Lost Worlds’ founder Stuart interviewed

[Peacoat]

Yeah, that would all be cool if Stu wasn't a scamming turd. Sells me the jacket in the wrong size, made during an amateur hour, full of stray stitch holes and then ghosts me when I ask what the f. Slimeball knew I couldn't do anything from Europe to harm his "business" which is just an unregistered rat infested dump in New York.
My fault, though as I should've listened to my gut feeling, instead of ignoring all the red flags, beginning with that website of his because anyone who cares so little about how they represent themselves and their product, sure won't stand behind it. Man has zero respect for himself, for his nylon sacks he calls jackets and least of all, for his customers.

Because of your experience, I decided I would never get a LW jacket. Had been considering it before your ordeal. No longer.

 

[Guppy]

Gone is the ability to say what's on your mind w/out having to be concerned about how the next delicate little flower might interpret your remark.

Nah, I don't buy that. It's always been a prudent thing to watch what you say, and how you say it.

What's changed is that back in the day, the only people a lot of people felt they needed to have concern about their opinions were other white people, and really only the men's opinions held much real weight. And they were closer together in their perspectives.

Whereas these days, we have a more diverse range of people, and perspectives, and so it's a lot easier to say something that someone will find fault with. And that's not a bad thing, really. More eyes can see more problems, can give warning to more dangers, and bring attention to more things that need fixing. It's good there's a broader range of perspectives. And I don't think embracing that makes a man pussified. If anything it shows his strength to be at ease among so many who are different than he.

If you have to worry about what you want to say, you ought to be thinking about why that is, and then figure out a way to say it, or something else to say instead. And silence is still golden.

 

[MrProper]

No matter how good LW's jackets are, I would never buy one because I don't like the guy at all. I don't know him, but when I read various quotes, he strikes me as an eternally yesterday's man who can barely cope with modern times and is not very tolerant of people who think differently. I could almost feel a bit sorry for him. But only almost.

 

[Viking752]

I will never be able to recover the time I lost reading this article. I feel I am less intelligent after this word salad from a pompous individual.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

I enjoy the hell out of reading Stu’s opinions and they absolutely make me want to buy a jacket from him (I have one and I love it, but it was a second-hander).

I know exactly the world he came out of - academic literary circles - and exactly the attitude he is struggling against with apparently every bit of energy he can muster: the overly-educated, self-righteous who have no clue what they don’t know. Academia is rife with that crap.

And it is certainly not just the world of letters. I remember in the late 80s hearing family members swear up and down that they would only ever buy US automobiles and damn the Japanese. Never mind that a US automobile at that time was designed to last less than 10 years and then fall apart whereas the Japanese one was built to last decades if not longer. My family had no idea what they didn’t know - but dammit American made cars were the best.

That attitude, translated to fashion, is also what I grew up with in the 80s and 90s in the popular conception that the very best clothes one can have are those seen in Hollywood movies, advertised on MTV and purchased in a mall. Not just from a fashion viewpoint, but from a quality viewpoint. It’s literally only been in the last year of being on this site that I learned that real leather - quality leather - is meant to get wet, because when I grew up the leather that was supposed to be the best wasn’t supposed to get wet. Talk about bass-ackwards. I swear we live in a very dyslexic society.

Stu must have been one of the first to challenge those shitty fashion assumptions of the 80s and 90s - going so far as somehow acquiring his own proprietary leather. I have no idea if he created the tanning process or bought one or what, but damn that is an immense piece of work for one individual and he started doing it in the early 90s when there was zero popular market for sturdy clothing. Zero. He literally had to create everything himself - from the product all the way to the customer. He had to create it all. That is a hell of a vision to follow, imo, and I tip my hat to him for it and absolutely understand the attitude that comes with it.

I just hope I’m able to get one of his creations directly from him before he quits the business for whatever reason.

Excellent interview, thanks for posting.

 

[Raisin Brando]

He certainly seems like a blowhard but you also have take into account him being a native NYer, "blowhard jerk" is the default setting for a good portion of them. My limited interaction with Stu was an email exchange with him a few years ago inquiring about a jacket, and he seemed polite enough. I was actually surprised because of what I'd heard about him

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Lotta Psych 101 going on here.
I know this is a Stu interview discussion thread and discussion it has been.

Too bad we’re all not sitting at a table across from Stu saying to his face our posts and opinions.
At least he’d have the opportunity to clarify, correct and defend his reputation and life. But he’s not, is he?He might even come across the table to demonstrate HIS opinions.
Then probably promptly tell us all to go F**K ourselves.

Buy it, don’t buy it, like him, don’t like him, nobody cares and it really doesn’t make a difference.
He’s just a guy living his own life and not ours.
Who among us stands without flaw, from back in his day….or today??
It’s all about the jackets anyway!!
B

Ps: i’m an old f**ker too. I get him, i get today’s modern “us”.
At the end of the day though, we all have to lay down with ourselves. It’s easy to overlook that.

 

[KBlake]

Nah, I don't buy that. It's always been a prudent thing to watch what you say, and how you say it.

What's changed is that back in the day, the only people a lot of people felt they needed to have concern about their opinions were other white people, and really only the men's opinions held much real weight. And they were closer together in their perspectives.

Whereas these days, we have a more diverse range of people, and perspectives, and so it's a lot easier to say something that someone will find fault with. And that's not a bad thing, really. More eyes can see more problems, can give warning to more dangers, and bring attention to more things that need fixing. It's good there's a broader range of perspectives. And I don't think embracing that makes a man pussified. If anything it shows his strength to be at ease among so many who are different than he.

If you have to worry about what you want to say, you ought to be thinking about why that is, and then figure out a way to say it, or something else to say instead. And silence is still golden.

“Microagressions” are a new phenomenon. Overcorrections happen in society. Acknowledging that isn’t necessarily an attempt to cling to privilege.

 

[ton312]

“Microagressions” are a new phenomenon. Overcorrections happen in society. Acknowledging that isn’t necessarily an attempt to cling to privilege.

You are on shaky ground. Can you elaborate?

 

[red devil]

No matter how good LW's jackets are, I would never buy one because I don't like the guy at all. I don't know him, but when I read various quotes, he strikes me as an eternally yesterday's man who can barely cope with modern times and is not very tolerant of people who think differently. I could almost feel a bit sorry for him. But only almost.

Stuart is one of those people you cannot really get a sense of before either meeting him or at least having a phone conversation with. He is very open minded.

 

[MrProper]

Stuart is one of those people you cannot really get a sense of before either meeting him or at least having a phone conversation with. He is very open minded.

I wrote that I don't know him. Open minded? Maybe, but then he has a peculiar way of expressing this in text form. But what the hell, as long as he's happy with it, let him do it. I don't have to like it and he won't care what I think

 

[Monitor]

Oh come on. Dude acting up like he ain't just ripping off old brands. He didn't come up with a single thing and he don't have one single original idea in his mind, other than actually not cutting costs which might have been enough in 2005 but hey, the world moved on.

Worse yet, all this trash talk about other contemporary brands while straight up stealing design elements from them.

So yeah. While LW makes a comparatively good jackets - Good quality, tough, etc. - So does Hot Leathers. Right now, Schott Perfecto is on the same level and they keep on getting better each year while all the premium brand left LW in the dust looong ago.

Point is, Stu's linoleum sacks no longer cut it and Stu's deranged cry for help schizo-festos don't help. And all this whining how people can't tell quality when they see it... Well, guess what - They can. And it ain't Lost Worlds.

And another thing... Speaking of snowflakes, I am always amazed how bothered people are when they realize some people don't care for their bs. So bothered that there should be a term for it like, I don't know, snowflake?

 

[JMax]

Oh come on. Dude acting up like he ain't just ripping off old brands. He didn't come up with a single thing and he don't have one single original idea in his mind, other than actually not cutting costs which might have been enough in 2005 but hey, the world moved on.

Worse yet, all this trash talk about other contemporary brands while straight up stealing design elements from them.

So yeah. While LW makes a comparatively good jackets - Good quality, tough, etc. - So does Hot Leathers. Right now, Schott Perfecto is on the same level and they keep on getting better each year while all the premium brand left LW in the dust looong ago.

Point is, Stu's linoleum sacks no longer cut it and Stu's deranged cry for help schizo-festos don't help. And all this whining how people can't tell quality when they see it... Well, guess what - They can. And it ain't Lost Worlds.

And another thing... Speaking of snowflakes, I am always amazed how bothered people are when they realize some people don't care for their bs. So bothered that there should be a term for it like, I don't know, snowflake?

Pleeeeeaaaase make this your avatar! Please. With sugar on top.

I really like LW jackets. My 2cents.

 

[Monitor]

Not just from a fashion viewpoint, but from a quality viewpoint. It’s literally only been in the last year of being on this site that I learned that real leather - quality leather - is meant to get wet, because when I grew up the leather that was supposed to be the best wasn’t supposed to get wet. Talk about bass-ackwards. I swear we live in a very dyslexic society.

Mass produced clothes is shit, no debate there but leather isn't meant to get wet. It is meant not to get harmed by getting wet but deliberately soaking your leather jackets can be harmful in a lot of ways. In how many depends on the quality of leather - Higher grade leather requires more care.

The leather Lost Worlds is using right now now an overly-processed, plasticized mess, more suited for flooring than clothes. I doubt it there's any organic material left in it. I mean, look at this shit - This doesn't even look like leather anymore! Those vinyl Buco's from the 70's would've sooner passed for leather.

 

[Monitor]

Pleeeeeaaaase make this your avatar! Please. With sugar on top.


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I really like LW jackets. My 2cents.

They were good when you got yours so yours are good. I liked mine a lot. The second one was trash. I commented only on the mess that it was but in reality, the leather was the worst. Quite literally all the life my first HH LW had was gone.

 

[red devil]

I wrote that I don't know him. Open minded? Maybe, but then he has a peculiar way of expressing this in text form. But what the hell, as long as he's happy with it, let him do it. I don't have to like it and he won't care what I think

Sure, you did write you don't know him, and my message was just confirming that

He might not seem open minded for many reasons, but many people have peculiar ways of expressing their traits. lol

 

[Trouser Bark]

Gone is the ability to say what's on your mind w/out having to be concerned about how the next delicate little flower might interpret your remark.

Nah, I don't buy that.

 

[Aloysius]

The quirks of makers can get weird. Arguably I'm bothered less by outright bad service though than when your order is changed for your own good, with the vendor thinking it's a service to you, as at least a couple of us experienced from a forum favorite Aero dealer.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Mass produced clothes is shit, no debate there but leather isn't meant to get wet. It is meant not to get harmed by getting wet but deliberately soaking your leather jackets can be harmful in a lot of ways. In how many depends on the quality of leather - Higher grade leather requires more care.

The leather Lost Worlds is using right now now an overly-processed, plasticized mess, more suited for flooring than clothes. I doubt it there's any organic material left in it. I mean, look at this shit - This doesn't even look like leather anymore! Those vinyl Buco's from the 70's would've sooner passed for leather.

All I can say is he has sold me. As a really really new to leather guy, his insistence that leather should turn from this

to this

with time, use and exposure to the elements makes sense to me, because the second photo is exactly what those old jackets he claims to reproduce look like today.

Maybe I’m being taken for a ride but I don’t think so. There are too many people who know about leather on this site and elsewhere who confirm that Stu knows what he’s doing.

I intend to wear my Trojan hard and find out for myself anyway.

And his combative attitude is just icing on the cake to me. I appreciate his website and what I have learned from it and how it has made me reflect on my own experiences in our society. I understand you had a very bad experience with him, and that sucks, so I get your criticality. No one is perfect and I don’t judge people by their worst moments. You being the victim of (what seems to be) one of his worst moments, your antagonism seems justified.

I don’t know enough about leather to comment on the two photos you posted - but the second one doesn’t look much different from a number of Schott horsehides that I’ve seen praised on this site.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Nah, I don't buy that. It's always been a prudent thing to watch what you say, and how you say it.

What's changed is that back in the day, the only people a lot of people felt they needed to have concern about their opinions were other white people, and really only the men's opinions held much real weight. And they were closer together in their perspectives.

I both agree and disagree with this, and how I disagree seems worth mentioning. I don’t disagree that we have far more diverse voices today than in the past or that that’s a good thing. But that’s not the most significant change our society is undergoing.

The most significant change imo is a shift in focus from rational discourse and hard work to “feelings”. No society has ever been or will ever be on solid ground with “feelings.” And most of the more high-profile diversity agendas today are little more than propaganda for a “kinder” world under the smoke screen of diversity.

US society was not built on kindness and democracy has never been about respect for another person’s feelings. It is about hard-fought public discourse in the search for a truth we can all agree with or at least live with (or be forced to live with, in some cases), and it is also about having the gumption to follow our own personal truth to its conclusions - be those conclusions rewards or consequences.

And all this coddling crap about safe spaces and respect for feelings does not seem to me to serve that heritage one little bit.

But yeah, I agree that we have always favored the individual who is slow to speak, but only if what they say when they finally speak is worth listening to.