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

[whorishconsumer]

The repro MA-1 sleeve creases are another famous example.

I wasn't familiar with this, although I had heard about the coveted blistering effect. Could say more on this?

 

[JibranK]

If you don't own at least three black double riders you're not allowed to post in this thread.

You’re on thin ice, tbh. To be a real participant, you need at least 10.

 

[JibranK]

I wasn't familiar with this, although I had heard about the coveted blistering effect. Could say more on this?

I could, but William Gibson did so much better in Pattern Recognition:

The Rickson’s is a fanatical museum−grade replica of a U.S. MA−1 flying jacket, as purely functional and iconic a garment as the previous century produced. Dorotea’s slow burn is being accelerated, Cayce suspects, by her perception that Cayce’s MA−1 trumps any attempt at minimalism, the Rickson’s having been created by Japanese obsessives driven by passions having nothing at all to do with anything remotely like fashion.

Cayce knows, for instance, that the characteristically wrinkled seams down either arm were originally the result of sewing with pre−war industrial machines that rebelled against the slippery new material, nylon. The makers of the Rickson’s have exaggerated this, but only very slightly, and done a hundred other things, tiny things, as well, so that their product has become, in some very Japanese way, the result of an act of worship. It is an imitation more real somehow than that which it emulates. It is easily the most expensive garment Cayce owns, and would be virtually impossible to replace.

 

[whorishconsumer]

I could, but William Gibson did so much better in Pattern Recognition:

That kind of effect has been even more exaggerated in streetwear.

 

[JibranK]

That kind of effect has been even more exaggerated in streetwear.

Definitely. Rickson’s really does minimally exaggerate those details, when they do. Other brands make the exaggeration the centerpiece of the design

 

[XWT]

I like Buzz Ricksons. They make a mean G-1.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

 

[JibranK]

I like Buzz Ricksons. They make a mean G-1.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

If you like G-1 (and related design) jackets, there's a guy named David Sheeley in VA who specializes in them, to the point that he has the same equipment Monarch used to make them back in the day. His work is beautifully made (including the non-Mil jackets.)

 

[XWT]

@JibranK thanks for turning me in his direction!

 

[JibranK]

@JibranK thanks for turning me in his direction!

How he got into it is fascinating. At his dad's funeral (his dad was a fighter pilot), he saw a picture of his dad as a young pilot wearing his G-1 in the 50s (before it got stolen in the 60s), and started on the path of reproducing it. It ended up taking ten years, but he became an expert on it in the process.

 

[XWT]

Do you know him? It’s literally the first time I hear about him and I’m kind of a huge geek regarding clothing in general so I’m happy to access new knowledge.

 

[JibranK]

Do you know him? It’s literally the first time I hear about him and I’m kind of a huge geek regarding clothing in general so I’m happy to access new knowledge.

Nah, I came across his work and research while researching leather jackets. Part of me wants to put in an order with him, while the other part is smacking my head for thinking about another jacket. I'm currently attempting to make both reconcile, because I don't have a G-1, which makes it completely different. ?

 

[Mghart]

@XWT Iirc, Sheeley doesn’t have a website, but sells build slots and completed jackets on eBay. His work looks great and probably more accessible than say Goodwear.

 

[XWT]

It’s impressively detailed.

I don’t need a G-1 though. Maybe in a few years. You never know.

 

[patrick_b]

Was Sheeley trained by John Chapman or was that a different guy?

 

[Mghart]

Was Sheeley trained by John Chapman or was that a different guy?

I don't know about Sheeley, but I recall reading that Greg Field was going to assist John at one point to help with production because of Johns multi-year wait. I'm guessing that was maybe after Greg left Aero but perhaps fell through and Greg started his own label.