Five Star Leather Jackets

[TheDonEffect]

This is true. Since this my first custom attempt I think I did well. I may leave it as is as I'd certainly wear it in cold weather with a bulkier shirt under it. Or do the traditional Canadian layer: a jean jacket under it.

You'd have a hard time buying anything off the rack in that type of leather that fits that good, so I'd chalk it up as a total win. But of course, things can always be better, and it does have room for improvement, as smarter people here have said, break it in more, then decide.

 

[Carlos840]

For sure.

I wish I knew more about how things should fit.

This doesn't fit poorly. 5* did everything I asked. I'm wanting your patented fit.

I'm VERY glad I ignored Shawn's fit advice. He wanted me to upsize the chest by 2.5 inches because he said the leather was thick. That would have been a terrible mistake.

I wouldn't adjust after only wearing it with a shirt.
In real life you are probably never going to wear such a thick jacket on warm days, make sure you have room to wear a jumper comfortably before you try to make it tighter.
IMO a winter jacket can almost be a size up from a summer jacket, at least that's how i feel now that i own the same jacket in a 42 and a 44.

 

[Wardo1974]

Seriously, this new leather is a total game changer for me.

The challenge though of course is that you need to be heavily involved in the process. On the other end of the spectrum, from what I read about say FL, they really get the fit right far more often than not, as FL does alot of the fine tuning, whereas with 5* you really need to know your measurements and how those measurements translate into a wearable jacket on your body. Great tailors like FL for instance, figure out your body type, and figure out how to make it look the most flattering while meeting your usability goals. Anyone can make a jacket look good if you never plan to move your arms and stand forever for instance.

That said, watching the progress of 5* through the trials and tribulations of others before us, and with these new leather offerings, Shawn is really becoming a force to reckon with to the point they have elevated in my eyes to the point they can't be ignored anymore...

Agree. I was never going to order from 5* unless they got better leather. Colours too. Why so much tan and russet?

With this in my hands I plan on immediately ordering another black one. I'm wondering if the "fast fade" effect will make it a teacore kind of finish. I expect not though, it needs to be black applied over the brown...this is probably grey underneath.

 

[ton312]

I’ve been hounding Shawn about the black. I believe I have probably annoyed him but I am most eager to get the black one cooking. He said he took my thoughts on the hide into consideration and is working his way through the tanning process to make it happen.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Agree. I was never going to order from 5* unless they got better leather. Colours too. Why so much tan and russet?

With this in my hands I plan on immediately ordering another black one. I'm wondering if the "fast fade" effect will make it a teacore kind of finish. I expect not though, it needs to be black applied over the brown...this is probably grey underneath.

I think it's because that's what alot of fast fashion makers are ordering from him. He clearly is setup for mass scale, so I'm sure he attracts a more budget oriented wholesale orders, so generic will rule the day.

You raise a good distinction with the grey underneath in that I have no illusions that this leather will be absolutely be as good as something like a CXL or Shinki, but he's clearly chasing Horween CXL, which to the average person including myself, it will be hard to distinguish. He's covered alot of the obvious markers, now it's just fine tuning it, and your jacket from the first jackets we've seen with the "SXL" is almost night and day.

My concerns about how it will age/patina has been addressed by Ton's diligence, it looks like it will age into something nice.

 

[Riu]

I got my 8 year old to snap a few.

Definitely not a warm weather jacket.

Alterations: she's good. I am wondering about a smaller p2p. Also the back panel seems too wide?

That jacket looks great for layering. I'm curious how it will develop after some wear. Leather is fantastic from what I see, it's a big step forward for Shawn with this and I'm sure if he starts offering thinner versions it'll get even better. Congrats on the purchase!

 

[Wardo1974]

I'll see if I can wear it some more and post wear pics. I'm working at my house though and we are now midsummer here (very hot!) so there's no true jacket weather for a while.

I can say that after an afternoon of merely keyboarding and taking it off and on has loosened it more than months of wearing my Brave Star jacket. I did also a few sets of chin ups in it, and that seemed to help too.

All this to say, I don't know if anyone should feel scared away by the thickness. Feels great to me, it's just rhe initial stiffness to get through. And I haven't even beaten it with a bat, ha ha. Feels like quality. I just put on my Brooks Brothers, it feels ridiculously thin by comparison.

 

[mtrlr]

Yours definitely looks a bit nicer and I’d say even a bit thinner. Mine is full of scars, pores cuts, etc. it’s also gone much lighter brown in very short order. I wonder if my jacket was cut from the prototype batch…I’ll be curious to see if yours ages with the same speed. It’s kind of a hazy brown now and the top coat looks like the fuzz on top of a glass of root beer. View attachment 342999 View attachment 343000 View attachment 343001 View attachment 343002

Leather looks good, and I really dig that color. I'm going to ask them if they have 3oz type of this leather. Or maybe unfinished veg tanned HH or steer too.

 

[Canuck Panda]

All this talk about the thickness made me buy this on Amazon just now. Best 28 dollars I spent this week.

 

[leper-colony]

A few fresh shots of the the 5* Dubow. Love this jacket. View attachment 342942 View attachment 342943 View attachment 342944

It truly is looking great!

 

[ton312]

I am thinking about asking Shawn for a custom tag. One that is true to the language where the jacket is built. No descriptor, just this script on a leather tag. I feel ignorant for not knowing which language he speaks or writes natively. I think this at the neck, with nothing else, would be cool:

 

[TheDonEffect]

I am thinking about asking Shawn for a custom tag. One that is true to the language where the jacket is built. No descriptor, just this script on a leather tag. I feel ignorant for not knowing which language he speaks or writes natively. I think this at the neck, with nothing else, would be cool:

View attachment 343099 View attachment 343100

I was just thinking the same thing the other day too!

 

[navetsea]

what do they mean?

 

[ton312]

I was just thinking the same thing the other day too!

what do they mean?

I think something more authentic would be so cool. There’s nothing wrong with 5 Star but I like the idea of something printed in the native language vs an Americanized name.
These both simply mean “leather”. Either one embossed in a leather tag in the jacket would look so much cooler than the 5 Star label imho.

 

[Wardo1974]

Sounds neat. I don't know if he'd be into it though...they have a selection of labels they probably designed and had to order in bulk. I'd imagine they are in all their generic jackets.

What about suggesting a 5* "Custom" patch that would be used exclusively in all their custom jackets?

 

[ton312]

Sounds neat. I don't know if he'd be into it though...they have a selection of labels they probably designed and had to order in bulk. I'd imagine they are in all their generic jackets.

What about suggesting a 5* "Custom" patch that would be used exclusively in all their custom jackets?

I was thinking maybe he just sew the natural hide in and hand write it in ink. Nothing mass produced. It would be very personal that way.

 

[Wardo1974]

Ah, ok. That works.

 

[navetsea]

burn it with flat tipped soldering iron.

or custom hot stamp is also not expensive and saving time.

or most printer shop that also take order to make chop/ seal, also can laser engrave individual order.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Those are the finesse touches that elevate a product into something desirable. It requires a mind for design and art, vs manufacturing and engineering. Maybe write Custom Tailor Made or something like that as a separate badge on the special leather.

 

[navetsea]

how about a given name to the jacket model give your jacket a name isn't that cool