Vintage Outerwear: Threads of the Past

[Observe]

Visiting vintage stores throughout Japan I've seen and handled a lot of vintage grails. Buco's, beck, star glove, langlitz, cal, sears Hercules, east west musical instruments, Lewis leathers, Levi's, Schott, Peter's, Grizzly jackets, you name it. Except for a leathertogs, haven't found one of those for sale yet.

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They're all great but I love the last one. Any more info on it?

 

[AHP91]

Visiting vintage stores throughout Japan I've seen and handled a lot of vintage grails. Buco's, beck, star glove, langlitz, cal, sears Hercules, east west musical instruments, Lewis leathers, Levi's, Schott, Peter's, durable, Grizzly jackets, you name it. Except for a leathertogs, haven't found one of those for sale yet.

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Amazing - that Flying Togs is spectacular

 

[Marc mndt]

They're all great but I love the last one. Any more info on it?

https://webstore.berberjin.com/view/item/000000100947?category_page_id=fake

 

[Marc mndt]

A couple more

 

[Observe]

https://webstore.berberjin.com/view/item/000000100947?category_page_id=fake

Oof the price tag... maybe I could get a repro somewhere.

 

[tmitchell59]

A couple more

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Thanks again for the share! I lifted the Steerhide Durable pic for the Durable thread. I see you holding the Seattle Woolen.

What were the surprises? What did you see that disappointed you. Who lived up to talk? Most, including me, have not had the opportunity to handle/see these Vintage jackets.

Was there one that seriously tempted you? Did you make a purchase?

 

[handymike]

CHUCK ROCKS!

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[JMax]

Visiting vintage stores throughout Japan I've seen and handled a lot of vintage grails. Buco's, beck, star glove, langlitz, cal, sears Hercules, east west musical instruments, Lewis leathers, Levi's, Schott, Peter's, durable, Grizzly jackets, you name it. Except for a leathertogs, haven't found one of those for sale yet.

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Nice jackets but that Peter’s is out of this world.

 

[jonbuilder]

A couple more

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Jacket heaven

 

[Claybertrand]

This is unreal!! Like the Willie Wonka Factory of Leather Jackets!!! What a bitchen trip!!!

@Marc mndt, how are the prices??? Are these jackets ridiculously priced like almost every Japanese listing you see???

I am hoping that the stores there are more down to earth pricing wise than the Wild West Online where these middle man "Sellers" who do not even own the jacket list it for sale marked WAY the hell up. Either that or the online Sellers somehow think Americans overvalue these jackets they list. The prices normally asked are laughable.

Like this typical example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1259671085...=|tkp:Bk9SR4rRne2SYg&LH_ItemCondition=3000|10

No one is paying $2900 for this jacket. I am wondering if they just have some crazy Barter Economy like in some other countries where the opening price is customarily ignored and hearty negotiations are expected and commonplace??? Is the exchange rate to blame somehow?? Do the online Sellers just try to gouge Buyers?? Are the domestic stores in Japan more realistic???

Really in a NutShell: How are the prices????

Safe Travels man!!!!

 

[Leigh H]

A couple more

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That cossack looks great on you!!

 

[Jasonissm]

Visiting vintage stores throughout Japan I've seen and handled a lot of vintage grails. Buco's, beck, star glove, langlitz, cal, sears Hercules, east west musical instruments, Lewis leathers, Levi's, Schott, Peter's, durable, Grizzly jackets, you name it. Except for a leathertogs, haven't found one of those for sale yet.

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Can you give a list of the places you visited? Definitely places I would like to visit on my next trip there!

 

[Marc mndt]

What were the surprises? What did you see that disappointed you. Who lived up to talk?

What lived up to the talk? Peter's. Such nice leather and construction quality. The best of the best. Also, East West Musical Instruments. Those jackets are nothing like anything else that came from the 70s. And the Buco j31. Amazing design and quality. The ones I've seen and handled here were of the quality level of a modern repro brand like FW.

Surprises? I've never handled a Kehoe before and was surprised how nice they are. Much nicer than any of the Buco j100s I've handled.

Disappointments? Not really. Other than the fact that being able to actually handle these jackets in the flesh takes away part of the magic. Twenty grail pieces on one rack, all for sale and and obtainable, as long as you bring a stack of cash. It made me realize how much I enjoy the hunt.

Was there one that seriously tempted you? Did you make a purchase?

Most of the jackets I really liked were in the ¥400k - ¥500k price range, which is about $3250 dollar. More than what I'm willing to spend on one jacket. I won't be leaving Japan without a jacket though, more about that later

@Marc mndt, how are the prices??? Are these jackets ridiculously priced like almost every Japanese listing you see???

Are the domestic stores in Japan more realistic???

You can definitely find nice jackets for reasonable prices. Original Grizzlies don't go for as much as vintage motorcycle jackets. Or nice halfbelts. This Windward was about $350 if remember correctly.

Vintage grails are expensive thought. I was shocked to see how expensive vintage Lewis leathers jackets are over here. I've seen Super Phantom's priced at ¥500k+. In Europe I've bought those for a couple of hundred €.

Most vintage grail pieces are about ¥400k which is a lot of money but not crazy money. It's as much as a new FW Centinela will cost you over here.

What's relatively cheap here are made in Japan repro clothing brands. A RMC j24 costs about €800 less than in Europe. I bought some stuff from Black Sign which is more than 40% cheaper over here.

Can you give a list of the places you visited? Definitely places I would like to visit on my next trip there!

Oh man, there's just too many. Just open google maps and search for 'vintage clothing' and they will pop up.

 

[semolina_pilchard]

Horsehide aviator jacket that I managed to score. It has a triple-marked Conmar zipper which I haven’t seen before, and I can’t find any information about it. Any thoughts on the decade? The guy I bought it from suggested the 30s.

 

[Marc mndt]

Horsehide aviator jacket that I managed to score. It has a triple-marked Conmar zipper which I haven’t seen before, and I can’t find any information about it. Any thoughts on the decade? The guy I bought it from suggested the 30s.

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It does have some design features in common with this 40s Californian that's currently listed in the vlj classifieds.

 

[jeo]

Looks to be the same Conmar zip that I saw on a JH-1 which is a late 40’s jacket. Wish the price tag wasn’t there so we could see the bottom of it but I’m fairly certain it’s a 40’s zip.

 

[Peacoat]

I believe that zipper to be an M-41 wartime Conmar, in production approximately 1939 to 1943. " USA" should be at the bottom of the zip, the part that is obscured by the price tag string.

 

[hieu]

Horsehide aviator jacket that I managed to score. It has a triple-marked Conmar zipper which I haven’t seen before, and I can’t find any information about it. Any thoughts on the decade? The guy I bought it from suggested the 30s.

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That's a beautiful jacket, I especially like the sleeves and bi-swing back. Sleeves with adjusters might just be my favorite. In terms of dating, I would also guess late 30s early 40s. Either way, congrats and thanks for sharing.

 

[semolina_pilchard]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! So it's possibly either very late 30s or early 40s

 

[hieu]

40s Aviator

This Aviator has more or less scratched my final collectors itch. It was sitting on yahoo auctions for a long time and I was always deterred by the high price tag. Ultimately, after waiting a few months and looking around for alternatives I really couldn't find any jackets in similar condition being sold for better prices and so I pulled the trigger.

I'm very glad that I did. It's always risky buying something you can't return but the jacket turned out fantastic condition wise and fit wise. It's everything I was looking for in an aviator.