Lost Worlds’ founder Stuart interviewed

[jacketjunkie]

Interesting interview.

I like LW jackets for their durability, in particular that indestructible topcoat on his horsehide. I think Stus work is oustanding if you look for that - a durable jacket that won't look worn out within a few years. The only reason I haven't bought one yet is that he's asking more than I'm willing to pay for a jacket. No matter what maker, no jacket could ever make me happy enough to justify prices beyond 1000 USD and would be bound to disappoint.

Reading that interview I feel bad for Stuart because I cannot help but think his over the top attitude and demeanor is to a certain extent the result of all the personal attacks he's had to endure over the years - this is clearly an act to hide his vulnerability as he's very different in more personal talk. LW is literally the only company where it's nearly all the time the man who is being critized and not the product.

 

[willyto]

Few people speak like that these days. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing but it makes for an interesting ‘edgy’ read.

What is Edgy about this:

VR: How is LW different from other leather jacket makers?

SC: We don’t preach to the choir. I don’t make flavor-of-the-month jackets. We make jackets I perceive as historically interesting, stylish, technically challenging, ultra-cool and high performance. What I like. All our gear is or can be used on motorcycles or in challenging environments and always rain and snow. None is fashion clothing, for posing, faux hipster boulevardier wear for Tokyo, Manhattan or London dive bars and the like. Making fewer but benchmark styles is our mandate and we eschew every tiresome minor vintage variation through boredom, not inability.


VR: How would you describe the House Style of your designs?

SC: Heirloom grade classic American rugged wear devoid of fakery, i.e. prêt-à-porterantiquing, overdrumming, flimsiness, gimmick tanning with tea (or is it urine?) to simulate top finish fading from black to brown in a vintage jacket after decades of dry storage, wear or exposure, etc. Our signature American Horsehide from our own tannery is peerless, famous, natural full grain, unduplicated and better than vintage examples. Period. Every hide – deer, sheepskin, goatskin – is tanned to our specs. Nothing off the shelf, everything from USA.

No pandering to fashionistas and those who find necessary ego completion in Internet blogs, forums, chat groups, etc. where the fundamentalist dispersion of ignorance and bias laden with ulterior commercial motive quickly converts those so inclined.

Also he has done styles which were made before by other makers like Freewheelers for example... so what he is saying is not true.

To me it reads like there is a bit of hate towards anyone that may criticise anything about his brand or any brands that do stuff differently than him.

It sounds like he’s a bit stuck in the past and doesn’t have much of an open mind about certain things.

 

[Hh121]

this is clearly an act to hide his vulnerability as he's very different in more personal talk.

This is exactly my point too, well said.

 

[Superfluous]

His comically extreme disparagement of anyone and anything that deviates from his narrow paradigm is obnoxious and repellent. The fact that he may be different in private does not diminish or mitigate his repugnant public persona. Given his overt contempt for, and denigration of, every single member of this community, I am surprised that TFL members continue to eagerly patronize him.

 

[ton312]

I would like to be a fly on the wall and listen to BK and LW go toe to toe on whose jacket is better and who has the worse customer base. They seem to operate on similar ethos.

 

[Will Zach]

^^
Monty Python could write a great skit...
"Your leather smells of urine, you boulevardier"!

 

[Superfluous]

I would like to be a fly on the wall and listen to BK and LW go toe to toe on whose jacket is better and who has the worse customer base. They seem to operate on similar ethos.

So true! Recalling BK's FB post regarding gay men, I suspect their overlapping ethos transcends jackets.

 

[tmitchell59]

Interesting interview. Thanks for posting the link.

 

[dannyk]

So true! Recalling BK's FB post regarding gay men, I suspect their overlapping ethos transcends jackets.

I was thinking something along these lines but bit my tongue to not open a further can of worms. Let me just say often turns out those that hate the most, project the most. Those most vocally against something, turn out to be living secretly or denying who they really are.

 

[JMax]

Again on this? Christ on a cracker, I’m out.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Never cared for LW leather. Sure I know it is 'indestructible'..but IMO, although put together nicely, the heavy finish is lifeless with little character except for the often strange mostly vertical stretch marks. Just not for me...Stuart's BS personality aside.
HD

 

[El Marro]

At VLJ everyone is crapping on everything and everybody.
I don't see any posts there like @El Marro post, sharing a photo of himself wearing a badass leather jacket while being on the job, with a big smile on his face
We need more posts like that

Thanks a lot man, you made my day!

 

[red devil]

Interesting interview.

I like LW jackets for their durability, in particular that indestructible topcoat on his horsehide. I think Stus work is oustanding if you look for that - a durable jacket that won't look worn out within a few years. The only reason I haven't bought one yet is that he's asking more than I'm willing to pay for a jacket. No matter what maker, no jacket could ever make me happy enough to justify prices beyond 1000 USD and would be bound to disappoint.

Reading that interview I feel bad for Stuart because I cannot help but think his over the top attitude and demeanor is to a certain extent the result of all the personal attacks he's had to endure over the years - this is clearly an act to hide his vulnerability as he's very different in more personal talk. LW is literally the only company where it's nearly all the time the man who is being critized and not the product.

This seems pretty accurateto me

His comically extreme disparagement of anyone and anything that deviates from his narrow paradigm is obnoxious and repellent. The fact that he may be different in private does not diminish or mitigate his repugnant public persona. Given his overt contempt for, and denigration of, every single member of this community, I am surprised that TFL members continue to eagerly patronize him.

He denigrates every member of this community? I am not sure how you got there?

There is nothing surprising about why I continue placing orders with LW:
- The product (no need to repeat ourselves)
- The professionalism (prompt communication, deadlines met, etc...)
- The knowledge
- The real passion (as stated earlier, he only cares aout the jackets and not promoting himself)

I don't know why he is perceived as such a threat by a certain group, why they have this need to attack him on all angles, wherever they can. Makes me wonder if the ones lacking self confidence aren't the ones attacking him after all. In any case he doesn't seem to leave anybody indifferent, which is maybe not a bad thing after all.

Also I don't know much about BK, so I wouldn't be able to comment there, but he threatened some of our members with a lawsuit for stating their opinions as far as I am aware? So maybe remember this when making comparisons?

All in all, I think that his target market is actually pretty different from the likes of Himel, ELC and BK, he is in a niche of his own. That might be one of the reasons he is disliked?

 

[dannyk]

I don’t know I haven’t been on his site in a while I know there used to be a few comments there as well. But in regards to the members. This is directly aimed at us. No not like literally me or you specifically. But anyone on a forum or fb group like this. Straight from this interview. Amongst many other disparaging and or interesting remarks. But I’ve said my piece and don’t feel the need to go down this road any further. Just wanted to respond to your one comment.

“No pandering to fashionistas and those who find necessary ego completion in Internet blogs, forums, chat groups, etc. where the fundamentalist dispersion of ignorance and bias laden with ulterior commercial motive quickly converts those so inclined”

 

[HoosierDaddy]

He is in a niche of his own for sure....LOL

 

[AeroFan_07]

Thanks for posting this interview, I tend to suspect this is outside the box for him.

My reaction is a bit different:

• He is 69 years old
• He has a son with no intrest in the leather business
• I am "divorced " with no further detail (sign of serious pain)

Eventually, Lost Worlds (company) will have to be sold, given, or closed as an entity. Stuart seems to have faced some serious disspointments & challenges in life. An old saying I have heard is that "Diasspointments can make you bitter - or better." He is soon facing what to do with his life's work. This is scary no matter who you are or what your image may reflect. So my perspective of him is just that - a perspective. But in any case, he is, soon, going to need help in ways he may not be comfortable with. Not an easy reality to have to deal with.

 

[red devil]

I don’t know I haven’t been on his site in a while I know there used to be a few comments there as well. But in regards to the members. This is directly aimed at us. No not like literally me or you specifically. But anyone on a forum or fb group like this. Straight from this interview. Amongst many other disparaging and or interesting remarks. But I’ve said my piece and don’t feel the need to go down this road any further. Just wanted to respond to your one comment.

“No pandering to fashionistas and those who find necessary ego completion in Internet blogs, forums, chat groups, etc. where the fundamentalist dispersion of ignorance and bias laden with ulterior commercial motive quickly converts those so inclined”

Hmm... didn't read this as "everybody on a forum" but more for those "who find necessary ego completion" in forums. Many people are on forums just to discuss a topic they are passionate about and that doesn't fit this description.

Thanks for posting this interview, I tend to suspect this is outside the box for him.

My reaction is a bit different:

• He is 69 years old
• He has a son with no intrest in the leather business
• I am "divorced " with no further detail (sign of serious pain)

Eventually, Lost Worlds (company) will have to be sold, given, or closed as an entity. Stuart seems to have faced some serious disspointments & challenges in life. An old saying I have heard is that "Diasspointments can make you bitter - or better." He is soon faciling what to do with his life's work. This is scary no matter who you are or what your image may reflect. So my perspective of him is just that - a perspective. But in any case, he is, soon, going to need help in ways he may not be comfortable with. Not an easy reality to have to deal with.

You raise some very interesting questions here

 

[dannyk]

Hmm... didn't read this as "everybody on a forum" but more for those "who find necessary ego completion" in forums. Many people are on forums just to discuss a topic they are passionate about and that doesn't fit this description.



You raise some very interesting questions here

See I took it as anyone on here has that issue. And I can see your point of view on this specific statement But again it’s part of a whole. When you add it all up I find a pattern. A troubling and disturbing pattern to me. But as I said in a prior post nothing against his work. That speaks for itself. Most often built to last a lifetime and stitched to the nuts. And more often than not perfect. But to me personally not someone I would feel comfortable doing business with. I personally don’t want to give money or trust someone like that. But I would buy after market cause the jackets kick ass. But like I said I expressed how I feel, and I’m not going to say anything else. Just responding to that one thing cause it stood out to me. Everyone has their thing they love and want. Everyone has their own moral code. Similar to FB arguments and comments they very rarely lead to an understanding or changing anyone’s mind. But it’s nice to engage sometimes and hear others opinions. We all have a right to that.

 

[Monitor]

LW's downright hate toward us - yes, us here on TLF or StyleForum or SuFu or VJL or anywhere where people talk about jackets, post photos of our jackets - has always bothered me. There's no sugarcoating it - He hates you and he hates me and that's something that is crystal clear just from browsing his website. Web store. I knew that when I ordered my LW and I went along with it. But it bothered me and it bothers me still. I don't get it, why would he hate the only people capable of truly appreciating his outstanding jackets?

But make no mistake, he hates you. Whether you've bought 30 jackets from him or just one, and posted photos of it, talked about, et cetera... LW hates you. I don't think I'm using too strong of a word. Every single product description on LW's site has a part about how much we fail at life.

You have one interview with the guy and he couldn't wrap it up without bringing us up and how much he dislikes us. I honestly don't understand how do you guys call him and talk to him, knowing he hates your guts.

Last but not least, my favorite gem by LW.

"On the various flight and vintage jacket forums, where "men" put up digital pictures for their "buddies" of how they look in flight jackets -- children dressing up, no, cross-dressing as adults -- one can read expert instructions on aging, softening, antiquing new jackets to give them that flown-in look, for those whose knowledge of American history and masculine imagery are but flights of the remotest fantasy. There's putting 'em in the washer, sanding, nail polish remover, heat treatments. Avoid these forums, their self-appointed, fatuous "authorities" and instructions like syphilis if you want to know anything -- tanning, history, technical data (Nietzsche might say rulers are only for the small)-- about this important if esoteric niche of Americana. A disgrace that manly pursuits are contaminated by the unmanly. Welcome to the afterbirths of political correctness. Mass eunuchry -- a different kind of gun control."

 

[nick123]

Sounds like a tough-headed football coach who teaches English. Would hate to be in his locker room after a loss!