Five Star Leather Jackets

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

Hi everybody. I made a 5 * Jacket last year. But to me, it was a bad experience.
I take the measurements of the Alpha CWU45p and send it to Shawn (have to reduce a few measurements to be more suitable. Because the Cwu45p jacket is a bit wide)
When receiving the jacket. The leather jacket was tight at the shoulders and chest. Hand movement is limited. I can't lift my hand too high. I was planning to have Shawn made my second second jacket. But the following problems make me worry.
----------------
This is the measurements of Alpha Industries Cwu45p Size Xs.

And here is the measurement of the custom jacket (goatskin seal brown 1.2mm)

I want the waistband is 41cm. He said, the goatskin couldn't be stretched. So he made the waistband is 43cm. After half a year of wearing, when measured again is 47cm. Maybe due to elasticity.
--------------
And these are the problems I have with custom jacket.
1. I can't put my hands up and down comfortably. When I held my hand up, the bottom of custom jacket pulled up. With CWU45p jacket I move freely.

After thinking. I found custom jacket to have small range of motion. CWU45p jacket is the opposite.

I do not know how to handle it? Either make an underarm gusset or a sleeve section with a large range of motion.
--------
2. When I move or fold my arms. The jacket is very very tight. I felt very uncomfortable. The back of the jacket was stretched. But the waistband is blunted much. With the Cwu45p, this is not the case.

The solution I come up with is increase the measurement of arm pit to pit or do a full action back like G1's Jacket and reduce the size of waist in custom jacket.
------------------------------------
3. The knit waistband not close to the body. To me it looks very bad.

This is probably due to the poor quality of 5* Knit or big waist measurements. I can't think of a solution yet.
-----------------
Hope everyone will explain the problems I am having. After that, I can have a second jacket that's just perfect to me.

you're comparing the fit of nylon with leather? I think that's problem number 1.

problem number 2 which has been hit on here more recently, but there's been rumblings in previous posts, is just because you give them a bunch of measurements, doesn't mean the jacket is going to be designed/patterned correctly even if they hit all those numbers. I think there's a better chance for success for their existing models and maybe if you make some minor alterations like pocket positioning, etc. At least they'll have a better sense of those "transition" areas. I don't think their forte is filling in the blanks.

problem number 3. The I am wearing a flight jacket so I want to pretend to look like a plane pose. To be fair, my Aero Sheene does the same exact thing at 4x the cost as the 5*. As Mr. Proper suggested, underarm gussets/footballs can probably help here a little bit. But back to problem number 2, most of the people on here aren't professional designers. So while we can speculate as to why that is happening, you're really taking a guess by simply adding a 1 CM here or there or telling them to twist something or move something. To their credit (or fault depending on how you look at it), they will do exactly what you tell them to do. Whether it's a cultural thing or they just don't know better, they don't seem to chime back and say, hey, you sure you want it that way because this is what will happen. This is ultimately the risk reward of the bargain deal. If magic happens and everything turns out great, you just scored big time. But as many have found out, the first jacket or even second ends up being a R&D project. So now that 2nd or 3rd jacket ends up being more expensive or same price than had you just bought a jacket from a "higher" end brand (although there's no guarantee there either)

The sweet spot seems to be in either designing something totally from scratch and pretending to be Versace for a day. You hope you get it right and if you do, you're totally over the moon. Or, taking one of their existing patterns and honing it in with the measurements and superficial changes.

I'd suggest finding one of their stock jackets, get some fit pics, and then make some adjustments as necessary.

 

[ton312]

problem number 3. The I am wearing a flight jacket so I want to pretend to look like a plane pose.

LOOOL!!

 

[ton312]

Realistically, how often is it necessary to do jumping jacks in a leather jacket?

 

[red devil]

Realistically, how often is it necessary to do jumping jacks in a leather jacket?

I did push ups and running in jackets but no jumping jacks... time to try lol

 

[MrProper]

Here's an example of the information Shawn used to make a pretty good copy.

Maybe it is helpful for someone to see how I approach made2measure with 5*.

About the design and the leather you can of course have different opinions, but does not spoil the performance of 5*

I sent these pictures and requirements to Shawn:

Jacket Trucker/Western Style

Leather: the thickest available hide of deerskin. the thicker the better.
Lining: heavy duty cotton drill. Color? Maybe khaki? brown? olive? what is best for cognac leather?
High quality press buttons. Aged nickel buttons like on the pictures?
Thread dark cognac, maybe light cognac. I need the picture thread on leather to see the contrast.

Details:

• Please pay close attention to the details in the pictures.
• Round shoulders
• Sleeve seam on seam body seam
• Collar the same as on my Trucker
• Slightly/minimal rounded collar tips. not the sharp pointed collar tips of my other trucker jacket.
• Pockets lined with deerskin instead of fabric.
• All seams like on the picture.
• Pocket style exactly like on the picture
• See pocket details on the chest pockets
• Slightly rounded western yoke
• No middle seam on the back
• Slightly rounded v-shape seams on the back
• Short sleeve slits (arm openings?), like on the picture
• I think because of my size we need 6 instead of 5 buttons on the front. But we can see this, if the jacket is ready.

Measurements:

• Collar inner circumference: 45 cm
• Armhole: 28 cm
• Biceps: 22 cm
• Arm cuff closed: 13 cm, open 15 cm
• Sleeve length: 71 cm
• Shoulder seam to seam: 48 cm
• P2P: 58 cm
• Natural waist: 49 cm
• Hem: 49 cm
• Height between hem and natural waist: 26 cm
• Back length: 67 cm
• Front drop: +2,5 cm

This kind of jacket must be really trim fit. so please be carefully about the measurements. Also for the collar because with my other trucker jacket the collar circumference is a little big.

Shawn had also offered to wax the leather, but I didn't want that. The dimensions are perfect, including the details. Only the collar has become a shirt collar. I wasn't specific enough in the requirements.

I think regardless of whether you like it or not, the result has been great.

Would i order this jacket again exactly like this? No.
I would now make the collar a little different and do without the details of the breast pockets. But I just wanted to try it out.
By the way, the snaps are very good so far.
The leather is very soft ... too soft and too thin for my taste. But I can easily imagine the jacket in goat or buffalo.

Hope this helps

 

[torfjord]

Here's an example of the information Shawn used to make a pretty good copy.

Maybe it is helpful for someone to see how I approach made2measure with 5*.

About the design and the leather you can of course have different opinions, but does not spoil the performance of 5*

I sent these pictures and requirements to Shawn:

Jacket Trucker/Western Style

Leather: the thickest available hide of deerskin. the thicker the better.
Lining: heavy duty cotton drill. Color? Maybe khaki? brown? olive? what is best for cognac leather?
High quality press buttons. Aged nickel buttons like on the pictures?
Thread dark cognac, maybe light cognac. I need the picture thread on leather to see the contrast.

Details:

• Please pay close attention to the details in the pictures.
• Round shoulders
• Sleeve seam on seam body seam
• Collar the same as on my Trucker
• Slightly/minimal rounded collar tips. not the sharp pointed collar tips of my other trucker jacket.
• Pockets lined with deerskin instead of fabric.
• All seams like on the picture.
• Pocket style exactly like on the picture
• See pocket details on the chest pockets
• Slightly rounded western yoke
• No middle seam on the back
• Slightly rounded v-shape seams on the back
• Short sleeve slits (arm openings?), like on the picture
• I think because of my size we need 6 instead of 5 buttons on the front. But we can see this, if the jacket is ready.

Measurements:

• Collar inner circumference: 45 cm
• Armhole: 28 cm
• Biceps: 22 cm
• Arm cuff closed: 13 cm, open 15 cm
• Sleeve length: 71 cm
• Shoulder seam to seam: 48 cm
• P2P: 58 cm
• Natural waist: 49 cm
• Hem: 49 cm
• Height between hem and natural waist: 26 cm
• Back length: 67 cm
• Front drop: +2,5 cm

This kind of jacket must be really trim fit. so please be carefully about the measurements. Also for the collar because with my other trucker jacket the collar circumference is a little big.

View attachment 311088 View attachment 311089 View attachment 311090 View attachment 311091 View attachment 311092 View attachment 311094

Shawn had also offered to wax the leather, but I didn't want that. The dimensions are perfect, including the details. Only the collar has become a shirt collar. I wasn't specific enough in the requirements.

I think regardless of whether you like it or not, the result has been great.

View attachment 311102 View attachment 311103 View attachment 311104 View attachment 311105

Would i order this jacket again exactly like this? No.
I would now make the collar a little different and do without the details of the breast pockets. But I just wanted to try it out.
By the way, the snaps are very good so far.
The leather is very soft ... too soft and too thin for my taste. But I can easily imagine the jacket in goat or buffalo.

Hope this helps

I think this is great advice. You’ve posted about your ordering process with Fivestar before. I followed your advice closely when I ordered from them. The results were amazing. I actually think you should take your post and repost it as it’s own thread, Fivestar ordering advice, so it doesn’t get lost.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Hi everybody. I made a 5 * Jacket last year. But to me, it was a bad experience.
I take the measurements of the Alpha CWU45p and send it to Shawn (have to reduce a few measurements to be more suitable. Because the Cwu45p jacket is a bit wide)
When receiving the jacket. The leather jacket was tight at the shoulders and chest. Hand movement is limited. I can't lift my hand too high. I was planning to have Shawn made my second second jacket. But the following problems make me worry.
----------------
This is the measurements of Alpha Industries Cwu45p Size Xs.

And here is the measurement of the custom jacket (goatskin seal brown 1.2mm)

I want the waistband is 41cm. He said, the goatskin couldn't be stretched. So he made the waistband is 43cm. After half a year of wearing, when measured again is 47cm. Maybe due to elasticity.
--------------
And these are the problems I have with custom jacket.
1. I can't put my hands up and down comfortably. When I held my hand up, the bottom of custom jacket pulled up. With CWU45p jacket I move freely.

After thinking. I found custom jacket to have small range of motion. CWU45p jacket is the opposite.

I do not know how to handle it? Either make an underarm gusset or a sleeve section with a large range of motion.
--------
2. When I move or fold my arms. The jacket is very very tight. I felt very uncomfortable. The back of the jacket was stretched. But the waistband is blunted much. With the Cwu45p, this is not the case.

The solution I come up with is increase the measurement of arm pit to pit or do a full action back like G1's Jacket and reduce the size of waist in custom jacket.
------------------------------------
3. The knit waistband not close to the body. To me it looks very bad.

This is probably due to the poor quality of 5* Knit or big waist measurements. I can't think of a solution yet.
-----------------
Hope everyone will explain the problems I am having. After that, I can have a second jacket that's just perfect to me.

The problem of a jacket lifting up when you lift your arms is pretty common in jackets, including cool vintage jackets. I have lost count of jackets I've owned that do this. Generally it has to do with how the sleeves are set into the torso but more than that I don't know. I wonder if the 5* A2 jackets also lift up. If they don't then you maybe should use that pattern as a base. Trying to copy a very idiosyncratic nylon pattern is very hard to do in leather. It could take 2 or 3 drafts.

 

[red devil]

Here's an example of the information Shawn used to make a pretty good copy.

Maybe it is helpful for someone to see how I approach made2measure with 5*.

About the design and the leather you can of course have different opinions, but does not spoil the performance of 5*

I sent these pictures and requirements to Shawn:

Jacket Trucker/Western Style

Leather: the thickest available hide of deerskin. the thicker the better.
Lining: heavy duty cotton drill. Color? Maybe khaki? brown? olive? what is best for cognac leather?
High quality press buttons. Aged nickel buttons like on the pictures?
Thread dark cognac, maybe light cognac. I need the picture thread on leather to see the contrast.

Details:

• Please pay close attention to the details in the pictures.
• Round shoulders
• Sleeve seam on seam body seam
• Collar the same as on my Trucker
• Slightly/minimal rounded collar tips. not the sharp pointed collar tips of my other trucker jacket.
• Pockets lined with deerskin instead of fabric.
• All seams like on the picture.
• Pocket style exactly like on the picture
• See pocket details on the chest pockets
• Slightly rounded western yoke
• No middle seam on the back
• Slightly rounded v-shape seams on the back
• Short sleeve slits (arm openings?), like on the picture
• I think because of my size we need 6 instead of 5 buttons on the front. But we can see this, if the jacket is ready.

Measurements:

• Collar inner circumference: 45 cm
• Armhole: 28 cm
• Biceps: 22 cm
• Arm cuff closed: 13 cm, open 15 cm
• Sleeve length: 71 cm
• Shoulder seam to seam: 48 cm
• P2P: 58 cm
• Natural waist: 49 cm
• Hem: 49 cm
• Height between hem and natural waist: 26 cm
• Back length: 67 cm
• Front drop: +2,5 cm

This kind of jacket must be really trim fit. so please be carefully about the measurements. Also for the collar because with my other trucker jacket the collar circumference is a little big.

View attachment 311088 View attachment 311089 View attachment 311090 View attachment 311091 View attachment 311092 View attachment 311094

Shawn had also offered to wax the leather, but I didn't want that. The dimensions are perfect, including the details. Only the collar has become a shirt collar. I wasn't specific enough in the requirements.

I think regardless of whether you like it or not, the result has been great.

View attachment 311102 View attachment 311103 View attachment 311104 View attachment 311105

Would i order this jacket again exactly like this? No.
I would now make the collar a little different and do without the details of the breast pockets. But I just wanted to try it out.
By the way, the snaps are very good so far.
The leather is very soft ... too soft and too thin for my taste. But I can easily imagine the jacket in goat or buffalo.

Hope this helps

It is good to see that they now make the back seams curved without you having to say anything. On my jacket they made them straight. They are definitely improving.

 

[MrProper]

It is good to see that they now make the back seams curved without you having to say anything. On my jacket they made them straight. They are definitely improving.

I'm afraid that if you don't give such details, it will be a matter of chance what you get. In case of doubt, probably what is easier to do.
I really wanted the seams to be curvy and asked for this.
I mentioned it before, it's like programming a computer: you only have the features that you wrote code for. But these then are good

 

[red devil]

I'm afraid that if you don't give such details, it will be a matter of chance what you get. In case of doubt, probably what is easier to do.
I really wanted the seams to be curvy and asked for this.
I mentioned it before, it's like programming a computer: you only have the features that you wrote code for. But these then are good

Ah you did mention them... that is disappointing, sorry not you... But I thought they had learnt about their mistake. If hte original jacket has curved seams and you are using it as a model, they should emulate these seams. It should be like a copy-paste lol

 

[Riu]

Here's an example of the information Shawn used to make a pretty good copy.

Maybe it is helpful for someone to see how I approach made2measure with 5*.

About the design and the leather you can of course have different opinions, but does not spoil the performance of 5*

I sent these pictures and requirements to Shawn:

Jacket Trucker/Western Style

Leather: the thickest available hide of deerskin. the thicker the better.
Lining: heavy duty cotton drill. Color? Maybe khaki? brown? olive? what is best for cognac leather?
High quality press buttons. Aged nickel buttons like on the pictures?
Thread dark cognac, maybe light cognac. I need the picture thread on leather to see the contrast.

Details:

• Please pay close attention to the details in the pictures.
• Round shoulders
• Sleeve seam on seam body seam
• Collar the same as on my Trucker
• Slightly/minimal rounded collar tips. not the sharp pointed collar tips of my other trucker jacket.
• Pockets lined with deerskin instead of fabric.
• All seams like on the picture.
• Pocket style exactly like on the picture
• See pocket details on the chest pockets
• Slightly rounded western yoke
• No middle seam on the back
• Slightly rounded v-shape seams on the back
• Short sleeve slits (arm openings?), like on the picture
• I think because of my size we need 6 instead of 5 buttons on the front. But we can see this, if the jacket is ready.

Measurements:

• Collar inner circumference: 45 cm
• Armhole: 28 cm
• Biceps: 22 cm
• Arm cuff closed: 13 cm, open 15 cm
• Sleeve length: 71 cm
• Shoulder seam to seam: 48 cm
• P2P: 58 cm
• Natural waist: 49 cm
• Hem: 49 cm
• Height between hem and natural waist: 26 cm
• Back length: 67 cm
• Front drop: +2,5 cm

This kind of jacket must be really trim fit. so please be carefully about the measurements. Also for the collar because with my other trucker jacket the collar circumference is a little big.

View attachment 311088 View attachment 311089 View attachment 311090 View attachment 311091 View attachment 311092 View attachment 311094

Shawn had also offered to wax the leather, but I didn't want that. The dimensions are perfect, including the details. Only the collar has become a shirt collar. I wasn't specific enough in the requirements.

I think regardless of whether you like it or not, the result has been great.

View attachment 311102 View attachment 311103 View attachment 311104 View attachment 311105

Would i order this jacket again exactly like this? No.
I would now make the collar a little different and do without the details of the breast pockets. But I just wanted to try it out.
By the way, the snaps are very good so far.
The leather is very soft ... too soft and too thin for my taste. But I can easily imagine the jacket in goat or buffalo.

Hope this helps

Fantastic guide! Definitely should be somewhere more visible. Customisation wise I'm sure you can play around once you've got the right measurements and all the details in place.

The jacket looks really nice in the sunlight!

 

[air]

I'm afraid that if you don't give such details, it will be a matter of chance what you get. In case of doubt, probably what is easier to do.
I really wanted the seams to be curvy and asked for this.
I mentioned it before, it's like programming a computer: you only have the features that you wrote code for. But these then are good

That's a very good way of putting it. There are a lot of measurements that we never think about and 5* will have to fill the gaps.

@MinhNhat I made a diagram to show the measurements that go into making a jacket, bear in mind I'm not and have never been a taylor. These are based on the cafe racer that @Riu recently posted, sleeves and collar are not included because it was too much work.
In green are the measurements that usually come up in conversations at TFL, in blue other measurements that are needed to spec the jacket, if 5* doesn't have them they will have to improvise.

 

[Seb Lucas]

That's a very good way of putting it. There are a lot of measurements that we never think about and 5* will have to fill the gaps.

@MinhNhat I made a diagram to show the measurements that go into making a jacket, bear in mind I'm not and have never been a taylor. These are based on the cafe racer that @Riu recently posted, sleeves and collar are not included because it was too much work.
In green are the measurements that usually come up in conversations at TFL, in blue other measurements that are needed to spec the jacket, if 5* doesn't have them they will have to improvise.

View attachment 311186

Can you provide a few more explanations of the blue measurements and how you made those choices - I don't quite get this.

 

[MinhNhat]

Thank everyone for helping me. Because this is the first leather jacket. So I made mistakes.
I just thought, when I send Shawn measurements, he will make the perfect jacket, and that jacket allows me to move my hands freely. But I'm wrong.
As TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead said. Sending measurements, there are no patterns. It is a mistake. I should base on the built-in pattern of 5 * and customize some parameters. With the second jacket, I don't want the same mistake. I will be more detailed about all the measurements, asking 5 * to do more precision (Based on patterns A2).
My first jacket cost $ 370. The second jacket might cost the same. I don't want the second jacket just a draft, i want perfect version. I don't need many jacket, just one leather jacket that fits my body and according to my personal taste.
I will rely on the articles from Mr Proper, and read it carefully. From there I will have more experience

 

[Riu]

That's a very good way of putting it. There are a lot of measurements that we never think about and 5* will have to fill the gaps.

@MinhNhat I made a diagram to show the measurements that go into making a jacket, bear in mind I'm not and have never been a taylor. These are based on the cafe racer that @Riu recently posted, sleeves and collar are not included because it was too much work.
In green are the measurements that usually come up in conversations at TFL, in blue other measurements that are needed to spec the jacket, if 5* doesn't have them they will have to improvise.

View attachment 311186

Brilliant! I thought about creating a design in pattern-making software using my body measurements and then I could provide the exact measurements for every single detail since you can even add lining and material thickness to the design.

 

[handymike]

This sounds like the best way to approach it, as long as you know what you’re doing in regards to movement. If you could output a pattern file, they would most likely give you exactly what you design. Don’t forget the directions for stitching, zips, etc.

 

[Riu]

I have just received the CR.

I'll post some fit pictures when I can but I can only say I'm really happy with how it turned out! Sleeves alterations were great, wish I would have told them to take another half inch near the elbow but it's really tight around the wrist, so I'm happy with that.

The leather is thick but is way too soft for my taste. I was hoping it would be stiffer. I like its graininess a lot but it's just too soft for what I wanted. With the quilted lining, seems a nice warm jacket. I'll have to test it these days.

Here are just a few images, for now. I can say they've done a great job, in my case the measurements worked great so @MrProper was definitely right about them going as far as you tell them to.

Overall I'm impressed with 5* and I can only hope they will have a wider variety of hides in the future.

 

[MrProper]

I have just received the CR.

I'll post some fit pictures when I can but I can only say I'm really happy with how it turned out! Sleeves alterations were great, wish I would have told them to take another half inch near the elbow but it's really tight around the wrist, so I'm happy with that.

The leather is thick but is way too soft for my taste. I was hoping it would be stiffer. I like its graininess a lot but it's just too soft for what I wanted. With the quilted lining, seems a nice warm jacket. I'll have to test it these days.

Here are just a few images, for now. I can say they've done a great job, in my case the measurements worked great so @MrProper was definitely right about them going as far as you tell them to.

Overall I'm impressed with 5* and I can only hope they will have a wider variety of hides in the future.

View attachment 311429 View attachment 311430 View attachment 311431 View attachment 311432 View attachment 311433

looks good. I think this will be my next leather.

 

[handymike]

The grain looks fantastic. Is it the steer? I can see the softness with the quilting showing through. Maybe a flat liner would be in order with this hide. I’m interested in the fit pics.

 

[Riu]

looks good. I think this will be my next leather.

I'll try to take better pictures, I really like how it looks and it fits, I had a few doubts but they nailed it.