Johnson Leather Jacket

[Mrfrown]

I'm still not sure about the long term durability of the Vermont. I'm not a rider or anything but I hope I won't have to baby it in the rain.

Same but as I don’t ride typically the worst I can expect is some brief splatters before escaping to the indoors.

Do people really get caught in the rain that often? I mean I live in south Louisiana and it rains A LOT but I typically am just inside when it’s coming down. Genuinely curious btw…maybe I’m just more weather aware or something?

 

[Goel]

Not just rain but things like spills or whatever. I'm confident CXL would be pretty resistant to all sorts of spills as liquids just roll off, even if they linger on the surface not much is absorbed. Whereas with my Vermont sample liquids will bead off at first but eventually soak in.

 

[Jin431]

I'm still not sure about the long term durability of the Vermont. I'm not a rider or anything but I hope I won't have to baby it in the rain.

It's repels a little water so it does better than a full aniline leather but yes I agree there's better more hard wearing jackets out there for inclement weathers for riding mainly chrome tanned jackets.

 

[Liam33]

Welcome @Liam33 and advanced congratulations on your first leather jacket and a bespoke one at that.

Shoot I was just at JL today and had not read that you wanted a photo of a made jacket with that brown German horsehide. My apologies but I believe @technovox may have a sample of that brown German HH that had a nubuck textured finish. I have a pair of horse butt boots that have a similar finish to it, it's still full grain but has a suede like finish and its weird in a good way.

There is a Horween hide called Milan, JL offers it in black in store but it also comes in brown and there was a recent post about it and that leather is absolutely gorgeous. That might be another one to look into

Check with Damon if he can source a brown Horween Essex, that will be a good option too as I heard it's similar to CXL richness and depth of color without the cardboard feel but I have not handled one although @regius might be able to elaborate more about Essex leather.

Thanks @Jin431 !
I talked to Damon and sent him a list of leathers based on all of your recommendations to see if he can source them. Essex Dublin brown nut, Essex Havana brown, and Milan Havana brown. I think I’d be happy with any of those. The dark brown vermont swatch should be arriving in the mail today.

 

[Jin431]

Thanks @Jin431 !
I talked to Damon and sent him a list of leathers based on all of your recommendations to see if he can source them. Essex Dublin brown nut, Essex Havana brown, and Milan Havana brown. I think I’d be happy with any of those. The dark brown vermont swatch should be arriving in the mail today.

Those would be a more appropriate choice for a medium brown leather like how you want yours to look. Hope Damon gives you a good headache with the leather choices. The Vermont is also a good option but it should probably too dark for your needs. Good luck with that @Liam33

 

[Jin431]

Not a JL but a JL alteration job before and after photos. The sleeves are so much better fitting now. This is the 3rd jacket I had JL alter for me and it's just as good as the others. I removed the belt loops myself since it's an easy job and I'm not one to use it ever. I'll post photos of the black mouton collar at a later time as it's just too hot

Old Cal straight zip with snap button cuffs

 

[technovox]

Not a JL but a JL alteration job before and after photos. The sleeves are so much better fitting now. This is the 3rd jacket I had JL alter for me and it's just as good as the others. I removed the belt loops myself since it's an easy job and I'm not one to use it ever. I'll post photos of the black mouton collar at a later time as it's just too hot

Old Cal straight zip with snap button cuffs

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Love those early Cal straight zips... Nice fit!

 

[Canuck Panda]

Not a JL but a JL alteration job before and after photos. The sleeves are so much better fitting now. This is the 3rd jacket I had JL alter for me and it's just as good as the others. I removed the belt loops myself since it's an easy job and I'm not one to use it ever. I'll post photos of the black mouton collar at a later time as it's just too hot

Old Cal straight zip with snap button cuffs

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Nice work! I also like how the bottom hem got cleaned up too. Can't wait to see it with the big sweeping fur collar when it gets cooler!

 

[Tom71]

Not a JL but a JL alteration job before and after photos. The sleeves are so much better fitting now. This is the 3rd jacket I had JL alter for me and it's just as good as the others. I removed the belt loops myself since it's an easy job and I'm not one to use it ever. I'll post photos of the black mouton collar at a later time as it's just too hot

Old Cal straight zip with snap button cuffs

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Wow! You managed to turn a great jacket into a perfect one!

 

[Jin431]

Love those early Cal straight zips... Nice fit!

These Cals are great, it's a much thicker hide than my other Cal and I quite like the weightier feel. It's not my usual slim fitting jacket but it's close enough and definitely happy with how it looks when I wear it

Nice work! I also like how the bottom hem got cleaned up too. Can't wait to see it with the big sweeping fur collar when it gets cooler!

Removing the flimsy belt loops really cleaned up the look and I also tightened up the side straps and cut down the excess string so it looks better fitting now. Big fur collars are so nice lol

Wow! You managed to turn a great jacket into a perfect one!

Thanks to JL and their awesome seamstresses. This is a prelude to something awesome coming my way

 

[Jin431]

Fur collar try on

 

[handymike]

Thumbs way up!

 

[Jin431]

JL Cyclist Seal Vermont

 

[JCSD]

JL Cyclist Seal Vermont

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Looks great! Now let’s put some miles on it!

 

[Robbie79]

JL Cyclist Seal Vermont

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Wow, one of the nicest looking leather jackets you own - on par with your Mulholland jackets IMO!

 

[TheDonEffect]

Need more photos especially of the leather! Impressions?

 

[Carlos840]

Same but as I don’t ride typically the worst I can expect is some brief splatters before escaping to the indoors.

Do people really get caught in the rain that often? I mean I live in south Louisiana and it rains A LOT but I typically am just inside when it’s coming down. Genuinely curious btw…maybe I’m just more weather aware or something?

I had to do some digging....
It's interresting, because South Louisiana gets quite a large amount of yearly rainfall (60 to 70" yearly) but you guys don't proportionally get that many days of rain (100-115 days of rain).
Compare to Belgium where i currently live, where we get 30" of rain a year, but we get 180 to 210 days of rain yearly.

Basically i am far more likely to get rained on than you, but you are far more likely to end up soaked through than me...
Funny how the world works!

End of the weather report interlude.

Personally to me the ability of a leather to deal with rain is very important compared to someone living in California or Texas.
Maybe that's why i love LW so much, IMO that leather is the best when things get soggy.

 

[Cornelius]

I had to do some digging....
It's interresting, because South Louisiana gets quite a large amount of yearly rainfall (60 to 70" yearly) but you guys don't proportionally get that many days of rain (100-115 days of rain).
Compare to Belgium where i currently live, where we get 30" of rain a year, but we get 180 to 210 days of rain yearly.

Basically i am far more likely to get rained on than you, but you are far more likely to end up soaked through than me...
Funny how the world works!

End of the weather report interlude.

Personally to me the ability of a leather to deal with rain is very important compared to someone living in California or Texas.
Maybe that's why i love LW so much, IMO that leather is the best when things get soggy.

Same here. I lived in New Orleans [just a year] and understand how the rain works there - more water falling from the sky then you've ever seen in your life, in the course of a few hours, and then back to the relentless near-tropical sun - but now, back along the Great Lakes, the rain is not as heavy, but more common and unpredictable. Leathers that work for San Diego may not work for me.

That said, @Jin431, how does that Seal Vermont react to water? It's veg tanned, right? And from Horween? I imagine it might just soak it up. I'm curious to hear about other rain-resilient leather options for such a style, especially from Horween or other US tanneries [simply in the interest of keeping them in business]. I know we of course have CXL, but what else is there out there?

 

[Pandemic]

I had to do some digging....
It's interresting, because South Louisiana gets quite a large amount of yearly rainfall (60 to 70" yearly) but you guys don't proportionally get that many days of rain (100-115 days of rain).
Compare to Belgium where i currently live, where we get 30" of rain a year, but we get 180 to 210 days of rain yearly.

Basically i am far more likely to get rained on than you, but you are far more likely to end up soaked through than me...
Funny how the world works!

End of the weather report interlude.

Personally to me the ability of a leather to deal with rain is very important compared to someone living in California or Texas.
Maybe that's why i love LW so much, IMO that leather is the best when things get soggy.

South Texas is next door to South a Louisiana. It definitely rains a lot here, too (without counting the regular hurricanes). I think our average is around 50” annually, though Harvey dumped that in three days.

 

[Carlos840]

South Texas is next door to South a Louisiana. It definitely rains a lot here, too (without counting the regular hurricanes). I think our average is around 50” annually, though Harvey dumped that in three days.

Looks pretty dry to me: