The Official Temple of Jawnz Thread

[SPK]

Just sent my payment for washed black lamb double rider with details like the sample!! can't wait!

 

[MiniW]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

no, I really dislike pre-distressed stuff because it looks, well, pre-distressed. I have handwashed lamb that has qualities of distressing, without the outright deterioration of the leather itself, and lamb breaks in a lot faster than calf. You can get noticeable arm creasing in lamb within a day or two. If you study my fit pics, all the jackets have taken on very mild creasing in the arms in the 5 minutes I have worn them around.

Cowhide takes something 5-10 years before it starts looking incredible, but it is worth it. Maybe two years of intense wearing would show results too, but the reason I hate predistress (like the C Diem above) is that just like faux whiskers on jeans, there is no dimension or personality, and it's too washed out and deteriorated. An honestly broken-in leather jacket will have great creasing in the arms and back (from sitting down) soft creasing around the collar bone, some creasing up the side seams as well, plus, there will be the nice contrast between the matte of the leather and the shine on high points like seam puckers and the calandering effect you get on rolled edges, cuffs, the sides and back (where it follows your body contours) and around high-use areas. Just say no to pre-distressed leathers.

well said brother, there comes a time when one should stop buying things and start actually wearing them. I am just about there (godwilling).

 

[aeglus]

I met up with impolyt_one last night and got to take a look at his leathers. It looks like he did his research since he showed me what he started with on an earlier work which was the cheaper leather I'm used to seeing on Korean jackets.

The cowhide is just as heavy as he said. It's very thick, and seems pretty durable. I'm not saying it's unpleasant to touch or anything like that. But obviously if you want something that'll last a while, the cowhide is the one you'd want to get. It doesn't seem to scratch or scuff up too easily, so I'd guess he's right when he's saying it'd take a good year or two of wear to get it to where it has some noticeable aging. It's definitely not cheap crap. More or less feels like battle armor when you put it on, and if you get it too slim, it's going to be very uncomfortable for a long time. Make sure you get your measurements right if you go with this material because it's not going to stretch for a long, long time. If you get it right though, it looks like it'll last as long as you want.

The lambskin wasn't what I was expecting. I figured it'd be good, but I can't really tell the difference between what he's using and the high-end $2000 jackets. It's really smooth, and surprisingly thick when you consider that. However, it weighs a lot less than the cowhide. If you want a jacket where everyone wants to touch the ******* thing, then this is the material you want. It feels like baby skin so I'm not sure if I want to ask if it really came from a lamb. Downside to being so soft is that this material needs some care if you want it to last a long time. It'll get to the point of looking great within a single season of decent wear. It's easy to scratch and scuff up, so you want to be careful with it. The washed lamb is great looking and I sort of wish I had money to get this one too. Also, if you want a tight fit, then I think this is what you'd have to use.

As for the jackets themselves. The bomber, I'll be honest, looked pretty bad in the pictures. I'm not a fan of bombers to begin with. It doesn't look like that in person. The pockets are really flat, and it looks like it'd be really easy to dress up or down. It's still not the design I'd want, but if I had it, I'd definitely wear it. Materials for details on it are nice as well. If you want a jacket that can actually be dressed up, then this one is what you'd want.

The moto looks just as good as it does in the pictures. There were some errors in the sample, but he said that those would be fixed and ironed out before anyone gets their jacket. I like the detailing and making the seam on the arms being visible while looking at you head on. Makes your arms look slim, but from a profile view they won't. Construction is pretty solid on the sleeves, and I doubt there will be any problems with anything coming apart. I figure on this jacket, you wouldn't want to do any wild colors. Otherwise the zippers won't contrast well and it sort of ruins the appeal.

The rider he showed me was in cowhide, so it was heavy like I said before. There were mistakes made on the sample, but got told exactly what went wrong and how it'll be fixed. The belt is going to be more thick, and sleeves won't taper as much for example. Sleeves had the same seam detailing, so slimmer looking arms in front view, fuller in profile. This jacket had a double-zip on the front. It sounds like a cool idea, but honestly it's sort of a hassle to zip up. I could see it getting annoying after a while. So you might want to just opt for single-zip. Again, details look nice, and if you don't like something, you can just ask to not have it. This jacket would look pretty nice in a wild color if you really wanted to do that. Black is always classic though.

I know some people were bitching about zippers, but the YKK zippers he's using look fine. He showed me what he had at first, which operated pretty poorly and didn't zip smoothly. All the other zippers, as in what he uses now, are really smooth for metal zippers. The zippers look like they're engineered well and won't rip off. I don't think I'd worry much about them unless you like hitting them with a hammer or something like that.

Otherwise, we just talked about his business a bit. I think he has a good plan for getting in the game. He's taking things slowly, and focusing on a few quality pieces at a time. Not sending out **** that he hasn't gotten down right yet. He also knows that people aren't going to be paying $2000 for his things. Actually if you ask me, you're not going to get a better price on these jackets even if you do live in Korea and find some leather worker. I was curious because I thought the price was sort of low and wanted to see if any corners got cut. Honestly doesn't look like it. If you're new to leather jackets, the price is a steal for the materials you get if you ask me.

I'm probably putting down money this weekend on a jacket so more info then if there's questions. Sorry for the wall of text but I think the stuff is pretty nice.

 

[impolyt_one]

FYI: The pretense behind aeglus' long post was that we meet up for the first time yesterday and I brought along my samples for him to check out, and I asked him to give an unbiased report on my stuff on the board after he went home, as nobody else really gets a chance to see this stuff in person unless you actually buy it, since I live in Seoul and most of you don't... I think you did just that man, so thank you, much appreciated.

Thanks aeglus, and let me know when you're ready to get that jacket.

 

[impolyt_one]

BTW, if anyone has sent me emails, I will be hitting those up shortly but I've got to do a few things for the new couple hours or so. I just have a huge stack in my inbox and I'm trying to fire those back to people in a timely manner daily or more but it takes a while, so I appreciate your patience when emailing me.

 

[Leonard Leroy]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

For the record, I am probably the only person in this thread who can pull off leather pants, and it still wouldn't be a good look for me. Can we stop talking about this? I am getting a lot of images here.

I think I'd be fine in leather pants after I get a motorcycle.

 

[XenoX101]

Any chance of an asymmetric zipper (like fencing jacket without the curve, or like the biker but a bit more to the side) on the simple moto sometime in the future?

 

[Alias]

Nice writeup, aeglus. I'm seriously thinking about the lamb, although I'd also love a cowhide one since I tend to be clumsy and beat my clothes up.

 

[chronoaug]

Also, i don't think people realize that YKK makes some pretty nice zippers. There isn't just 1 ykk zipper out there. Sure there are crappy cheap ones you'll find at a mall or something, but i have some on a jacket or two that are really nice. Just a heads up for people not wanting to spend the extra on riris

Cool writeup aeglus. Which one are you gonna get? Moto i'm guessing since it seems more your thang?

 

[aeglus]

Moto is safer but I sort of want something a good bit different from what I've currently got. So right now at least I'm pushing towards the rider in cowhide, but I need to make sure I have the steeze for it.

 

[chronoaug]

Originally Posted by aeglus

Moto is safer but I sort of want something a good bit different from what I've currently got. So right now at least I'm pushing towards the rider in cowhide, but I need to make sure I have the steeze for it.

Personally, i think the rider would work well with the button ups and slim jeans/slacks you wear.

 

[impolyt_one]

Originally Posted by chronoaug

Also, i don't think people realize that YKK makes some pretty nice zippers. There isn't just 1 ykk zipper out there. Sure there are crappy cheap ones you'll find at a mall or something, but i have some on a jacket or two that are really nice. Just a heads up for people not wanting to spend the extra on riris

This, exactly man. I don't know how many times I can repeat this for people to believe me and to cut through the hype, but it's really a different story behind the scenes and not on the pages of SZ or something.

I am fully aware that people like the name Riri, but Riri, YKK, Lampo, maybe even Ideal, these are brand names, yes, but they have competing products that are very very similar in terms of function, and as far as aesthetics, zippers can look the same if spec'd the same. It's not like BMW vs Mercedes vs Audi here, it's a competition much tighter and they are analogs to each other. It just so happens that YKK is much bigger, it's Asian and I'm in Asia, and it's there for me to buy and Riri is not, that is all. Nothing to do with quality or price. Price-wise they're pretty dam close, minus the shipping Riris would cost me, and hundreds of metal #10 zippers can add up to some serious weight.
Pull tabs are changeable. In fact, if you get one of my jackets and don't like the bar pull tabs I put on them (because that's about all I can get, as far as good zippers go), if you find yourself at a YKK dealer or a zipper specialist, it is possible to exchange the pull tabs without disassembling the jacket any, that is the beauty behind the lift-nose pull YKK's (and Riris, that share the same design) which I use everywhere. It's just a matter of a pair of pliers to hold the slider and you can just pull out the original and slide in the replacement, I get it done all the time before I even put them on the jackets.

Vintage zippers, like Talon, etc - they're exactly that, vintage, strictly for novelty. They're cool for authenticity on WWII flight jackets, but zipper manufacturing technology has in fact come at least a little further in the past 60 years, just like textiles and accessory manufacturing. Precision things like zippers are the first things to benefit, that is why the Japanese YKK's and the Swiss Riri's are known to be pretty good.

Why does Riri get tossed around and show up all the time? They're Swiss and Italian made, and they most often are seen going into the French and Italian made clothes we like, and are admired as a result. If Japan or YKK happened to be in Switzerland, then I'm sure they'd get some or all of Riri's business as well and reach the same result. That is it. Riri's are cheaper and easier to get in Europe, YKK's are cheaper and easier to get in Asia.


By the by, relating back to SZ and zipper pull tabs;
The zippers used on Rick Owens, Ann D stuff lately; I don't even know what brand it is, I can't raelly decipher from the logo, but it's a ****** zipper. I've pulled them closed and had the closed teeth separate on me, on just about every one of those I've had. I've had Riri's on the Julius engineer boots that were nearly seized, and to make matters worse, they had that little pin pull which made getting a grip on them impossible.
Finally, the YKK zippers I use, they come to me from a wholesale market, where the zippers are all sorted and stuff, but occasionally there's freak stuff in there. Example: same zippers that I use, I found one in my bunch that looked identical and was the same piece, taping, teeth, slider, but the pull tab was for the Gap and was logo'ed, so I had to switch that. I've seen Banana Republic in there too. I obviously won't put these on my jackets, but it's a common sight, to see American or European branded overstock pieces that are actually standard zippers with branded logo pulls, in with everything else. They say 'GAP' instaed of YKK, and that is hard to catch or care about when you have a store with 20,000 zippers. Anyway, moral of the story; does the Gap actually use better quality zippers than Rick Owens or Ann Demeulemeester, or many other brands? Yes.

 

[melonadejello]

Originally Posted by aeglus

WALL

Really?
I thought the bomber was the best looking, and was slightly less impressed by the others and their biker-costumeyness.

I do agree on the impracticality of two-way zips on these...but I never understood the point of them on anything really.

 

[inviscid]

Originally Posted by chronoaug

Also, i don't think people realize that YKK makes some pretty nice zippers. There isn't just 1 ykk zipper out there. Sure there are crappy cheap ones you'll find at a mall or something, but i have some on a jacket or two that are really nice. Just a heads up for people not wanting to spend the extra on riris

Cool writeup aeglus. Which one are you gonna get? Moto i'm guessing since it seems more your thang?



TRUTH. My cousin works in marketing @ YKK, and he gave me a talk one day about the different levels of YKKs. He used cars to distinguish the levels, starting with the "cheap but dependable" Hondas up to the "Ferrari of YKKs" ....

 

[impolyt_one]

Ok, been thinking, and looking at my schedule, and I've come up with this for TOJ news: I have one order of leathers, TOJ1s, and G'Harringtons in this week, they'll be out by the end of this week if fast or after the weekend if they're slow. If I gave you my paypal address and you paid me money, your order is in, and in progress. I am trying not to rush them with these leathers, they take a lot more skill and time to make than the varsities, so bear with me as we ease into the TOJ leather series, if they fall a couple days behind schedule, I apologize in advance, I want them to be perfect as promised. TOJ1's from last week, I am sending in like 2 hrs when the PO opens. If you need the tracking number, email me. NEW ORDERS: Two things. The biggest Korean national holiday is coming up next week and lasts for 3 days, which will cripple all of my productivity for the 3 days, and I have a lot of other stuff to do, so I've decided to not take any new orders until the holidays are over, 10/3.... so no new orders from now til next week for anything. Sorry if this inconveniences anyone but my cutting room is a mess after this summer so I need to straighten up, and I'm computerizing patterns to be able to bring capacity up by a bazillion with even more precision, so once the re-organization and holidays are done here, we'll be steaming along at ten times the speed. I also want to make a women's pattern for the Double Rider's, which will happen next week. I will answer emails and stuff but take it easy on me, and I won't be accepting money until 10/3 or after, for my second run of leathers, etc. Also, I've promised a friend that I'll be at her wedding in London on 10/24, which was supposed to happen like in August and then September and now we've got a real date, so I have to go to that and I'll probably be gone in Europe from 10/18 to like 10/31 or so.... which means: The big order for leathers from 10/3 (I will probably close orders on like 10/7 or so to give people that tiny bit of added time) will likely be the only one I can do for October, with the slight possibility for one small order by a certain date to ensure timely shipment. People who were interested, please keep this upcoming order schedule in mind and sorry for the inconveniences. TOJ1 samples: spoken for, I will get back with people who called dibs on them very soon, busy today but probably tonight. Leather jacket samples: I can release these soon now that I'm done with them, keep in mind they're all skinny 46's and there's only one of each, which you've seen in the pictures, and each will be $395 shipped except for the Moto which has a short zipper placket that's been bothering me that I want to get fixed before selling. If you want one of them, keep them in mind, but I'm not selling them right at this moment, I need a couple more days to take care of other stuff before I get to those. That's about it from here. I will be here working on existing orders, and preparing for the next round in the meantime, so expect for me to come off my break with more stuff (of course)... ps. aeglus, the above schedule doesn't apply to you since you're here and shipping is not a factor.