Doctor Damage
I'll Lock Up
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- Ontario
Someone once said to me, I think in reference to cars, that "sometimes old is just old."rocketeer said:It just looked like an old leather jacket to me.
Someone once said to me, I think in reference to cars, that "sometimes old is just old."rocketeer said:It just looked like an old leather jacket to me.
The workmanship and materials on most reproductions blow many originals out of the water. It's the difference between mass produced and (generally) built to a price vs hand craftsmanship.
I prefer the eccentricities of vintage jacket design over the homogenization and simplification of designs produced by most of the high end repro companies. Out of the thousands of designs produced, with all the unique collar, pocket, cuff, and back treaments, we're down to a handful that every company seems to have a version of, begging the question- is it a repro of an original or of another company's repro that proved to be popular?
In the end, it's a jacket, meant to be worn. There's authenticity and there's what you're comfortable with.
Interesting discussion gents. A question for you, what makes a jacket "vintage"? I was thinking of my Aero HWM, its not old but I believe it is "original" in its design. I remember Holly telling me they would no longer deviate from the original design when I asked for some minor customization.
I personally have no issue with slight mods to a more general style (like a half belt) but in a specific jacket like a Buco J100, I prefer it to be accurate.
As for frankenjackets, if someone likes their own hideous creation and a manufacturer is happy to make it.....who is it hurting? There are a lot of terrible looking clothes put out every year by the fashion houses that people wear on a daily basis. If people never tried to innovate and create/design new patterns, I wouldn't be able to think "at least I look better than him" as I walk down the street lol
I love your last comment, some folks are scared to wear there £600+ jackets to the max and how many do you see for sale in 'Mint Condition'? Shame some of these owners did not get to wear there jackets to death for fear of loosing any resale value.
Cheers, J
^^^ Excuse me, but it's vintage. Er, vintage inspired. Errrr, it's got character!
Blimey, Fanch, missing on that would keep me awake at night! The problem with vintage is the attendant upkeep/maintenance: my brother owned an 80s Lotus Espirit, and the damn thing had all sorts of 'behavioural issues', not least an intermittent air con system - hellish, given the proximity of the engine to your back - but the kicker was when one of the cylinders punched through the side of the engine while the car was doing 70mph(ish) on the motorway.
While some people buy repro jackets and rarely wear them to keep them pristine, have fickle tastes or to preserve resale value, many are enthusiasts who own multiple jackets thus never get worn out. I rotate mine after one or two wears so its going take decades to get any of them hard worn.
Is it necessary to slavishly follow every last detail of the original (say in the case of a Buco J100 or Half-belt?) Or is it acceptable to customize in order to allow for changes in today’s size, taste, functionality, (ie. selecting the hardware, changing the size and placements of the pockets, zippers, or amount of drop front, and other details that would never have been a feature found on an original.)