Star for me. Piss poor.

Thanks for showing and sorry for you.... I hope they don't give you any hassle and just give you back your money.

I think that is a little harsh.

I read through the entire 400+ pages prior to making my order. Now, you might think that is naive on my part, but if you actually go through everyone who has used FiveStar, the positive results outweigh the negatives. Also, price vs quality has been shown to be really good for the majority of posters in the thread.

I had not seen any (or can not recall), any posts of a jacket coming with a large blemish such as this. I have seen some strange issues that could have been caused by custom builds, or due to requests for modifications to their standard patterns that just werent possible but were pushed through.

I have seen people in the past have received refunds or compensation for issues they sustained, but I am kinda thinking that those people may have been return / repeat customers. Im a little concerned that being a first time customer, I might be pain out of luck.

If anyone who has successfully received a full or partial refund for a bad order can let me know any suggestions (via DM if you prefer), I would be greatly appreciative.

Ive reached out to Shawn and Fargham as I noted in my last post, so I will see what they say.

 

[SPUdMurphy]

I feel like there was some fudging of the QC photos to hide the blemish. It's visible, but only if you know to look for it. The shoulders are downright bizarre, and I would assume are that way due to a fundamental flaw in the pattern.

I just had a thought that perhaps my right arm is shorter than the other, and the length of the arm being too long might cause the shoulder to act like that, maybe?

 

[Observe]

I think that is a little harsh.

I read through the entire 400+ pages prior to making my order. Now, you might think that is naive on my part, but if you actually go through everyone who has used FiveStar, the positive results outweigh the negatives. Also, price vs quality has been shown to be really good for the majority of posters in the thread.

I had not seen any (or can not recall), any posts of a jacket coming with a large blemish such as this. I have seen some strange issues that could have been caused by custom builds, or due to requests for modifications to their standard patterns that just werent possible but were pushed through.

I have seen people in the past have received refunds or compensation for issues they sustained, but I am kinda thinking that those people may have been return / repeat customers. Im a little concerned that being a first time customer, I might be pain out of luck.

If anyone who has successfully received a full or partial refund for a bad order can let me know any suggestions (via DM if you prefer), I would be greatly appreciative.

Ive reached out to Shawn and Fargham as I noted in my last post, so I will see what they say.

We're not slagging you here, so I hope you don't feel that way. (Happy birthday, by the way.) I myself have a 5* that I'm reasonably pleased with. You may need to press them but I think you'll eventually get satisfaction from them due to the QC issues. I do think that based on your pics you got a stinker.

 

[SPUdMurphy]

We're not slagging you here, so I hope you don't feel that way. (Happy birthday, by the way.) I myself have a 5* that I'm reasonably pleased with. You may need to press them but I think you'll eventually get satisfaction from them due to the QC issues. I do think that based on your pics you got a stinker.

No, of course. I understand that for sure.

Hopefully they will come to the table with a resolution that I can feel happy about.

Ha, thanks mate, 45 today, so am getting to the point where they arent worth celebrating anymore. lol

 

[Observe]

I just had a thought that perhaps my right arm is shorter than the other, and the length of the arm being too long might cause the shoulder to act like that, maybe?

Try a fit pic without holding up your phone, with your arms at your sides, and see if it happens to both. Have someone else take the picture for you.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

I think that is a little harsh.

I read through the entire 400+ pages prior to making my order. Now, you might think that is naive on my part, but if you actually go through everyone who has used FiveStar, the positive results outweigh the negatives. Also, price vs quality has been shown to be really good for the majority of posters in the thread.

I had not seen any (or can not recall), any posts of a jacket coming with a large blemish such as this. I have seen some strange issues that could have been caused by custom builds, or due to requests for modifications to their standard patterns that just werent possible but were pushed through.

I have seen people in the past have received refunds or compensation for issues they sustained, but I am kinda thinking that those people may have been return / repeat customers. Im a little concerned that being a first time customer, I might be pain out of luck.

If anyone who has successfully received a full or partial refund for a bad order can let me know any suggestions (via DM if you prefer), I would be greatly appreciative.

Ive reached out to Shawn and Fargham as I noted in my last post, so I will see what they say.

Fair enough - you’re apparently more long-suffering than I am. When I order something bespoke, I expect craftsmanship. I understand that entails limitations - if I ask for something that is beyond the craftsman’s tools or skills, I expect that individual to tell me. In leather, if it’s beyond the pattern capability, etc, I expect that to be communicated. After reading this thread, it seems very clear that communicating their limitations is something Five Star has a significant problem doing.

And now this. I mean, maybe it’s not as bad as it looks, but it looks to be very bad quality. Was the jacket actually made knowing full well that wart was there? And what the hell happened to the shoulder?

Good luck to you. I am determined to just not visit this thread in the future - I just don’t understand how it’s this bad.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

No, of course. I understand that for sure.

Hopefully they will come to the table with a resolution that I can feel happy about.

Ha, thanks mate, 45 today, so am getting to the point where they arent worth celebrating anymore. lol

BTW, happy birthday. Sorry for my negativity on your 45th. Mine is on the 20th - June babies rock!

 

[SPUdMurphy]

Try a fit pic without holding up your phone, with your arms at your sides, and see if it happens to both. Have someone else take the picture for you.

some extra pics.

Maybe once the leather relaxes the shoulder issue might become less of an issue.

 

[SPUdMurphy]

BTW, happy birthday. Sorry for my negativity on your 45th. Mine is on the 20th - June babies rock!

No worries mate, it is what it is. I knew going in that this could be the potential outcome. Let's just see what the end result is from 5*

 

[El Marro]

I read through the entire 400+ pages prior to making my order. Now, you might think that is naive on my part, but if you actually go through everyone who has used FiveStar, the positive results outweigh the negatives. Also, price vs quality has been shown to be really good for the majority of posters in the thread.

I too have been reading through the thread since it started and my take away is that a few people have gotten really great looking jackets that fit them perfectly. Many more people have had experiences similar to yours where they like some things about their jacket but there are also flaws that should never have been allowed out the door, flaws that were hidden or omitted from the QC photos.
I buy jackets from people who don’t need to send me QC photos because they know how to make a jacket without me looking over their shoulder, and if there is a problem they fix it with no questions asked.
Btw, I hope you are havin a good birthday, happy 45th!

 

[SPUdMurphy]

I too have been reading through the thread since it started and my take away is that a few people have gotten really great looking jackets that fit them perfectly. Many more people have had experiences similar to yours where they like some things about their jacket but there are also flaws that should never have been allowed out the door, flaws that were hidden or omitted from the QC photos.
I buy jackets from people who don’t need to send me QC photos because they know how to make a jacket without me looking over their shoulder, and if there is a problem they fix it with no questions asked.
Btw, I hope you are havin a good birthday, happy 45th!

I don't remember seeing a post where anyone had a blemish this bad in their finished jacket, but I could be mistaken. I did read the whole thread over about 6 months.

Hopefully Shawn and Fargham will resolve this issue satisfactorily. I don't want to have to do down the route of going through my credit card company for resolution.

 

[Aloysius]

I agree that the blemish sucks but I'm not concerned about the shoulder fit because I think that's just part of it being an MA-1 (and one in leather at that). Honestly at this price point I wouldn't personally care much about the blemish because I wouldn't at all feel bad about patching up the jacket with stuff. (I agree that you're owed restitution for their hiding it though.)

 

[MrProper]

This is a pretty big issue for me to be honest. I kinda feel like this was intentionally hidden in the QC photos to alleviate any potential for me to say no and ask them to remake.

Welcome to the world of 5*.
The leather is simply not good. If there is a blemish on the leather, then glue or something like that is applied and the (too much) topcoat covers everything up. It's not the first time that the pictures have been manipulated

Happy Birthday

Edit: I have looked at all your pictures again. I don't think they manipulated the pictures. The photos are just bad. Your wear photos also show nothing or only as much as the QC photos from 5*. It will actually be a repaired area.

 

[TartuWolf]

Happy Bday! Slap a cool patch on that spot and be happy you came out with so relatively little in terms of issues. Getting some compensation would be a nice bonus for sure. I trust what @Aloysius says about the shoulders.

 

[Aloysius]

Happy Bday! Slap a cool patch on that spot and be happy you came out with so relatively little in terms of issues. Getting some compensation would be a nice bonus for sure. I trust what @Aloysius says about the shoulders.

You can see it happening in this photo of Marilyn Monroe for example. And leather makes it much more pronounced because the originals were a very silky nylon.

 

[KBlake]

This is their seal buffalo and there is no up charge for it. At $300 all in I couldn’t help myself.

 

[SPUdMurphy]

I agree that the blemish sucks but I'm not concerned about the shoulder fit because I think that's just part of it being an MA-1 (and one in leather at that). Honestly at this price point I wouldn't personally care much about the blemish because I wouldn't at all feel bad about patching up the jacket with stuff. (I agree that you're owed restitution for their hiding it though.)

Sounds good. I will see how it goes once the leather relaxes a bit. I understand what you mean for sure. I just don't have this issue with my nylon bomber.

Welcome to the world of 5*.
The leather is simply not good. If there is a blemish on the leather, then glue or something like that is applied and the (too much) topcoat covers everything up. It's not the first time that the pictures have been manipulated

Happy Birthday

Edit: I have looked at all your pictures again. I don't think they manipulated the pictures. The photos are just bad. Your wear photos also show nothing or only as much as the QC photos from 5*. It will actually be a repaired area.

I think the pictures are were taken with a shitty camera that blends the textures. The difference in my pictures is between the good back camera and the shitty front camera. The front camera was probably greasy and the lighting sucks, which then makes the camera blend the textures, effectively hiding the blemish.

 

[BloodEagle]

I strongly suspect that the QC photo has been digitally altered by using the 'smudge' function or similar to make the blemish seems less pronounced. If it was me, and I'd paid by Paypal, I'd be asking for a full refund and possibly raising a dispute because that is substandard work and behaviour.

 

[SPUdMurphy]

I strongly suspect that the QC photo has been digitally altered by using the 'smudge' function or similar to make the blemish seems less pronounced. If it was me, and I'd paid by Paypal, I'd be asking for a full refund and possibly raising a dispute because that is substandard work and behaviour.

I paid with my Credit Card. I've never made a dispute on a charge on my card in the past either.

 

[Aloysius]

Sounds good. I will see how it goes once the leather relaxes a bit. I understand what you mean for sure. I just don't have this issue with my nylon bomber.

Is your nylon a 1950s original (or Buzz Rickson’s repro thereof)? Later batches, both military and civilian, use a much lighter nylon and are constructed differently.

Five Star’s MA-1 pattern is based on those originals that a flight jacket collector sent them to study.