I started corresponding with Theodoros about a light weight jacket for warmer climates in July 2020. He recommended goatskin and said that he could have his tannery in Italy thin out the usual hide he uses with a thickness of 1.1 mm to 1.3 mm, and bring in a thinner hide at .8 mm to .9 mm. One thing after another came up and I wasn’t in a position to follow through.
We had planned to visit Greece before Covid hit, but had to postpone until this fall. I started moving forward with an order with Thedi for an MTC 127920 in the thiner goatskin without the shearling collar in early July 2021, as I finalized my plans to travel to Greece with a stop in Thessiloniki to pick up my jacket in October, a little short notice for him, but he said that he would try to get it done.
Initially he asked for a picture of me with a teeshirt from the front and the side, my height, weight, and chest size. I sent him pictures and the information asked for, and I was pretty specific that I wanted to order the jacket with:
Pit-to-pit--24 inches
Shoulder--20 inches
Sleeve length--27 inches
Back length--27 inches
Waist/bottom hem--22 inches
But I didn’t get much response, just an assurance that he would make me a very nice jacket.
We had a wonderful time in the Greek Islands. Flew into Crete, then took several ferries to some very secluded islands in The Small Cyclades. I checked in from time to time with Theodoros, sharing our joy in visiting his country and also enquired about the progress of my jacket. He was very gracious, and fun to correspond with.
At one point he objected to my choice of measurements, and said he thought it would be wrong for me. He said that he has a different process than other jacket makers, and asked permission to do it “his way”. I immediately agreed, and told him that I would prefer it if he used his own creative process completely, and liked the idea of leaving all the details and aesthetic decisions to him.
I also dug out photos of me wearing an XL Thedi x Thurston Brown Horsehide Phenix Quilted Cafe' Racer that I picked up off TFL classifieds, and sent them to him. He told me that seeing photos of me in one of his jackets made from his own pattern really helped him design a pattern for me in the model I ordered. I had only really tried on the Phoenix to take fit pics before I put it in storage and ran off to a tropical island. I remembered thinking that the Phoenix was pretty tight, but I had a little more weight and belly before I started swimming in the ocean every day. In the end I just let Theodoros do his thing.
After the islands we took a ferry to Athens for a few days, then a train to Thessiloniki arriving on a Sunday Evening. I had let Theodoros know when to expect me and that I very much looked forward to visiting his shop, meeting him in person and picking up my jacket before flying home early Thursday morning. When I arrived in Thessiloniki I contacted him right away, as it turned out the airbnb we had booked was only 2 blocks from his store. He told me that he could have it done by Tuesday and that the shop was closed on Monday and Wednesday, which was a lucky coincidence given our itinerary.
We went by the store and tried to peek in the windows several times Monday, while enjoying the city streets of Thessiloniki. The Thedi shop is in the city center right next to a waterfront that has a beautiful esplanade. The city has many beautiful old Byzantine churches, and lovely Mediterranean architecture. It is a college town, so there are lots of young people, and tons of cafes, clubs, bars, markets, and eateries of every kind. Lots of people out and about late into the evening similar to many parts of Europe from my memories of visiting Spain and France in the early 70s. It kind of reminded me of Barcelona, but without the darkness of the Franco era, when I was there.
Finally Tuesday came, I met Theodoros at his store around noon, and he had just finished the jacket that morning. He said that he had been finishing the tumbling and burnishing process for 8 hours that night. His daughter works in the shop and is a lovely young woman, and Theodoros is one of the most genuinely kind and welcoming person I have ever met. He really loves his work, and rebuilding vintage motorcycles, his other passion. He also enjoys getting to meet the people that he makes his jackets for, and seeing how much we enjoy his work clearly brings joy to him as well. A wonderful experience and I highly recommend a visit to Thedi in person if possible.
I tried on the jacket and it felt like an old friend right away. It did not feel new, but was completely comfortable from the very moment I put it on. I knew that whatever he had done, it worked, because I felt that the fit was spot on, and again extremely comfortable. It feels heavier than .8 mm to me, and I have other goatskin jackets that may be thinner. The total weight of the jacket is just under 4-1/2 pounds. It feels so good to wear with no breaking in needed, as if I have been wearing it for years, and it has molded to the shape of my body. The measurements ended up coming in at:
Pit-to-pit—23 inches
Shoulder—20 inches
Sleeve length—27.5 inches
Back length—25 inches
Front length—27
Waist/bottom hem--22 inches
Not too terribly different than what I wanted to order, but I think it fits better than many of my jackets. The smell of the leather is sweet, he has some secret waxy formula for burnishing. The grain on the goatskin almost pops like broken in horsehide from all the tumbling that he does, although I think that causes a bit of a wavy zipper, which I can live with. He mixed and matched the zippers and other hardware, but it all seems to be very good quality. A big #10 double slider main zipper is a fun addition. I have the side straps cinched pretty well so there is room to grow again in case I take up sitting around all day eating junk food, or move to a cold climate and need to layer.
I like this jacket very much, and wold love to hear what you all think. The whole experience was truly delightful, I want to do it again.
We had planned to visit Greece before Covid hit, but had to postpone until this fall. I started moving forward with an order with Thedi for an MTC 127920 in the thiner goatskin without the shearling collar in early July 2021, as I finalized my plans to travel to Greece with a stop in Thessiloniki to pick up my jacket in October, a little short notice for him, but he said that he would try to get it done.
Initially he asked for a picture of me with a teeshirt from the front and the side, my height, weight, and chest size. I sent him pictures and the information asked for, and I was pretty specific that I wanted to order the jacket with:
Pit-to-pit--24 inches
Shoulder--20 inches
Sleeve length--27 inches
Back length--27 inches
Waist/bottom hem--22 inches
But I didn’t get much response, just an assurance that he would make me a very nice jacket.
We had a wonderful time in the Greek Islands. Flew into Crete, then took several ferries to some very secluded islands in The Small Cyclades. I checked in from time to time with Theodoros, sharing our joy in visiting his country and also enquired about the progress of my jacket. He was very gracious, and fun to correspond with.
At one point he objected to my choice of measurements, and said he thought it would be wrong for me. He said that he has a different process than other jacket makers, and asked permission to do it “his way”. I immediately agreed, and told him that I would prefer it if he used his own creative process completely, and liked the idea of leaving all the details and aesthetic decisions to him.
I also dug out photos of me wearing an XL Thedi x Thurston Brown Horsehide Phenix Quilted Cafe' Racer that I picked up off TFL classifieds, and sent them to him. He told me that seeing photos of me in one of his jackets made from his own pattern really helped him design a pattern for me in the model I ordered. I had only really tried on the Phoenix to take fit pics before I put it in storage and ran off to a tropical island. I remembered thinking that the Phoenix was pretty tight, but I had a little more weight and belly before I started swimming in the ocean every day. In the end I just let Theodoros do his thing.
After the islands we took a ferry to Athens for a few days, then a train to Thessiloniki arriving on a Sunday Evening. I had let Theodoros know when to expect me and that I very much looked forward to visiting his shop, meeting him in person and picking up my jacket before flying home early Thursday morning. When I arrived in Thessiloniki I contacted him right away, as it turned out the airbnb we had booked was only 2 blocks from his store. He told me that he could have it done by Tuesday and that the shop was closed on Monday and Wednesday, which was a lucky coincidence given our itinerary.
We went by the store and tried to peek in the windows several times Monday, while enjoying the city streets of Thessiloniki. The Thedi shop is in the city center right next to a waterfront that has a beautiful esplanade. The city has many beautiful old Byzantine churches, and lovely Mediterranean architecture. It is a college town, so there are lots of young people, and tons of cafes, clubs, bars, markets, and eateries of every kind. Lots of people out and about late into the evening similar to many parts of Europe from my memories of visiting Spain and France in the early 70s. It kind of reminded me of Barcelona, but without the darkness of the Franco era, when I was there.
Finally Tuesday came, I met Theodoros at his store around noon, and he had just finished the jacket that morning. He said that he had been finishing the tumbling and burnishing process for 8 hours that night. His daughter works in the shop and is a lovely young woman, and Theodoros is one of the most genuinely kind and welcoming person I have ever met. He really loves his work, and rebuilding vintage motorcycles, his other passion. He also enjoys getting to meet the people that he makes his jackets for, and seeing how much we enjoy his work clearly brings joy to him as well. A wonderful experience and I highly recommend a visit to Thedi in person if possible.
I tried on the jacket and it felt like an old friend right away. It did not feel new, but was completely comfortable from the very moment I put it on. I knew that whatever he had done, it worked, because I felt that the fit was spot on, and again extremely comfortable. It feels heavier than .8 mm to me, and I have other goatskin jackets that may be thinner. The total weight of the jacket is just under 4-1/2 pounds. It feels so good to wear with no breaking in needed, as if I have been wearing it for years, and it has molded to the shape of my body. The measurements ended up coming in at:
Pit-to-pit—23 inches
Shoulder—20 inches
Sleeve length—27.5 inches
Back length—25 inches
Front length—27
Waist/bottom hem--22 inches
Not too terribly different than what I wanted to order, but I think it fits better than many of my jackets. The smell of the leather is sweet, he has some secret waxy formula for burnishing. The grain on the goatskin almost pops like broken in horsehide from all the tumbling that he does, although I think that causes a bit of a wavy zipper, which I can live with. He mixed and matched the zippers and other hardware, but it all seems to be very good quality. A big #10 double slider main zipper is a fun addition. I have the side straps cinched pretty well so there is room to grow again in case I take up sitting around all day eating junk food, or move to a cold climate and need to layer.
I like this jacket very much, and wold love to hear what you all think. The whole experience was truly delightful, I want to do it again.
