London Outerwear meetup 8th of December - Epilogue

[red devil]

Happy to relay that the meetup was a success, I would first like to thank these fine gentlemen for making the effort to come:

@Carlos840
@Edward
@Jejupe
@Lit Up
@Mysteryo
@willyto

I can not repeat it enough, it truly was a pleasure to meet all of you!!

So as far as the itinerary we went through:

- Met at Lewis Leathers
- Went on to Rivet & Hide
- Clutch Cafe
- American Classics
- RMC
- Finished in a nice pub

It did takes us about 4 to 5 hours overall, a very good afternoon animated with interesting conversations and checking out even more leather jackets!

I do not have many pictures but here goes:

This is to indicate that Lewis Leathers upped their leather game, black veg tanned cowhide.

I hope you will all forgive me for not taking many pictures... I was too engrossed in discussions with the group

Also, we had Freewheelers, Himel, LW and Thedi in their full glory in the group!

My personal take-aways:
- Freewheelers La Brea in 42 fits me!
- I am considering a dual tone houch hauler in midnight/cherry

I will let the other members of this group post their impressions, but in conclusion, there will most likely be another meetup early next year! Highly recommended to join

 

[barnabus]

Massive sadface that I couldn't be there. Need all the deets about what went down ofc, and who bought what, if anything.

 

[Bigbenbs]

Teriffic. Can't wait to hear more. Would be great to hear about the date earlier so I can mark it down.

 

[red devil]

Massive sadface that I couldn't be there. Need all the deets about what went down ofc, and who bought what, if anything.

I will leave the others to write their impressions in their own time

Teriffic. Can't wait to hear more. Would be great to hear about the date earlier so I can mark it down.

Will try to give as much notice as possible

 

[Lit Up]

Nice to meet you all gents! And @Carlos840 maybe we can meet up when I get my new Lewis and I can get more fit opinions

A nice photo of us was taken by Jack at Lewis Leathers, it is on their iPad and they will email me it. We looked like the best dressed biker gang walking around London that day! I'll post it when I get it.

 

[Carlos840]

It was really nice meeting everyone, other than that the best thing we saw IMO was the new veg tanned cowhide that was posted above.
It is definitely the nicest leather Lewis Leathers has used yet, and although a hefty upgrade (£400 for a regular size jacket) it was a thing of beauty. I would definitely go for that if i was to get another LL.
Trying a Lost World J24 was also interesting, to say the least.
Everything else was a haze of denim, leather and hats...
@Lit Up sure, let me know when you get it!

 

[Jejupe]

It was truly a pleasure to meet up with such interesting bunch of people. Big thanks for all of you who showed up! If there ever is a meet up part 2, I am definitely in!

My personal take:

- I was planning to order a Lewis Leathers jacket in British racing green sheep. However the veg tanned sheep they have, was not something for me. It feels thin and soft like lambskin. I am sure this skin is the first choice of many of LL's more mainstream customers, but for me it was a let down. Their heavy sheepskin was much sturdier, and I would've easily ordered a jacket made of that, but they stock it only in black, and I am not currently looking for another black jacket.

- As mentioned earlier, LL's veg tanned cow looked great. However for longer styles in my size (48 or 50) the upcharge would be 570 pounds (on top of upcharge of around 150 - 200 pounds for larger size), so that made me come home without ordering a LL jacket yet.

- I tried on a pair of Viberg engineer boots at Rivet and Hide and quite liked them. I've been eyeing these for some while now, but I wasn't sure which size would be right for me (it was 11 as in most other shoes and boots I wear) Not quite sure yet if I want a pair of engineers after all.

- I handled Bill Kelso (Badalassi and Liberty) and ELC leather jackets for the first time at American Classics. Couldn't try them on as they were smaller sizes, but I took a close look at them. I was surprised how nice the Bill Kelso seemed in terms of construction. Badalassi didn't quite convince me yet - very nice leather, but I am not sure if it is any nicer than other premium hides we discuss here, however, I might think differently if the jacket was made out of one of Badalassi's more interesting colours (it was russet). ELC looked like a fine jacket, but the leather used was too thin for my taste.

- I saw bunch of japanese brands in flesh for the first time as well (at least Buzz Rickson, Addict clothes, Fine creek, Freewheelers). Very very nice stuff. Very very expensive and very very much too small for me!

- Last but not least I was surprised how nice and easy going bunch of people showed up for this meeting. I have been sometimes in similar gatherings and they're sometimes bit awkward, but not this one! I am sure the next meeting, if there will be one, will be even better, and I hope that even more of nice people of the TFL will show up then!

 

[Mich486]

Sounds like you people had fun. I’ll try my best to make the next one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Peacoat]

Nice to meet you all gents! And @Carlos840 maybe we can meet up when I get my new Lewis and I can get more fit opinions

A nice photo of us was taken by Jack at Lewis Leathers, it is on their iPad and they will email me it. We looked like the best dressed biker gang walking around London that day! I'll post it when I get it.

Yes, please post it. Would love to see what we missed.

I would like to make the next meeting, but I don't have an airplane that has the range to make it across the Atlantic.

 

[Jejupe]

Yes, please post it. Would love to see what we missed.

I would like to make the next meeting, but I don't have an airplane that has the range to make it across the Atlantic.

I am not sure, but I think there might be commercial airlines that fly across the Atlantic? You know, pay the money, get a seat kinda thing.

 

[Edward]

It was a great afternoon - Bravo and thank-you, Red Devil, for organising it!

My long-suffering other half was, I think, secretly quite pleased to have somebody else accompany me around these places... I've walked past Lewis many times before, but never gone in. Love their bits. I'm very inclined to a Lightning in 1958 spec.... The new hide is goregeous, if a scary price(!) Clutch cafe has some gorgeous stuff, evne if some of it is a bit 'you WHAT now?' in terms of the price labels; it's a cert for an "I'll have six of everything, please!' visit should my lotto numbers ever come good. Found a velvet souvenir jacket I particularly liked in there (very Iggy Pop), but alas it was two grand(!). Some very nice Japanese engineer boots that were 'only' £350, though, and much nicer than RedWings at closing in on that price (nice as those are too), so maybe.... They also stock Whites, which I've never handled in person before. Very impressed.

The piece I really wanted, though, on Saturday was the British Dispatch Rider's oilskin coat in the window of McCoys. I love that design, such a classic and somehow to my eye it works much better with casual clothing than a regular trench coat...

 

[Edward]

Here is that gorgeous brute, at a not so sexy price though (and small sizing): https://www.superdenim.com/uk/dispatch-rider-coat.html

 

[red devil]

Here is that gorgeous brute, at a not so sexy price though (and small sizing): https://www.superdenim.com/uk/dispatch-rider-coat.html

It's probably 30% to 40% cheaper in Japan... need to look.

You will have to forgive me, but I can't help imagining this in deerskin

 

[Justhandguns]

I was flying on the 8th..... sounds like fun! Maybe I should join you lads next time round!

 

[red devil]

I was flying on the 8th..... sounds like fun! Maybe I should join you lads next time round!

You certainly should

 

[red devil]

BTW, the Dispatch Rider Coat is at ¥ 162,000 which comes at £1135.65, so over £400 difference

https://www.realmccoys.co.jp/catalog/products/detail.php?product_id=4284&pg=4

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Sounds awesome! Makes me wish I was in London for it!

 

[Bigbenbs]

Did anyone else try on the Clinch boots at the Clutch Cafe, which they are selling for around 1700 GBP?

 

[Edward]

BTW, the Dispatch Rider Coat is at ¥ 162,000 which comes at £1135.65, so over £400 difference

https://www.realmccoys.co.jp/catalog/products/detail.php?product_id=4284&pg=4

Still on the pricey side, but yes - quite the discount on the UK price. I can but hope that WPG eventually do one!

Did anyone else try on the Clinch boots at the Clutch Cafe, which they are selling for around 1700 GBP?

No - I handled them and they did look nice, but I was too lazy to try on boots I can't imagine ever considering buying! They also had another pair of boots by a label called 'Gleem', which were very nice indeed, at £350. Can't find any information about the brand online, though.

 

[red devil]

Sounds awesome! Makes me wish I was in London for it!

You can always combine it with other things to make an epic trip

Did anyone else try on the Clinch boots at the Clutch Cafe, which they are selling for around 1700 GBP?

Not at the shop... but then again I have a pair of vintage black (it's cowhide) engineer boots with an extra ring such as those on harness boots on order from Tokyo at about half that price.