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Irvin/B3/A2 inspirations... Burberry aviator jackets

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
The best part of 5,000 euros for that? Hahahaha!

Très gauche.

Definitely one for the "more money than sense" crowd :)
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,081
Location
London, UK
The best part of 5,000 euros for that? Hahahaha!

Très gauche.

Definitely one for the "more money than sense" crowd :)

There's definitely a big premium being charged for the brand, no doubt about it. A new Burberry polycotton trenchcoat is now GBP600+. Great coat, but big money -cpmare that to what you'd pay for a Buzz Rickson (a little under GBP500) equivalent (which is, truth be told, probably a better coat)... I'd like to see one of these Burberrys in person and compare it against an Eastman, Flyboy, or whatever, to see how it holds up in terms of quality (as opposed to design, which will always be a subjective preference).
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
I'd like to see one of these Burberrys in person and compare it against an Eastman, Flyboy, or whatever, to see how it holds up in terms of quality (as opposed to design, which will always be a subjective preference).

Now that would be interesting Edward! I've seen some shockingly bad workmanship on "designer label" clothing. Just my personal opinion but Burberry of today is not the Burberry of 60, 70 years ago.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,081
Location
London, UK
Now that would be interesting Edward! I've seen some shockingly bad workmanship on "designer label" clothing. Just my personal opinion but Burberry of today is not the Burberry of 60, 70 years ago.

I've handled some really well made Burberry trenchcoats, produced within the last decade. I could never justify the new price on one, though.
 

AlcoholicArtist

New in Town
Messages
4
Location
England, Peak District
Zip and buckles are matt black on mine and suit me perfectly this way ; but I love the "distressed brushed brass colour" at least as much !

Since the leather version is very hot and quite heavy, I often have my collar down, as presented in the picture below. The jacket is lighter like that. Indoors, when I have to remove it a lot or to take it with me, I put the jacket on my shoulders, like a cape. I only add the second collar when it's very cold outside.

How did you wear it finally, what are your new habits ?

I always wear it with the double collar and have them both up because I love the drama of it :D

As for the price, yes it's a lot and I'm by no means rich (21 with no job) but I just buy a few high quality pieces of clothing that I know are timeless pieces and will last me forever instead of buying cheaper clothes that will fall apart within a few months.

I'm going to make another Burberry purchase from the aw12 collection this one...
http://www.luisaviaroma.com/index.a...orColor=S0FMRQ==&season=actual&seasProdID=56I

It's casual enough to be worn in most environments and country waxed Barbour style jackets have never stopped looking good throughout the years.
I also love the leather straps and buckles, being £1500 it's cheaper than a lot of the jackets in the collection, I mean one is like £7000 and in my opinion it doesn't even look that great. It's like they chose one at random to inflate the price for the prestige of the brand.
 
..
As for the price, yes it's a lot and I'm by no means rich (21 with no job) but I just buy a few high quality pieces of clothing that I know are timeless pieces and will last me forever instead of buying cheaper clothes that will fall apart within a few months.

,,,.

If interested in a Irvin design, define "timeless" as "authentic to the original pattern and material as is currently possible", want a well made jacket that will very likely outlive you in addition to being custom made to your size...and want all this for about 15% the price of the Burberry (which does not look authentic to an original WW2 Irvin in either design or material), then I'd suggest
contacting "Aces High";

http://www.aceshighjackets.com/

If looking for a A2, Good Wear Leather;

http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/index.html

If a B3, Aero Leather or Eastman Leather. (The former for a custom fit jacket.)

The point being...there are much better options out there for "timeless", durable WW2 design leather flight jackets than what Burberry is trying to sell. All for a fraction of what Burberry is over charging.
If you want that Burberry label on a not that authentic design, then you will have to pay that extra $6000.
Or...you can have the best of both words. Get a cheap used Burberry off eBay, take off it's labels and replace those on an Ace's High, GW or whatever.
That way you get a better made truly more "authentic" jacket with the designer label on it for MUCH less. :D
 
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Spitfire

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,078
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Why don't we face it.
These nice, young guys are just in the wrong forum.
Nothing wrong with their choice of jackets or what they want to spend on something, which just isn't what it tries to be.
We are just too old fashioned to see it.
We believe in history, design, stitch by stitch accuracy. We faint at the sight of plastic or words like "artificial leather".
We would rather spend hours and weeks searching the internet or flea markets for that one, special, authentic zipper, than go into a high end fashion store and dump some cash.
We just don't get it!
We can tell them again and again about real Irvins and real A2's - but they don't care.
They want fashion and the security that comes with wearing a brand. Our brands are different. They are out of style to them.
Names like Irvin, Links, Wareings, IAC or Dots doesn't mean a thing.
We are out of date. They are hot. We are not.
Best of luck guys! Enjoy your jackets. :)

Cheers!
 
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Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Why don't we face it. These nice, young guys are just in the wrong forum. Nothing wrong with their choice of jackets or what they want to spend on something, which just isn't what it tries to be. We are just too old fashioned to see it. We believe in history, design, stitch by stitch accuracy. We faint at the sight of plastic or words like "artificial leather".We would rather spend hours and weeks searching the internet or flea markets for that one, special, authentic zipper, than go into a high end fashion store and dump some cash. We just don't get it! We can tell them again and again about real Irvins and real A2's - but they don't care. They want fashion and the security that comes with wearing a brand. Our brands are different. They are out of style to them.Names like Irvin, Links, Wareings, IAC or Dots doesn't mean a thing.We are out of date. They are hot. We are not.Best of luck guys! Enjoy your jackets. :)Cheers!
I dunno man, I'm not sure whether to feel better or shoot myself after reading this lol
 

Graemsay

Practically Family
Messages
998
Location
Melbourne
It's been mentioned before, but the Nigel Cabourn Coastal Command sold for £2175. It was manufactured by Aero, and their most expensive sheepskin coat is the B7 Arctic Parka at £900. So you're paying at least £1200 for the label.

I like some of the designs used in contemporary high-end leather jackets, but I'm rather less keen on the associated price tags. An Aero or Goodwear piece would be a more attractive purchase, but I'm not exactly fashionable.
 

too much coffee

Practically Family
Messages
912
Location
Not too far from Spokane, WA
I KNOW I'm out of date.........but maybe I didn't learn too much along the way.

We got unemployed 21 year olds gonna buy current fashion statement $2,000 jackets. I ain't smart enough to figure that one out! How does one do that?

Regards,
coffee
 
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Why don't we face it.
These nice, young guys are just in the wrong forum.
Nothing wrong with their choice of jackets or what they want to spend on something, which just isn't what it tries to be.
We are just too old fashioned to see it.
We believe in history, design, stitch by stitch accuracy. We faint at the sight of plastic or words like "artificial leather".
We would rather spend hours and weeks searching the internet or flea markets for that one, special, authentic zipper, than go into a high end fashion store and dump some cash.
We just don't get it!
We can tell them again and again about real Irvins and real A2's - but they don't care.
They want fashion and the security that comes with wearing a brand. Our brands are different. They are out of style to them.
Names like Irvin, Links, Wareings, IAC or Dots doesn't mean a thing.
We are out of date. They are hot. We are not.
Best of luck guys! Enjoy your jackets. :)

Cheers!

Yep. Hit the nail on the head.

Indubitably!

Far better to be an old fart than a new fart :D

Definitely!
As an old fart, you can let your inner curmudgeon out! :lol:
 
Last edited:

Don Tomaso

A-List Customer
Messages
402
Location
Germany
I KNOW I'm out of date.........but maybe I didn't learn too much along the way.

We got unemployed 21 year olds gonna buy current fashion statement $2,000 jackets. I ain't smart enough to figure that one out! How does one do that?

Regards,
coffee
That crossed my mind as well. When I was 21 and no job, visiting university at that time, I couldn't spend 400 Deutschmarks for a jacket, let alone 4000...
I have actually no problem with "fashion" or the like, as long as it looks cool. Most what I see in the malls or on the net simply looks stupid, though. Whatever, I got my Aero, being a serious purchase - even at a price-point well below the Burberry and with a job - and I don't need more jackets. One demands enough attention, they are like woman... :D
 

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