Need help choosing my first leather jacket

[Victor Shadow]

Hello everyone,

I want to buy my first leather jacket and need some help. I currently am 43 years old, and mostly wear vintage clothes from the 1930s and 40s or new clothing that is vintage inspired. I wear high waisted and pleated trousers, henleys, Alden bluchers, scarves, and own several fedoras. I am also covered in tattoos. I wanted to give you all that information, because you'll need it if you're going to give me guidance in the area of leather jackets. I want to buy a new leather jacket that will go with my look. I love vintage leather jackets, but none of them ever fit me, because I am skinny, awkward with long arms, etc. It seems like vintage clothes in general are made for shorter and stocky men.

Currently, I'm looking at Aero and Simmons Bilt. The Aero Halfbelt and Highwayman, and the Simons Belt 4 pocket Roadster.

I have no experience with either of these brands. Can someone give me advice. I also need help with sizing. I am 6 feet tall, have 18.5 inch shoulders, 26 inch arms, a 30inch waist, and a 40 inch chest. Basically a swimmers body with wide shoulders and narrow waist. I was a competitive swimmer for 12 years, and because of that, it's hard to find clothes that fit me well. I want a leather jacket that will make me look like Bogart or James Dean. Never mind that I more resemble Woody Allen. LOL.

 

[zebedee]

I'd go with Aero and look at perhaps the Long Half Belt in a medium weight hide- something like battered tan. Add some button cuffs and you're good to go.

J.

 

[Mark Ricketts]

Nip down to Johnson Leather 1629 Jackson Street. I do not know if they are doing custom work since the fire, but their work is equal to anyone's, they are local to you and they are very friendly and helpful. Their website does not do them justice.

 

[Feraud]

Nip down to Johnson Leather 1629 Jackson Street. I do not know if they are doing custom work since the fire, but their work is equal to anyone's, they are local to you and they are very friendly and helpful. Their website does not do them justice.

Great advice. No one's words can surpass trying on leather jackets and judging the fit in person.

 

[El Marro]

+1 on heading down to Johnson Leather and speaking to Alan. The most important, and most difficult, consideration in buying a leather jacket is nailing the fit. At Johnson you can try on many jackets in person and speak to Alan who has spent decades helping people find the right leather jacket.
Thurston Brothers in Seattle is also a great option because they offer a fit jacket program to help you get the sizing right.
Or you can do what I did, buy two jackets from Johnson and four from Thurston...

 

[handymike]

Hi Victor,
Welcome!!!!
If you are in SF, definitely go talk to Alan and take photos of jackets you like.
Aero is also a good choice as they are making slimmer versions of some of their models: STF 30s Halfbelt, bootlegger, and Highwayman.
Give Thurston Bros a call and talk to Carrie as they offer a fit jacket process. The one thing that I'd point out is to not be afraid of a "shorter" jacket. If you wear higher waisted pants, a jacket with too much length added will look weird. Vintage jackets were 23.5-24" long down the back. They were based off a 5'10" frame. At 6', you would probably look good in 24.5-25.5" long depending on cut.
Good luck!.....
Looks like El Marro beat me to it...

 

[AeroFan_07]

Victor - second to all that has been said above. Look up history and you'll see why Alan (Johnson Leathers) and Aero (and Thurston in Seattle) get rave reviews here! What are your basic dimensions?

 

[El Marro]

Hi Victor,
Welcome!!!!
If you are in SF, definitely go talk to Alan and take photos of jackets you like.
Aero is also a good choice as they are making slimmer versions of some of their models: STF 30s Halfbelt, bootlegger, and Highwaymen.
Give Thurston Bros a call and talk to Carrie as they offer a fit jacket process.
Good luck!.....
Looks like El Marro beat metoit...

Great minds think alike!

 

[ButteMT61]

^^ to all the above.
I think that most of us here could have avoided at least 5-10 leather jackets that didn't work out if we had the opportunity to go try them on.
Not just for sizing, but for style. I know I've fallen in love with a jacket, and it fit, but looked awful on me.
If course, the better you're built, the more options you'll have, and the better you'll look.
Be honest with yourself, if you're bad out of shape, no jacket will look good. That's something most of us content with at some point or other.
I know for many of us, the leather jacket was a motivator to get into shape - or at least better shape

 

[Victor Shadow]

I'd go with Aero and look at perhaps the Long Half Belt in a medium weight hide- something like battered tan. Add some button cuffs and you're good to go.

J.

Thanks for the tip. The Long Half Belt does look good, but I'm more interested in a shorter, cropped jacket like they wore in the 30s.

 

[Victor Shadow]

Nip down to Johnson Leather 1629 Jackson Street. I do not know if they are doing custom work since the fire, but their work is equal to anyone's, they are local to you and they are very friendly and helpful. Their website does not do them justice.

Ok, I'll go check them out.

 

[Victor Shadow]

Hi Victor,
Welcome!!!!
If you are in SF, definitely go talk to Alan and take photos of jackets you like.
Aero is also a good choice as they are making slimmer versions of some of their models: STF 30s Halfbelt, bootlegger, and Highwayman.
Give Thurston Bros a call and talk to Carrie as they offer a fit jacket process. The one thing that I'd point out is to not be afraid of a "shorter" jacket. If you wear higher waisted pants, a jacket with too much length added will look weird. Vintage jackets were 23.5-24" long down the back. They were based off a 5'10" frame. At 6', you would probably look good in 24.5-25.5" long depending on cut.
Good luck!.....
Looks like El Marro beat me to it...

Looks like I'm definitely going with the Half Belt. Not sure which brand yet. And I do want it cropped like the 30s jackets. Do you recommend how to determine exactly where the bottom hem of the jacket should rest? Since I wear my pants high waisted, the pants come to about an inch below the belly button. How do I figure out the jacket length?

 

[Victor Shadow]

Victor - second to all that has been said above. Look up history and you'll see why Alan (Johnson Leathers) and Aero (and Thurston in Seattle) get rave reviews here! What are your basic dimensions?

I'm 6' tall. 150 pounds. 40 chest. 18.5 inch shoulders. 26 inch arms. 30 inch waist. And I'm thinking of the Half Belt style jacket.

 

[Victor Shadow]

^^ to all the above.
I think that most of us here could have avoided at least 5-10 leather jackets that didn't work out if we had the opportunity to go try them on.
Not just for sizing, but for style. I know I've fallen in love with a jacket, and it fit, but looked awful on me.
If course, the better you're built, the more options you'll have, and the better you'll look.
Be honest with yourself, if you're bad out of shape, no jacket will look good. That's something most of us content with at some point or other.
I know for many of us, the leather jacket was a motivator to get into shape - or at least better shape

I don't have a six pack, but I am tall and lean and have no gut. But my hair is falling out. I guess that shouldn't affect the jacket though...

 

[G'c]

I'm 6' tall. 150 pounds. 40 chest. 18.5 inch shoulders. 26 inch arms. 30 inch waist. And I'm thinking of the Half Belt style jacket.

Seems that you really need a custom or made to measure jacket. Agree with the above that you might want to check out Aero leather jackets and Johnson leathers for a start. But I strongly recommend that you find a dealer that carry the jackets you are looking to try out the sizing of the models.

I think from your posts it seems that you won't be into cafe racer types, so I think you are looking with leather jackets with a standard collar. I think highwayman or a californian half-belt style will suit you best.

 

[Victor Shadow]

Seems that you really need a custom or made to measure jacket. Agree with the above that you might want to check out Aero leather jackets and Johnson leathers for a start. But I strongly recommend that you find a dealer that carry the jackets you are looking to try out the sizing of the models.

I think from your posts it seems that you won't be into cafe racer types, so I think you are looking with leather jackets with a standard collar. I think highwayman or a californian half-belt style will suit you best.

Would Aero be the best option then? Doesn't Thurston Bros do some kind of fit jacket thing?

 

[handymike]

Victor, if you want my opinions feel free to "start a conversation".

 

[AeroFan_07]

Talk with Carrie at Thurston, (Follow the threads on here) she is very helpful to get you exactly what you want...

GL with the search...I have a 30's HB and it's one of the most versatile jackets I own.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I envy you. I wish I were starting out with all the info and great makers available today. In 1984 in Melbourne and for the next decade it was all guess work and failed experiments.

 

[rocketeer]

Great advice. No one's words can surpass trying on leather jackets and judging the fit in person.

Hmmm! Hard one that. Rather than paying out big money look at one of the many companies, decide what you like the look of then contact them for a try on. OK you may have to foot the postage if you don't like but thats better than shelling out BIG$$$ and then not liking. Once you have something you want, lets say an A2 you can contact and say it needs 2 ins on the arms and an inch on the body but the chest is spot on.
Asking for help in choosing? Well what I like you may not like on your body so and also look at it long term. Do you like boxy casual jackets or slim fitting military styles and do you think you may change your mind. Unfortunately thats why a few of us have so many different styles in our wardrobes