sweetfights
My Mail is Forwarded Here
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What Jacket Are You Wearing Today?
- Thread starter dan_t
- Start date
J Leather Investigater
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,661
- Location
- Wilmington n.c.
Nice, it turned into a keeper
technovox
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,242
- Location
- San Francisco
Just picked up this new Johnson Leather Horsehide jacket yesterday. Taking it out for a beach ride. (Daughter took this photo.)
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technovox
One Too Many
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- 1,242
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- San Francisco
And a few more close ups of the JL German Horsehide ...lots of character with this hide right out of the box.
Jin431
Call Me a Cab
- Messages
- 2,912
- Location
- Bay Area CA
That new hide (the suede-y touch?) looks nice and seems perfect for this type of jacket. The leather looks like an aniline finish and the varied grains looks great. I'm glad you can wear your leather jacket and doing an actual activity too, its baking on my part of the Bay lol
Gotta love that Seal Vermont and the natural accents with the brass go together well! Hope you had a great weekend
technovox
One Too Many
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- 1,242
- Location
- San Francisco
You're right -this new brand of hide has kind of a fine velvety outerlayer that suggests suede. Very soft. Never seen this in a horsehide...and that's what sold me on it.
Salmosalar
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 414
Belstaff half-belt - a bit of a “fashion jacket” but has put in a decade of service and is a more lightweight option - I would not buy this brand again new as there are much better options out there for a lot less money. The leather itself is OK for a lightweight hide with a good drape and it has taken on some interesting patina over the years but the overall quality and craftsmansip for the price is not even close to what Vanson, Aero or Lewis
offer for a fraction of the cost - note the wonky stitching on the halfbelt for instance - but it is still just about clinging
on in the rotation as a beater…
Marc mndt
I'll Lock Up
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- 7,445
Salmosalar
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 414
Yep - looks like a straight-up copy - it had the wrist straps too but I removed them as I hate having straps there (none on my Aero Wayfarers either) as they serve no great purpose for me and just get snagged on things endlessly - I guess the back is also similar to this Windward? The shoulder gussets are not something I really like either on jackets in general tbh but they are not too bad on this thinner leather given the slim fit overall - it has its place in the rotation but mostly squeezed out by better quality jackets from other makers these days. I think Belstaff had their heyday back in the 70s, and the cafe racer I have from that period is v close to the equivalent Lewis Monza. I trialled a few more recent models and moved them all on - this halfbelt and the 70s racer are the only ones I thought worth keeping….what do other Loungers feel about this brand and how it has changed over the years? I think it is more in the fashion ‘expensive mall jacket” territory these days, with not v interesting hides or patterns and the fits are pretty poor I find, with ridiculously long sleeves in particular - they even made their recent attempt at a Grizzly look mundane and run-of-the-mill, which takes some doing with such an otherwise striking design - one that Thedii and Himel have really perfected imo…. Any thoughts on Belstaff leathers from the FL? They were once an iconic brand but they very rarely appear on these pages…
Salmosalar
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 414
The flap pockets and collars on those original Windwards are also much nicer than on my Belstaff copy, which plays it a bit too safe imo….
Marc mndt
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,445
Salmosalar
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 414
Thanks Marc! This is clearly the model they copied - the original is a much nicer looking jacket on balance…the extra attention to detail elevates it over the Belstaff.The original also had shoulder pleats
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I think it's an excellent looking jacket and having owned & wore a few Belstaff jackets, other than the lighter leather, I wouldn't place them behind any of the makers you've listed. Strictly visually speaking, leather on a good Belstaff jacket is on a level that our favorite makers have yet to reach.
Their 80's to 90's motorcycle stuff is very impressive, too.
As for it being a fashion jacket. . . Since this is something dictated by the purpose of the jacket, I think all of our jackets here could be classified as fashion pieces.
Salmosalar
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 414
I would say it is a “fashion” jacket in the sense that they are very high profile among the more trendy set and with lots of product placement etc, rather than using “fashion” in a negative sense per se - I would bet that on asking a random sample of high street shoppers in London or another fashion-conscious big city to name a quality leather jacket brand most of them would namecheck Belstaff close to the top of the list but very few if any would mention Aero, Vanson, or even Lewis - and yet on FL the former barely get a look-in….so although seemingly not very fashionable on FL, there is no doubt they are very much so in the wider world. What intrigues me is why the disparity? As Monitor says some of their leathers are very good, but in my experience it varies wildly with the era and models - and many of the jackets I have handled recently have certainly been below the standard of the regular makers on FL but also at a higher pricepoint, making them poorer value for money (for me at least). I also agree many of their older moto designs were excellent - the same for their classic wax jackets - and they have rebooted the moto line in recent years, so it might be worth another closer look. I do find the fits generally very weird though, but that might just be me! Many of the instore jackets seem to have incredibly narrow chests and very long arms - and given there is no m2m option getting one tailored to fit puts them into an even higher price bracket….my general feeling is if you want a lightweight smart looking jacket they are a reasonable bet, if you can get the fit right and don't mind paying extra for the badge - but for something more substantial, I would look elsewhere first these days….I think it's an excellent looking jacket and having owned & wore a few Belstaff jackets, other than the lighter leather, I wouldn't place them behind any of the makers you've listed. Strictly visually speaking, leather on a good Belstaff jacket is on a level that our favorite makers have yet to reach.
Their 80's to 90's motorcycle stuff is very impressive, too.
As for it being a fashion jacket. . . Since this is something dictated by the purpose of the jacket, I think all of our jackets here could be classified as fashion pieces.
TommyMizz1
New in Town
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- 17
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Was just making a classifieds thread for this but now I'm not so sure if I want to sell it. Without any single doubt, heaviest leather jacket I've ever seen.
