Brooks leathers

[Teledan]

New to the Lounge . Just wondering what everyone thinks about Brooks leathers . I really like them . Have 2 711 biker jackets in black . One biker jacket in brown coming soon.

 

[ton312]

I love the older Brooks stuff. The leather is decent and the cut of their CR is nearly impossible to beat. I have no experience with anything past the early 80’s though.

 

[Chevalier]

I tried on one of their newer cafe racer jackets at a vintage store in Sacramento last week. The leather was sturdy but pliable. It seemed like a well made jacket overall. The only problem was that the cut/fit seemed a little bit sloppy. The arms seemed long and the shoulders narrow for the tag size. If I didn’t already have my Vanson CR, I probably would have bought it, though. I definitely have classic Brooks jackets on my mental list to keep an eye out for.


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[Seb Lucas]

There's a couple of threads on Brooks already. Here's one.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/gold-label-brooks-cafe-racer.84083/

The older Brooks jackets were not very well made, used thin and indifferent leather and had a bad synthetic lining. Stitching was often off and crooked, zippers were sometimes ill fitted and the lining would quickly tear.

But Brooks are some of the coolest vintage leather jackets around and my favorite vintage leather jacket pattern. And, for me, they are proof that all the reproductions, with their 'perfect' leather, stitching and workmanship are often lifeless things by comparison.

 

[Teledan]

There's a couple of threads on Brooks already. Here's one.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/gold-label-brooks-cafe-racer.84083/

The older Brooks jackets were not very well made, used thin and indifferent leather and had a bad synthetic lining. Stitching was often off and crooked, zippers were sometimes ill fitted and the lining would quickly tear.

But Brooks are some of the coolest vintage leather jackets around and my favorite vintage leather jacket pattern. And, for me, they are proof that all the reproductions, with their 'perfect' leather, stitching and workmanship are often lifeless things by comparison.

 

[ton312]

There's a couple of threads on Brooks already. Here's one.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/gold-label-brooks-cafe-racer.84083/

The older Brooks jackets were not very well made, used thin and indifferent leather and had a bad synthetic lining. Stitching was often off and crooked, zippers were sometimes ill fitted and the lining would quickly tear.

But Brooks are some of the coolest vintage leather jackets around and my favorite vintage leather jacket pattern. And, for me, they are proof that all the reproductions, with their 'perfect' leather, stitching and workmanship are often lifeless things by comparison.

There's a couple of threads on Brooks already. Here's one.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/gold-label-brooks-cafe-racer.84083/

The older Brooks jackets were not very well made, used thin and indifferent leather and had a bad synthetic lining. Stitching was often off and crooked, zippers were sometimes ill fitted and the lining would quickly tear.

But Brooks are some of the coolest vintage leather jackets around and my favorite vintage leather jacket pattern. And, for me, they are proof that all the reproductions, with their 'perfect' leather, stitching and workmanship are often lifeless things by comparison.

Agreed Seb. A $100 Brooks CR can quickly eclipse a $1.2k xyz CR and it does it with all the “flaws” you mentioned. There’s just something special about the cut and lord knows I’ve tried to beat it repeatedly and unanimously failed. Sometimes throwing piles of $$ at something in the hopes it will be “better” just doesn’t work. Absolutely the case with the classic Brooks two pocket CR.

 

[Chevalier]

Does anyone have advice about what to look for in terms of label for classic Brooks jackets? The one I tried on had a label that looked to me to be 80s or 90s. I am assuming this is not what people are referring to as classic, but I am not sure. The gold label in the other thread looks more solidly classic.

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[Teledan]

I had to have the zipper on my gold label ( older ) Brooks resewed ,the bottom was too close to the seam . Thanks for the info ,much appreciated.

Does anyone have advice about what to look for in terms of label for classic Brooks jackets? The one I tried on had a label that looked to me to be 80s or 90s. I am assuming this is not what people are referring to as classic, but I am not sure. The gold label in the other thread looks more solidly classic.

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[Teledan]

The black and gold label was used up till about 1979 . The snaps had Brooks in scroll/ cursive lettering . They started the red white and blue label around late 79 ,i believe . The older red ,white ,and blue label says Brooks Leathersports wear Detroit Michigan. I dont know when but they moved to Massachuttes . Then label says Brooks Leathersports wear .Made in U.S.A.

 

[Teledan]

I took pics ,but file too large to upload here.

 

[ton312]

Does anyone have advice about what to look for in terms of label for classic Brooks jackets? The one I tried on had a label that looked to me to be 80s or 90s. I am assuming this is not what people are referring to as classic, but I am not sure. The gold label in the other thread looks more solidly classic.

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Yup that looks to be an 80’s Brooks, they went to the red and black label in the late 70’s. That’s a beauty though. Leather is pre-printed era.

 

[Teledan]

Yup that looks to be an 80’s Brooks, they went to the red and black label in the late 70’s. That’s a beauty though. Leather is pre-printed era.

What is pre printed era?

 

[ton312]

What is pre printed era?

Printed leather. The new stuff appears to be embossed with artificial “grain”. It’s fairly easy to recognize.

 

[Teledan]

Printed leather. The new stuff appears to be embossed with artificial “grain”. It’s fairly easy to recognize.

Thanks. I gotcha

 

[Captain Sensible]

Did anyone see this beaut from our mate?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122594431762

 

[Chevalier]

Darn! Now I wish I had bought the jacket I passed it up because the fit was not as good as my other CRs. Good to know to watch out for printed leather grain on the newer Brooks jackets.


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[Seb Lucas]

The later post '79 Brooks seem better made, thicker hide, better stitching, stronger lining.

The new ones by a rebooted company are different in details and have an inside pocket and thick 3.5oz hide.

 

[Chevalier]

I took pics ,but file too large to upload here.

 

[Chevalier]

Try using the Tapatalk app if you are using a smart phone to post pics. I found out through lots of frustrating attempts to post pics that the native iPhone photo resolution is too high to post pics directly via the website.

 

[Chevalier]

The later post '79 Brooks seem better made, thicker hide, better stitching, stronger lining.

The new ones by a rebooted company are different in details and have an inside pocket and thick 3.5oz hide.

Ok, you almost have me convinced to drive back up to Sacramento and buy the jacket if they still have it. It seemed like a well made jacket when I tried it on. For some dumb reason, I talked myself out of buying it. Does the label in my pic indicate Detroit, MI or Massachusetts as the place of manufacture for this jacket?


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