Help identifying a vintage cafe racer jacket

[Jason Tiede]

Hello, I recently purchased a vintage cafe racer leather jacket that has no label and I can’t for the life of me figure out what brand it is or how old it is. It was suggested by Bahabp100 to give the experts here a shot at trying to identify it. Thanks in advance for any help!

EDIT NOTE by Peacoat: I have moved your text to the top of the post and put it all together.

 

[Jason Tiede]

Here are some additional pictures. The main zipper is talon and the sleeve zippers are 6” long serval

Edit Note by Peacoat: I have moved the text to the top of the post. It just flows better that way.

 

[robrinay]

Schott or Lesco? But I’ve never seen either produce a Café racer with that sleeve pocket or use dot poppers

 

[Jason Tiede]

Thank you for the reply! I was leaning towards Schott originally because of the talon a serval zipper slides but I can’t find any other jackets from any brand with the sleeve pocket. Hopefully someone here has seen something similar before

 

[Jason Tiede]

Here are some additional pictures. The main zipper is talon and the sleeve zippers are 6” long serval

View attachment 311826 View attachment 311827

Edit Note by Peacoat: I have moved the text to the top of the post. It just flows better that way.

I agree, thank you!

 

[handymike]

I don’t think it’s a Schott. The collar shape is wrong, and the windflap is on the wrong side. Schott also didn’t use a snap at the bottom of this style. Or that shape of Talon puller. The care tag places it as an eastern USA jacket...maybe Reed, but the sleeve pocket seems more modern (80s/90s) than the rest of the style.
Excelled used the black quilted lining...is there any evidence of a zip-out liner?

Edit- it’s not a Reed as they recommended you send to R. Sherman Leather Cleaners in Newark, NJ for cleaning. Schott did have the Leathercraft labels in the 70s, but so did a lot of others including Canadian makers and jackets made overseas. Could potentially even be a Bermans.

 

[Jason Tiede]

No evidence of Zip out liner at all. I kind of ruled Schott out as well due to the silver zippers, I believe they only used brass with brown. The guy I bought it from was not the original owner but thought it was 70’s vintage but he didn’t know any history of it so it was just a guess. It also has knit cuffs inside the sleeve, which I’ve never seen in another cafe racer jacket

 

[Monitor]

My vote goes to Schott, one of those jackets they've done for someone else. Motorcycle equipment store or something like that but I see a lot of Schott in it.

 

[Jason Tiede]

I appreciate the info! I think you’re on to something, I’ve heard that they made them for others as well. Any idea of vintage? I love the jacket and it fits perfectly and the fact that it only cost me $50 shipped makes it even better. Not knowing the history about it is driving me crazy. I wore it out yesterday and had random people come up to me twice asking about it and commented on how much they liked it. I bought a black 657 Schott a couple weeks ago and sent it of to be cleaned and restored but I think I’m going to leave this one alone since it’s got great character and I’ve haven’t seen another quite like it. It could stand to be pressed and conditioned though. What conditioner do you recommend? Thanks again and if any other ideas pop up please let me know

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

I appreciate the info! I think you’re on to something, I’ve heard that they made them for others as well. Any idea of vintage? I love the jacket and it fits perfectly and the fact that it only cost me $50 shipped makes it even better. Not knowing the history about it is driving me crazy. I wore it out yesterday and had random people come up to me twice asking about it and commented on how much they liked it. I bought a black 657 Schott a couple weeks ago and sent it of to be cleaned and restored but I think I’m going to leave this one alone since it’s got great character and I’ve haven’t seen another quite like it. It could stand to be pressed and conditioned though. What conditioner do you recommend? Thanks again and if any other ideas pop up please let me know

If it fits you perfectly and is not too stinky, then you can wipe down with damp cloth and hit it with some pecards once it's dry. Personally, I've washed so many of these jackets now, I have no fear about it unless the liner is really falling apart. I have an issue wearing 50 years of some other guy's sweat. Call me crazy So I usually dunk in a bucket with some dawn or dishwasher soap. Give a few rinses. Put through spin cycle to get out excess water. Then, if the fit is good, I dry in the shade outside or semi warm room on a hanger for a few days. If it can use some tightening, I blast in the dryer, checking every 10 minutes until I get the fit I want.

Something to keep in mind, the jacket has probably shrunk over time to some degree, sometimes extreme if it was used on a motorcycle. So washing it will make it bigger as the leather rehydrates, so you might have to do some dryer/sunlight to tighten up again.

 

[Jason Tiede]

Great info!im glad to hear that they shrink substantially from riding, the Schott I bought and sent out was used for riding and fit but was a little on the snug/short side, so to hear it might come back just right is great. I agree about the other guys sweat which is why I definitely sent the other one out, it definitely had a musty odor. This jacket surprisingly has no odor besides the leather itself thankfully, but I’d much rather it be clean. It’s good to know you can alter the fit with the techniques you posted

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

Great info!im glad to hear that they shrink substantially from riding, the Schott I bought and sent out was used for riding and fit but was a little on the snug/short side, so to hear it might come back just right is great. I agree about the other guys sweat which is why I definitely sent the other one out, it definitely had a musty odor. This jacket surprisingly has no odor besides the leather itself thankfully, but I’d much rather it be clean. It’s good to know you can alter the fit with the techniques you posted

well, it's not a golden rule they shrink substantially. I'm talking about 40, 50, 60 year old jackets here that have been out in the elements, rain to sun, over and over and over again etc. There's a lot of closet warriors that are not like that. But, typically, yes, there's probably 10%ish one way or the other. I've washed and dryed my buffalo levis trucker at least 5 times now trying to give it some wear in, get rid of some of the glossyness and most importantly shrink it down. I bought a large and probably needed a medium. I've for sure shrunk that down a good 10 to 15%. Was in the dryer for about 2 hours yesterday.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Great info!im glad to hear that they shrink substantially from riding, the Schott I bought and sent out was used for riding and fit but was a little on the snug/short side, so to hear it might come back just right is great. I agree about the other guys sweat which is why I definitely sent the other one out, it definitely had a musty odor. This jacket surprisingly has no odor besides the leather itself thankfully, but I’d much rather it be clean. It’s good to know you can alter the fit with the techniques you posted

I don't think there is evidence that jackets shrink over time. I'm not saying it can't happen but there is no documentation establishing this is a thing. I have owned leather jackets over 35 years and I have never had a jacket shrink on me. But jackets may shrink if you dry them quickly using warm sun or a dryer.

 

[ton312]

I think k Ivan is right. This looks like a Schott “Cycle Rider”. These were made and sold through dealerships mainly in the 1980’s.

 

[Jason Tiede]

Quite possible! I’ll have to dig a little deeper into them and see some of the styles they offered. I know one of the things that has differentiated this from others I’ve compare to is the one piece full back panel which I’ve always been told is indicative of a quality jacket which is why I took the chance buying it without seeing it in person.