How many new jackets do you have coming (and how many potential ones)?

[willyto]

I usually only post leather and denim jackets photos but since I mentioned having these coming in, I might as well.

Usually post only leather and denim jackets photos but here are the other 3 that have been mentioned. A Black Sign pleated blouse, a Westride work jacket and a RM B-15.
View attachment 304388

Is the Black Sign from Yahoo auctions? I have been looking at one like that for ages but didn't pull the trigger. It was cheap.

 

[Blackadder]

Is the Black Sign from Yahoo auctions? I have been looking at one like that for ages but didn't pull the trigger. It was cheap.

All 3 are second hand unworn with tags from Yahoo auctions jp. 6800 yen for the Westride, 7000 yen the Black Sign and 39800 yen for the B-15.

 

[willyto]

All 3 are second hand unworn with tags from Yahoo auctions jp. 6800 yen for the Westride, 7000 yen the Black Sign and 39800 yen for the B-15.

yep! that's the one. Good catch.

 

[Blackadder]

The fourth jacket arrived. A Rich Sher HH.

 

[tmitchell59]

The fourth jacket arrived. A Rich Sher HH.
View attachment 304572 View attachment 304573

That looks like near new! Beautiful. Rich-Sher is a Top Drawer label. One of the members researched the company. There is a thread here. Nice history information.

I would like to see more about this jacket.

 

[Blackadder]

That looks like near new! Beautiful. Rich-Sher is a Top Drawer label. One of the members researched the company. There is a thread here. Nice history information.

I would like to see more about this jacket.

This one is identical to one that is sold here by another member about a year ago even down to the missing wear and tear parts. So it seems this exact model has a few weak points. Difference is one mine 1) the seller repaired most of those parts; 2) it still has the horsehide label and 3) the leather is in better shape. It is missing the four stars on the epaulet, one of the sleeve zippers is torn near the tip. Lining repaired at the hem and neck area.

 

[Edward]

Thanks. I had heard that name plenty but wasn’t sure if this was actually one. I know things change names or styles all the time. So far I love it. It’s incredibly warm for how thin it is. Which doesn’t mean it’s thin at all it’s very nice and heft just seems to be even warmer than one would think. Any idea on its age or relative value? Here’s a the tag on it. As I said I don’t think any of it is all that old at all or really worthy that much so not expecting anything crazy. Just being brand spanking new to the military side of collecting I literally just don’t know. View attachment 303409

THe USN produced the N1 in blue pre-entry into WW2 (the US didn't show up until after the half-time intermission, remember. ). From 1942 onwards, they made them in the same green as the USAF B15. The N1 was, as I understand it, not issued to an individual per se, but primarily provided in bulk amounts so anyone headed on deck could grab one off the wall (why so many originals carried stencilled details on the back marknig them as belonging to a specific ship). Of course they made their way into individual hands in all sorts of legitimate and illegitimate ways! - Not a bad article here, to the best of my knowledge - https://standardandstrange.com/blog...contemporary-the-legacy-of-the-n1-deck-jacket

Your jacket looks new, in which case it's definitely a repro. Looks like a fairly decent one, too. Usuaully the biggest difference with the more afordable repros is that the collar might be faux rather than mouton, and the lining wool or a wool mix rather than specifically Alpaca, but they're still a hard-wearing, warm jacket. I've seen a lot of photos of them on the back of otulaw bikers, hot rodders and all sorts from back in the 50s/60s, and they're still almost as popular as a B15 type among the rockabilly hot rod crowd as a warmer, Winter alternative to leather.

I know exactly what you mean about being in two minds about military gear. Some of us will feel the same - I'm sure a lot of folks will also feel similar about specific miitary items, such as Axis items. Me, well... I have the philosophy that there's a lot to be said for repurposing quality clothing that comes at a bargain price via government surplus. There's a surprising amount of it (even more so with a little suss on home-dye jobs) as can provide a significant chunk of a period look wardrobe that doesn't cost as much as quality 'vintage repro' tailoring, or original stuff.

Been searching for a twin to that blue bates of yours @ton312 ever since I saw it.

Had to pull the trigger on this one when it came up.

View attachment 303974

Nice. I am currently fighting a temptation to order one of the Aero ice hockey jackets in that blue with white sleeves... I love how these have a hint of the varsity style but with a very different sporting implication.

 

[dannyk]

THe USN produced the N1 in blue pre-entry into WW2 (the US didn't show up until after the half-time intermission, remember. ). From 1942 onwards, they made them in the same green as the USAF B15. The N1 was, as I understand it, not issued to an individual per se, but primarily provided in bulk amounts so anyone headed on deck could grab one off the wall (why so many originals carried stencilled details on the back marknig them as belonging to a specific ship). Of course they made their way into individual hands in all sorts of legitimate and illegitimate ways! - Not a bad article here, to the best of my knowledge - https://standardandstrange.com/blog...contemporary-the-legacy-of-the-n1-deck-jacket

Your jacket looks new, in which case it's definitely a repro. Looks like a fairly decent one, too. Usuaully the biggest difference with the more afordable repros is that the collar might be faux rather than mouton, and the lining wool or a wool mix rather than specifically Alpaca, but they're still a hard-wearing, warm jacket. I've seen a lot of photos of them on the back of otulaw bikers, hot rodders and all sorts from back in the 50s/60s, and they're still almost as popular as a B15 type among the rockabilly hot rod crowd as a warmer, Winter alternative to leather.

I know exactly what you mean about being in two minds about military gear. Some of us will feel the same - I'm sure a lot of folks will also feel similar about specific miitary items, such as Axis items. Me, well... I have the philosophy that there's a lot to be said for repurposing quality clothing that comes at a bargain price via government surplus. There's a surprising amount of it (even more so with a little suss on home-dye jobs) as can provide a significant chunk of a period look wardrobe that doesn't cost as much as quality 'vintage repro' tailoring, or original stuff.



Nice. I am currently fighting a temptation to order one of the Aero ice hockey jackets in that blue with white sleeves... I love how these have a hint of the varsity style but with a very different sporting implication.

For me a lot of that is political/societal things. But there’s also the I’m not military and don’t want to look like I am. That feels awfully cosplay to me or as if I’m claiming something I am not. That is why boots? I’m fine with that they have no military identification on them and have been used by non-military people for ages. I’m also ok with wearing any military gear as long as it doesn’t have any patches or logos that identify to a specific theater, company, brigade, ship, or say you’re a veteran. It would be a lie, and also avoids people asking if you were there or your family was. I have no problem with people wearing whatever they want, and I have no problem with actual coslayers-re-enactors. This is simply a personal choice. Don’t want anyone reading this thinking I judge or care, I really don’t; just how I feel on the issue. Minus the aforementioned political/sociological issues which this is not the place to discuss. As for the N-1 it’s incredibly warm and fairly water resistant. I figured it was fairly new and possibly a repro. The other jacket I have no idea about. The boots if I ventured a guess would be Canadian. I have owned a few pairs of combat/dress boots that look very similar and a lot of them were marked Canadian. I believe they wore similar boots from the 80s-early 2000s and these would fit that age. All I know is that I got 2 great fitting jackets, one a great winter jacket (so much so I donated my other winter jacket...1 in 1 out rule) and some hard wearing boots for a total of 250 dollars. The deck jacket being the expensive part at 150. Totally worth 150 in my mind. There’s no flaws, it fits, and it does its job. If I wanted to get a modern repro of similar build they start around 209 and go up to 600-700 hundred. So it all works for me.

 

[Edward]

The deck jacket being the expensive part at 150. Totally worth 150 in my mind. There’s no flaws, it fits, and it does its job. If I wanted to get a modern repro of similar build they start around 209 and go up to 600-700 hundred. So it all works for me.

Yeah, some of them get to be crazy money. In my experience, if you're not looking for stitch-counting for a living history / reenactment type thing, These more afforable jackets can be the bees' knees. They're also - in a civilain context- arguably more accurate to what folsk waore Back When, given that there was a lot more of that "WW2 military inspired fashion" thing around, in unit terms, than there would have been actualy milspec items in the civilian population (despite the number of the latter that did make it into the civilian market via returning vets).

 

[Blackadder]

That looks like near new! Beautiful. Rich-Sher is a Top Drawer label. One of the members researched the company. There is a thread here. Nice history information.

I would like to see more about this jacket.

I just finished cleaning and conditioning the jacket. I am pleasantly surprised by the condition it is in. It is supposed to be more worn out than my Grais as evidenced by the torn lining and yet the condition of the leather is as good as my Grais. Neither actually require any conditioning.
You are of course right about the quality. The leather feels thicker than my Grais. In fact, the underarm panels are better than my Grais. I have always thought that manufacturers use a thinner stretched grainy leather on the underarm and side panels but all the panels on this RS seem to be very consistent.

 

[dannyk]

I just finished cleaning and conditioning the jacket. I am pleasantly surprised by the condition it is in. It is supposed to be more worn out than my Grais as evidenced by the torn lining and yet the condition of the leather is as good as my Grais. Neither actually require any conditioning.
You are of course right about the quality. The leather feels thicker than my Grais. In fact, the underarm panels are better than my Grais. I have always thought that manufacturers use a thinner stretched grainy leather on the underarm and side panels but all the panels on this RS seem to be very consistent.

I had a no label cross zip that if I had to guess was 50s. No idea of the brand or even hide, the entire liner was ripped to shreds, and the leather had paint splatter on it. It would have cost hundreds to fix up. To me it wasn’t worth the hassle and I actually sold(super cheap and fair in retrospect) it to a tailor in Toronto who had worked on everything except leather and wanted to try his hand. The leather was the nicest leather I have ever handled. It was thicker than any leather I ever handled from that era. It had just the right amount of grain. The perfect amount of creasing. It was the leather that no one here could argue with. It was perfect in every sense. I venture to guess it was a Rich Sher or Ralph’s Pugh. Even if it wasn’t ever labeled as one it had to of come from one of them knowing what I know now about the leather and product they put out. I have heard nothing but rave reviews of those labeled RS or RP. I will have to keep my eye out for either in my size. I also want to check my emails and find that tailor and see if he was able to fix it up. It deserved a second life. I don’t think I’ll ever find a nicer leather. I did the right thing moving it on to someone who had the talent to bring it back....but I hate not having that leather around.

 

[Goel]

I don't really like cross zips or mandarin collars... but I do kind of like the look of cross zips with mandarin collars. Kind of like a fencing jacket, might do something like that with JL next.

 

[Edward]

I don't really like cross zips or mandarin collars... but I do kind of like the look of cross zips with mandarin collars. Kind of like a fencing jacket, might do something like that with JL next.

My theory is that particular combination originated in Germany. I've seen a lot of thirties half belts and DB buttoned jackets as well from Germany with a mandarin collar, long before the 'cafe racer' straight zip style started to see them appearing more widely in the English-speaking world.

The cross-zip with mandarin collar style really took off in the UK with Lewis launching the Super Monza in 1978; as with earlier designs like the lightning, the UK legion other motorcycle leather companies followed, and like as not for the entirety of them til the end of the eighties, if you saw a serious biker, he'd be wearing something of that ilk. They were much more common than even a Perfecto style back then. Then the 90s and those big, padded jackets with shoulder pads like Judge Dredd came in, and that dominated largely until the arrival of more subtle d30 type armouring and the rise again of the 'retro' gear scene, following the revival in classic looking bikes. Course, most of the big names in the Brit jackets are long gone now, their market having slowly dried up into the eighties, with the death of British motorcycle manufacturing during the seventies alongside the end of the motorcycle as working man's transport, with the rise of the affordable car in the UK from the sixties, really, onwards.

 

[ABCD]

The cross-zip with mandarin collar style really took off in the UK with Lewis launching the Super Monza in 1978

According to LL's website D Lewis introduced the style in the late 30s with this Universal Racer MK1

https://scontent-amt2-1.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15094282_10154131719628358_5094258825607808654_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=DCLMSAEUEbgAX8Idv-m&_nc_ht=scontent-amt2-1.**&oh=7684894a4d97642349cfdba9ad534d72&oe=6036F435

 

[Edward]

According to LL's website D Lewis introduced the style in the late 30s with this Universal Racer MK1

https://scontent-amt2-1.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15094282_10154131719628358_5094258825607808654_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=DCLMSAEUEbgAX8Idv-m&_nc_ht=scontent-amt2-1.**&oh=7684894a4d97642349cfdba9ad534d72&oe=6036F435

Yeah, the quintessential modern zipped version was from the 70s on, but this pre-war model probably was the first British version of the style - good catch. As I understand it, that was the era when motorcycling really too off in the UK. Hard to believe now there were over eighty different marques in Britain in the 30s, in an industry that just fifty odd years later would be as stone dead as the British car industry by the eighties.

Lewis were definitely the first in the UK (as they were, I believe the first manufacturer of dedicate motorcycle gear in the UK). The German stuff I know less about in terms of whether those jackets were intended specifically for the motorcycle or simply came to be used for that.

Funny to think now how many of those jacket styles have evolved further, back into general fashion wear...

 

[Jin431]

Just received the notice that my Aero Tumbled Cordovan Premier HWM is being shipped. I hope this new Aero jacket will be a right fit this time

 

[Goel]

My theory is that particular combination originated in Germany. I've seen a lot of thirties half belts and DB buttoned jackets as well from Germany with a mandarin collar, long before the 'cafe racer' straight zip style started to see them appearing more widely in the English-speaking world.

I've seen a few of the British ones but not any of the German styles. Some of the button up styles look a little like late 19th/early 20th century military uniforms.

 

[jonbuilder]

My theory is that particular combination originated in Germany. I've seen a lot of thirties half belts and DB buttoned jackets as well from Germany with a mandarin collar, long before the 'cafe racer' straight zip style started to see them appearing more widely in the English-speaking world.

The cross-zip with mandarin collar style really took off in the UK with Lewis launching the Super Monza in 1978; as with earlier designs like the lightning, the UK legion other motorcycle leather companies followed, and like as not for the entirety of them til the end of the eighties, if you saw a serious biker, he'd be wearing something of that ilk. They were much more common than even a Perfecto style back then. Then the 90s and those big, padded jackets with shoulder pads like Judge Dredd came in, and that dominated largely until the arrival of more subtle d30 type armouring and the rise again of the 'retro' gear scene, following the revival in classic looking bikes. Course, most of the big names in the Brit jackets are long gone now, their market having slowly dried up into the eighties, with the death of British motorcycle manufacturing during the seventies alongside the end of the motorcycle as working man's transport, with the rise of the affordable car in the UK from the sixties, really, onwards.

Ross Langlitz was doing then in the mid 40s called it Cascade

 

[ABCD]

Coming:

1) Levi's (Aero) Bird of Prey pre-production sample without the screen printed back or fake repairs.

2) Thedi canvas / leather A1.

3) Ralph Lauren D pocket. Judging by the label this jacket is at least 15 years old. Back then RL leather jackets were of decent quality (Not top tier of course). They even made some from horsehide.

4) Field Leathers modified Idaho 2.0

After the YouTube guy posted the FL review, Greg received so many requests for oil tanned / full aniline brown shinki that he decided it was time to order another batch.

I think I'm going for the same design as my first modified Idaho but now in brown with contrast stitching and some small tweaks here and there.

 

[Edward]

I've seen a few of the British ones but not any of the German styles. Some of the button up styles look a little like late 19th/early 20th century military uniforms.

Yes, the military echo caught my attention as well. Entirely plausible they started out as military-influenced fashion before early motorcyclists caught on to the wind-cheating advantages of a fold-over front... Lewis, founded 1892, claim to have been the first dedicated motorcycle-wear company, which is quite possible.... early on, motorcyclists adopted what was practical; which accounts for engineer boots or riding boots, or harness boots in the US, and their British counterpart, which evolved out of horse-riding boots in the main. Notably, even today traditional-looking US motorcycle boots are more likely to have a raised heel like a cowboy boot, whereas the Brit & European boots tend to a flatter heel, as seen on riding boots over here.

Ross Langlitz was doing then in the mid 40s called it Cascade

I wonder was he influenced by Lewis? There'd be a nice symmetry in that, given the 1956-launched Lewis Bronx (even the name!) was very clearly influenced by the American jackets of the period.