Thinking about Lost Worlds.. thoughts, experiences?

[photo2u]

There are options. In my book, thicker is not always better. It's all about the application of the jacket. LW has a very talented team. Their prices are high but are many who had paid for their talented skills myself included. However, a nice used Vanson model E can be purchased for 1/10th the price of a new j23.
Here are my views. The j23 is one of my favorite models from lw. Not very accurate to the original j23 but very well made. My principal issue with Stu is the nickel-and-dime business model he follows. If his business model would have been different, I would have added 5 to 6 jackets to the 8 I currently own from his line. Just to give you an idea, He wanted about 300 dollars just to make the sleeves 1 inch shorter despite all of the extras I was willing to pay for some upgrades to a new jacket.
A top-of-the-line jacket manufacturer should and (expects) to include excellent hardware to go with his regular jacket lines. There are new hardware makers such as lenzip,Ideal and YKK who currently produce hardware that will not break the bank. In a j23 jacket, it can run up to 750 in zippers alone. If you want the sleeves altered. There is an additional charge of more than $300.
If you do the math, it adds up quickly. $2150 plus zips $750, shortening sleeve 1 inch at least $300 Don't Forget, shipping is an additional $90. and good old tax $300. Total price $3300. By the way, it does not include a belt. $250 plus tax if you want it. I strongly recommend getting a more accurate and less expensive leather belt that can easily be purchased for 30 dollars new.
If I remember correctly, members here have sold used Vansons model E for less than $400 delivered. The vanson's route is a no-brainer in my book. I also own a super heavy and thick leather PJ27 from Vanson that is a beauty. I paid $200 DELIVERED from a very nice TFL member. LW version (better quality) of the jp27 will set you back $2250 delivered within the US of course.

After dealing with Stu for more than 20 years, I threw in the towel two years ago. There is only so much bull I can take.

 

[Monitor]

There are options. In my book, thicker is not always better. It's all about the application of the jacket. LW has a very talented team. Their prices are high but are many who had paid for their talented skills myself included. However, a nice used Vanson model E can be purchased for 1/10th the price of a new j23.
Here are my views. The j23 is one of my favorite models from him. Not very accurate to the original j23 but very well made. My principal issue with Stu is the nickel-and-dime business model. If his model would have been different, I would have added 5 to 6 jackets to the 8 I currently own from his line. Just to give you an idea, He wanted about 300 dollars just to make the sleeves 1 inch shorter despite all of the extras I was willing to pay for some upgrades to a new jacket.
A top-of-the-line jacket manufacturer should include excellent hardware to go with his regular jacket lines. There are new hardware makers such as lenzip,Ideal and YKK who currently produce hardware that will not break the bank. In a j23 jacket, it can run up to 750 in zippers alone. If you want the sleeves altered. There is an additional charge of more than $300.
If you do the math, it adds up quickly. $2150 plus zips $750, shortening sleeve 1 inch at least $300 Don't Forget, shipping is an additional $90. and good old tax $300. Total price $3300. By the way, it does not include a belt. $250 plus tax if you want it. I strongly recommend getting a more accurate and less expensive leather belt that can easily be purchased for 30 dollars new.
If I remember correctly, members here have sold used Vansons model E for less than $400 delivered. The vanson's route is a no-brainer in my book. I also own a super heavy and thick leather jp27 from Vanson that is a beauty.

After dealing with Stu for more than 20 years, I threw in the towel two years ago. There is so much bull I can take.

Just reading this made me sick. I had no idea they had reach this point & I can't believe the belt isn't included with the jacket. It's included with the Speed Demon so why not the J-23!?

In all seriousness, that website thing they got going on was somewhat entertaining in its own way but it actually really reflects the kind of people are behind the company and how much they care about their product, their customers and themselves, because if they did, even a little bit, that's not the kind of presentation they'd want to be associated with. It's not cute anymore provided it ever was. It's gross.
& the whole "Our product speaks for our quality" approach is bs. Your website is your product, same as your jacket. They're too stupid to even realize they're losing more and more business every single day & right now they rely on literally five people that are still loyal to them.
The stupid website doesn't even appear on Google Search when you look for "Lost Worlds" and it still did, earlier this year. $3300 for a copy of another leather jacket? Yeah, right. Good riddance.

 

[Aloysius]

My principal issue with Stu is the nickel-and-dime business model. If his model would have been different, I would have added 5 to 6 jackets to the 8 I currently own from his line. Just to give you an idea, He wanted about 300 dollars just to make the sleeves 1 inch shorter despite all of the extras I was willing to pay for some upgrades to a new jacket.
A top-of-the-line jacket manufacturer should include excellent hardware to go with his regular jacket lines. There are new hardware makers such as lenzip,Ideal and YKK who currently produce hardware that will not break the bank. In a j23 jacket, it can run up to 750 in zippers alone. If you want the sleeves altered. There is an additional charge of more than $300.
If you do the math, it adds up quickly. $2150 plus zips $750, shortening sleeve 1 inch at least $300 Don't Forget, shipping is an additional $90. and good old tax $300. Total price $3300. By the way, it does not include a belt. $250 plus tax if you want it. I strongly recommend getting a more accurate and less expensive leather belt that can easily be purchased for 30 dollars new.

I think this just about destroyed the interest I'd developed in LW jackets.

Changing sleeve lengths is pretty much a given, not a bonus, in a made-to-order product. With RTW I understand that you'd then have to go get them altered but with MTO the sleeves haven't been cut yet…

And like you I'm fond of good zippers. I can only imagine how much he wants for Crowns.

 

[horweak]

There are options. In my book, thicker is not always better. It's all about the application of the jacket. LW has a very talented team. Their prices are high but are many who had paid for their talented skills myself included. However, a nice used Vanson model E can be purchased for 1/10th the price of a new j23.
Here are my views. The j23 is one of my favorite models from him. Not very accurate to the original j23 but very well made. My principal issue with Stu is the nickel-and-dime business model. If his model would have been different, I would have added 5 to 6 jackets to the 8 I currently own from his line. Just to give you an idea, He wanted about 300 dollars just to make the sleeves 1 inch shorter despite all of the extras I was willing to pay for some upgrades to a new jacket.
A top-of-the-line jacket manufacturer should include excellent hardware to go with his regular jacket lines. There are new hardware makers such as lenzip,Ideal and YKK who currently produce hardware that will not break the bank. In a j23 jacket, it can run up to 750 in zippers alone. If you want the sleeves altered. There is an additional charge of more than $300.
If you do the math, it adds up quickly. $2150 plus zips $750, shortening sleeve 1 inch at least $300 Don't Forget, shipping is an additional $90. and good old tax $300. Total price $3300. By the way, it does not include a belt. $250 plus tax if you want it. I strongly recommend getting a more accurate and less expensive leather belt that can easily be purchased for 30 dollars new.
If I remember correctly, members here have sold used Vansons model E for less than $400 delivered. The vanson's route is a no-brainer in my book. I also own a super heavy and thick leather jp27 from Vanson that is a beauty.

After dealing with Stu for more than 20 years, I threw in the towel two years ago. There is so much

There are options. In my book, thicker is not always better. It's all about the application of the jacket. LW has a very talented team. Their prices are high but are many who had paid for their talented skills myself included. However, a nice used Vanson model E can be purchased for 1/10th the price of a new j23.
Here are my views. The j23 is one of my favorite models from him. Not very accurate to the original j23 but very well made. My principal issue with Stu is the nickel-and-dime business model. If his model would have been different, I would have added 5 to 6 jackets to the 8 I currently own from his line. Just to give you an idea, He wanted about 300 dollars just to make the sleeves 1 inch shorter despite all of the extras I was willing to pay for some upgrades to a new jacket.
A top-of-the-line jacket manufacturer should include excellent hardware to go with his regular jacket lines. There are new hardware makers such as lenzip,Ideal and YKK who currently produce hardware that will not break the bank. In a j23 jacket, it can run up to 750 in zippers alone. If you want the sleeves altered. There is an additional charge of more than $300.
If you do the math, it adds up quickly. $2150 plus zips $750, shortening sleeve 1 inch at least $300 Don't Forget, shipping is an additional $90. and good old tax $300. Total price $3300. By the way, it does not include a belt. $250 plus tax if you want it. I strongly recommend getting a more accurate and less expensive leather belt that can easily be purchased for 30 dollars new.
If I remember correctly, members here have sold used Vansons model E for less than $400 delivered. The vanson's route is a no-brainer in my book. I also own a super heavy and thick leather jp27 from Vanson that is a beauty.

After dealing with Stu for more than 20 years, I threw in the towel two years ago. There is so much bull I can take.

That's ridiculous. The sleeve thing alone makes no sense, let alone the rest. Charging to shorten the sleeve, and in theory use less material? In one of the descriptions for his repros, he expresses open disdain for YKK. I don't need 750 dollars in dead stock zippers. That's really unfortunate, and totally sh*tty that that's how they do business.

I own aeros j106 copy of the j23, paid 1350ish from Thurston, custom, and I love it. Came out too short in all the ways unfortunately. Now I can't decide if I want to find another j23, or go with the brando perfecto look.

 

[Aloysius]

That's ridiculous. The sleeve thing alone makes no sense, let alone the rest. Charging to shorten the sleeve, and in theory use less material? In one of the descriptions for his repros, he expresses open disdain for YKK. I don't need 750 dollars in dead stock zippers. That's really unfortunate, and totally sh*tty that that's how they do business.

I own aeros j106 copy of the j23, paid 1350ish from Thurston, custom, and I love it. Came out too short in all the ways unfortunately. Now I can't decide if I want to find another j23, or go with the brando perfecto look.

Given Thurston's fit jacket model is used to determine your spec, if it was too short then that's an automatic remake, isn't it?

If that's the case, have you considered the Indian Ranger? No one but Aero (and on rare occasion, Sugar Cane) repros it. It comes with deadstock 50s Talons by default. Stunning design that's not seen nearly often enough.

 

[Carlos840]

That's ridiculous. The sleeve thing alone makes no sense, let alone the rest. Charging to shorten the sleeve, and in theory use less material? In one of the descriptions for his repros, he expresses open disdain for YKK. I don't need 750 dollars in dead stock zippers. That's really unfortunate, and totally sh*tty that that's how they do business.

I own aeros j106 copy of the j23, paid 1350ish from Thurston, custom, and I love it. Came out too short in all the ways unfortunately. Now I can't decide if I want to find another j23, or go with the brando perfecto look.

I think somehting was lost in photo2u's post:

You don't have to pay 750$ for NOS zippers if you don't want to...
If you are happy with the repro Talon zippers he uses those are included in the stock price.
If you want NOS zippers used you then pay for them.
Yes NOS zippers on a J-23 come up to 750$ if you go for Crown zippers as these are the most expensive NOS zippers he sells and the J-23 has many zippers.

Regarding the sleeves, as the T&C states, any change to stock pattern is a 10% upcharge to the stock fee, that includes sleeve length alterations.
The fact that it uses "less material" is irrelevant, it's about the extra work it takes to do it, any change from stock is extra work...

 

[horweak]

Given Thurston's fit jacket model is used to determine your spec, if it was too short then that's an automatic remake, isn't it?

If that's the case, have you considered the Indian Ranger? No one but Aero (and on rare occasion, Sugar Cane) repros it. It comes with deadstock 50s Talons by default. Stunning design that's not seen nearly often enough.

Yeah..

I'm... negotiating... with them about it.

Fit jacket fit perfectly.

I ordered the aero last February, thanks to supply chain crap, I didn't get it until August. Tried it on, felt okay, didn't feel as long as what I was after though (i ordered it to replace a jacket i had grown out of) Didnt think much of it at the time cause I was excited to finally get the damn thing. Into the closet she went until it got chilly.

Next time I put it on, It felt smaller than what I had tried to replace, so I measured it after going to my storage unit, and digging out the old one. Lo and behold, the new one is the same body length (which is what I really needed longer) and the sleeves were 3 inches shorter! (Old one sleeves were perfect.

Anyway, Carrie says they measure the jackets when they come in from aero, and it was within a half inch of what I ordered (25.5" for sleeves and body length) and it was all good. I've stretched this thing every which way, and I get 24 body and 23 sleeve. Sending it back to get a snap stuff put back in, so they're going to check it out. Gonna mail it tomorrow. I can keep you updated if you like.

 

[horweak]

I think somehting was lost in photo2u's post:

You don't have to pay 750$ for NOS zippers if you don't want to...
If you are happy with the repro Talon zippers he uses those are included in the stock price.
If you want NOS zippers used you then pay for them.
Yes NOS zippers on a J-23 come up to 750$ if you go for Crown zippers as these are the most expensive NOS zippers he sells and the J-23 has many zippers.

Regarding the sleeves, as the T&C states, any change to stock pattern is a 10% upcharge to the stock fee, that includes sleeve length alterations.
The fact that it uses "less material" is irrelevant, it's about the extra work it takes to do it, any change from stock is extra work...

Sounds like the people to go get fitted in person from. Can only imagine what they say when you tell them something doesn't fit.

 

[Carlos840]

Sounds like the people to go get fitted in person from. Can only imagine what they say when you tell them something doesn't fit.

They offer you a remake, i have had two jackets remade without a problem.

 

[photo2u]

That's ridiculous. The sleeve thing alone makes no sense, let alone the rest. Charging to shorten the sleeve, and in theory use less material? In one of the descriptions for his repros, he expresses open disdain for YKK. I don't need 750 dollars in dead stock zippers. That's really unfortunate, and totally sh*tty that that's how they do business.

I own aeros j106 copy of the j23, paid 1350ish from Thurston, custom, and I love it. Came out too short in all the ways unfortunately. Now I can't decide if I want to find another j23, or go with the brando perfecto look.

His rationale for the extra charge was the extra work to create a special sleeve pattern for my jacket. I call that BS because I am not reinventing the wheel with my simple request. I am sure, that longer and shorter sleeve lengths have been done before. My goal was to order TWO j23. One in tan and one in black. I was going to provide a very special (to me) NOS 50s wool/rayon lining fabric used in most flight jackets during the Korean war. I also was going to provide 50's mouton, Korean war 50's military duct cotton fabric for the pockets. I am a big fan of conmar and talon zippers. The mili zippers I have are way stronger than any crown which I also like. Talon at that time did the strongest #10 for the military. Durable used that main zipper on their jackets. You can clearly see this on Brando's jacket in the movie the wild one.

 

[ton312]

Wow that is heavy, I want one. I wonder how it compares to the full aniline Field Leather uses?

do you know the thickness Regius used?

It’s 3.5 oz uniform and Reg describes it as “slippery”. I’ve never handled one of Greg’s but mine appears less grainy, initially anyway. It’s starting to show some grains but it’ll be a slow process. Anyway back to the subject at hand and I will channel my inner Stu….

“Lost Worlds hides employ no fakery of the fashion world by oil and wax stuffing. No artificial social media pretty boy posing fake distressing. The initiated know and will tell you, Lost Worlds hides are the strongest and purest leathers, not the condom grade, flimsy, loin cloth leathers preferred by metro sexual “males” and basement bombardiers. “

TBH, he’s not entirely wrong and I actually love his site. It always makes me laugh.

I’ll never order a new jacket from him though. Based on his policies, which strike me as absurd. His sleeve length policy in particular is just plain laughably dumb.it strikes me as a way to force the customer into an upcharge. His 44”L Ryder has 24” sleeves. LOL.

 

[photo2u]

I agree with Carlos. You do not need crown zippers, but his other NOS are also very expensive. The regular zippers he uses are not strong enough for a heavy leather jacket. I have seen them and personally, I would not use them. I do expect as other brands do (Vanson and Johnsons' leathers) to fit the jacket with strong zippers so they would be no need to upgrade to NOS zippers like LW most of the time needs. There are excellent American-made zippers that will be able to handle LW thick hides with no problem. Personally, I take it as an insult to my intelligence the excuse he uses to justify the sleeve charge. Furthermore, what puzzles me is why is an extra 10% charge for two of the same jackets? Does he need to make the same pattern twice? Is the pattern a one-time use only? lol. I am not a jacket maker and I have never made jackets before. I, however, can do major repairs. After speaking to him several times regarding repairs, Stu lays it just too thick in my view. One time he quoted me $1300 for a sleeve-length shortening. After shipping to him and back I was potentially looking at a $140 dollar cost. That is ten dollars short of $1500 dollars for the tailoring. That is just ridiculous. He claimed that whole new patterns and sleeves had to be created for the alteration. Which is by far the most expensive way to address the job. I remember paying that much for that jacket when it came out of his shop. There are other options for that alteration with excellent results (Not as good as professional as his method). For that reason, I decided to do it myself and the jacket sleeves came out great. It only cost me $120 for the servo motor on my 20-year-old Consew 206rb-2 Which I did not even need to be used for this particular job. Lastly, the jacket he sends to customers to try on got me thinking about how his patterns are developed. He uses a test jacket that he uses to determine fit. Lastly, I was concerned when he actually charges the credit a full retail price for a USED JACKET. He then refunds when he gets the jacket back. Many things can happen during that transaction.

 

[rmconner80]

I like LW designs. I own a few. I’ve owned more which I sold on the journey. When ordering you need to know what fit you want, how that maps to your morphology, numerical size, and specific LW pattern, etc.

This is no different from any other vendor, and this knowledge usually obtained from trial and error. The difference with LW is they are a pretty small operation and don’t do exchanges, returns, size jackets, trials, hand holding, or customer support like Thurston or Aero. When you call, you talk to the owner, every time. You’ll get sized correctly based on technical information but if you don’t like the fit, it’s your problem - especially if custom work like added sleeve length was undertook. The difference in fit between say a Ryder and a Suburban is pretty dramatic in the same numerical size.

I ended up sizing down a bit to get the fit I wanted, but needed to order Long to get the sleeves and body right. The patterns and leather really dictate a short waist length or the whole rig is going to tent up around your neck and shoulders when seated. I find that the hem / waist is usually very tidy, the taper built in, the shoulders very roomy, which makes for really good mobility and fit for my body type. The downside is that the shoulders and upper arms may look bulky until you break in the jacket. They do tame themselves over time.

Lately I’ve been pining for a Roadhouse, but I have enough jackets already and boy have the prices gone up from 5 years ago.

 

[Carlos840]

It’s 3.5 oz uniform and Reg describes it as “slippery”. I’ve never handled one of Greg’s but mine appears less grainy, initially anyway. It’s starting to show some grains but it’ll be a slow process. Anyway back to the subject at hand and I will channel my inner Stu….

“Lost Worlds hides employ no fakery of the fashion world by oil and wax stuffing. No artificial social media pretty boy posing fake distressing. The initiated know and will tell you, Lost Worlds hides are the strongest and purest leathers, not the condom grade, flimsy, loin cloth leathers preferred by metro sexual “males” and basement bombardiers. “

TBH, he’s not entirely wrong and I actually love his site. It always makes me laugh.

I’ll never order a new jacket from him though. Based on his policies, which strike me as absurd. His sleeve length policy in particular is just plain laughably dumb.it strikes me as a way to force the customer into an upcharge. His 44”L Ryder has 24” sleeves. LOL.

I'm done trying to defend LW after this, but saying "His 44”L Ryder has 24” sleeves" is a misrepresentation, there is no standard length for a Long size, anything that has a L or S label was custom ordered to the specs of a specific customer.
Maybe that specific guy wanted +2" in the body and -1" in the sleeves, and that specific jacket received a L tag.

 

[ChewingWax]

His rationale for the extra charge was the extra work to create a special sleeve pattern for my jacket. I call that BS because I am not reinventing the wheel with my simple request. I am sure, that longer and shorter sleeve lengths have been done before. My goal was to order TWO j23. One in tan and one in black. I was going to provide a very special (to me) NOS 50s wool/rayon lining fabric used in most flight jackets during the Korean war. I also was going to provide 50's mouton, Korean war 50's military duct cotton fabric for the pockets. I am a big fan of conmar and talon zippers. The mili zippers I have are way stronger than any crown which I also like. Talon at that time did the strongest #10 for the military. Durable used that main zipper on their jackets. You can clearly see this on Brando's jacket in the movie the wild one.

When my order went from a stock 42 to a 42L, like Carlos said, there was a 10% up charge, but that included custom sleeve length and custom jacket length. There was no extra charge for just adjusting the sleeve length.

 

[ChewingWax]

I agree with Carlos. You do not need crown zippers, but his other NOS are also very expensive. The regular zippers he uses are not strong enough for a heavy leather jacket. I have seen them and personally, I would not use them. I do expect as other brands do (Vanson and Johnsons' leathers) to fit the jacket with strong zippers so they would be no need to upgrade to NOS zippers like LW most of the time needs. There are excellent American-made zippers that will be able to handle LW thick hides with no problem. Personally, I take it as an insult to my intelligence the excuse he uses to justify the sleeve charge. Furthermore, what puzzles me is why is an extra 10% charge for two of the same jackets. Does he need to make the same pattern twice? lol. I am not a jacket maker and I have never made jackets before. I, however, can do major repairs. After speaking to him several times regarding repairs Stu lays it just too thick in my view. One time he quoted me $1300 for a sleeve shortening. That is just ridiculous. He claimed that whole new patterns and sleeves had to be created for the alteration. Which is by far the most expensive way. There are other options for that alteration with excellent results. I decided to do it myself and the jacket sleeves came out great. The jacket he sends to customers to try on got me thinking about how his patterns are developed. He uses a test jacket that he uses to determine fit. Lastly, I was concerned when he actually charges the credit a full retail price for a USED JACKET. He then refunds when he gets the jacket back. Many things can happen during that transaction.

I mentioned this in an earlier post but my Suburban came with a N.O.S. Conmar Conmatic main zipper standard.

 

[f2002q]

I really wanted one of LW's ANJ-4 jackets, but the price was 2x of what Aero wanted. I couldn't justify the cost. I'm sure LW's ANJ-4 is a beast, but Aero's is not slouch either. My Vanson Enfield in CW is about 6ish pounds and feels tough as nails, and that cost me 6 bills. Maybe someday somebody will sell an LW in my size...

 

[Tom71]

My experience with Stu: Has been positive, professional, easy. Two e-mails within five minutes, then he sent me the PP-invoice. USD 1.200 for a Ryder with no alterations.

I cannot comment on his "pay-as-you-drive" policy, but it does leave me puzzled. All I can say is that if you charge considerably more than say Aero, Vanson, LL (insert any maker you like) for the finished product (including workable dimensions and functional zippers), you need to make sure that the customer is happy afterwards.
Not all have been, and the resulting discussions here on TFL were of the sort that had to be closed after a while. At his prizes, elevated customer expectations just come with the territory. You may call it the "Himel-effect", if you like.

I would buy from him again and I may well do so, as his patterns and the leather he uses are really top-notch and I liked dealing with him.

 

[erikb02809]

Just chiming in -
I purchased a LW Trojan from Stu back in 2010 or 2011. Sold it after a few years because it was getting a little snug due to weightlifting I had been doing, and I had moved to a part of the country where the jacket's weight was heavier than I'd have preferred at the time. The quality of manufacture was the highest I have ever seen, and Stu was pleasant to communicate with, both over the phone and via email.

I've owned jackets from a lot of the other makers that get discussed on here that all have reputations for really nice, cool jackets and quality control and customer service to go along with it, and it's been interesting how close or not close my experiences with them have come to meet my expectations, etc. As long as my budget permitted, if I was currently in the market for a jacket in a style they make, Lost Worlds would be pretty close to the top of manufactures I'd order from again.

 

[ton312]

When my order went from a stock 42 to a 42L, like Carlos said, there was a 10% up charge, but that included custom sleeve length and custom jacket length. There was no extra charge for just adjusting the sleeve length.

I’ve had three ryders, all with 24” sleeves….
A massive 48”
A “long” 44”
A “standard” 44”
So I assume the that IS the stock sleeve measurement, which is why I presume the fee to alter is sort of a baked in upcharge.