johnnyjohnny
Practically Family
- Messages
- 636
- Location
- lake balboa
haven't posted here in a long time, but after many years i found a grail jacket that until a few days ago i didn't know existed. at the beginning like many i was really into military issue style jackets, especially Luftwaffe and U.S. G-2. still love those but gravitated over to motorocycle jackets, and loved the Highwayman style.
But eventually cop jackets turned into a grail jacket. not just 'Brando' style motorcycle jax, as what this might be mistaken for. But real jackets worn by various highway patrols and PD's around the country. my favorite (oddly being from Calif, L.A. to be exact) has been the LAPD and CHP motorcycle jackets. not because that's where i live, but they've always had the cleanest design.
i have almost every Taylor leatherwear cop jacket there is, the LAPD style in both U.S. made (1990s) and current (2022) Pakastani made (quality of both is the same, excellent, except the U.S. were made with a more buttery flexible, slightly thinner leather which is wonderful, while the current ones have the real thick stiff cowhide, which i also love).
so, to this rare, no longer made piece. i've a number of this style, the 'Brando' style, but not the real cop versions, made for police with the badge holders and gun belt snaps. this is also referred to as an 'asymmetrical'. i also love that style, but to get one that is a legit cop jacket is a score. especially by a fabled maker such as G & B, who most of you know from their flight jackets...so i won't go into all that here.
i knew their reputation for those, but had no idea they made anything like this until i accidentally came across one on ebay, and of course had to have it. this was not that one.
the one i first came across had apparently had the gun belt snaps artfully removed, but depressions in the leather where they had been were quite visible. so of course i went searching to see if there might be another one my size. what i found is what you see here (seller's photos). i will give approx measurements for anyone thinking of hunting a used one down.
the guy selling this was not really a jacket seller, and had this for an insane price, like $152 or something. no, it doesn't have the liner, and being in L.A. with climate change and all, i take the liners out of most of my leather jax. so that's no problem.
the real issue was knowing what the measurements would be. y'all know how that goes, from maker to maker, style to style, etc.
i immediately googled and searched ebay for measurements of G & B, especially any of these. what i found thanks to this great website was an actual size 44 reg of this very model. as it turned out the measurements were generous, like 25" or 25.5" armpit to armpit...which was perfect for me (24.5" to 26" works well). so the question of whether a 44 would fit me (they're usually too small) was answered.
next came the rest of the jacket. as you can see, it's labeled 'custom'. so i did have to look at the pix and guess. luckily these and some other pix in the ad suggested the 'custom' aspect was that the original wearer had ordered longer sleeves and body then a normal 44, which again is just what i needed. this is about 28" back collar seam to end of back, with sleeves about 27".
one fascinating thing about this, and i assume other, G & B's must be the sophisticated construction. i've other great LAPD/CHP style jax, the Taylor for one, and San Diego leather pro CHP with side laces. both have maybe .5" more in the sleeves, however with this G & B, it's constructed so that when you raise your arms as if for motorcycle handlebars, the cuffs do NOT pull back more than a slight amount...which is not the case with every other motorcycle jacket i have or have tried on.
this amazed me. not only do i not have to have a knuckledragger look, but when i lift my arms straight out, there's like no pull, and very little shortening. maybe the bi-swing back is some incredible design to account for that? i don't know. but i like it.
the jacket is now my favorite, because of: 1. it's superb classic styling, 2. it somehow turned out to be my exact size, 3. the construction, including that super trick with the sleeves not shortening when you get on your Harley, 4. just the rarity of having a pro cop moto jacket by one of the great flightsuit makers, and one they no longer make.
finally, it is in lightly used condtion.
i saw one or two on ebay, which would only be worth getting if they were your size, but wearing a jacket slightly big is also stylish. so understanding the measurements vis a vis this jacket may help someone out. plus my praise for their work may also convince you to go for it.
Cheers!
But eventually cop jackets turned into a grail jacket. not just 'Brando' style motorcycle jax, as what this might be mistaken for. But real jackets worn by various highway patrols and PD's around the country. my favorite (oddly being from Calif, L.A. to be exact) has been the LAPD and CHP motorcycle jackets. not because that's where i live, but they've always had the cleanest design.
i have almost every Taylor leatherwear cop jacket there is, the LAPD style in both U.S. made (1990s) and current (2022) Pakastani made (quality of both is the same, excellent, except the U.S. were made with a more buttery flexible, slightly thinner leather which is wonderful, while the current ones have the real thick stiff cowhide, which i also love).
so, to this rare, no longer made piece. i've a number of this style, the 'Brando' style, but not the real cop versions, made for police with the badge holders and gun belt snaps. this is also referred to as an 'asymmetrical'. i also love that style, but to get one that is a legit cop jacket is a score. especially by a fabled maker such as G & B, who most of you know from their flight jackets...so i won't go into all that here.
i knew their reputation for those, but had no idea they made anything like this until i accidentally came across one on ebay, and of course had to have it. this was not that one.
the one i first came across had apparently had the gun belt snaps artfully removed, but depressions in the leather where they had been were quite visible. so of course i went searching to see if there might be another one my size. what i found is what you see here (seller's photos). i will give approx measurements for anyone thinking of hunting a used one down.
the guy selling this was not really a jacket seller, and had this for an insane price, like $152 or something. no, it doesn't have the liner, and being in L.A. with climate change and all, i take the liners out of most of my leather jax. so that's no problem.
the real issue was knowing what the measurements would be. y'all know how that goes, from maker to maker, style to style, etc.
i immediately googled and searched ebay for measurements of G & B, especially any of these. what i found thanks to this great website was an actual size 44 reg of this very model. as it turned out the measurements were generous, like 25" or 25.5" armpit to armpit...which was perfect for me (24.5" to 26" works well). so the question of whether a 44 would fit me (they're usually too small) was answered.
next came the rest of the jacket. as you can see, it's labeled 'custom'. so i did have to look at the pix and guess. luckily these and some other pix in the ad suggested the 'custom' aspect was that the original wearer had ordered longer sleeves and body then a normal 44, which again is just what i needed. this is about 28" back collar seam to end of back, with sleeves about 27".
one fascinating thing about this, and i assume other, G & B's must be the sophisticated construction. i've other great LAPD/CHP style jax, the Taylor for one, and San Diego leather pro CHP with side laces. both have maybe .5" more in the sleeves, however with this G & B, it's constructed so that when you raise your arms as if for motorcycle handlebars, the cuffs do NOT pull back more than a slight amount...which is not the case with every other motorcycle jacket i have or have tried on.
this amazed me. not only do i not have to have a knuckledragger look, but when i lift my arms straight out, there's like no pull, and very little shortening. maybe the bi-swing back is some incredible design to account for that? i don't know. but i like it.
the jacket is now my favorite, because of: 1. it's superb classic styling, 2. it somehow turned out to be my exact size, 3. the construction, including that super trick with the sleeves not shortening when you get on your Harley, 4. just the rarity of having a pro cop moto jacket by one of the great flightsuit makers, and one they no longer make.
finally, it is in lightly used condtion.
i saw one or two on ebay, which would only be worth getting if they were your size, but wearing a jacket slightly big is also stylish. so understanding the measurements vis a vis this jacket may help someone out. plus my praise for their work may also convince you to go for it.
Cheers!
