Taylor's Leather Wear Police Jackets

[Aloysius]

Ahhh I meant current day goatskin in "USA made" jackets tend to be flat and characterless.....

I know. I just thought it was interesting that the hides then were coming in from there!

 

[Fifty150]

There's a little tag around the collar which says "Made In Pakistan". You can remove it. I took mine off. Now I have a good jacket, which does not say "Made In Pakistan".


My experience has been that Taylor's Leather jackets are pretty good. I own several. I haven't had a problem with any of them. I think of Taylor's as a value product for the consumer. Almost as good as a jacket costing twice as much. Apples to apples would be the Chicago Police jacket from Taylor's versus Nate's. The elephant in the room is the price. $309 vs $899.95. You can point out all of the other obvious differences. Better hardware. Better leather. Better stitching.......... But is that jacket really 3 times as good, or worth triple the price?

Chicago Police officers get a uniform allowance of $1950 annually. This is suppose to pay for their uniform purchases and maintenance. My uniform dry cleaning, (4 wool shirts, 4 wool pants, 1 "dry clean only" jacket) is almost $25 a week. I don't see how a uniformed officer can spend half of his uniform allowance on a jacket.

I happen to own the Taylor's version of the Chicago Police jacket. I got it over a decade ago. No, I have not been wearing it every day, so it's really not the same as a Chicago Police Department officer who is wearing it every day. My jacket does see motorcycle rides. I haven't fallen. But it is under the sun, and in the wind at 75 mph, getting hit with road debris and insects. I do have a motorcycle officer uniform leather jacket issued by my own agency. Not an exact comparison. But no loose stitches, no broken fasteners, no dry, cracked leather.

For a collector or afficionado, there's zero value. Unless you want to lay claim to owning the best jacket ever made in Pakistan.

For a guy who wants a good jacket, fairly well made, there's value in a Taylor's jacket. For a fraction of the retail price of more expensive jackets, you will get a good jacket which will last for a very long time.

 

[Aloysius]

My experience has been that Taylor's Leather jackets are pretty good. I own several. I haven't had a problem with any of them. I think of Taylor's as a value product for the consumer. Almost as good as a jacket costing twice as much. Apples to apples would be the Chicago Police jacket from Taylor's versus Nate's. The elephant in the room is the price. $309 vs $899.95. You can point out all of the other obvious differences. Better hardware. Better leather. Better stitching.......... But is that jacket really 3 times as good, or worth triple the price?

I own a Taylor I got in their sale (although it sits unworn unless I decide to make a Jim Gordon costume of it rather than selling) and the quality and patterning are very good. It doesn't have the finishing of the premium brands; rather, it feels like a utilitarian garment in construction (and the leather quality is very good).

I think I would rather get it than a Nate's, even with the price being equal. This post by AeroFan is a good example of why I wouldn't buy a Nate's.

For a guy who wants a good jacket, fairly well made, there's value in a Taylor's jacket. For a fraction of the retail price of more expensive jackets, you will get a good jacket which will last for a very long time.

To this end, they just sent out an email with a nice women's sheepskin cross-zip. I'm sure it would be a great buy for a lot of people. Good quality leather, strong construction, removable winter liner. Costs the same as the real leather jacket at Zara but almost certainly better-made.

And for rock fans, it would double as a Chrissie Hynde jacket on a budget. Throw a denim vest over like she did, and whether it's a Lewis or Taylor is invisible anyway. (It's not a Lewis copy design; I just mean because her signature look was red cross-zip with denim vest.)