Five Star Leather Jackets

[Canuck Panda]

The guy is still working on it....
Expect an updated version this summer!

(I am actually going to paint a wall grey so that i have a good backdrop for the next batch of pics!)

Can’t wait!

 

[MrProper]

Here you can look at the Buffalo leather from 5* quite well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcNJ3R-K-Fv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

 

[unhatted]

DHL delivered 2 days early, so I thought I’d put up some quick and wrinkled fit and detail pics. Apologies for poor quality from my ageing front facing camera on the FP. Thanks again @MTS for pioneering the stripped down 613 type jacket with 5* - this owes a lot to that pattern!

The good:

They nailed my supplied measurements. Fit is subjective but I‘m happy with it. I could add a jumper beneath, it has good range of movement, but it feels reasonably slim fitting nonetheless. The back will settle down once the shipping wrinkles do, I think.

No pointy shoulders. Ok I didn’t pretend to be a plane but if I rode my push bike in it I wouldn’t get 80s shoulders.

They scaled up the pockets and shortened the collar as requested using only photos, no measurements.

Leather seems decent, surprisingly light as noted previously but seems substantial enough.

The less good:

I’m not sure why they gave me zippers with brown fabric backing as I did not request these [edit: I did, albeit indirectly!]. I requested talons as on the J24 type, which I‘m 99% certain are black [edit: they aren’t!], and I requested a black jacket and lining.



The front panels are at least 5mm off matching. This seems pretty sloppy. I know we had pics of Aeros with this though. Am I being too picky? [Edit: I am. This is normal]



Again, maybe I‘m being picky but in comparison to my similarly priced Cidu, there‘s some rather wonky and asymmetrical stitching.



It’s a good jacket. Have revised my initial verdict since I was wrong about the black talons and the mismatched panels are a thing. The stitching is probably plenty straight for the price

 

[Marc mndt]

No pointy shoulders. Ok I didn’t pretend to be a plane but if I rode my push bike in it I wouldn’t get 80s shoulders.

Nothing wrong with a rounded shoulder. I really like it actually. Rounded shoulders are not an 80s invention btw. The shoulder on your 5* looks quite similar to my late 40s / early 50s Kit Karson.

I’m not sure why they gave me zippers with brown fabric backing as I did not request these. I requested talons as on the J24 type, which I‘m 99% certain are black, and I obviously requested a black jacket and lining. This seems like an error or at least an odd decision I was not consulted about. It doesn’t look terrible but I would not have chosen this - it’s particularly noticeable on the sleeves.

Zipper tape fades over time. What starts out black ends up brown. Check out the faded zipper tape on this Buco j24:

Also compare the inside of the zipper tape to the outside :

A lot of repro makers use brown zipper tape on black jackets to replicate the vintage faded look.

The front panels are at least 5mm off matching. This seems pretty sloppy. I know we had pics of Aeros with this though. Am I being too picky?

That's a design feature of crosszip jackets, not a flaw. Here's my Freewheelers crosszip, same non- matching front panels.

 

[unhatted]

Thanks @Marc mndt - since I can’t change any of these things I‘d much rather see them as intentional features (I was already a fan of the rounded shoulder - my Cidu looks like an 80s suit)! Though I still think on a custom order it would be nice to check in before changing the zipper colour…

 

[MrProper]

DHL delivered 2 days early, so I thought I’d put up some quick and wrinkled fit and detail pics. Apologies for poor quality from my ageing front facing camera on the FP. Thanks again @MTS for pioneering the stripped down 613 type jacket with 5* - this owes a lot to that pattern!

View attachment 417646 View attachment 417645 View attachment 417647 View attachment 417648

The good:

They nailed my supplied measurements. Fit is subjective but I‘m happy with it. I could add a jumper beneath, it has good range of movement, but it feels reasonably slim fitting nonetheless. The back will settle down once the shipping wrinkles do, I think.

No pointy shoulders. Ok I didn’t pretend to be a plane but if I rode my push bike in it I wouldn’t get 80s shoulders.

They scaled up the pockets and shortened the collar as requested using only photos, no measurements.

Leather seems decent, surprisingly light as noted previously but seems substantial enough.

The less good:

I’m not sure why they gave me zippers with brown fabric backing as I did not request these. I requested talons as on the J24 type, which I‘m 99% certain are black, and I obviously requested a black jacket and lining. This seems like an error or at least an odd decision I was not consulted about. It doesn’t look terrible but I would not have chosen this - it’s particularly noticeable on the sleeves.

View attachment 417649

The front panels are at least 5mm off matching. This seems pretty sloppy. I know we had pics of Aeros with this though. Am I being too picky?

View attachment 417652

Again, maybe I‘m being picky but in comparison to my similarly priced Cidu, there‘s some rather wonky and asymmetrical stitching.

View attachment 417650

It‘s definitely not all bad. Overall it’s a good jacket but given that I read this entire thread and tried to cover every base it’s frustrating to have a wildcard thrown in!

View attachment 417651

You wanted Talon and I think 5* doesn't have black Talon.
And there happens what I always say: if not explicitly specified, the result is left to chance. There is no questioning, but what corresponds most closely to the specifications is made. You wanted Talon and you got Talon.
That's part of the learning curve.
By the way, I find the brown ones better on the jacket than the black ones.

 

[unhatted]

You wanted Talon and I think 5* doesn't have black Talon.
And there happens what I always say: if not explicitly specified, the result is left to chance. There is no questioning, but what corresponds most closely to the specifications is made. You wanted Talon and you got Talon.
That's part of the learning curve.
By the way, I find the brown ones better on the jacket than the black ones.

Absolutely a lesson in leaving nothing to chance! Though I think they do use black talons on the J24?

Anyway, I’m over it now - it’s easy to overthink a jacket when you’ve spent the week obsessively refreshing the DHL tracking…

But while I’m overthinking… The big question is do I cut off the little leather pull tab on the centre zip? I tend to take off the little tied leather strips since I prefer the cleaner look and don’t tend to wear gloves but unlike those ones, this is totally irreversible! Is it an unforgivable sin to lop these off?

 

[ojaw]

Absolutely a lesson in leaving nothing to chance! Though I think they do use black talons on the J24?

Anyway, I’m over it now - it’s easy to overthink a jacket when you’ve spent the week obsessively refreshing the DHL tracking…

But while I’m overthinking… The big question is do I cut off the little leather pull tab on the centre zip? I tend to take off the little tied leather strips since I prefer the cleaner look and don’t tend to wear gloves but unlike those ones, this is totally irreversible! Is it an unforgivable sin to lop these off?

View attachment 417693

Only your moral centre can tell you that.

 

[Imuricecreamman]

Nothing wrong with a rounded shoulder. I really like it actually. Rounded shoulders are not an 80s invention btw. The shoulder on your 5* looks quite similar to my late 40s / early 50s Kit Karson.

View attachment 417657




Zipper tape fades over time. What starts out black ends up brown. Check out the faded zipper tape on this Buco j24:

View attachment 417655

Also compare the inside of the zipper tape to the outside :

View attachment 417656

A lot of repro makers use brown zipper tape on black jackets to replicate the vintage faded look.



That's a design feature of crosszip jackets, not a flaw. Here's my Freewheelers crosszip, same non- matching front panels.

View attachment 417654

My 5star j24 has brown zippertape and that is probably my favorite feature on the jacket as I feel it makes everything "come alive"

 

[unhatted]

My 5star j24 has brown zippertape and that is probably my favorite feature on the jacket as I feel it makes everything "come alive"

Ah! I stand corrected! The J24 was why I thought they had black zipper tape but clearly I was mistaken. I take it all back.

Very glad I posted on here before dropping 5* an email, since that aside they’ve nailed everything I asked for (OK, there’s an extra cm on chest and half cm on the sleeve ends but that’s well within advertised tolerances).

Was also mistaken about getting a jumper on under it. On further exploration I can comfortably wear two thin layers but not a woolen jumper. Perhaps an excuse to keep my previous DR which is the only leather jacket I have which allows for this!

 

[Imuricecreamman]

It doesnt show real well in the pics but ad you use the zips more the leather receeds to show a bit more Brown.

 

[Canuck Panda]

This is a very hard post for me. I appreciate what Shawn has done so far, and I am glad many members gotten what they would like from 5Star.

I am gonna be straight to the point, there is a lot more work to be done for the 5Star (master) pattern block.

Also, while it is fun to be heavily involved in the design process, the jacket sizing responsibility still falls on the maker, not us the buyer.

When we give the maker our actual chest measurements, height and weight, the maker should confidently put us in the right size. If this doesn't happen then it's the maker's problem, not the buyer. No shoulder sizes are equal. No P2P sizes are equal. The only real control I have over the fit is the mid and bottom torso fit, which (are the only two measurements that) can be altered regardless which maker pattern is used. In reality we do not even have control over sleeve or back length as we think we do. A slight change in shoulder slope would wipe that out.

FiveStar HB vs Vintage direct repro HB. The glovey soft 5Star horsehide is compensating the pattern mobility. If stiffer horsehides (Shinki or Victoria) is used, the same pattern wouldn't work.

FiveStar LHB vs Vintage possible LHB. The 5Star belt is placed too low, it also is too large and too small at the same time. The stiffer chromexcel leather make the pattern flaws visible.

Tweaking the shoulder size, P2P size, sleeve attachment size etc will not actually improve the current 5Star master pattern block. Copying a physical real vintage is a good start. Or at least one that we know for sure works (better). I may be sending my Vanson to Shawn as a gift down the road. It is closest to his current pattern style and he can get better HB and Cossacks patterns out of it too. And I hope members who posted vintage jackets here can work out a deal with Shawn. It is the only way to improve his pattern game. Period.

If the pattern is good, the leather doesn't really matter. Functional patterns will work with both thick/thin, stiff/soft leather. The same goes for craftsmanship. Not everyone can sew thick leather, but every one can sew thin leather.

This is not intended as a negative post, just trying to up the current 5star pattern game, for everyone.

 

[MrProper]

When we give the maker our actual chest measurements, height and weight, the maker should confidently put us in the right size.

I don't necessarily agree with that.
My attempts to get a size specification from the manufacturer with this information were extremely unsatisfactory. The jackets would have been significantly too large throughout.
Especially at the hips and stomach, I could have wrapped them around twice.
For average statures may possibly still go.

I am in the process of writing down how I determine the body measurements and translate them into jacket measurements. Maybe this will help one or the other.

In any case, I prefer to give my own measurements of the jacket and not my body measurements.
Of course, then I have to make adjustments depending on the style of the jacket and the material used. But I have found that the thickness of the leather is less important than I thought. I hope my assumption is still correct when I get my 2mm HH, which has the same measurements as the brown one lol

 

[MTS]

@unhatted glad to see your jacket turned out good! The fit looks good and I don't think the minor issues you have on the jacket are that bad at all!

Any funky smell with the goat? Seems to be a jacket to jacket issue.

 

[TheDonEffect]

This is very true. Shawn has tweaked the 30s HB pattern, it can fit tighter than the old winter HB from just a year ago, and better movement.


Soft game hides (deer, bison, elk, goat) will drape well for the button jackets. Easy fastening too.
I find that softer leather works better with buttons. Not about thickness, but it’s gotta be soft for the button holes to work


I’ve also experienced the ghosting before. It’s either too many emails or there’s something he doesn’t have for your project. All these years, Shawn has never said no to me, but I’ve also been ghosted before. I’d suggest to give it a little while before nudging him with another email reminder. It takes some time but things usually works out.


This will probably end up to be the only jacket you’ll always reach for.

Totally, no more cxl leathers for me anymore, going to choose one of their stock leathers like a 2oz steer or the Masaye. I love my car coat, but the stiffness makes it a chore. Perhaps I'm not man enough for those types of leather.

 

[ton312]

attempts to get a size specification from the manufacturer with this information were extremely unsatisfactory

Same, even when strssing athletic build, etc...I've never had anything good come from providing my dimensions...it seems almost all makers will error on the side of caution and wildly oversize. The thought boing that too larger is more foregiving than too small.

 

[Rugby]

Totally, no more cxl leathers for me anymore, going to choose one of their stock leathers like a 2oz steer or the Masaye. I love my car coat, but the stiffness makes it a chore. Perhaps I'm not man enough for those types of leather.

I think I've read somewhere on this forum that Masaye shrinks. Is that true? How does it compare to Horween Vermont HH?

 

[Rugby]

Same, even when strssing athletic build, etc...I've never had anything good come from providing my dimensions...it seems almost all makers will error on the side of caution and wildly oversize. The thought boing that too larger is more foregiving than too small.

Unless it's Stu from LW, who made me a jacket way smaller, than the measurements I sent him.

 

[ton312]

Unless it's Stu from LW, who made me a jacket way smaller, than the measurements I sent him.

His technique is even worse, just height/weight and that's that.

 

[Rugby]

His technique is even worse, just height/weight and that's that.

Well, I sent him detailed requirements and he, I guess ball parked it according to what he had available. Great jacket. Bummer for me, hurrah for my son