Vegecow Lewis Leathers quality

[MrProper]

Here still for comparison mine with low waist jeans.

 

[Damon141]

Thank you. My jeans are pretty much the same way.

But wow that picture made me go back to page 22 where you introduced that jacket and it looks like you have the tight fit because the arms are so tight. I’m assuming the Super Sporsman is very similar

This might take more back and forth between Lewis Leathers than I thought, I will mention the armholes and now I’m thinking a size 46 (127cm) for my 116cm chest because I’m at a all time low in that measurement and if I get any bigger then the size 44 (122) might not fit

I hope they can alter the shoulders of a size 46 from 52cm to 47cm.

@MrProper did you ask to narrow the shoulders and extend the sleeves?
since I know you are pretty tall but I see from the 5star thread that you usually go with 47cm on the shoulders

 

[Drive]

Thank you @Carlos840 & @MrProper i normally wear low rise jeans so i think my might be a tat too long but not not too noticeable (for the Untrained eye anyway)

 

[MrProper]

Thank you. My jeans are pretty much the same way.

But wow that picture made me go back to page 22 where you introduced that jacket and it looks like you have the tight fit because the arms are so tight. I’m assuming the Super Sporsman is very similar

This might take more back and forth between Lewis Leathers than I thought, I will mention the armholes and now I’m thinking a size 46 (127cm) for my 116cm chest because I’m at a all time low in that measurement and if I get any bigger then the size 44 (122) might not fit

I hope they can alter the shoulders of a size 46 from 52cm to 47cm.

@MrProper did you ask to narrow the shoulders and extend the sleeves?
since I know you are pretty tall but I see from the 5star thread that you usually go with 47cm on the shoulders

For the green jacket, I left the shoulders as they are. 49 cm or 50 cm. On the brown one, the shoulders were widened to 50 cm. Normally I also order 49 - 50 cm shoulder width.

 

[Damon141]

I see, I think I read that they can adjust shoulders because 50cm the seam would hang over my deltoids rather than the almost vertical seam you see in everyone’s in this thread.

Maybe since it was the weekend and AKI responded on a Saturday that I received such little information. I’ll contact him back and ask his opinion on which size I should go with 44 or 46 (44 would leave only 6cm space & 46 would have 11 cm, then this will be reduced by the leather and liner)
I’ll then ask if the shoulder can be adjusted, with that I will send a measurement of the arm hole because I agree you are right at the limit on your green one.

I’ll include a picture of me in the 5 star which has 61cm sleeves and 47cm shoulders so instead of going with. 60 then I will ask his opinion if 61 or 62cm but his recommendation of 63.5 cm I just know would be too long and I don’t mind them on the longer side.

 

[7amza]

Hello All,

Looks like I missed the recent LL party as I haven't checked into the FL for a few days but as feedback on order timings, I did place a couple orders for jackets with Rip seeming a month or so before his departure. (Order 1: March 11th & Order 2: March 21st) My first order is closing in on week 8 and still no message of shipping so I believe production times at this point are on the longer end of the quoted 6-12 weeks wait time. I am not sure if this is a result of high volume in orders or of changes in the internal LL team.

Whilst there is some trepidation for first time customers with LL ordering with the new regime, I think a comforting though is that recurring customers like @Salmosalar is that their preferred measurements should already be in the LL system and thus not much deliberation or "guesstimation" will need to be done when ordering a new jacket with LL. The only annoying part at the moment seems to be how slow the process has become in the absence of Rip - especially when it comes to email communication. (Everytime I have reached out to LL recently - I have received an email response the following day, even when replying within a couple minutes to a recent mail from them).

 

[7amza]

@Damon141 It probably says "processing" because the jacket needs to be made, whereas if it were a stock item like shoes, it would process.

I wonder to what extent the beautiful surface texture of the veg tan Lewis cow is the tumbling process, more than a characteristic of the hide itself. I ask because Schott's horsehide surface looks similar after it's gotten wet and been worn hard.

Makes me curious if the uncool standard horse and cow that Lewis offers would end up similar with wear.

I have posted a couple pics on this thread of my LL Lightning in cowhide after a year of regular wear and some rain - the cowhide is initially quite shiny, thick, heavy but very smooth. It does develop rolls/creases a few months in after regular wear on the sleeves, however after a year of wear, I am just starting to see some minor grain show in some parts of the jacket. (under the lapel, under the sleeve zip and near the waist strap tighteners)

I'll post some close up pics of my cowhide LL that I have on my phone, as a follow up to this post.

PS: This guy has some pretty good videos showing some of his LL jackets, it's in japanese but I believe we are more interested in seeing the leathers than really understanding what is said. In this video he shows his sheep skin lightning vs. his cowhid dominator.

 

[7amza]

Current condition:

first week of wear:

 

[Damon141]

Update: if you guys remember they apparently let my order from 5/1 skip though the cracks so i contacted them on 5/6 and they responded immediately apologizing, 5/7 gave me my first personal response getting my measurements wrong and only partial measurements.

5/8 I sent detailed information on fitting, information the average customer wouldn’t even be able to explain unless he has been on these forums.
5/11 end of day and no response on something that should be simple, basic sizing.

I’m patient but I know this is not normal for them. It’s not like they said we received your email and will get back to you when I consult with the team. Instead I get the feeling they don’t know what they are doing.

I don’t care how long it takes to make the jacket but these are simple modifications to existing sizes. I just wanted to keep you posted on my experience.

 

[7amza]

Update: if you guys remember they apparently let my order from 5/1 skip though the cracks so i contacted them on 5/6 and they responded immediately apologizing, 5/7 gave me my first personal response getting my measurements wrong and only partial measurements.

5/8 I sent detailed information on fitting, information the average customer wouldn’t even be able to explain unless he has been on these forums.
5/11 end of day and no response on something that should be simple, basic sizing.

I’m patient but I know this is not normal for them. It’s not like they said we received your email and will get back to you when I consult with the team. Instead I get the feeling they don’t know what they are doing.

I don’t care how long it takes to make the jacket but these are simple modifications to existing sizes. I just wanted to keep you posted on my experience.

This does seem to confirm that Rip was the backbone to much of their successful online client facing operation and positive feedback..

 

[handymike]

I hope they find a good replacement soon, cuz the jackets are great!

 

[Damon141]

Am I off base for thinking that they are having trouble figuring this out?


Below is the response after I asked what was going on after 6 days with no confirmation email. He literally just recommended 3 measurements and mixed inches with centimeters. He recommended a sleeve length of 63cm after I input 59.5cm in the Lewis website sleeve length drop down box.

I’m not sure if he made a typo in the 44” and meant size 44 but if he meant 44” that would mean he ignored the 116cm I input for chest circumference which is 45.669 inches. So I’d me rocking a jacket that wouldn’t zip up.

I’m not like the guy in the Himel thread complaining about lead time in manufacturing because I don’t care about it taking longer, but atleast get back to me with correct measurements.

And since I can’t find a size chart on the Lewis Leather site, (only on a couple distributors sites). He might want to include how the standard sizes measure out so I know where to begin if I’m sizing my own jacket.

Frustrating to say the least considering I paid up front.

Check out below his response and my detailed reply reiterating my measurements and suggestions and asking for his advice.

What would you guys do?
How long should I give them to come up with sizing recommendations?

 

[7amza]

Am I off base for thinking that they are having trouble figuring this out?


Below is the response after I asked what was going on after 6 days with no confirmation email. He literally just recommended 3 measurements and mixed inches with centimeters. He recommended a sleeve length of 63cm after I input 59.5cm in the Lewis website sleeve length drop down box.

I’m not sure if he made a typo in the 44” and meant size 44 but if he meant 44” that would mean he ignored the 116cm I input for chest circumference which is 45.669 inches. So I’d me rocking a jacket that wouldn’t zip up.

I’m not like the guy in the Himel thread complaining about lead time in manufacturing because I don’t care about it taking longer, but atleast get back to me with correct measurements.

And since I can’t find a size chart on the Lewis Leather site, (only on a couple distributors sites). He might want to include how the standard sizes measure out so I know where to begin if I’m sizing my own jacket.

Frustrating to say the least considering I paid up front.

Check out below his response and my detailed reply reiterating my measurements and suggestions and asking for his advice.

What would you guys do?
How long should I give them to come up with sizing recommendations?

This is definitely not what many of us that have ordered with LL prior to Rip's departure have experienced speaking from personal experience (3 jackets ordered) and based on what others have commented on this and other threads on the TFL.

I would say you are justified on being frustrated with the little detail and curt response received as a paying customer who is getting a custom made jacket.

Definitely seems to be some sort of internal chaos going on at LL from Rips sudden departure.

 

[Damon141]

I don’t care how long it takes, I hope people reading this are not thinking that I’m worried about the speed of their operations. Fast, slow, poor, short I don’t care just give me confidence that it will fit.

I’m worried they are going to mess up and I wait months for something that doesn’t fit, especially considering they seemingly misplaced my order from the beginning, then responded with Insufficient and wrong sizing. Is just my dumb luck that I didn’t order a month ago but I was undecided if I was going to go with the Veg Cow.

Who knows the reasoning behind RIP’s departure but I’m guessing they are missing him by now.

 

[Canuck Panda]

The UK law guarantees a refund within 14 days for goods not as described.

Accepting returns and giving refunds: the law

When you do and do not have to offer a refund, repair or replacement, unconditional refunds for online purchases, and penalties for deceiving customers

www.gov.uk

It‘d be best if things all worked out, but in the worst case I believe you’re also still covered.

Lewis would be asking you for a confirmation before the jacket goes into production. With or without RIp this is standard process. Almost every maker I’ve bought from in the past two years did this, so did Lewis when Rip was still there.

It also doesn’t hurt to be proactive in following up with your contact person too. When positions are being filled on a sudden notice there’s always chaos, but standard process helps.

 

[Damon141]

The UK law guarantees a refund within 14 days for goods not as described.

Accepting returns and giving refunds: the law

When you do and do not have to offer a refund, repair or replacement, unconditional refunds for online purchases, and penalties for deceiving customers

www.gov.uk

It‘d be best if things all worked out, but in the worst case I believe you’re also still covered.

Lewis would be asking you for a confirmation before the jacket goes into production. With or without RIp this is standard process. Almost every maker I’ve bought from in the past two years did this, so did Lewis when Rip was still there.

It also doesn’t hurt to be proactive in following up with your contact person too. When positions are being filled on a sudden notice there’s always chaos, but standard process helps.

That you for pointing out the law it’s definitely comforting. I do wonder if it would cover something I approve though. We know from all the members positive experience with RIP that you could trust his recommendations but if the new guy is off the mark on his sizing and I approve and give the go ahead, would I still have case?

This is why you cross train as much as possible so if someone leaves then your company is not handicapped. Ideally it is taking longer because he could possibly be corresponding with the craftsman and pattern makers.

London has a rich heritage of fine tailoring so I imagine there are plenty of qualified people to fill the position.

 

[Carlos840]

The UK law guarantees a refund within 14 days for goods not as described.

Accepting returns and giving refunds: the law

When you do and do not have to offer a refund, repair or replacement, unconditional refunds for online purchases, and penalties for deceiving customers

www.gov.uk

It‘d be best if things all worked out, but in the worst case I believe you’re also still covered.

Lewis would be asking you for a confirmation before the jacket goes into production. With or without RIp this is standard process. Almost every maker I’ve bought from in the past two years did this, so did Lewis when Rip was still there.

It also doesn’t hurt to be proactive in following up with your contact person too. When positions are being filled on a sudden notice there’s always chaos, but standard process helps.

That doesn't apply to custom made items, only stock items.

 

[handymike]

@Damon141 , where do you live?

 

[Aloysius]

Damon, where do you live?

SoCal, I think. If he’s this worried about the fit he should go to the Lewis dealer in LA. They can put a custom order through too.

 

[handymike]

The Stronghold in Venice.
At least go try some on to get an idea of what size to base things on. Make sure to call first and get someone who knows the brand well. Not everyone there is helpful.