This winter's 'big thing' with the kids?

[Big J]

Hi gents!
So the last couple of winter seasons I've been 'generation gapped' by kids wearing knock-off clones of nylon flight jackets.
Breathe easy- that's so yesterday.
This weekend the streets are awash with kids in cheap looking fashion brand black leather cross-zip motorcycle jacket simulacrum.
I guess this is the first generation born after Terminator 2, so the style doesn't have the baggage for them?

 

[scottyrocks]

Both of those styles have come, gone, and arrived yet again at least twice since I was old enough to be aware of style. That's what styles do. Except, when styles occur in cycles like that it's called 'fashion.'

 

[nick123]

I walked into a Marshall's department store earlier in the year with the girlfriend. It was maybe 9 pm. That place had all of this empty space between apparel fixtures and these these ultra bright blinding white lights. On the apparel shelves were tens of fake MA-1 copy jackets. It was like being onboard a UFO. Perhaps a glimpse into a dystopic future, or present. I walked out, alive.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Yes, the cross zip bike jacket - often in vinyl - has been a thing here for the last year or so. It sits comfortably alongside the MA-1 knock offs.

 

[Monitor]

Cross zips have been in women's fashion for a few years now and they seem to be slightly altering the design all the time. This newest stuff isn't even that horrid. I see shoulder gussets, removable belts, functional sleeve zips, etc. Only thing that's getting worse is leather. Albeit thicker it's somehow even more like vinyl (if that's even possible) and it literally doesn't crease.
Trucker jackets are also very much in. Standard Levi Type-3 model of course worn on a plaid shirt or an over-sized hoodie. Most are pre-distressed, with holes and patches and whatnot...

Current men's fashion are cafe racers in a classic Brooks or Beck design, two chest pockets, gussets, etc. - so now I'm actually really fashionable and blend in when in town - but last years favorite, the Perfecto is still in as well. Many come with 80's rock/metal bands and/or motorcycle manufacturer patches, pricier ones even with badges and pins and most had either music or MC club inspired stuff painted on the back, like skulls with wings and so on and so forth... Same goes for girls jackets as well.

I've been on a few tour de malls these days, looking for a birthday gift for a gf and this time I couldn't resist and I actually took the time to try on many of these leather jackets that were literally everywhere. They're all bad but less crap then before. Zara still has the worst ones. But they don't look as bad as they used to... Brown jackets are actually kinda nice (until you touch them of course) but it definitely doesn't look that much worse than, I dunno, brown Vicenza or Shinki or anything.

Military seems to be the most popular item this year, found on both departments. It's mostly MA-1's and M-65's but women got a few Irvin and B3 knockoffs as well. At least they'll be warm this winter. I think it's because it's a lot cheaper (except for the furry ones)... But I could be wrong.

It's not just the jackets, Men's jeans and pants have also been inspired by 60's or 70's European motorcycle pants. Ones with many zippers and pads. Jeans in general got a lot nicer. I guess they finally got a cue from those... internet brands, and began to adapt.

But anyway, I've noticed a lot of this crap makes guys look like bona fide skinheads - well, at least what these morons looked like when I was a kid. It's kinda weird... I never liked them and learned to steer clear of them as a kid because they'd oftentimes beat you up for no reason whatsoever so it was interesting and somewhat unnerving to see a whole bunch of very fashionable guys dressed up like skinheads walking around fashion stores, buying MA-1's and Doc Marten's.

 

[ton312]

Even Target has a men's waxed cotton/denim crosszip out this fall. Of course I had to try it on and I was wearing my j106 so the whole thing went like this...

 

[Doctor Damage]

Cross zips have been in women's fashion for a few years now and they seem to be slightly altering the design all the time. This newest stuff isn't even that horrid. I see shoulder gussets, removable belts, functional sleeve zips, etc. Only thing that's getting worse is leather. Albeit thicker it's somehow even more like vinyl (if that's even possible) and it literally doesn't crease.

I know what you mean by half-decent designs ruined by bad leather or "leather". They might do better to just go with high-quality vinyl, like in the old days.

But anyway, I've noticed a lot of this crap makes guys look like bona fide skinheads - well, at least what these morons looked like when I was a kid. It's kinda weird... I never liked them and learned to steer clear of them as a kid because they'd oftentimes beat you up for no reason whatsoever so it was interesting and somewhat unnerving to see a whole bunch of very fashionable guys dressed up like skinheads walking around fashion stores, buying MA-1's and Doc Marten's.

Few people today much attention to history, so we start repeating the same mistakes.

 

[GHT]

I've been on a few tour de malls these days, looking for a birthday gift for a gf and this time I couldn't resist and I actually took the time to try on many of these leather jackets that were literally everywhere. They're all bad but less crap then before. Zara still has the worst ones. But they don't look as bad as they used to.

It's easy to knock Zara, but did you know that as a boy, Amancio Ortega, Zara's founder, was so ashamed of his family's poverty that he vowed to do something about it. He currently vies with Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, somewhere around eighty billion dollars, give or take the odd billion.

 

[Monitor]

It's easy to knock Zara, but did you know that as a boy, Amancio Ortega, Zara's founder, was so ashamed of his family's poverty that he vowed to do something about it. He currently vies with Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, somewhere around eighty billion dollars, give or take the odd billion.

I don't really mind Zara even tho I hear the conditions at their suppliers are as sweatshop as it gets, but the leather they use in those jackets and boots is absolutely abhorrent. If there's a point at which leather is so altered that it can't be considered leather anymore, Zara is well beyond it. Doctor Damage is spot on, I've seen nylon that's more like leather. Some of those 80's plastic stuff is almost passable, actually.

 

[Big J]

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, this style has been around a long time and gone through many fashion cycles, but I stopped counting at 37 in Starbucks on Saturday while I was drinking my coffee and waiting for my wife.
I only saw 2 MA-1 copy style fashion jackets.
I don't know if you'll have to wait until next winter to get this because Japan is ahead of the curve (green field jacket style is way, way gone here), or if Japan is behind the curve and you've already been through it where you are.
I suspect that Japan as trend-setter era is over. In the last decade, all of the boutiques that the Japanese hipsters used to love have dwindled, to be replaced by chain-stores (case in point, the end of 'gyaru' culture), so I think that we're all getting these trends at the same time, and maybe Japanese youth are buying into the 'mall fashion' thing more than they ever could have before, with no sense of cynicism or disdain?

 

[ton312]

The Zara leather is nothing more than a thick garbage/lawn waste bag. In fact the stores here primarily, if not exclusively, carry synth leather.
But...the store is always jammed and the cool cool brothers rocking skin tight jeans and plastic jacket are not worried.
They likely view my 12lb leather jackets as much the hideous monstrosity as I do their 3 oz repurposed Solo cup. At the end of the day, in the immortal words of Dave Mason "we just disagree"

 

[Benny Holiday]

I walked into a Marshall's department store earlier in the year with the girlfriend. It was maybe 9 pm. That place had all of this empty space between apparel fixtures and these these ultra bright blinding white lights. On the apparel shelves were tens of fake MA-1 copy jackets. It was like being onboard a UFO. Perhaps a glimpse into a dystopic future, or present. I walked out, alive.

This is Nick123, a regular guy from a regular neighborhood. He has good taste in leather outerwear and a knack for what a decent item of clothing might be worth. But today, Nick has travelled into another dimension, a dimension not of commonsense but of consumer manipulation. A journey into a horrendous land whose boundaries are that of your wallet. That's the signpost up ahead: your next stop, the Fashion Twilight Zone.

 

[Sloan1874]

I've been seeing people in ill-fitting MA1s all over the place since autumn. Had to stop myself from yelling 'You're at least two sizes too large, look at your bloody sleeves, they're tunneled beyond all that's sensible!' at them. I've been noticing quite a few cross-zip jackets too, but not the same extent, but I look forward to almost screaming at them as well...

 

[nick123]

Had the displeasure of seeing a guy at my college sporting one yesterday; maroon!

 

[Edward]

Cross zips have been in women's fashion for a few years now and they seem to be slightly altering the design all the time. This newest stuff isn't even that horrid. I see shoulder gussets, removable belts, functional sleeve zips, etc. Only thing that's getting worse is leather. Albeit thicker it's somehow even more like vinyl (if that's even possible) and it literally doesn't crease.

I've seen the same here. Typically they're in pleather or lamb, and this season I'm seeing a lot of them in pink suedette(!). Low end, semi-disposable fashion, but interesting to see the details. A lot of them are clearly patterned after all sorts of interesting variations rather than the wall to wall copies of the Perfecto you might assume. Interstingly, you don't see this style much on the guys - they're still all in the DAvid Beckham circa 1996 cafe racers, or last year's MA1alikes.

Trucker jackets are also very much in. Standard Levi Type-3 model of course worn on a plaid shirt or an over-sized hoodie. Most are pre-distressed, with holes and patches and whatnot...

Yes, I se those in London a lot recently. Always with the giant holes and wear spots, like somebody took a belt sander to them. Goes along with the jeans where, I swear.... I've seen some this last few months where a girl's entire thighs were on view. I never cared for the distressed denim look even as a kid; these things I'm seeing in fashion now would have lnog ben in the bin with me before they go to that state.

But then I'm an old man: I'm not supposed to get it.

Current men's fashion are cafe racers in a classic Brooks or Beck design, two chest pockets, gussets, etc. - so now I'm actually really fashionable and blend in when in town - but last years favorite, the Perfecto is still in as well. Many come with 80's rock/metal bands and/or motorcycle manufacturer patches, pricier ones even with badges and pins and most had either music or MC club inspired stuff painted on the back, like skulls with wings and so on and so forth... Same goes for girls jackets as well.

That's interesting. I've not seen the Perfecto types on any guys outside of the tribes that have worn them forever (metalheads, punks, goths.... occasionally even bikers). Asthe weather finally turns cold, we're seeing the cafe racers they all wear give way to MA1alikes and parkas of varying similarit to the N3x series.

Military seems to be the most popular item this year, found on both departments. It's mostly MA-1's and M-65's but women got a few Irvin and B3 knockoffs as well. At least they'll be warm this winter. I think it's because it's a lot cheaper (except for the furry ones)... But I could be wrong.

I see it stronger in women's wear here, but yes.

It's not just the jackets, Men's jeans and pants have also been inspired by 60's or 70's European motorcycle pants. Ones with many zippers and pads. Jeans in general got a lot nicer. I guess they finally got a cue from those... internet brands, and began to adapt.

Oh, yes.... those weird jeans that look like the lower half of one of Barry Sheene's racing suits..... I see those around a lot, usually on skinny teenage boys, hipsters, and kids from certain erhnic groups seeking to distance themselves from the hip hop baggy look, or so it appears.

But anyway, I've noticed a lot of this crap makes guys look like bona fide skinheads - well, at least what these morons looked like when I was a kid. It's kinda weird... I never liked them and learned to steer clear of them as a kid because they'd oftentimes beat you up for no reason whatsoever so it was interesting and somewhat unnerving to see a whole bunch of very fashionable guys dressed up like skinheads walking around fashion stores, buying MA-1's and Doc Marten's.

The further the MA1 gets away from those racist morons the better. Herself has reservations about me wearing one because of that eighties skinhead association. (I shave my head and like boots too.... but I'm not, y'know, a Nazi).

I've been seeing people in ill-fitting MA1s all over the place since autumn. Had to stop myself from yelling 'You're at least two sizes too large, look at your bloody sleeves, they're tunneled beyond all that's sensible!' at them. I've been noticing quite a few cross-zip jackets too, but not the same extent, but I look forward to almost screaming at them as well...

The fashion scene always seems to have gone for oversizing them. Maybe chasing the skinhead look and they wore 'em too big because they wanted to crate the impression of being harder? Or maybe it's Provincial Nightclub Bouncer Chic? Funnily enoug,h it was that fasihon oversizing that put me off them for years! Now I'd settle for a nice Cockpit Authentic MA1, but I'm waiting in increasingly vain hope for the pound to recover against the dollar to return one of those to a sensible price....

 

[Woodyear]

It's easy to knock Zara, but did you know that as a boy, Amancio Ortega, Zara's founder, was so ashamed of his family's poverty that he vowed to do something about it. He currently vies with Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, somewhere around eighty billion dollars, give or take the odd billion.

I’d be more ashamed of hoarding all of that wealth than I would be of my familys childhood poverty, personally.

 

[Edward]

Probably best we steer clear of going too far down that road, bearing in mind house rules on politics.

It's certainly interesting see the high street versions of the stuff we love. It's not often I'd buy the fashion version, to be fair, though I've long had half an eye out for one of the 'souvenir jackets' that's hal decent and in my size. I've seen a fair ew opf those which have actually been quite nice, despite not being real silk and such.

 

[Big J]

I started out as a cultural anthropologist, so all this talk of tribes and identities is really fascinating to me.
Over here are no padded jeans (sounds aweful), all the MA-1s last year were very slim fit, and all this years perfecto style clones are black, and worn equally by men and women.
Despite globalization, international mall brands etc, it's interesting to see differentiation between tribes globally when faced with pretty much the same mass produced rubbish as kids everywhere else every year.
My girls want perfecto style jackets right now, and are as pleased as punch that it's a style I don't wear. Maybe next year, when that styles on the way out, I'll finally be able to get that Cal Leathers jacket like James Dean!
@Edward, you made me lol. I wear my MA-1 with a t-shirt jeans and Dr. Martens and I know this has got a real 'romper stomper' skinhead image, but when I was in the U.K., I was told that this was also a popular style with gay men (like Teddy boy drapes), and my mind boggles at how those two groups on both occasions reconciled this fact. It's got to be worthy of research.
I got short hair like a skinhead and my bulletproof mustache going on like one of the village people! What signals must I inadvertently be giving out?!

 

[Justhandguns]

@Edward, you made me lol. I wear my MA-1 with a t-shirt jeans and Dr. Martens and I know this has got a real 'romper stomper' skinhead image, but when I was in the U.K., I was told that this was also a popular style with gay men (like Teddy boy drapes), and my mind boggles at how those two groups on both occasions reconciled this fact. It's got to be worthy of research.
I got short hair like a skinhead and my bulletproof mustache going on like one of the village people! What signals must I inadvertently be giving out?!

I have never heard of popular styles of gay men. I also think that the skinhead image has already become part of the history books. But then again, the infamous far right group 'Britain First' had a couple of their supporters wearing MA-1s a few days ago.

Courtesy of the Evening Standard

I suspect this is a family business, look at how similar they look, the man in suit and the men in MA-1.

 

[eugenesque]

I don't think classic styles like MA-1 etc would ever go out of fashion. Its just that the fashion houses would add random studs here and there or splash it with a strange colour every now and then to give it a fresh look every season.