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Finds and Deals - Leather Jacket Edition

Jumper

A-List Customer
Messages
450
Location
Kentucky!
Custom Apparel Annex, 22" p2p. The shipping charge must be a mistake.

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Messages
17,349
Location
Chicago
I’ve definitely learned one thing about these vintage jackets…length matters! Maybe the most critical of all as there are a plethora in this range of length. Originally listed at 25” (which is accurate from the front). I absolutely can’t go shorter than 26”. Give a 24” back w/ a 2” drop and I’m happy to oblige!
 

Gr8Lakes

Familiar Face
Messages
72
Location
Mid-Michigan, USA
I’ve definitely learned one thing about these vintage jackets…length matters! Maybe the most critical of all as there are a plethora in this range of length. Originally listed at 25” (which is accurate from the front). I absolutely can’t go shorter than 26”. Give a 24” back w/ a 2” drop and I’m happy to oblige!
Out of curiosity, do you generally need a long or tall cut shirt or jacket? I ask because I’m still trying to assess my own abnormalities. This jacket would actually be past my belt line, even in low rise jeans. I know I have a short torso for being 5’ 10”, but I’m curious where the “norm” falls.

Any riding jacket I wear either needs to be custom, altered, or I have to zip it up and fold a few inches of the bottom under once I sit on my bike. My comfortable front length, for sitting with a jacket zipped, is 19”-20”.

All my store bought jackets are easily a couple inches below my belt. Always have been, and it’s just become how I’m used to seeing myself In the mirror.
 

Claybertrand

One Too Many
Messages
1,545
It’s too short for me. 24” with a 1” drop. It’ll rest above my belt. Slow rolling tear.
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I’ve definitely learned one thing about these vintage jackets…length matters! Maybe the most critical of all as there are a plethora in this range of length. Originally listed at 25” (which is accurate from the front). I absolutely can’t go shorter than 26”. Give a 24” back w/ a 2” drop and I’m happy to oblige!

Damn dude!!!!! I feel bad.....like @ton312 just learned that there is no Santa Claus........... It's just the sad truth man.

THIS is the dirtiest secret about true vintage........ The Devil (for me) is always the REAR LENGTH measurement......ALWAYS. Its to the point that its sometimes the ONLY question I will ask on a jacket is for a specific REAR LENGTH measurement. I'm sure I've ranted on this before here and there.......

Sellers routinely list the length of their jackets as:
"Shoulder to Hem" --- without stating if this is a front or rear measurement and where they measure from the shoulder is always iffy

"Top to Bottom" --- Again NOT referencing whether taken from the FRONT or REAR..... obviously the Front Drop is present in most jackets though to varying degrees yet Sellers don't realize you are critically looking for the shortest length measurement. NOT the longest (at least, I am).

The real pet peeve I have is when a Seller is providing measurements that INCLUDE THE COLLAR!!!!!!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY IS THIS DONE!!!???!?!?!?!?! The Collar has NOTHING to do with the fit of the jacket. NOTHING!!! It should NEVER be included in measurements provided to gauge fit. Whenever I see promising vintage jackets listed with like.....say a 27" length (for say a Half Belt) you just KNOW that they flubbed the rear length measurement and included the damn collar. I was POSITIVE that this Seller did the same thing. That back just looked dangerously short to my eye. Its just SO common.......

And I'm totally feeling your pain here as the situation that pops up on many cool pieces seems to be that ALL other measurables are spot on but that rear length measurement.........UGHHHHH it's just is such a damn dream crusher!!!!!! And its not a fixable issue either!!!! You can't lengthen a vintage leather piece. You just can't.

I will not do the short backed jackets either. I think I tend toward a longer torso and shorter legs and I'm just at 6'0".... So I know the range I have to hit and the bullseye is just a small dot it seems.

The Culprit: We MOSTLY wear hip level jeans/pants/trousers these days. Have you ever seen the footage of General MacArthur triumphantly returning to the Philippines??!?!?!?!?!!!!! Dude has his pants hiked up to like.....MID CHEST!!!!!! He could grab his wallet outta his back pocket by reaching over his damn shoulder!!!!! They make DAD JEANS look like low rise hippy jeans!!!!

All of these 23-24" backed jackets would have simply overlapped these high rise pants back in the day. But since the modern jeans are worn much lower than in the past---we have this issue. Basically trying to cover that gap between short jackets and low rise jeans. Trying to force the vintage jacket to mesh with the fit of modern jeans can be awkward.

It is what it is....... In the beginning I tried to size up to get that extra length. But the length increase is typically very nominal and you end up with an ill fitting jacket just trying to get that extra inch (mayyyyybeeeeeee) of length. Not ideal.

I finally swore off of short jackets a couple of years ago in all but the most grail worthy of purchases. Its been painful to see the numbers of jackets I have had to pass on under my current rigid personal purchasing guidelines---but the jackets I DO buy all fit the way I like to wear them. Its really really hard to find the true vintage pieces in these workable dimensions. And a lot of us are in the same boat......

This is one of the real rubs with true vintage vs. high end repros----SIZING. With vintage, you must take the jacket as you find it and if it fits you----it was just meant to be. So unless ye old Z. CAVARICCIs somehow claw their way back into mainstream popular fashion relevance, its gonna be an uphill battle for us all to find the vintage jackets with workable lengths.
 
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Jumper

A-List Customer
Messages
450
Location
Kentucky!
Out of curiosity, do you generally need a long or tall cut shirt or jacket? I ask because I’m still trying to assess my own abnormalities. This jacket would actually be past my belt line, even in low rise jeans. I know I have a short torso for being 5’ 10”, but I’m curious where the “norm” falls.

Any riding jacket I wear either needs to be custom, altered, or I have to zip it up and fold a few inches of the bottom under once I sit on my bike. My comfortable front length, for sitting with a jacket zipped, is 19”-20”.

All my store bought jackets are easily a couple inches below my belt. Always have been, and it’s just become how I’m used to seeing myself In the mirror.
It's not just a matter of torso length. Girth matters. (Duh. But also for jackets) The thicker the torso, the more the jacket gets filled out horizontally, so the the shorter its effective length. In Tony's case, it's his own fault. If he had the pecs, traps, rhomboids, and lats of a mortal man, he could wear that jacket.
 
Messages
17,349
Location
Chicago
It's not just a matter of torso length. Girth matters. (Duh. But also for jackets) The thicker the torso, the more the jacket gets filled out horizontally, so the the shorter its effective length. In Tony's case, it's his own fault. If he had the pecs, traps, rhomboids, and lats of a mortal man, he could wear that jacket.
I’ve shrunk man!! I dunno. I do want that jacket.
 

yellowfever

One of the Regulars
Messages
188
Too big for me, but I quite like this rarer shorter version of the vintage long leather trench. coats/greatcoats, that are generally pretty common,. To me it looks like it was made like this and not a long coat that’s been shortened, given the zipped hand pockets and main zip closure (longer ones were either button closer or simply held by main belt and an inner belt). And it is pretty old judging by the zips, though it’s not really a deal and the ‘horsehide’ designation is really just speculation (and noted as dark green not black as it looks). The moleskin lining also cannot be beaten in my view for decent warmth and comfort but with durability.

But the best thing about this jacket is that main zip. It‘s a bit weird having a ruhr branded zip pull and a riri branded zipper box, so maybe it’s a mix and match Frankenzip. But check out that metal reinforcement on the zipper tape ends! Why doesn’t every zipper have this? How many vintage zips would still be perfectly functional today if they had had this feature? How much time, hassle, money and aesthetics are sacrificed to zipper replacements on our lovely jackets due to the lack of this? interestingly, the modern day brass riri zipper on my horsehide vanson has a plastic (nylon?) reinforcement on the male zip tape, so clearly riri still take reinforcing this area seriously today. Though annoyingly (unlike YKK) they won’t sell zips to you apart from in bulk…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325015520132?hash=item4bac6f4384:g:NSMAAOSw7ENh8DBZ&LH_ItemCondition=4
 

Claybertrand

One Too Many
Messages
1,545
Too big for me, but I quite like this rarer shorter version of the vintage long leather trench. coats/greatcoats, that are generally pretty common,. To me it looks like it was made like this and not a long coat that’s been shortened, given the zipped hand pockets and main zip closure (longer ones were either button closer or simply held by main belt and an inner belt). And it is pretty old judging by the zips, though it’s not really a deal and the ‘horsehide’ designation is really just speculation (and noted as dark green not black as it looks). The moleskin lining also cannot be beaten in my view for decent warmth and comfort but with durability.

But the best thing about this jacket is that main zip. It‘s a bit weird having a ruhr branded zip pull and a riri branded zipper box, so maybe it’s a mix and match Frankenzip. But check out that metal reinforcement on the zipper tape ends! Why doesn’t every zipper have this? How many vintage zips would still be perfectly functional today if they had had this feature? How much time, hassle, money and aesthetics are sacrificed to zipper replacements on our lovely jackets due to the lack of this? interestingly, the modern day brass riri zipper on my horsehide vanson has a plastic (nylon?) reinforcement on the male zip tape, so clearly riri still take reinforcing this area seriously today. Though annoyingly (unlike YKK) they won’t sell zips to you apart from in bulk…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325015520132?hash=item4bac6f4384:g:NSMAAOSw7ENh8DBZ&LH_ItemCondition=4
Agreed! The metal protects what we all know to me the most vulnerable areas to failure......the main zipper DANGER ZONE.......
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Claybertrand

One Too Many
Messages
1,545
If you happen to live or just find yourself somehow in the Detroit area AND are a bigger guy, AND like Cross Zips, AND Vintage Schott Jackets, OR if you are all of these things and NOT in Detroit but you have good communication skills and the ability to electronically transmit funds......This nice looking (IMO Late 60s) Schott One Star Perfecto 613 (I believe) tagged size 48 for $225 could be a very reasonable get via Craigslist - Detroit

https://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/clo/d/canton-motorcycle-leather-jacket/7467094944.html

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