Looking for a first leather jacket, likely the only one I'll have for a long time.

[ForestForTheTrees]

Thank you so much. That's a very helpful post.

Since I can't PM (do I need a certain post count, maybe?), I hope he sees this... If anyone could PM him to check here that'd be great!

Seb, would you be willing to post photos of your 3 oz. brown cowhide jacket? I'd be looking for something very similar in a dark brown!

Does it hold up to a little water okay, and is it the naked cowhide or another?

It's a finished hide and was recommended for use here in Oregon, so rain shouldn't be a problem.

I tried searching for images of Seb's jacket but it appears that they've been removed from the hosting site. I believe that the bottom, middle jacket in the one remaining photo on that thread (the grouping of jackets) is his JL half belt. His jacket is very similar in style to my own half belt. However Seb chose the button cuffs and a back featuring a yoke with a half bi-swing design as opposed to the full bi-swing on my jacket. I believe that I chose to go with a slightly longer length than he did.

I'll try to send Seb a PM as well.

Seb replied to my PM. Of course, only then did I learn that Seb had already posted up while I was composing my own reply.

Timing, as they say, is everything. For better or worse.

 

[JVK]

Hi JVK,

Here's the half belf Johnson's made for me. The brown leather is not naked cow but "finished" cow. Naked hide by the way is fine in the rain but it does get soaked a bit quicker. It dries up fine. I have naked cow jackets that I wear in winter without any issues.

This half-belt jacket was made to my specs and by sending photos to Alan. It's basically a copy of a Californian half-belt, but not a repo. For me a half belt needs a yolk to compliment the belt and the Californian version I saw (soon I beleive to be made by Bill Kelso, since Platon just bought an original) is my favourite pattern. A version is worn by Bruce Willis in that B-movie, Surrogates. I'm not concerned about exact measurements or vintage zips. The size 44 here is custom made to my measurements. The hide is aging well and graining nicely. The same weight as my Aero HH halfbelt.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95447776@N05/8706906576/in/photostream/

That's a beautiful jacket, Seb. You have great taste and despite all the great feedback I've gotten about Johnson here, it still blows me away that they can execute this kind of thing. How long have you had it now?

Oddly enough, that may just be the kind of cowhide I want... if not that shade, something extremely comparably colored. But I love the idea of the finished cowhide, I like the proposed 3 oz. weight, and I really hope you love this jacket.

Really - thanks!

It's a finished hide and was recommended for use here in Oregon, so rain shouldn't be a problem.

I tried searching for images of Seb's jacket but it appears that they've been removed from the hosting site. I believe that the bottom, middle jacket in the one remaining photo on that thread (the grouping of jackets) is his JL half belt. His jacket is very similar in style to my own half belt. However Seb chose the button cuffs and a back featuring a yoke with a half bi-swing design as opposed to the full bi-swing on my jacket. I believe that I chose to go with a slightly longer length than he did.

I'll try to send Seb a PM as well.

Seb replied to my PM. Of course, only then did I learn that Seb had already posted up while I was composing my own reply.

Timing, as they say, is everything. For better or worse.

Haha thanks for looking out for me, man. Your own halfbelt is insane, too, that color depth is something else...Really, truly good stuff (and one of a kind). This sort of thing really is breathtaking sometimes.

How tall are you and what back length did you get for the jacket, if I can ask?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Very nice HB,Seb..!! looks great.
HD

 

[Seb Lucas]

Thanks - this is the jacket I wanted for years. I'm six ft two and 185 pounds, a medium build - 27 inch back.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

How tall are you and what back length did you get for the jacket, if I can ask?

I'm 5'8" and the back length is 25". This was the length of the stock M200L jacket in my size and it was just what I had in mind. The M200, which my other JL jacket is based off of, runs two inches shorter. My first jacket was based off of a size 42 M200, but when I contacted them about building the half belt, Alan suggested that we start with the size 40 M200L for test-fit. He was right on as the adjustments in sizing needed were minimal.

 

[jon11]

Love that jacket Seb, very nice indeed.

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Honestly, and this is not a sarcastic answer, I'd worry more about my decision to go to law school than some leather jacket. If you're not damn sure you want to be a lawyer, I wouldn't go, or at least hold off for a year or two while you really figure it out. You're 22. Get some work experience. Have you ever worked in a law firm? I have, as a lawyer. And I can tell you that most lawyers are absolutely miserable. And if you're like them, you'll have to buy a lot of jackets to drown out the depression you'll feel every day. I spent money like crazy on personal items (briefcases, watches, etc.) just to make me forgot how unhappy I was. If you have any doubt at all about this decision, I would delay it for a year at least. Like most of my law school classmates, I went to law school because I didn't know what else to do with my life. That is the worst reason in the world for going to law school. Think about it. You can thank me in 20 years.

 

[ALM]

Has anyone bought the rough wear canvas jacket from ELC?

 

[rocketeer]

Has anyone bought the rough wear canvas jacket from ELC?

If you are in London(Your location) pop into American Classics, Endell Street Covent Garden. They stock quite a few Eastman jackets plus the 'Buzz Rickson' range so may have the jacket you want. The guy who runs the shop has been around old clothing since the 80s so knows his stuff. Though Classics only stock new items now.
J

 

[JVK]

Honestly, and this is not a sarcastic answer, I'd worry more about my decision to go to law school than some leather jacket. If you're not damn sure you want to be a lawyer, I wouldn't go, or at least hold off for a year or two while you really figure it out. You're 22. Get some work experience. Have you ever worked in a law firm? I have, as a lawyer. And I can tell you that most lawyers are absolutely miserable. And if you're like them, you'll have to buy a lot of jackets to drown out the depression you'll feel every day. I spent money like crazy on personal items (briefcases, watches, etc.) just to make me forgot how unhappy I was. If you have any doubt at all about this decision, I would delay it for a year at least. Like most of my law school classmates, I went to law school because I didn't know what else to do with my life. That is the worst reason in the world for going to law school. Think about it. You can thank me in 20 years.

I'm taking a year off and working in a law firm now, as a paralegal, and everything you say is true. I had actually applied last year and deferred my enrollment in order to earn some money and figure out if this was genuinely what I wanted to do. As for how that's gone, everyone I've talked to has emphasized the same reality you express about the decision to become a lawyer. In the best of scenarios, when you land a job capable of paying off your debt (over several years), you're a miserable slave in a job that despite your best efforts you can't even count on holding for more than 2-3 years due to stealth layoffs, hatred for the job or the whims of another person.

I'm sure I want to go, though, it's a means to the end I'm sure I want and I'm lucky enough to have sizable financial aid and some decent savings. I'll be paying about a third of the sticker price for a school with some great employment outcomes. The first couple years will be awful, but I'm hoping that 4-5 years out I'll have a job I'm happy with for the next 40. Hoping that pans out... Please do let me know your thoughts or PM or anything, this is a big decision for me. I'm confident in my decision right now but I'm open.

 

[augustwest]

"Something close to this, with a few slight tweaks, in a rich or even chocolate brown. That's the jacket I identify with and the one I want. That's my jacket."


Wow, that's one nice looking jacket (Original 1930s "TEST" Motorcycle/Work Jacket). I especially like the russet brown color.