Leather Jackets: Post Pictures of the Best You've Seen/Owned?

So just to confirm, the current-season Margiela leather jackets are using YKK zippers? Has anyone bought one recently, and can you comment on the quality? Just debating used vs. new, since I don't seem to be able to find any NOS sales of black jackets from the previous season.

who cares about the zipper brand as long as it's good? YKK can indeed manufacture high quality zippers

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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I am interested in what criteria Fuuma and somatoform consider as it pertains to quality; use leather jackets as an example if needed

Well, it's not only specific criteria per se, but the logic of any judgement. So, for example, I said this:

Originally Posted by somatoform

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but, then again, we also all know that first-hand experience with any piece can mean alot or nothing at all.

Which should be ended with "depending on the judger", in which case first-hand experience is both paramount and potentially meaningless.


We all know that many, not all, but many TOJ customers actually broke their leather virginity with ToJ, many of them have said as much, and I have said before that leather jackets have not been a hot topic on SF as far as I have seen except relatively recently. And those who did own leather jackets previous to their ToJ purchases weren't exactly dealing with jackets held to high standards. If they did they certainly weren't talking about it or posting pics. So here is one criteria and one repeat point:

1. First-hand experience doesn't in itself mean anything. It's not that Bob can't say that leather x is better than y, but that he can't even really say that x is very good at all when Bob broke his leather virginity with leather x and this informs his judgements.

2. So one criteria is the person making the judgement. We trust certain people, as we should. ToJ does not have that customer base with that knowledge base, especially not when I'm seeing ToJ burst the buy and sell at the seams (I'm being dramatic, but you get the point) - I think someone one joked that he saw more ToJ in buy and sell than anywhere else. Which is funny because there's some truth to it, and it's not just because of sizing. Leather jackets aren't supposed to be so temporary, and leather jacket buyers are not supposed to be so fickle in their wants. Call me idealistic, but I always thought that when you get a leather jacket you stay put.... for a long time. I don't trust customers with leather jackets who are fickle in that way... fly by night purchasers or however else you want to frame them. In the same way that I don't trust sweeping judgements by leathers virgins who break their virginity with that one brand. I don't care to hear much from the dilettantes of leather jackets, whatever brand it may be.


This for me is a very important no "first-hand experience necessary criteria". I don't only look at the product or brand, I look at the cosumer base, what they say, and how they act, et, etc.

Originally Posted by bob99

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So just to confirm, the current-season Margiela leather jackets are using YKK zippers? Has anyone bought one recently, and can you comment on the quality? Just debating used vs. new, since I don't seem to be able to find any NOS sales of black jackets from the previous season.

I will answer this, since I actually know what the **** I am talking about: MMM has been using YKK made in Japan Excella zippers for 5 years now, on the 5-zip. On the women's version, MRS zippers have been used from time to time, but the women's version is rare to begin with, and this season Barney's Japan had one limited edition replica of the 2001 version with blacked out MRS zippers to mimic the original, while the regular production models had the same YKK zips.

If anyone can even find any info on MRS zips, you get brownie points for the day.

Originally Posted by somatoform

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1. First-hand experience doesn't in itself mean anything. It's not that Bob can't say that leather x is better than y, but that he can't even really say that x is very good at all when Bob broke his leather virginity with leather x and this informs his judgements.
So we pretty much should disregard 951Socals post because he seem to only own or handled one, which is a 10 year old MMM 5-zip?

All thsi zippers talk got me curious, what does RO use? It has an "RY" on the back of it.

somatoform, that's all fine and well, but I know you've been posting about leather jackets for awhile now, so I was asking what your criterion for leather jacket quality are.

RY is RY, it's used by Ann D, Rick, some MMM, it's a European made zipper with a tooth design like a standard YKK. I've had 3 pieces with RYs and all 3 malfunctioned.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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RY is RY, it's used by Ann D, Rick, some MMM, it's a European made zipper with a tooth design like a standard YKK. I've had 3 pieces with RYs and all 3 malfunctioned.

They're actually my fav zippers w. lampo but YMMV. I had riri annoy the **** out of me (hard of use, fall off, etc) and YKK seem to have so many diff quality levels I can't really have a distinct opinion on them.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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RY is RY, it's used by Ann D, Rick, some MMM, it's a European made zipper with a tooth design like a standard YKK. I've had 3 pieces with RYs and all 3 malfunctioned.

Oh ok
Was just curious since it is rarely mentioned, I do love their zippers.

Originally Posted by RFX45

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So we pretty much should disregard 951Socals post because he seem to only own or handled one, which is a 10 year old MMM 5-zip?

dainese Ducati braded leather laying on the tank of my bike

MMM 5 zip (which is not high quality i like how when you're out of **** to say you change the subject)

lets get back to what im saying:


1: its cheap $600 you have a 5 zip that rivals the quality of TOJ and will last 10 years (how do i know? ) because i bought one and i've been happy. haven't had the need to buy another one.

2: im not the one obsessing over zippers, thats this guy" impolyt_one", who started talking about how **** MRS zippers were compared to YKK and how that brand of zipper strictly denotes quality. i don't care about zippers. as long as they zip they're fine IMO

Originally Posted by 951socal

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no, but its fairly obvious he got them for cheap and is using it as a marketing gimmick.
then again i don't expect anyone wih TOJ as their location and a guy with WTB: ANY TOJ AND BLACK SCISSORS LEATHERS

to give any unbiased opinions what so ever. something in your life has made you loyal to this man knocking out "MTM" leathers in his garage.
Really though, how can you claim thats made to measure? you're not even there for it, he's not a tailor ....

Are you seriously that stupid?

Originally Posted by 951socal

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Take my word for it then, it still is as nice as the day i bought it. as far as the guy who owns temple of jeans putting it down to promote his product saying the lining rips. i'd find that unlikely since my linning has no holes or damage what so ever. as far as the YKK zippers, sure they are fine, but they are also cheap. YKK zippers are found on cheap clothing like dockers and levis. and as a kid those jansport backpacks with the zippers that always break after about 6 months of use? Ykk sourced
Sounds like you care here - You're a right laugh, I'm enjoying this.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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They're actually my fav zippers w. lampo but YMMV. I had riri annoy the **** out of me (hard of use, fall off, etc) and YKK seem to have so many diff quality levels I can't really have a distinct opinion on them.

YKK as a global company with many countries of source is confusing even for people who deal with YKK directly in an industrial manner - generally though, the metal toothed YKK's are made in Japan, Excella is the top line YKK that competes with Riri metal series (ie M4, M6, M8), Lampo, RY, MRS, etc. There are higher quality nylon tooth YKK's, just as there are nylon toothed Riri, etc, and then below that, where YKK has the sprawling worldwide exposure is mainly with their coil zippers, which are cheap and made everywhere. A coil zipper costs like 50 cents, as opposed to a YKK Excella metal zipper with some hand finishing that costs like $10 a unit. Riri costs about the same but is priced in Euros so it can be expensive at times, likewise YKK made in Japans are subject to the yen.
Not all of the makers make the same sized zippers - 10mm is big for a metal zipper, YKK makes it, but some of the others don't, so designers would factor that in as well. All in all it doesn't really matter - cent for cent they are all about the same. FWIW, an Ann bag I was referring to with an RY zip, it has the RY on the main zip, but the internal pocket zip is YKK. Some Julius jackets mixed Riri with YKK. Different flavors, same basic thing. Nobody really knows anything about zippers on internet clothing forums anyway, but I digress...

Originally Posted by RFX45

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So we pretty much should disregard 951Socals post because he seem to only own or handled one, which is a 10 year old MMM 5-zip?


In the vein of that one criteria, yes.

But I should say that I kinda laugh when he talks so much about zippers. I must confess I too never gave too much thought about zippers until I read YKK or whatever in ToJ posts, but then you have to ask, what's all this talk about zippers like YKK is exotic or something. I see them everywhere, and not on exceptional brands or anything. Now when I see a pic of anything on the net that just happens to have a YKK zip I can't help but take notice and say, "oh, look a YKK zip.... wait, why do I give a ****?"