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TartuWolf

One Too Many
Messages
1,158
Location
Tartu, Estonia
Just do your best to provide them with as much accurate information from your side as possible (like those photos).
And accept the fact that you're always taking a gamble with 5*, probably more than with most other makers.
Rather cheap gamble at that.
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
Agree, One of the jackets I wear the most also happens to be the largest one. Incredibly comfortable and with room enough for shoulders and chest. But this is the first time I'm making a custom jacket and here lies the reason why I'm a little anxious... The left one looks a little bit more roomy around shoulders and chest. That's an important issue to me, specially when I'm riding bikes...
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
Just do your best to provide them with as much accurate information from your side as possible (like those photos).
And accept the fact that you're always taking a gamble with 5*, probably more than with most other makers.
Rather cheap gamble at that.
Fingers crossed!!!
 

TartuWolf

One Too Many
Messages
1,158
Location
Tartu, Estonia
Hey @ROOK ALLURES
How wrong were they? Did they send QC photos before shipping to you? Your own measurements were very different from the QC photos (5* is known to cheat in this regard).
Did you agree with Shawn on a free remake or a discounted one? Or did you send the jacket back?
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
Hi! I agreed on a discount, but it's been a total bummer... In some parts there are like 2cm less than what I ask for and the ridiculous thing is that they keep saying that the proportions are correct... The jacket and the hide are really awesome and it's kinda frustrating, because i really like it but I don't fit in it. I can hardly wear it unzipped but if I zip it I can't move my arms. I only tried it at home and will have to re-sell it. Still with with the factory card on... And now I'm waiting a lot for the next one because they are running out of that premium hide... Jesus, what a journey...
Hey @ROOK ALLURES
How wrong were they? Did they send QC photos before shipping to you? Your own measurements were very different from the QC photos (5* is known to cheat in this regard).
Did you agree with Shawn on a free remake or a discounted one? Or did you send the jacket back?
 

TartuWolf

One Too Many
Messages
1,158
Location
Tartu, Estonia
Ouch! I feel you man. Mine was off here and there as well, for example ~51cm pit-to-pit instead of 49cm requested.
But it is still wearable (t-shirt only though) and got better and more comfortable after wearing a lot and getting wet a few times.
Post some pictures, would still like to see it.
The fact that you like jacket and the hide at least gives hope that the next one will turn out awesome.
2cm is more than their .5" margin for error as far as I know, I would really push Shawn to remake for free personally.
Hope you manage to re-sell it and recoup at least a bit. 5* have very little resale value, but FTL members still might be interested.
Sucks that they are running out of the premium (goat?) - was their best hide in terms of value. Hope they manage to restock or get something new and interesting.

On a side note - I received my custom Aero today. Paid 250eu import taxes :( That's a whole 5* jacket there.. Will wear it for a while and then do a review when I have settled on how I feel about it. As for initial impressions - should have specified the body a bit longer (~.5") or asked for more front drop. And the "hangs on the neck" issue does seem to be present. Mainly neck hole size is too small from my perspective.

Good luck with the remake, post some pictures of the current one too. Hope this turns out well eventually, will be keeping my fingers crossed for you!
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
Ouch! I feel you man. Mine was off here and there as well, for example ~51cm pit-to-pit instead of 49cm requested.
But it is still wearable (t-shirt only though) and got better and more comfortable after wearing a lot and getting wet a few times.
Post some pictures, would still like to see it.
The fact that you like jacket and the hide at least gives hope that the next one will turn out awesome.
2cm is more than their .5" margin for error as far as I know, I would really push Shawn to remake for free personally.
Hope you manage to re-sell it and recoup at least a bit. 5* have very little resale value, but FTL members still might be interested.
Sucks that they are running out of the premium (goat?) - was their best hide in terms of value. Hope they manage to restock or get something new and interesting.

On a side note - I received my custom Aero today. Paid 250eu import taxes :( That's a whole 5* jacket there.. Will wear it for a while and then do a review when I have settled on how I feel about it. As for initial impressions - should have specified the body a bit longer (~.5") or asked for more front drop. And the "hangs on the neck" issue does seem to be present. Mainly neck hole size is too small from my perspective.

Good luck with the remake, post some pictures of the current one too. Hope this turns out well eventually, will be keeping my fingers crossed for you!
I'm leaving right now but will answer you tomorrow. Thanks!
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
I'm leaving right now but will answer you tomorrow. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry but I was in a rush for my rehearsal.
Yeah, I will post pictures but would like to compare both jackets after getting the new one. In fact I tried to sent them the jacket back in change of a new one, but all I could get was another one for half the price. I don't find it fair but it's what I get. Really hope they respect all the measurements this time... Basically I received a custom S instead on an M... Maybe I'll try to re sell it at Fedora. The jacket is pretty nice and really well constructed and I'm quite impressed with leather quality. I'm convinced that whoever buys this jacket will be very pleased.
Hope the next one will be as good as this one with correct measurements... ;). Shawn told me they were expecting the new hide (premium 1,4mm goat) shortly but it's taking some time...

250 Eur for import taxes?! Jesus, it's insane. I been thinking about an Highwayman for some time but hey are really expensive, but at least, I'm lucky that I have relatives in London that could bring it to me. Which hide did you get? HH? So you ended up paying something like 1100-1200 Eur for a jacket... That's quite a thing... Let me know when you post the pictures. I will do the same in a few days, I hope...
Regards!
 

MrProper

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,285
Location
Europe
Hi! Sorry but I was in a rush for my rehearsal.
Yeah, I will post pictures but would like to compare both jackets after getting the new one. In fact I tried to sent them the jacket back in change of a new one, but all I could get was another one for half the price. I don't find it fair but it's what I get. Really hope they respect all the measurements this time... Basically I received a custom S instead on an M... Maybe I'll try to re sell it at Fedora. The jacket is pretty nice and really well constructed and I'm quite impressed with leather quality. I'm convinced that whoever buys this jacket will be very pleased.
Hope the next one will be as good as this one with correct measurements... ;). Shawn told me they were expecting the new hide (premium 1,4mm goat) shortly but it's taking some time...

250 Eur for import taxes?! Jesus, it's insane. I been thinking about an Highwayman for some time but hey are really expensive, but at least, I'm lucky that I have relatives in London that could bring it to me. Which hide did you get? HH? So you ended up paying something like 1100-1200 Eur for a jacket... That's quite a thing... Let me know when you post the pictures. I will do the same in a few days, I hope...
Regards!
This is relative. I pay import VAT (20%) when ordering from Aero, but I don't have to pay the 20% UK VAT. Thus, I am almost at the same price as when buying in the UK.
 

TartuWolf

One Too Many
Messages
1,158
Location
Tartu, Estonia
We have had cases on TFL where someone gets a properly made jacket (in terms of measurements) from 5* only from the 3rd or 4th try - each time something being off enough to reject the jacket from usage. Hope you get yours from your 2nd try.

Half price is decent I would say, that's what Shawn offered me too. Not great but decent.

What are the measurements of the one you got? Maybe it would fit me :D But I'm rather between XS(34) and S(36).

Well it's a bit tricky with Aero. You get different pricing for UK vs Rest of the world. I also had someone in UK, but it did not make sense to send to them because then you get to pay the UK price. All things considered I would end up paying similar as I did now with the import taxes.

The jacket itself ended up around 720eu (managed to order during the sale). Paid ~22% VAT and ~12% customs duties. Ended up being around 250eu. So ~1000eu in total.

Maybe if your relatives could get back UK VAT at the airport when bringing it to you and avoid local VAT when arriving at the inbound airport you could get the best deal.

I went for the classic Brown CXL FQHH. I'll spend a week or two with the jacket before taking some pictures and writing a review. Maybe in the Hooch Hauler thread or as a separate thread.
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
This is relative. I pay import VAT (20%) when ordering from Aero, but I don't have to pay the 20% UK VAT. Thus, I am almost at the same price as when buying in the UK.
Hi Mr Proper. I contacted them in the past because I was interested in one of their Highwyman Blue Label jackets and UK VAT was included... They kindly offered me the shipping cost, but I would have to pay 23% more (portuguese VAT) plus custom taxes that are calculated based on the buying cost. It's insane...
 

ROOK ALLURES

Familiar Face
Messages
51
We have had cases on TFL where someone gets a properly made jacket (in terms of measurements) from 5* only from the 3rd or 4th try - each time something being off enough to reject the jacket from usage. Hope you get yours from your 2nd try.

Half price is decent I would say, that's what Shawn offered me too. Not great but decent.

What are the measurements of the one you got? Maybe it would fit me :D But I'm rather between XS(34) and S(36).

Well it's a bit tricky with Aero. You get different pricing for UK vs Rest of the world. I also had someone in UK, but it did not make sense to send to them because then you get to pay the UK price. All things considered I would end up paying similar as I did now with the import taxes.

The jacket itself ended up around 720eu (managed to order during the sale). Paid ~22% VAT and ~12% customs duties. Ended up being around 250eu. So ~1000eu in total.

Maybe if your relatives could get back UK VAT at the airport when bringing it to you and avoid local VAT when arriving at the inbound airport you could get the best deal.

I went for the classic Brown CXL FQHH. I'll spend a week or two with the jacket before taking some pictures and writing a review. Maybe in the Hooch Hauler thread or as a separate thread.
Now I'm getting scared... I'm not ready to have 3 of 4 tries of a custom made jacket in order to have a proper one... Really hope they can make it right this time. I mean, they are professionals. Making jackets is their profession. This is not rocket science... I gave them all the info they needed and told them several times to contact me in case of doubt, but communication's not easy with them. Something I've learned with 5* so far... Sometimes it takes like 4 days to get an answer and are always quite vague and telegraphic...
If you are interested give me your mail and I will send you all the measurements and pictures. Label says 38, but regarding shoulder to shoulder width is more like a 36. My Schott 141 is a 38 and fits me like a glove, contrary to this one. Anyway, I'll only sell it after getting the new one. Thanks for your help and info with all this matter.
I don't know what these cap letters mean: CXL FQ. I mean, C must be for Cordovan which is probably my favorite hide but I guess it's really stiff and takes some time to break.
Regards!
 

TartuWolf

One Too Many
Messages
1,158
Location
Tartu, Estonia
TFL has figured out the pros and cons of 5*, including usual pitfalls. One of them is the measurement 'interpretation" in their own favor when doing QC. So I would urge them to do thorough measurement QC before sending out the jacket to you. And yeah their communication is quite sketchy, but you get what you pay for in that regard.

You can write a PM to me here with the measurements. Or just write them here, doesn't matter.

CXL FQHH - Horween Chromexcel Front Quarter Horsehide.
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/aero-leather-choices-options-end-of-2022.109422/
It's Aero's bread and butter as far as I'm concerned.

Cordovan is a confusing terms because it can describe both shell cordovan horse rump membrane and simply the Horween nr8 color, which is similar to purplish brownish wine red / burgundy.
 

MrProper

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,285
Location
Europe
Hi Mr Proper. I contacted them in the past because I was interested in one of their Highwyman Blue Label jackets and UK VAT was included... They kindly offered me the shipping cost, but I would have to pay 23% more (portuguese VAT) plus custom taxes that are calculated based on the buying cost. It's insane...
When was that? It's only since last year that there are special prices for people outside UK. That happened with the launch of the new website.
 

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