Vintage Gold! Jimbo leather cafe racer.

[ton312]

Typically wouldn’t dedicate an entire thread to a jacket like this but I think the details make it cool enough to do so. The design elements are unique, and the hide is just phenomenal. Truly like wearing an old baseball mitt. Has a very natural leather feel and it appears most of whatever top coat it had has long faded away. It’s quite substantial. Reminds me of the cow used on Walter Dyer and Natal jackets. Guessing around 8lbs. The wind flap alone is 1/4” thick! Thicker than my belt. You can see it’s really testing the hanger in the shot of the tag! Pics below tell the story. Found it for cheap late night eBaying. Has a really nice burnished color that just can’t be faked. Somebody did hard time in this jacket. I conditioned the cuffs, primarily to see how much color change I could expect and you can see they’ve gone quite dark. On the fence about doing the whole jacket. Would hate to wipe away all that hard earned wear, but the jacket is thirsty. All the hardware is Talon. Liner is a thin rayon. If anyone has any info on Jimbo leathers I’d love to hear it. Google doesn’t seem to know and trust me when I say you don’t want to do an image search. Just don’t do it.

 

[handymike]

Really cool!
Great score Ton.

 

[sweetfights]

Impressive find. Looks fantastic on you. Give that thirsty jacket a nice drink. The restored color looks great.

 

[MegaLARP]

And his traps grew three sizes that day

 

[ton312]

And his traps grew three sizes that day

Those shoulders are doubled up leather! Does give it an athletic cut!

 

[chollie]

I've got a Walter Dyer jacket I'm trying to move in the classifieds. First thing I thought when I saw this is that it reminds me of that coat. Your baseball mitt comment especially rings true. I've got a 70 year old glove that belonged to my dad and the leather on that thing is just so unbelievably supple and and amazing. It hasn't seen a drop of oil in probably 30+ years and you would never know it. It's truly a stunning thing to behold.

 

[torfjord]

That is a terrific looking jacket!

 

[Monitor]

I guess Jimbo sat down one day and simply decided he'd make a perfect leather jacket. And so he did. Tremendously cool jacket! Quite literally perfect, I dare to say. Don't think I'd add/remove/change one single thing on it. You really don't have to even feel any regret about the IH Lee deal.

It also reminds me a lot of that Wolverine jacket, only without a movie costume factor. Simply awesome!

 

[Boyo]

A jacket made just for you wouldnt look as good!!

* agree on finishing the conditioning

 

[Gamma68]

That's a stunning jacket. Great score!

My first thought when seeing it in the other thread was "Walter Dyer." Of course, it's a Jimbo, not a Walter. But I think this impression indicates it could have been a model produced by a small shop, like WD. It has a handcrafted appearance, which makes it all the more cool.

Maybe the seller can tell you something about it and its history?

If it's thirsty, condition it. We know the darkness will slowly fade and you'll be preserving that gorgeous leather.

Fantastic purchase. Bravo!

 

[Will Zach]

The fit is uncommonly good for an ebay find. Wow. I see how you can hesitate to condition the whole thing. I suggest to wear it, see how you like the cuffs, don't rush with the decision to condition the whole thing.

 

[ton312]

While I know it’s the best thing for the hide and gamma is right, it will fade there’s just something about it in its state now. It’s certainly not dry but it is very much naked. It’s not a jacket I’d want to wear in the rain. I’ll def go slow with it.

 

[barnabus]

Tremendously cool jacket! Quite literally perfect

This.

A fabulous jacket. I doubt you'd beat that for fit and sheer cool no matter how much money you threw at premium makers. Absolutely bang on. The actual dog's.

 

[Psant25]

Looks custom fit really like it !

 

[MegaLARP]

Those shoulders are doubled up leather! Does give it an athletic cut!

Is your chest ~42, or is it closer to 44?

 

[Monitor]

This.

A fabulous jacket. I doubt you'd beat that for fit and sheet cool no matter how much money you threw at premium makers. Absolutely bang on. The actual dog's.

Exactly!

@ton312 , don't sell that jacket! Some day, you'll want another one like it, you'll turn to whoever for a remake and it won't happen 'cause it can't happen. Everything else will be a pale copy. This is it as far as this style goes. You either keep this one or it's only cross zips and CR's for you from now on.

 

[ton312]

Is your chest ~42, or is it closer to 44?

46” over a t shirt. This is about 24” p2p and it’s a trim fit zipped but plenty of range thanks to the shoulder gussets.

 

[ton312]

Exactly!

@ton312 , don't sell that jacket! Some day, you'll want another one like it, you'll turn to whoever for a remake and it won't happen 'cause it can't happen. Everything else will be a pale copy. This is it as far as this style goes. You either keep this one or it's only cross zips and CR's for you from now on.

AGREED! It does somewhat remind me of Logan’s days of future past jacket. Man if it had a little more of that collar....I’d burn everything else. Between this and the 50’s HB I’ve put a fork in dress collared leather jackets. I’ve already accepted the fact that denim and cross zips are bottomless pits. Happy to free fall in that hole.

 

[MegaLARP]

46” over a t shirt. This is about 24” p2p and it’s a trim fit zipped but plenty of range thanks to the shoulder gussets.

Oh dang, I saw you checking out the Ike I sniped and assumed you were closer to 44.

 

[ton312]

Oh dang, I saw you checking out the Ike I sniped and assumed you were closer to 44.

Usually do take a 44” in Vanson, depending on the model. That said I can get into some 42” too. The HC HWM I just picked up is a 42”. It’s super tight but feels great over a t shirt and worn open.