Cheaper alternatives to YSL designer style leather jackets?

[Lorinz]

I was looking into the possibility of getting a leather jacket that's a different style from my current one(Schott Perfecto), and I really love the look of YSL's leather jackets. They generally have a sleek kind of style to them and look more like a "fashion" jacket and less like a classic "biker" jacket, and are made of really soft leather like lambskin or calfskin. However they're absurdly expensive(like 5 to 10 grand), and even checking Ebay the listings for them are still very expensive. I was wondering does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives, brands that sell leather jackets that have a similar sleek look and style to the YSL style leather jackets but at a much cheaper and more affordable price? Obviously I'd want it to still be a good quality jacket and not something poorly constructed or otherwise low quality.

 

[Aloysius]

The "YSL moto" that all the nouveau riche wear across the world is nothing more than a boxy copy of a Lewis Lightning sometimes with an added ticket pocket, done in a quite nice but smooth calfskin or lambskin. It's the materials and branding that make it stand out, not the design. I dare say it's not a particularly good jacket and I'm not speaking from a budget perspective or motorcyclist perspective here.

Just look for a Lewis Lighting 391 in black sheepskin, new or used.

 

[Marc mndt]

I was wondering does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives, brands that sell leather jackets that have a similar sleek look and style to the YSL style leather jackets but at a much cheaper and more affordable price? Obviously I'd want it to still be a good quality jacket and not something poorly constructed or otherwise low quality.

Look for Ralph Lauren black label, their now discontinued brandline that was similar to purple label in terms of high end materials and construction but without the old money look.

I bought this one for my girlfriend last week. It's a men's jacket but wearing oversized perfecto style jackets is currently in fashion and this one looks a million times better than the Zara or H&M jackets that everyone is wearing.

This jacket was about €2k ten years ago but people on the second hand market don't recognize what it is so you can find them cheap. I paid €80 for this one.

 

[Aloysius]

Man I miss RLBL. It'll be much better made than the YSL stuff too.

Their Anthony model of jackets and suits is perhaps the best fit I've had in a RTW tailored garment, and even at full price I could understand someone getting it. (I mention that because RTW from RLPL, Brioni, etc costs more than top end bespoke so I don't understand the value proposition.) The Anthony model was based in the Savile Row tradition but its somewhat streamlined form you'd see in the 60s on people like Cary Grant (Hawes & Curtis and Kilgour) or Sean Connery in the Bond films (tailored by Anthony Sinclair). A bit easier to slip into a daily wardrobe.

 

[Marc mndt]

Their Anthony model of jackets and suits

The Antony was my personal favorite, I had the blazer in each and every color and a couple of suits, also double breasted.

They were half canvas, made by Caruso.

I suspect the current RRL made in Italy suits to be made by Caruso as well, I recently bought a RRL tuxedo and the construction looks a lot like Caruso's.

even at full price I could understand someone getting it.

12 years ago the Anthony 2B suit was €1195 which was very reasonable back then.

 

[Aloysius]

The Antony was my personal favorite, I had the blazer in each and every color and a couple of suits, also double breasted.

They were half canvas, made by Caruso.

Full canvas! Grip the chest and you’ll feel the canvas. Caruso also does some Purple Label (with extra handwork).

I suspect the current RRL made in Italy suits to be made by Caruso as well, I recently bought a RRL tuxedo and the construction looks a lot like Caruso's.

Caruso makes the Italian RRL, correct, and used to make Rugby’s tailoring when that line was around. Both are half canvassed.

In the other direction they also do some of the Purple Label stuff, with extensive handwork.

 

[MickeyPunch]

To be honest I don’t think you’d find anything similar to Hedi’s jackets and that’s FL-approved. Lamb leather doesn’t fly over here, for starters (closest is the sheepskin used by Lewis Leathers and Addict Clothing, but that’s much thicker). Skinny fit and pattern, too.

And even if you go beyond FL-approved stuff, there’s not much out there I’d say. Other designer brands are going to be as (if not more) expensive, e.g. Tom Ford.

 

[Marc mndt]

Full canvas! Grip the chest and you’ll feel the canvas.

True, for the upper part of the jacket where drape matters most, the chest, the interlining was hand sewn. The lower part of Black label jackets was fused.

the best fit I've had in a RTW tailored garment

I've been out of the tailoring game for a long time as recent years my focus was on vintage style workwear but lately I'm rediscovering my former passion. A couple of months ago I walked into a Tom Ford store just to have a look, zero intention to buy lol. For fun I tried on an Atticus suit jacket. The suit came home with me.

It's the best fit I ever had OTR. Of course some alterations were needed as I have one droopy shoulder so one sleeve needed to be shortened plus the pants needed some work. But man what a fit. I love the powerful look of the moderately padded shoulders combined with the huge peak lapels.

 

[Aloysius]

True, for the upper part of the jacket where drape matters most, the chest, the interlining was hand sewn. The lower part of Black label jackets was fused.

It’s across the front panels in general. I just double checked against my BL.

Half-canvassing is lapels alone for a better role; full canvassing by its nature requires the front sections to be interlined with canvas.

It's the best fit I ever had OTR. Of course some alterations were needed as I have one droopy shoulder so one sleeve needed to be shortened plus the pants needed some work. But man what a fit. I love the powerful look of the moderately padded shoulders combined with the huge peak lapels.

I think it’s a very cool model, very 1930s with that beautifully bellied lapel, but quite ironic that most people have only seen it in a poorly fitting form due to Daniel Craig. Frankly TF should have tried to play hardball a bit, threatening not to give them free suits if Craig continued to make them look badly cut by insisting on wearing two sizes too small. It just makes their product look bad.

The costume designer Tamime is also to blame, she and Craig thought they were being really stylish by undersizing to show muscle. From her statements on the matter, it seems that the one well-dressed character in those films, Ralph Fiennes as M ended up that way by accident. It seems that she told the Savile Row tailors in question to put him in old fashioned English clothing… as a result, M is in perfectly-fitting English tailoring with military flair, while Bond ends up looking like a Eurotrash model at a night club lol.

 

[jchance]

I second Addict in sheepskin, they have some different styles for cross-zips. Sheepskin is as soft as lambskin.

Relatedly, all of my suits are RLBL. They drape like a dream. I get them used on eBay, still holding strong in the past 10-15 years.

 

[Marc mndt]

quite ironic that most people have only seen it in a poorly fitting form due to Daniel Craig.

while Bond ends up looking like a Eurotrash model at a night club lol.

I didn't know that he is a Tom Ford poster boy. I had to look it up but these suits are indeed a terrible fit. Especially that collar gap lol, it's painful to see.

Yet I wonder whether it's really bad press for them, I think not tbh. Men who aren't knowledgeable about tailoring will probably look at the suit and think the guy looks badass. Connoisseurs will know better, if they're actually in the market for a TF suit they'll make sure to get one that fits.

Frankly TF should have tried to play hardball a bit, threatening not to give them free suits if Craig continued to make them look badly cut by insisting on wearing two sizes too small. It just makes their product look bad.

I don't think Daniel Craig cares about whether or not he'll get a $7k suit for free. It's more likely that TF pays him a fair sum to wear their suits. It's product placement. But I agree, if I were TF I'd insist that my suits are worn properly when I'm paying big bucks for the product placement.

 

[LeftCoastLew]

I was looking into the possibility of getting a leather jacket that's a different style from my current one(Schott Perfecto), and I really love the look of YSL's leather jackets. They generally have a sleek kind of style to them and look more like a "fashion" jacket and less like a classic "biker" jacket, and are made of really soft leather like lambskin or calfskin. However they're absurdly expensive(like 5 to 10 grand), and even checking Ebay the listings for them are still very expensive. I was wondering does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives, brands that sell leather jackets that have a similar sleek look and style to the YSL style leather jackets but at a much cheaper and more affordable price? Obviously I'd want it to still be a good quality jacket and not something poorly constructed or otherwise low quality.

Hey Lorinz, I was on the hunt for something similar as well and came across a few brands that meet that criteria.

The closest of the bunch is Reno, not sure if they are around anymore but with some digging you can prob find them. I believe they got in trouble for making their jackets look too similare to YSL, they are made with lamb skin and the fit is slim and tapered. (see pictures of the jacket I had)

There is also "Otheruk" they have a more rock and roll feel to their vibe but have some options that resemble some of the YSL jackets. https://otheruk.com/search?q=leather+jacket

"Archels" is also another brand out of Sweden that uses a lot of YSL aesthetics (more cost effective YSL look) https://archels.com/?v=0b3b97fa6688

Lastly I would also check out "Straight to Hell" out of Chicago. They make their jackets out of buffalo leather but there are many options as to the style and look for them. They also go for that slim tapered look as YSL jackets are known for https://straighttohellapparel.com/product-category/mens/mens-leather-jackets/

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[Canuck Panda]

I was looking into the possibility of getting a leather jacket that's a different style from my current one(Schott Perfecto), and I really love the look of YSL's leather jackets. They generally have a sleek kind of style to them and look more like a "fashion" jacket and less like a classic "biker" jacket, and are made of really soft leather like lambskin or calfskin. However they're absurdly expensive(like 5 to 10 grand), and even checking Ebay the listings for them are still very expensive. I was wondering does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives, brands that sell leather jackets that have a similar sleek look and style to the YSL style leather jackets but at a much cheaper and more affordable price? Obviously I'd want it to still be a good quality jacket and not something poorly constructed or otherwise low quality.

Lightly used (sometimes NWT) Saint Laurent jackets and other luxury goods can be had for much less than original retail, 1/3. They're only expensive when they're in season. If you want a Saint Laurent jacket get a Saint Laurent jacket. They fit smaller though so check measurements.

 

[Aloysius]

I didn't know that he is a Tom Ford poster boy. I had to look it up but these suits are indeed a terrible fit. Especially that collar gap lol, it's painful to see.

Yet I wonder whether it's really bad press for them, I think not tbh. Men who aren't knowledgeable about tailoring will probably look at the suit and think the guy looks badass. Connoisseurs will know better, if they're actually in the market for a TF suit they'll make sure to get one that fits.

He doesn't always wear TF although even when he wears other stuff he wears it terribly. I was referring to the films in this case. TF got a lot of its early exposure from being featured in the second Craig Bond film Quantum of Solace but in that film he wore the suits as they were cut and they looked great.

After that film, he and Tamime started deciding the sizing for themselves thinking it looks strong, which is doubly funny when you remember that Sean Connery was an actual bodybuilder (and much taller than Craig) yet he wore classic Savile Row cut suits with a draped chest, because the director took him to his tailor and basically had him wear the same clothes the director wore. (The director in question, Terence Young, was a James Bond type in real life; fought in the war in a prestigious regiment, studied Oriental Languages at Cambridge, etc.)

I don't think Daniel Craig cares about whether or not he'll get a $7k suit for free. It's more likely that TF pays him a fair sum to wear their suits. It's product placement. But I agree, if I were TF I'd insist that my suits are worn properly when I'm paying big bucks for the product placement.

Yeah I meant the product placement side. Many companies give stipulations that their product is to be used properly; I'm surprised TF didn't claim final say in the suit sizing. The Bond production is reliant on product placement suits nowadays after they moved away from bespoke with the Brosnan years, so they would have been forced to say yes.

The sadder Daniel Craig clothing sins in his personal are the bespoke ones, which is unfortunate because bespoke tailors have always pushed back against bad fit choices even by famous people and royalty. In Craig's case Anderson and Sheppard (which admittedly is very much not what it used to be; both of the top cutters left in the 90s and they have used a stock pattern since--although existing clients like Bruce Boyer and King Charles still look great because their patterns were cut back in the 70s/80s) actively promoted his terribly fitting velvet jacket on social media.

Extremely weird considering how traditional A&S used to be back in the day. One of my tailors mentioned that when he joined up with them in the 70s, once you were a senior cutter you would come to work with a bowler hat. But a lot of these bigger houses have been bought by investment groups that try to do them as ultra-luxury fashion brands and ironically that means the actual product gets neglected.

 

[Aloysius]

To be honest I don’t think you’d find anything similar to Hedi’s jackets and that’s FL-approved. Lamb leather doesn’t fly over here, for starters (closest is the sheepskin used by Lewis Leathers and Addict Clothing, but that’s much thicker). Skinny fit and pattern, too.

And even if you go beyond FL-approved stuff, there’s not much out there I’d say. Other designer brands are going to be as (if not more) expensive, e.g. Tom Ford.

Hedi himself usually wears TFL style jackets instead of Hedi jackets lol

 

[Marc mndt]

But a lot of these bigger houses have been bought by investment groups that try to do them as ultra-luxury fashion brands and ironically that means the actual product gets neglected.

The Tom Ford brand has been sold to Estee Lauder and the fashion business is now owned and runned by the Zegna group. My TF shirts (bought before Zegna took over) are made in Switzerland, as are some of my Zegna shirts. I wouldn't be surprised if Zegna was already producing a lot of the TF garments even before the takeover.

 

[Aloysius]

The Tom Ford brand has been sold to Estee Lauder and the fashion business is now owned and runned by the Zegna group. My TF shirts (bought before Zegna took over) are made in Switzerland, as are some of my Zegna shirts. I wouldn't be surprised if Zegna was already producing a lot of the TF garments even before the takeover.

Yes Zegna always manufactured the TF suits, under their top end spec.

To clarify though I was talking about investment groups buying bespoke tailoring firms like Huntsman and Anderson & Sheppard. Emphasis seems to be much more on luxurious customer service than the actual bespoke tailoring lol.