London leather bonanza

[HoosierDaddy]

I do value leather jackets heavily grained and have owned several, but I'll let you guys pay that extra big money for the inclusion of those hideous long stretch marks you insist are the marks of excellence and preferred by those in the know. The fashionistas can have em. I'll take heavy marbled grain without the stretch marks even if it has supposedly been 'corrected'. I really don't see how some leathers can be corrected of stretch marks yet still maintain a heavily grained appearance. Whether tanneries correct or cut off is more than fine with me. Then I'll take those of less excellent for my tastes.

I also get a real kick out of those who claim that a jacket style is 'suppose' to fit a certain way even if the jacket waist seems to head up over the belly button and sleeves ride closer to the elbows than past the wrist. If I spend this kinda money on a custom jacket, I want it to at least cover my belt and wrist and I don't have to adjust my wardrobe to fit the jacket. My jackets fit my wardrobe. Whatever style of jacket that's in my closet can easily be worn with the apparel I wear everyday.

Perhaps I'm just hard headed....
HD

 

[Bigbenbs]

Perhaps everyone involved in this conversation is hard headed, which is why we're the types to have it in the first place

 

[ton312]

The stretch/zebra marks and grain don't bother me. I actually think they look cool and all my LW's had them. I can see where it wouldn't appeal to everyone tho. They are very visible and impossible to hide (see what I did there). To each their own. I'd never pay more for them but it wouldn't make me want to pay less either.

 

[Monitor]

@FREEradical
@Monitor just thought you would like to know that high large leather and fine creek are kind of the same. They changed names or shuffled some people. Didn't get the specifics.
But their jackets are the same in terms of hide and construction (they are very nice in hand)

Actually, yeah, I'm happy to know this as it's something I've suspected. Their jackets got the same vibe so I always thought they're in some way connected. They make beautiful jackets.

 

[Bigbenbs]

Honestly, the jacket in salivating over most is the Himel Avro. The idea of a jacket that classic the fits completely perfectly, and with near flawless construction and some of the best leather in the world, is a bit intoxicating.

I'm starting to tell myself that if I get this new job I'm applying for, then I'll pull the trigger.

 

[FREEradical]

I do value leather jackets heavily grained and have owned several, but I'll let you guys pay that extra big money for the inclusion of those hideous long stretch marks you insist are the marks of excellence and preferred by those in the know. The fashionistas can have em. I'll take heavy marbled grain without the stretch marks even if it has supposedly been 'corrected'. I really don't see how some leathers can be corrected of stretch marks yet still maintain a heavily grained appearance. Whether tanneries correct or cut off is more than fine with me. Then I'll take those of less excellent for my tastes.

I also get a real kick out of those who claim that a jacket style is 'suppose' to fit a certain way even if the jacket waist seems to head up over the belly button and sleeves ride closer to the elbows than past the wrist. If I spend this kinda money on a custom jacket, I want it to at least cover my belt and wrist and I don't have to adjust my wardrobe to fit the jacket. My jackets fit my wardrobe. Whatever style of jacket that's in my closet can easily be worn with the apparel I wear everyday.

Perhaps I'm just hard headed....
HD

Actually HD, fashionistas would never appreciate nor tolerate these marks or other “imperfections” for basically the same reasons that you’ve laid out. Fashionistas value the aesthetic appearance of the hide first and foremost and so they will almost always be composed of the most corrected and uniform kind of hides, and they also prefer thin drapey garments so they’ll almost always be skived thin or just use lambskin, as softness and drape is also a mischaracterized notion of quality to the misinformed.

Regarding your question as to why some items can be grained and not have visible marks, these stretch marks aren’t very deep, you really can only see them when the light catches them right and they often fade considerably once the garment isn’t so new, as the overall grain eventually comes out and kind of engulfs them. When the hides are only minorly corrected, only the topmost high points are taken down, so much of the actual grain will remain intact and there will be little visual difference, although what little difference there is is usually covered over by semi aniline dyes or full on pigment finish paints to conceal these non-uniformities.

With these “finished” leathers (as opposed to the full grain, aniline dyed skins commonly known as “unfinished” leathers which I spoke of before) you do get a visually uniform item, sometimes to the point of forgetting that you’re actually wearing a once living creatures skin. It’s kind of a stone age thing to do, yet we’ve sterilized and sanitized it to the point that any indication of the item having belonged to a living creature is considered somehow inferior.

Interestingly, on a darker note I've even heard rather disturbing stories about a Nazis wife at a concentration camp who would seek out inmates there who had large tattoos, and then once they were murdered she would have their skin processed into leather for household items, lampshades etc. Apparently she prized the skin that was most visibly from a human, which is why she liked tattoos and such.

 

[rocketeer]

Like others on here I would buy a jacket of any type on it's basic appearance. That is to say How good it looks on you in a correct size. Thats the first part out of the way. Next for me would be the quality of the finish, were I not happy with mismatched panels, put it back on the rail.
If you were happy with your jacket mismatched panels and all would you still pay a premium price? generally no one will notice and I very much doubt buyers would put their jacket through rigours that would test the quality of the hides that it would be noticeable. The best wear any of these items will get is probably walking down the street maybe with a partner or even dog walking, placing it on a hanger or driving a car in said garment. Working under vehicles or aircraft, getting into a 'John Wayne' western style bar fight? I doubt it.
I guess I'd settle for the jacket that looks the best unless it was paper thin.
But hey! These are only my opinions, thats why we have forums like this to discuss quality and practicality of products.
Cheers and enjoy your jackets

 

[rocketeer]

Looking through the Freewheelers pages, I cannot see their obsession with some of the work clothes. Most of it is practical but not all is great looking just because it was what was worn during the era where Casey Jones was Steaming' and a Rollin'

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Thanks FREEradical for the lecture. I think the fashionistas enjoy weird stuff that comes down the catwalk. I put long leather stretchmarks in that category for me. Heavy grain YES. Vertical stretchmarks NOPE. Some may think them classy ..I think they're nasty. If I ordered a leather jacket and it came like that I would send it back as soon as I unpacked it, even if it fit so nice that it made me look five years younger.

Years ago I purchased a well worn black leather LW jacket off of eBay that came in with stretch marks up and down the back. I tried wearing it for a while but finally sold it on. I just thought it looked odd and undesirable for me. Just don't care for that look. Guess I'll most likely buy things that appeal to me no matter what some may insist are the bestus of the best.

HD

 

[FREEradical]

Thanks FREEradical for the lecture. I think the fashionistas enjoy weird stuff that comes down the catwalk. I put long leather stretchmarks in that category for me. Heavy grain YES. Vertical stretchmarks NOPE. Some may think them classy ..I think they're nasty. If I ordered a leather jacket and it came like that I would send it back as soon as I unpacked it, even if it fit so nice that it made me look five years younger.

Years ago I purchased a well worn black leather LW jacket off of eBay that came in with stretch marks up and down the back. I tried wearing it for a while but finally sold it on. I just thought it looked odd and undesirable for me. Just don't care for that look. Guess I'll most likely buy things that appeal to me no matter what some may insist are the bestus of the best.

HD

Hoosier Daddy, that’s an interesting perspective. To each their own, and you’re very welcome.

 

[ton312]

Honestly, the jacket in salivating over most is the Himel Avro. The idea of a jacket that classic the fits completely perfectly, and with near flawless construction and some of the best leather in the world, is a bit intoxicating.

I'm starting to tell myself that if I get this new job I'm applying for, then I'll pull the trigger.

View attachment 140989

To my eye this is one of those jackets that looks great when laid flat on the floor but not in real life... I've never seen one look good being worn. That photo included. To me the pattern is far too trim in the shoulders and baggy at the waist. As much as I like the jacket. It makes the wearer look like a bell.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Stretch marks? I don't really care either way if they are there or not. But the whole idea of a leather jacket with its carefully processed and dyed hides, zips, lining, etc, isn't exactly straight from nature, so if a hide is corrected a bit here and there, so what? A jacket is a man made item anyway and sometimes a more finished look is fine. If I lose some tensile strength or artisan credibility points I'm not concerned.