Any thoughts on Lewis Leathers?

[jamespibworth@n]

I have recently been looking for a 60/70s Lewis leather M/C jacket but have not found any I like so far.

I am now thinking of a new one, possibly a lightning. They are expensive! About £630.00

I know they are hand made in London and much of the price is for the heritage but I am struggling to justify this amount for a new leather bike jacket.

Has anyone bought one in the last few years and if so any opinions on the quality of the later jackets?

Thanks

James.

 

[Rufus]

Hi James,

keep looking on Ebay, they come up all the time, and you'll pay 1/2 or 1/3 the cost of a new one.

Try 'aviakit' as well in your searches.. I've seen a lot of jackets going below £200 of late.

rufus

 

[jamespibworth@n]

Good advice Rufus, thanks.

Only thing is I have now made an appointment to look the jackets in the Lewis Shop and try the fit. Well I am in London anyway that day!

If I do order one I bet a great lightning comes up on EBay in my size the day after!!:eusa_doh:

James.

 

[Rufus]

Well, if you've got the lucre a new Lightning is quite the treat!

Please, give us a report on the new LL Co. after you've been... I'd be very interested!

Have fun!

rufus

 

[bobjones]

Lewis leathers? Haven't heard of them before, but their stuff looks amazing. Where's MJCR, I'm sure he would be drooling over those 3/4 jackets...

How does LL stack up with Lost Worlds and Aero in terms of reputation, manufacturing, etc.? Their jackets seem to run about twice the cost of these other 2 makers.

 

[jamespibworth@n]

A Lewis jacket was the jacket to have for bikers in England in the 50s/60s and notably the 70s.
In the 70s rock and punk bands wore them (e.g. The Clash) giving them street cred as well.

Even thought they are hand made in London (which must add to the production cost) I am thinking they are selling at a premium due to the sales they get from Japan, which has a big following of the British café racer scene.

Over priced? Maybe, but if a person wants a new Lewis Leather Jacket then I guess He has to pay the price.

If I am impressed enough to buy one I shall do a report.

James.

 

[MJCR]

Lewis leathers? Haven't heard of them before, but their stuff looks amazing. Where's MJCR, I'm sure he would be drooling over those 3/4 jackets...

How does LL stack up with Lost Worlds and Aero in terms of reputation, manufacturing, etc.? Their jackets seem to run about twice the cost of these other 2 makers.

Hi there Bobjones! Ironically I've been in London the last few days, but nowhere near the Lewis Leathers shop. It's a very iconic brand for the classic biker enthusiasts, but sadly I never got around to taking my bike test so I can't really justify getting a 'full on' biker jacket from them. I do like the 3/4 length jacket though, very cool!

 

[Aviakid]

LL

They don't have a shop fully up & running as yet, the current place is just a showroom but jackets can be seen, tried-on and bought or ordered. Custom jackets (extra body and sleeve length if needed) can be made at no extra cost. I was told that LL is moving into the downstairs floor once the building work is finished, the move has been delayed for 5 months so far but the first LL shop since the old one closed in '93 should be up & running by June for sure.

 

[Edward]

I have some familiarity with Lewis Leathers via the Rocky Horror scene (long story..... suffice it to say that Dr Frank n Furter wears what appears to be a Lewis Corsair, if I recall correctly, with fringed arms). I've seen examples both of their recent production and originals. In general, this is one case where the originals tend to be considerably lower priced than the reproductions - last I looked, an original was around GBP220 or so, while repros were reaching GBP400. The quality of both is outstanding - the repros certainly haven't cut any corners. The biggest advantage of gonig repro will of course be if you require a larger size... I wear a 42 or 44 in a jacket, depending on cut, and it's relatively rare for me to find an original for sale - most of them cropping up are around 38/40.

One place you used to be able to buy Lewis jackets was the Ace Cafe in London - both in their online shop, and at the Cafe itself. As of at least a few months ago, however, they seem to have dropped Lewis from their stock list and are now selling instead a line of Aero jackets custom designed for the Ace. Another option formerly was Camden market. The Stables market had a few places that sold Lewis, the shops in the arches, including one that was a specialist in old bike gear and generally seemed reasonably priced (I bought a coupel of repro patches from them and they were very easy to deal with). Wish I could remember the name of that place, but I think it's long moved on anyway now that the Stables is the latest area of the market to be part of the "exciting redevelopment and regeneration of Camden for the 21st Centry!" (read: ripping Camden's soul out and turning it into an expensive, mini-me Covent Garden for tourist who want to buy fancy candles and associated tat).

A thought.... from my (limited) experience with other competitor brands that were contemporaries of Lewis in the 50s-70s, it appears that there were a number of other options which provided a quality jacket, but nowadays come in cheaper than the Lewis brand for a vintage jacket - Mascot is one name that springs to mind. Could be worth looking at - the ones I've seen are Lewis standard, but maybe as much as GBP50 cheaper. [huh] Needless to say, if you can find a 70s jacket that suits you it'll often be significantly cheaper than an identical jacket which just happens to have been made in the 50s...

 

[Rufus]

A lot of us punk rock kids wore Mascot branded jackets... they were cheaper than LLs (Which've never been cheap).

I used to have a Bronx LL, which was a nice jacket, but too wide for me (Their jacjets could be quite 'boxy'.

I prefer old US brands personally, for cut and detail.

A lot of the later LL (From the late 1970s onwards) were of much lesser quality.

It's a shame the new ones are so ludicrously expensive.

I'd much rather buy an old LL jacket AND buy a new Aero jacket..which you ca for the price of a single new LL.

ruf

 

[jamespibworth@n]

I Bought One!

Here it is:

I was apparent that Derek Harris (Lewis Leathers Proprietor) is very passionate about leather jackets. He immediately took an interest in my Eastman’s Hookless zip and went on to stress the effort he has put into using the correct type of zips on his jackets. I could have talked jackets all day with him!

When I was trying some jackets on for size he explained that he has teamed up with a pattern cutter who is a great fan of LL and is often seen at the Ace café London and is very keen to get the patterns just right.

Although not finished, Derek was keen to show his new shop and he is full of enthusiasm for his product and very aware of the LL heritage.

Yes, expensive, but it seems Derek seems more concerned with the product being ‘correct’ than anything else. I guess he could mass produce a more affordable leather bike jacket using the LL name and logo or even cut costs on the detailing and no doubt this would generate many more sales. But for me I am happy that such a long established name has found this individual rather than a company to steer into the future. Can’t help thinking though if only the pricing was lower…? The classic bike world is booming but how many are prepared to pay a premium?


The leather is chrome dyed cowhide and has a very luxurious feel to it. It is soft and supple and feels great to wear.


http://www.lewisleathers.com/

 

[Rufus]

Beautiful Jacket James! I can't fault the quality...only the price,( especially for steerhide.)

I'm pleased LL has found it's way into the hands of an enthusiast, I just hope it's viable as a real business.
I was slightly alarmed/dismayed when I saw LL shoes (Very much like converse shoes dressed up with LL logoes and zips) on sale in the West End (even in Top Shop)... something of a disparity for these now very high end Repro Jackets to be teamed with!

Hope you enjoy the new jacket, and thank you for the report.

Hookless Zips...mmmm



rufus