Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

What would you do . . . .

Superfluous

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,995
Location
Missing in action
Someone posts a new jacket. It’s a nice jacket. However, upon closer inspection, you observe a palpable shortcoming and/or deviation from the original jacket. The owner may not be aware of the issue and/or likely does not care. Do you speak-up about your observation, cast yourself as a killjoy and/or potentially impair the owner’s excitement about his new jacket? Or, do you remain silent about you observation and, in so doing, deny the community information about jacket details?

This “outerwear” community exists largely to discuss minute jacket details that are overlooked by the vast majority of jacket owners. We see and discuss issues, shortcomings and deviations that most would never see or care about. We pay ridiculous sums of money for jackets made by people who we trust to get the details right. We come here to discuss, and educate ourselves about, these details. According to this line of reasoning, posting information about a particular jacket’s shortcomings and/or deviation from the original is consistent with the purpose of the forum. Such a post may also serve to educate . . . including the maker of the jacket, who may correct the issue on subsequent jackets.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, we should be sensitive to the feelings of our fellow community members and not unnecessarily rain on their parades. When someone comes here and proudly posts about their new jacket, and is obviously smitten with the jacket, do we really want to undermine and diminish their joy with a negative/critical post? Is that fair?

A while back, I proudly posted photos of my new Good Wear Imperial. I was very excited about my new jacket. The initial responses were quite positive. Then, someone observed that the chest pocket appeared slightly too high. The thread subsequently evolved from a positive discussion about my new jacket into a discussion about the location of the chest pocket. The resulting discussion was informative even though it revolved around an arguable shortcoming in my jacket. My initial glee was undermined as I fretted about the chest pocket. Was the initial poster who criticized the location of the chest pocket wrong for raining on my parade, or was he making a fair observation which launched an informative discussion regarding chest pocket location? Before you answer, let me bring this story full circle. I brought the matter to JC’s attention, he acknowledged that the location of the chest pocket was not ideal, and he remade the jacket. Now, I have a jacket with a better located chest pocket, and I am happier with the remake than I was with the original. Thus, the original critical post ultimately led to a positive outcome. Does that change your opinion of the original poster’s decision to question the details of my new jacket? Not all jacket manufacturers will go the extra length that JC did with my jacket, so pointing out a shortcoming might not lead to my outcome.

Interestingly, I posed this question privately to two respected members of this forum -- one recommended remaining silent, and the other was in favor of posting the information.

What do you think?
 
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Easy, PM the person and chat with them. Let them decide if it should be discussed and if it matters to them.
After the influx of hyper-critical posts in the last months, I looked at ALL of my leather jackets. ALL of them have some flaws that frankly, didn't even hit my OCD eyes before.
I decided "so effin' what" and put them back on the hangers...
 

heron163

One of the Regulars
Messages
151
Location
northeast
I think that most on this forum would have a more detailed knowledge and appreciation of such things and would appreciate honest feedback. I know I would...
 
Messages
16,842
I've oftentimes been thinking about the exact same thing and... I don't know. It's a subjective thing, for me. Depends on the nature of the shortcoming - if it's a minor thing, I guess I'd have to decide whether it's something worth bringing up, but if I feel that the person in question has been wrong by the maker, I'll speak out. I'm not really an expert of any sort, though, so for the most part I also wouldn't have the cajones to comment on something I'm not sure of myself.

But yeah, what Heron said, I'd definitely prefer honesty. I would really appreciate being able to decide for myself whether the supposed error in my jacket is something that's going to bother me - even if it meant going through the hustle of exchanging, returning or selling the jacket. Plus, I'd learn something. So yes, I personally would rather know.

And I mean, yeah, what you said - discussing these things is kind of the very purpose of this place and the reason why I'm here. Wouldn't be the place to hang around if if I believed in ignorance being a bliss. :)
 
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Yeah, but it's also a bummer when someone starts crapping all over a guy/gal's new jacket too. And we've seen plenty of picking on one maker vs this maker here.
Honesty and discussions are fine, but most of us have some prejudices and frankly, I'd rather see someone PM someone before taking it upon themselves to "educate" the poor sap about how much their jacket sucks. If you know what I mean...everyone here has eyes and the same pics to look at.
 

Fanch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,490
Location
Texas
I have often wondered the same thing and recall well the "high" chest pocket on the OP's GW that I would probably not have mentioned even if I had noticed it initially, which was not on my radar until someone else brought it up. Even then ... ? I tend to take the same position as nick123 and would hesitate coming off as overly critical of someone else's prize possession.

I continue to be impressed with the incredible ability of Superfluous for analytical thinking and verbal/written expression!
 

zebedee

One Too Many
Messages
1,904
Location
Shanghai
Personally, I wouldn't inform them. Even if I was sure it was a problem (and I only got my first Aero in 2009, so I'm far from an expert), I don't like to rustle cages or wake dogs. I've had people drop comments (not here) on what they thought was a fault in a jacket (a big chest wrinkle resulting from an internal chest pocket) and I then started to bother myself about and it was ultimately a non-issue. I'm much more likely to list the positives. Then again, I'm not in the camp of expecting perfection in a leather jacket; to me, they're not really fashion items- I probably look bollocks in them- I buy them more as utility items because I can wallop the hell out of them and they don't rip or look unusable. I let myself go a bit with the linings, though :) . I'd raise hell if a tailor stuffed up a suit, on the other hand- leather's a different sort of thing regarding pinpoint accuracy, at least to me.
 

Worf

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,207
Location
Troy, New York, USA
I think I personally lack sufficient knowledge to critique the details of most jackets. If I feel the fit isn't right (sleeves too short etc...) I'll offer an opinion if it's asked, but only if it's asked. Everyone here was VERY kind to me when I first joined. I look at my early posts... WTF was I thinkin with some of those jackets and coats. So I generally go the "if you don't have anything nice to say..." route unless asked.

Worf
 

Superfluous

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,995
Location
Missing in action
I must admit that I am surprised by the clear majority opinion voiced above. Therefore, as is my nature, I will play Devil's Advocate.

This forum offers an incredible data base of information regarding the minute details of countless repro jackets. In fact, many here found this forum while searching for information regarding a particular jacket. That data base was developed as a result of detailed discussions, debates and critical analysis of the subject jackets. By way of example, the various repro A2s offered by most well know manufacturers have been dissected and critically analyzed with microscopic precision . . . every inch and every detail has been carefully considered and evaluated against the original jackets. No punches were pulled . . . if something was not right, it was brought to light and publicly discussed. As a result, TFL has an extraordinary data base regarding A2 jackets that many here have drawn upon. The same holds true for many other repros. Moreover, certain jacket manufacturers have fine tuned the details of their repros based on the discussion and critical analysis that occurred here on TFL.

If the foregoing discussions and analysis had occurred by way of private messaging, the TFL data base would not exist, and no one else would benefit from the dialogue. Isn't the fundamental purpose of a discussion forum to publicly discuss and analyze the issues that are the focus of the forum? Private messaging undermines and defeats this fundamental purpose. This would be a mighty boring forum if all critical analysis occurred by way of PMs.

Why are we here? Are we nothing more than a group of back slappers, congratulating each other's new acquisitions? Are critical observations verboten? Isn't critical discussion, analysis and debate essential to increase our individual and collective knowledge and TFL's ever expanding data base? Don't we want the manufacturers to benefit from our discussion and thereafter produce better jackets? Or, would we rather stand around congratulating each other, without regard for the quality or details of the newly acquired jackets, and avoid critical inquiry and/or controversy at all cost?
 
Last edited:

Cooperson

One Too Many
Messages
1,165
Location
Midlands UK
I regularly see issues on new jackets that personally I couldn't live with. However, if the poster hasn't picked up on it, I don't feel comfortable spoiling his enjoyment so I'd rather not comment.
 
Last edited:

zebedee

One Too Many
Messages
1,904
Location
Shanghai
There is a spectrum of comment and reaction- if someone posted with something horrendously ill-proportioned, then I'd comment, but if he/she clearly loved the item, I might not. It might come down to taste- I can honestly say that Windward-style jackets-to me- always look badly fitted, but I know sweet FA about them. Peacoats in leather I also find pretty yucky (though I have seen two great ones on here)- but I am not an authority on these things, and it's therefore preference.
 

Fanch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,490
Location
Texas
One of the problems with seeing pictures is that evaluation is only two dimensional, as opposed to seeing something up close and personal. A case in point: I recently acquired a jacket from a good friend of mine that was way too tight in the shoulders and chest, although the pictures failed to adequately demonstrate this. However, the jacket felt way too tight, and both my wife and daughter provided independent negative opinions to effect. If I see only one part of the elephant, I am hesitant to give a negative comment.
 

ProteinNerd

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,902
Location
Sydney
Ummm....I'm pretty sure it was me that pointed out the chest pocket. [emoji33]

It wasn't done with a mean spirit. It was just the first thing that popped out to me and nobody else had mentioned it so.....

I just know what it's like, sometimes you get a new jacket that you are excited about and miss something. Maybe a few week later you finally see it and by then it's too late to have anything done.

I'm a pretty straight up guy and usually say something but it's because I appreciate people being straight with me. I'm also not a world authority on these things so voice my opinion and see if other more expert members agree or not.

My wife has said on more than 1 occasion that I can be "too honest" at times lol

On reflection Superfluous, are you happy I pointed it out?
 

ProteinNerd

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,902
Location
Sydney
Ignore my post, I just went back and it wasn't me that mentioned it first although I do remember the pocket really jumping out at me on first look.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,253
Messages
3,077,335
Members
54,183
Latest member
UrbanGraveDave
Top