What to wear with my French cyclist jacket (Hartmann pattern)

[Kermit]

Hi all.
I recently bought the jacket of my dreams: a French cyclist jacket (luftwaffe hartmann jacket). The particularity of this type of jacket is that the waist is very short.

I am looking for an outfit to go with it, especially pants.

I am not a purist. I'm not looking for an outfit that is perfectly identical to what we could find in the 1930s/1940s. I'm looking for an outfit that could easily match our times.

I'm looking for a relatively high waist pant (the jacket is short at the waist).

Where to look for this type of clothing? knowing that I am tall and thin
What do you offer me?

Here are some pictures of the jacket :

 

[Metatron]

The jacket is incredible and looks unworn!
Okay here are some ideas for high waisted trousers:
A. Find actual vintage 30s 40s or 50s trousers on Ebay
B. Simon James Catchart makes really nice reproductions, pricey but great cuts and materials
C. Get something made custom, Luxire are an economical option but it helps if you have specific measurements for them to work from so probably best reserved for when you have a bit more knowledge on vintage clothing.

 

[Aerielle Max]

Hi all.
I recently bought the jacket of my dreams: a French cyclist jacket (luftwaffe hartmann jacket). The particularity of this type of jacket is that the waist is very short.

I am looking for an outfit to go with it, especially pants.

I am not a purist. I'm not looking for an outfit that is perfectly identical to what we could find in the 1930s/1940s. I'm looking for an outfit that could easily match our times.

I'm looking for a relatively high waist pant (the jacket is short at the waist).

Where to look for this type of clothing? knowing that I am tall and thin
What do you offer me?

Here are some pictures of the jacket :


View attachment 265117 View attachment 265118 View attachment 265119

Thank you, this one looks so beautiful!

 

[Edward]

The jacket is incredible and looks unworn!
Okay here are some ideas for high waisted trousers:
A. Find actual vintage 30s 40s or 50s trousers on Ebay
B. Simon James Catchart makes really nice reproductions, pricey but great cuts and materials
C. Get something made custom, Luxire are an economical option but it helps if you have specific measurements for them to work from so probably best reserved for when you have a bit more knowledge on vintage clothing.

Good call. Aero also do nice trousers; Darcy trousers are a nice mix of cheap (not too cheap) and fair quality.

Another thing I might consider would be a pair of plus fours from SJC or Spencer's Trousers, really clock that 40s cycling vibe.

 

[Tommy-VF51]

French work trousers even up to the 80s from what I can see were quite high rise. The ones from the 60s onwards would have slightly tapered hems too.

Buzz Rickson's make a very sturdy pair of chinos, with wide, but not crazy hems.

SJC are not that high rise from experience. I'm very happy with their tops, but not so much with the lower end.

Darcy 1950s trousers might work well too, although I think they only make in cotton which will crumple more than wool.

 

[handymike]

This!

 

[ProfG]

Hi all.
I recently bought the jacket of my dreams: a French cyclist jacket (luftwaffe hartmann jacket). The particularity of this type of jacket is that the waist is very short.

I am looking for an outfit to go with it, especially pants.

I am not a purist. I'm not looking for an outfit that is perfectly identical to what we could find in the 1930s/1940s. I'm looking for an outfit that could easily match our times.

I'm looking for a relatively high waist pant (the jacket is short at the waist).

Where to look for this type of clothing? knowing that I am tall and thin
What do you offer me?

Here are some pictures of the jacket :


View attachment 265117 View attachment 265118 View attachment 265119

Who made this jacket, and where did you get it?

 

[TheJewishJesus]

Absolutely gorgeous jacket! I'd recommend wearing it with high-rise, wider leg trousers and jeans. Buzz Rickson and Real McCoys make some great chinos, but there are many others of varying degrees of complexity (Black Sign's gurkha chinos look great with a shorter hem). More and more denim manufacturers are offering higher rise cuts. Just naming a few, I'd say Ooe Yofukuten, Freenote Cloth (love the Belford and Modesto cuts), Samurai, and more. Freewheelers tends to offer interesting reproduction pants from the first half of the 20th century.

In terms of trousers, there are a ton of options, especially if you start exploring the sartorial world's offerings. A lot of directions you could explore, but I have really loved the high-rise trousers I bought from Scott Fraser Collection. They offer a wide selection of beautiful fabrics and several different cuts for trousers.

 

[Lukken]

Anything high rise. I really like Freenote Cloth's deck pant. Very clean look with a straight leg. That jacket really is a gem.

 

[ProfG]

Is OP around? I still want to know where he got the original jacket!

 

[Kermit]

Is OP around? I still want to know where he got the original jacket!

Hi ProfG, sorry I was away these past few days.
This isn’t an original cyclist jacket—it’s a reproduction made about ten years ago. It’s actually a ‘test jacket’ from a small French craftsman who’s been retired for quite a while (even when the original post in this thread was made, the craftsman who made the jacket was already retired).


If you’re looking for an original jacket, they’re pretty hard to find. I know cyclist jackets well—I own five of them (both originals and repros). Originals are often very small and sometimes quite expensive (a fair price for one in good condition is usually around €800–1200). You can look on eBay or on specialized websites, but be careful—there are ****s out there…


If you’re after a repro (the most beautiful of all), then check here => https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...ket-by-good-wear-leather.120041/#post-3204037

Eastman Leather also makes a Hartmann jacket. It’s a very beautiful jacket and excellent quality, but the cut doesn’t match what a true cyclist jacket should be.


A few other cyclist jackets I own :

 

[ProfG]

Wow, what an amazing collection! You are a lucky man Kermit. If I may ask - what draws you to that pattern specifically?

Someone recently posted a link to a cyclist jacket which is made in China:

Pardon Our Interruption...

Not sure what to expect quality wise. At least one or two forum members have claimed that these jackets are comparable to those of Himel, Real McCoys, etc.

 

[Kermit]

Wow, what an amazing collection! You are a lucky man Kermit. If I may ask - what draws you to that pattern specifically?

It’s an iconic jacket in the history of French fashion (I’m French myself). It’s very representative of a specific era: the 1930s and early 1940s. Cyclist jackets also carried on into the 1950s and 60s, but often in fabric versions.


The history of this type of jacket is very rich: originally designed as a work jacket and/or for cycling and motorcycling, it was widely worn by French resistance fighters during World War II. Surprisingly, it was also adopted by many Luftwaffe pilots (as a private purchase, it was by no means an issued Luftwaffe jacket). Quite a few aces wore it, and that’s what really made it known to the general public today.


That said, it’s important to keep in mind that the vast majority of cyclist jackets were worn by French civilians. In general, when you come across a cyclist jacket for sale and the seller claims it was worn by a Luftwaffe pilot, it’s usually unlikely.


I love these jackets both for their rich history and for the style, which I find really flattering on the wearer: short, close-fitting, very sharp.

Someone recently posted a link to a cyclist jacket which is made in China:

It really depends on the level of accuracy you’re looking for, and on your budget.
It’s kind of funny because most reproductions are actually based on the Eastman Leather jacket, which itself isn’t really accurate. As I mentioned, it’s a beautiful, high-quality jacket, but it’s not cut the way a true cyclist jacket should be : too long, Riri zippers (which never existed on original cyclist jackets), and mostly black (no original cyclist jacket was ever black)…


This Chinese-made jacket is pretty cool, but the cut isn’t entirely true to the original. I also have my doubts that it’s comparable to Real McCoy’s…
But if you don’t have a big budget, and historical accuracy isn’t too important to you, then it could be a nice alternative.
Just be careful with sizing, that’s often what ruins the whole look. It needs to be very short and close-fitting.


If you do have a bigger budget (and especially if you’re not in a hurry), then get in touch with John from Good Wear Leather. You’ll end up with an exceptional, made-to-measure jacket.

You can also reach out to ‘Pilot’ on the Vintage Leather Jacket forum. He’s a longtime member with extensive knowledge about this type of jacket. He’s made a few himself and always has some originals in stock that he might be willing to sell.

 

[ProfG]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply! Do you have a rough sense how much John would charge for such a jacket? Is it closer to $1k or $2k (or more?).

 

[Kermit]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply! Do you have a rough sense how much John would charge for such a jacket? Is it closer to $1k or $2k (or more?).

I can’t really speak for John or give an exact price— in my case, it was his very first cyclist jacket and it required a lot of work. I’d say the price should be close to what he usually charges for an A-2 jacket, around $1,500.
Honestly, considering the outstanding quality (and the fact that it’s made-to-measure, which is a huge plus for this type of jacket), it’s worth every single dollar !
The only thing to keep in mind is the waitlist, it’s about a year, but totally worth it.