German Leather Jacket Resource

[RJR]

Waah, this is nice!!

+1

 

[Rabbit]

30s French/ German DB, 30s UK plusfours

 

[Monitor]

Damn these German jackets are freaking artworks. Rabbit, that's super cool! I wish the jacket was a tad newer.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Love that combination! Great!

 

[Rbm83]

Hi!
This is my "WWII Era" jacket. The label says "Wien" (Vienna, not wine, haha).
The vendor told me that some else sold this jacket to him 10 years ago. it supposed that it was manufactured in 1940's. Well, I can't tell if that is true.

My sister tells me that's a woman jacket, because the elastic waist in the back. But I'm not a jacket designer, I don't know if is true either! But somehow, she has persuaded me not to wear it, LOL.
It was the design back then? Is it a woman jacket?

Any opinions will be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Monitor]

This is freaking nice!

 

[Rabbit]

It's a men's jacket. The elastic waistband sewn into the back is a feature that was used quite often in continental leather jackets of the 30s-50s. Sweden, France, Germany etc.
Going by the label style and font, liner and overall style this fits in with a 1940s estimate. 40s to mid 50s, conservatively speaking.

 

[Rbm83]

Wow! That information is priceless! Thanks a lot Rabbit.

 

[Rabbit]

30s German steerhide jacket, 40s American donegal tweed trousers, 30s brocade tie

 

[Monitor]

Rbm83, this is like one of the most beautiful jackets I've ever seen! If you ever decide to sell it, PLEASE contact me!! I don't give a rat's ass if it's women's jacket.

 

[handymike]

@Rabbit You pull these short jacets off beautifully! I wish I could. Fantastic collection.
P.s. the package should be arriving today or Monday. Can't wait

 

[Rabbit]

That's great handymike. Let me know when it does.

I really feel right at home in these short jackets.

 

[Monitor]

Seriously, Rabbit. What Handymike says. That 30's Steer is so damn cool. Man, I'm very close to Germany yet I never stumble upon such jackets. . .

 

[Rabbit]

Neither do I. Not in Germany, that is. I'd have to go out looking for them mostly in smaller (non-industrial) towns and villages untouched by war, I suppose. There is a fellow in the Berlin area whose father was in the used clothes trade, and he bought stacks of vintage leather jackets over the years. That's the only bigger source I personally know of, but he (the son, that is, who is liquidating the collection) seems to have mostly Barnstormer-type jackets (Kutscherjacken), leather overcoats and some DB aviator type short jackets. Not much of the other short styles. The Kutscherjacke that I got from him (currently on its way to handymike) is a beauty, with the most incredible patina I've ever seen on any German leather (and that's setting the bar pretty high - the early leather is quite something).

The stuff that I found and still own (3 German, 1 American two-tone) came from Britain, but the seller of two of my three German jackets has connections to a trader who apparently, from what the seller told me, shifts hundreds of jackets each month. The trader is on the Continent somewhere, probably in Germany, I don't know for sure. So the stuff seems to be out there. I imagine the situation must be similar in your part of Europe. Lots of areas torn by war(s), but some stuff is still sitting in attics somewhere.

 

[Rbm83]

@Rabbit
I can see that you know a lot about the vintage european jackets!
According to your knowledge and experience in trading leather jackets, could you evaluate the jacket that I've posted??
At least a calculated average price. Let's say is yours and you're considered to sell it. How much would you charge for it?

Thanks!

 

[Rabbit]

There's no straight answer to that. It's worth whatever the market fetches. Prices are all over the map, you know. Very hard to predict. I've been sitting on a 30s Kutscherjacke for months, then sold it for about €120 plus shipping. It might have been possible to shift it for €300 at another time. Same here, it could be anywhere in that range I'd say. €100-150 seems like a reasonable price to me. You could offer it for more and risk sitting on it for a long time, you never know. The more unusual and rare a style is, the higher the chance that someone with be willing pay more for a vintage leather jacket. This style here (surcoat length, zip front, zip pockets, slash pockets) is not especially rare and the elasticated back isn't the most popular feature from what I've seen (in terms of auction finals). Halfbelts with or without side cinches generally seem to do better. If you like the jacket and it fits you, wear it. It's worth getting some wear, a great jacket in my book.

 

[Rbm83]

Thanks for taking your time to write such a informative answer. I appreciate it, @Rabbit .
I was lucky enough to win a bidding on Ebay for that jacket. It Just cost me $03 (+ $18 of shipping) I was the only bidder. I got away with a sweet deal

 

[Monitor]

Neither do I. Not in Germany, that is. I'd have to go out looking for them mostly in smaller (non-industrial) towns and villages untouched by war, I suppose. There is a fellow in the Berlin area whose father was in the used clothes trade, and he bought stacks of vintage leather jackets over the years. That's the only bigger source I personally know of, but he (the son, that is, who is liquidating the collection) seems to have mostly Barnstormer-type jackets (Kutscherjacken), leather overcoats and some DB aviator type short jackets. Not much of the other short styles. The Kutscherjacke that I got from him (currently on its way to handymike) is a beauty, with the most incredible patina I've ever seen on any German leather (and that's setting the bar pretty high - the early leather is quite something).

The stuff that I found and still own (3 German, 1 American two-tone) came from Britain, but the seller of two of my three German jackets has connections to a trader who apparently, from what the seller told me, shifts hundreds of jackets each month. The trader is on the Continent somewhere, probably in Germany, I don't know for sure. So the stuff seems to be out there. I imagine the situation must be similar in your part of Europe. Lots of areas torn by war(s), but some stuff is still sitting in attics somewhere.

That's interesting! I thought a lot more of these would float about Germany. Same as I am sure that quite a few German vintage jackets could be found here, in the territories of ex-Yugoslavia. Just that they never seem to pop up for sale anywhere, and I'm constantly looking at both all local classifieds and flea-markets. Lots of people from my part of Europe worked in Germany back in the days and leather jackets have always been desirable. Occasionally though, I see really old people wearing what looks to me as vintage leather jackets but... I never ask.
I am afraid that sadly, even though some of this fantastic stuff might've been left forgotten inside some wardrobe somewhere, most of it ends up in a trash bin upon discovery.

Germany has produced some of the finest motorcycle jackets I've ever seen, like Harro or early Hein Gericke and even those are slowly disappearing God knows where. I'm still on the hunt for an early Harro with the furry lining but somehow, it is apparently much easier to find vintage US made Schott. . .

 

[Rabbit]

No doubt lots of stuff ends up in the trash bin, although I imagine that with the e-commerce more and more people are aware of the fact that vintage clothing has a constant value. But stuff in need of repair surely is often thrown away.
Our own Fastuni used to do (still does, I believe) lots of searching for vintage clothes in Germany, mostly in Bavaria, and he came up with a few very nice leather jackets over the years, too.