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

Originally Posted by Makeshift_Robot

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Don't be down on yourself, dog; no one looks perfect. That's why we all wear clothes. That jacket isn't doing it for me at all, though. I'm sure it's durable and well-made, but the shape is just so "dad-jacket"-y. It's one of those cuts that would look a lot better in an earth-tone tweed than in black leather.
Thanks for the concern. The coat is also my barrier against the cruel world out there. I'm hoping that the gaze of onlookers will be distracted by the leather and away from the body and face... sniff... ... I do understand what you mean about the cut and style. However, with my frame & build and at my age, a very trim & short hugging jacket wouldn't work. It also cups and supports the gut beautifully.

Originally Posted by CodeRed

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THAT is truly awesome jacket that will last a llfetime..great selection.
Thanks. I'm very happy with it. It actually feels like it might just last three lifetimes. FQHH has got to be the heaviest stuff going. Fedora Lounge (Outerwear section) is the place to get proper advice and info on anything Aero. Lear (the ugly one)

Originally Posted by JTA

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Here.

i remember that now. I think that fit would be vastly improved with slimmer arms, particularly the forearms, because the body is very trim, it might just need a slight tailoring, which shouldn't be out of the question.
Also, it's not utmost but I think curved sleeves and sleeve pitch (in addition to a good elbow to wrist taper) make a huge world of difference on leather jackets, whether classically styled, or modern. That CCP up there on the hanger looks like it's literally alive, it's got a great sleeve pattern. The LW's and Aeros may not have it but I do think it makes for a much more stylish jacket, in addition to other patterning stuff.

Originally Posted by aqhong

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^ That would be the man who posted right above you, haha.

Official thread (first post is outdated): http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=138419
Updated info: http://graphr.net/toj/

just spent the morning lusting instead of studying for an exam. Thanks. Haha

Originally Posted by JTA

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I own Lost World horsehide Ryder jacket and Ventile Pilot coat. Have to admit, the construction on both jackets are superb and the lustre from the russet horsehide is beautiful. In general I am wearing 36 suits, 29 trousers/jeans, Small size jackets, 14.5/33 shirts. Based on my jackets, I am wearing XS in their Pilot and 34 in the Ryder. Their jacket is cut trim (but not skinny) in the body.
yeah drew, being in the business, makes some good points about the sleeves. body looks like a decent fit. but then again, it's motorcycle-weight leather? how heavy/ thick is it? so you sized down from 36 --> 34? is that what the dude told you to do?

Originally Posted by Lear

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Thanks. I'm very happy with it. It actually feels like it might just last three lifetimes. FQHH has got to be the heaviest stuff going. Fedora Lounge (Outerwear section) is the place to get proper advice and info on anything Aero.

Lear (the ugly one)

I love Aero jackets, and posted my dream Highwayman a ways back - cordovan color steerhide. But from my understanding of the responses on Fedora Lounge the steerhide outdoes the weight of FQHH. I get the impression that many people who get heavy steer end up changing, regretting, selling what they didn't expect to be 10+ pound jackets.

Originally Posted by somatoform

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I love Aero jackets, and posted my dream Highwayman a ways back - cordovan color steerhide. But from my understanding of the responses on Fedora Lounge the steerhide outdoes the weight of FQHH. I get the impression that many people who get heavy steer end up changing, regretting, selling what they didn't expect to be 10+ pound jackets.

THis makes it sound like the steerhide jackets are 4oz+ plus the wool lining; it'd be terrible for casual wear, even for the next 60 years, that's just too thick to do anything with, that's tooling leather thickness. Not impossible to wear, but you do want to be over a size Large, and also be prepared for a really ******* heavy jacket, it's wearing a jacket's worth of belt leather on you, which doesn't seem so casual to me. 3oz is plenty IMO, even as a general multi-purpose riding jacket as long as you don't expect it to be a superbike jacket.

4oz =1.6mm thickness, good for maybe a very cold weather rider, but unwieldly
3oz =1.2mm thickness, which is plenty as it is. It'd be functional for riding in, with enough flexibility for wearing casually. Also, just about the max a machine can get through when you start putting the 4 layers together, for collars and stuff.

FWIW the Aero on the other page is probably 1.4ish, that Julius lamb that look so thick is probably about 1-1.2mm thick (with light density) and maybe fortified to 1.4mm with a porous backing, thin-looking nappa leathers are like 0.6-0.8mm, I make jackets in the 1-1.3, sometimes up to 1.6 range, I adjust thickness by buying the thickest garment leathers and shave them (by 0.1-0.3mm) religiously so that they come out with a mix of form+function.
I think my MMM calfskin riders is about 0.9mm and it's still a heavy jacket for something in size XS, about 3.5lbs.

That pretty much sums up people's complaints of it - it's too thick, too heavy - saddle leather is what complainers call its sheer bulk (though they do have midweight and quite a few people manage to wear them well).

New:

Originally Posted by somatoform

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After one year (pic from FL):

size is really a big component of overall look/satisfaction: if you're LabelKing/me thin to a fit/average 50/52ish, you're gonna look better swathed in lambskin, cut Dior Homme tight to average patterning. If you're big/thick, you don't want lamb, you want at least calf and maybe thick horse, 3.5oz+. The thickness does come into play real life when a properly fitted jacket bends at the small of the elbows, if the leather is too thick and stiff it'll hurt there until worn in, which could take years.

I can imagine a pretty burly guy looking decent in the Aero steer, but anybody less than a 40" chest/5'10-11" at the very least, forget about it. It'll overwhelm them.

Originally Posted by somatoform

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I love Aero jackets, and posted my dream Highwayman a ways back - cordovan color steerhide. But from my understanding of the responses on Fedora Lounge the steerhide outdoes the weight of FQHH. I get the impression that many people who get heavy steer end up changing, regretting, selling what they didn't expect to be 10+ pound jackets.
Yes, I've heard that the steerhide is also surprisingly heavy. Everyone pulls funny faces when lifting my FQHH coats. Last week, I handed it to a sales assistant while her manager measured me for something. She was astounded, and called over the other assistants to feel the weight too. Thankfully, every Aero purchase comes with a years free gym membership. After one year, if you still can't pick it up off the floor, they guarantee to give you your money back. Now that's what I call customer service!

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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THis makes it sound like the steerhide jackets are 4oz+ plus the wool lining; it'd be terrible for casual wear, even for the next 60 years, that's just too thick to do anything with, that's tooling leather thickness... <snip>
I can't argue with you. I just like my stuff heavy. This even extends to heavyweight 16oz suiting fabrics. In fact it extends to just about everything in my life, except my women. Besides, nothing supports the prodigious gut like a piece of armour plated, reinforced horsehide. Lear (the ugly one)

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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i remember that now. I think that fit would be vastly improved with slimmer arms, particularly the forearms, because the body is very trim, it might just need a slight tailoring, which shouldn't be out of the question. Also, it's not utmost but I think curved sleeves and sleeve pitch (in addition to a good elbow to wrist taper) make a huge world of difference on leather jackets, whether classically styled, or modern. That CCP up there on the hanger looks like it's literally alive, it's got a great sleeve pattern. The LW's and Aeros may not have it but I do think it makes for a much more stylish jacket, in addition to other patterning stuff.
Agree, I am in the same opinion as you that should the sleeve is slimmer than the jacket would be fitted much better. Is it possible to slim down the sleeve when the jacket is already done? I understand it may be very challenging with the armhole.

Originally Posted by delirium

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yeah drew, being in the business, makes some good points about the sleeves. body looks like a decent fit. but then again, it's motorcycle-weight leather? how heavy/ thick is it? so you sized down from 36 --> 34? is that what the dude told you to do?
I did my research through some Japanese website to understand the LW sizing (they are well known in Japan) and requested some information from people who are owning Ryder jacket. From there I decided that 34 is the size for me. I like my jacket to fit trim but not skinny. I would not recommend to size down if the person has big belly as the fit is trim in the body hence when I zipped the jacket, it fits me snug. Stuart was very prompt with his response, he suggested that I should take 34 when I told him that I am wearing XS for the Pilot jacket. In my limited knowledge the sizing are XS (34-36), S (36-38), M (38-40) and so on, hence go for the upper threshold for trimmer fit. Mine one is not the industrial weight 4+oz but the lighter 3oz hence it is bearable to carry and wear. Still it is a serious jacket already.

Originally Posted by JTA

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Agree, I am in the same opinion as you that should the sleeve is slimmer than the jacket would be fitted much better. Is it possible to slim down the sleeve when the jacket is already done? I understand it may be very challenging with the armhole.
Not at all IMO, but the one thing is that an inseam sleeve taper (since that wrist band connects to the inseam, just a matter of darting in the inseam from about lower-mid bicep) might call for a slight lift of the cuff by like a half inch or so, since the edges of yours are stitched down and that'd have to be skipped over for fresh leather. Very possible though, and a factory sendback/tailoring job would do well, even if you did show some shirt cuff.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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Not at all IMO, but the one thing is that an inseam sleeve taper (since that wrist band connects to the inseam, just a matter of darting in the inseam from about lower-mid bicep) might call for a slight lift of the cuff by like a half inch or so, since the edges of yours are stitched down and that'd have to be skipped over for fresh leather. Very possible though, and a factory sendback/tailoring job would do well, even if you did show some shirt cuff.

Understand, thanks Drew. Much appreciate the feedback.

It is too much hassle should I send the jacket back to NY as I am locating in Sydney, I suppose I need to find a quality and recommended leather alteration specialist locally.

Perhaps some members could chime in.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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I can imagine a pretty burly guy looking decent in the Aero steer, but anybody less than a 40" chest/5'10-11" at the very least, forget about it. It'll overwhelm them.

Some make it work, other's don't. Some people, among many others, I don't consider burly have managed well (though I guess they are burly by SWD standards):

size is really a big component of overall look/satisfaction

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Abso ******* lutely (I'm thinking less body type though and more how they fit)

Perfect example: I think the TOJ calf looks very nice indeed, but I didn't always think so. It was the way certain people were sizing that totally turned me off the whole TOJ DR. Admittedly it was primarily the Aeglus fit that was the problem (no offense to the guy). Just could not see beyond the fit to the jacket itself.

Then when you come to certain fits later on (actually in the TOJ thread one guys gets heat for sizing a DR too big, but, ironically, that's the best looking one) you begin to see that it is a very nice jacket (hide and all). Some of the TOJ fit pics are on the oppositte spectrum of FL fit pics and in between the lure of the jackets just get lost, IMO.


As a designer and businessman do you ever feel inclined to eliminate certain fit pics of your product to ensure the product is represented 'well' (granted "well" is different to different people), to ensure image control? Or are you ok with just demonstrating as many fits as there are and hoping that people 'get' the underlying quality of the jacket regardless of the specific fit?

Somatoform, don't know if this helps you with colour. This is a size 48 Veste de Rallye coat. Heavy as hell . It's designed as a boxy fit overcoat. It still fitted too large though (like a size 50 in other coats), so I sold it and reordered as a size 46, with two-piece trimmer back. Be aware that cordovan can sometimes bleed for a while. Brown apparently less so. The two front flaps of FQHH are in fact the coat turned back on itself, not a feature. When new, the leather tends to keep the shape you bend it into. In fact, mine was able to fully stand up on its own, unsupported! You can have hours of fun in coffee shops, positioning it opposite yourself, then engaging in lengthy conversations with your imaginary (headless) friend. Lear (the ugly one)

you should inquire/press with LW, as they have the original leather. They make good enough margin where they should be able to satisfy customer's needs in that way, JTA. $30 shipping for 30 years of good wear.