Lewis Leather MK1 horsehide

[regius]

Spending a few days in LA & Oregon so I’m visiting TheStrongHold & Langlitz. First loot: Lewis MK1. In brown horsehide, stock size 44.

This is a 20s era motorcycle jacket, still very aviatoresque. No zipper as it’s pre-zipper era. Plains olive cotton twill lining, simple button of unknown material, hopefully it’s not just plastic. The buttons are all “back-stopped” on the lining side so the thread won’t rip though the leather over time.
leather is quite substantial, I naturally went all out & tried all the stock jackets in sheep & cow, the sheep are light & fashion-like, don’t have much shape & just feels delicate, though I’m sure they’ll stand daily wear for years to come. This horse is on the other hand a bit like Gibson’s horse, it’s more substantial than current Schott, & even more so than Eastman’s Luftwaffe (similarly lined). Also it’s heavy due to the padding. Overall, stitchworks are good but not excellent. The edges where fabric folds & finish, there is a bit of rushing & strayed stitching. Good news is the buttons are sewn tight!

I was afraid of slim arm & fat hem, but surprisingly, the arms are accommodating, feels better than Schott’s current 618, but not as roomy as Aero or any A2 or G1. Hem is not as flarey, so with a waist size at 35, it’s just right, not tight not loose.. shoulder fits snug but not tight, so I’m sure a custom will take care of all these. Arm length is perfect off the bat. Overall very happy!

note: I’m
Not thrilled with the Clix zippers. The tape is soft cotton & the male tape will frail in no time.


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[Monitor]

Thank you for the review! Surprisingly enough, not much info about this jacket online. This style actually looks like something from another era but I really like it. The HH looks surprisingly heavy. It's a really interesting and cool jacket. Feel free to post more photos of it!

 

[regius]

the leather is heavy indeed, judging from the pad overlay, seems to be 1.5mm! It’s jerky, a bit like Gibson Barnes but much more subtle grain. Traveling in it tells me it’s a very nice jacket, for mobility & protection. Only problem is the ever flapping lapel, don’t try to eat a sandwich without it secured down, it will protrude & pushyoir sandwich away lol, one of those annoying “WTF” moment.


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[regius]

& note: there’s no way to secure the lapel when jacket is not fully buttoned/closed. This is probably how they evolved into the snap downs. The left row of buttons are all decorative, sewn too close to the leather & left no space. I wanted to button the left lapel to the left corner button only to realize it doesn’t work.


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[handymike]

Nice jacket! Congrats!!!!

 

[navetsea]

can you button back the whole side back on its own side, sorta like pirate coat?

 

[handymike]

Or this?

It should work with a steamer and some books.

 

[regius]

The right hand side row of buttons (as viewed from front), are decorative, not functional, meaning theres no gap/elevation from the leather, so the thick button hole on the lapel side just can't do it. There is one easy way to remedy, I'll just re-sew the top or top two buttons, make them functional, then it's all honky dory, and furthermore, i can create a new button hole on the under-lapel, then it in turn can be buttoned to the current functional button.

 

[willyto]

It's a really cool jacket. Back in December at the TFL London meet I tried this jacket in a size 38 at Lewis and the MK II in Green. I found that the MK 1 with buttons was too long dor my torso and fit wrong while the MK 2 being shorter (My preference) fit like a glove.

I still dream about the green MK 2... but I keep spending money on other stuff.