Good Wear Hercules Half-Belt

[Graemsay]

One of the guys at American Classics had the Bill Kelso Hercules with the inner collar. I thought that it was a nice touch. Were I getting one, I'd specify it.

@handymike the Mister Freedom Campus jacket has a corduroy backing on its collar. I'm sure it holds up, but you could ask on the thread.

@jonesy86 that's a cool jacket, and the pipe takes it to the next level.

 

[jonesy86]

Man I love your recreations of the ad. Very clever and I have to say....that jacket suits you to an absolute T. Couldn't be better. Certainly one of my all time fav jackets posted in these parts. That Horween is the perfect blend of CXL characteristics and easy wearability. Above board craftsmanship. Spectacular fit. What more is there?

Thanks Ton, that just about says it in a nutshell!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Thanks dude. I think your epic Freewheelers must be very similar, accept it has the action back.


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Indeed! They're both killer jackets.

 

[Fanch]

It was pointed out to me by a guy I bought my GW A-1 from on VLJ that I am the same size as JC.

I too have discovered that whichever jacket fits JC will also likely fit me too, the main difference being my arms are ~1" longer than his. I am curious: Did you measure your Herc that you just received from JC?

 

[jonesy86]

I too have discovered that whichever jacket fits JC will also likely fit me too, the main difference being my arms are ~1" longer than his. I am curious: Did you measure your Herc that you just received from JC?

I just did.

[emoji111]️


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[Fanch]

Yep, the measurements are about what I figured.

 

[ton312]

Man I'd love to try that on!

 

[jonesy86]

Man I'd love to try that on!

Sure come on by, we could go for coffee, maybe drop in on Johnson Leather.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Sure come on by, we could go for coffee, maybe drop in on Johnson Leather.

Now that would be cool too!

 

[Edward]

The brand that shall not be named which also makes a Hercules repro actually did copy the textile bit in the collar.
It is a very cool detail i think, surprised JC would not try to include it!

It is a nice detail to set it apart from other halfbelt models; that sort of distinction is minor, I suppose, but once you've got a haldbelt in brown, one in black, and maybe one in oxblood, it does help enable another purchase to have a detail like that that the others don't.

I suppose the reason not to include this sort of thing is if the market doesn't want it.... my only wariness would be if it was a pest to keep it clean (as opposed to the leather, where any neck-sweat can be wiped off easily...)
but then that itself could be me assuming rather than reality, as I've never had a problem keeping mouton clean.

It's a shame that BK's jackets come with such an attitude. I remember their Hercules being particularly nice, though it came with a colossal price tag at the time.

Indeed. They must manage to keep a market in place, or the brand wouldn't survive, but that attitude doesn't do them any favours. I remember being put off in the very early days.... they had a big sale on their original, house-brand A2s just when they were introducing the contract-repro patterns. I sent an email asking whether I should look at a 44 or a 46 as I was between sizes; what I got back was a reply telling me they had one "It's a 42, but it's sized as a 44" and giving me the hard sell on that without actually answering the question. Which made me think twice about buying. The killer blow, of course, was they then proceeded to market their new leather by making a lot of noise about how much better it was than the previous stuff - to the point where it implied the older leather was rubbish. Reminded me of that old Garfield cartoon with the cat watching a tv ad for "new and improved" catfood - "Just think, all this time I've been eating the old and inferior." That was me out. The going to the mattresses attitude towards other leather jacket companies didn't exactly help. The shame of it is that their product is good enough that they don't need to trash other makers to sell it.... (price structuring aside - though to be fair while their retail prices are too rich for my blood, they're not out of line with some of the Japanese brands that they would regard as direct competitors).

The cord on the cuffs is a nice touch. I'm wondering if doing cord under the collar would affect any collar shaping I might try.​

It's a not-unknown detail on a lot of old (60s and earlier) British motorcycle jackets -corduroy, or suede often. Well, it was typically referred to as suede, but it was often roughout rather than 'suede' if we're being very picky.

Goldtop have done this with their 59 jacket model:

I've never read a confirmed, single / exact reason why this was done. Not yet owned a jacket with this feature, so I don't know if it affects the properties of the jacket. When corduroy was used, I think saving on hide might have been the reason (get two collars out of the one piece of leather that way). It's also possible (especially where it's just the same hide reversed to roughout) that it was purely aesthetic, echoing visually what you see under the collar of a traditional British tweed riding jacket:

(Ladies' model in picture, but this is standard in much traditional menswear in Britain.)

 

[Brandrea33]

In my humble opinion the cord cuffs and collar are little details only for the wearer to know about and enjoy.

I bought @jonesy86’s black GW Hercules and it has this detail. Love it, but know one would ever know it’s there unless I rolled up the sleeves or flipped the collar which I don’t do.

I love this jacket so much that I’ve ordered a second from John at GW (finally made contact).

I asked for the under cord cuffs , collar and the inside collar fabric. I’m thinking a dark burgundy cord to accent the dark seal brown hide

 

[ton312]

In my humble opinion the cord cuffs and collar are little details only for the wearer to know about and enjoy.

I bought @jonesy86’s black GW Hercules and it has this detail. Love it, but know one would ever know it’s there unless I rolled up the sleeves or flipped the collar which I don’t do.

I love this jacket so much that I’ve ordered a second from John at GW (finally made contact).

I asked for the under cord cuffs , collar and the inside collar fabric. I’m thinking a dark burgundy cord to accent the dark seal brown hide

That sounds beautiful, I can't wait to see it...in 10 years
In all honesty, hopefully hr delivers for you (relatively) quickly.

 

[Brandrea33]

That sounds beautiful, I can't wait to see it...in 10 years
In all honesty, hopefully hr delivers for you (relatively) quickly.

I know, I know … I already got the gears about wait times from @Carlos840

At least I have this one to enjoy while I wait!

 

[handymike]

Olive could look great too! Does he have access to dark seal hides again, or are you getting the hand-dyed version?

 

[El Marro]

Olive could look great too! Does he have access to dark seal hides again, or are you getting the hand-dyed version?

When I was working out leather choices on my GW Mojave back in January I’m pretty sure he did have Shinki available in russet and dark seal.

 

[Brandrea33]

Olive could look great too! Does he have access to dark seal hides again, or are you getting the hand-dyed version?

According to John he does not have dark seal, however he stated that he could dye it himself (Horween he was talking about). Apparently he’s been coloring his own hides for about 10 years now.

 

[handymike]

...since mine


I really don't know why I ever bought another jacket.... oh yeah, YOU GUYS!

 

[Brandrea33]

...since mine
View attachment 424882
View attachment 424881
I really don't know why I ever bought another jacket.... oh yeah, YOU GUYS!

That is a beauty indeed! How long have you owned it?

 

[jonesy86]

In my humble opinion the cord cuffs and collar are little details only for the wearer to know about and enjoy.

I bought @jonesy86’s black GW Hercules and it has this detail. Love it, but know one would ever know it’s there unless I rolled up the sleeves or flipped the collar which I don’t do.

I love this jacket so much that I’ve ordered a second from John at GW (finally made contact).

I asked for the under cord cuffs , collar and the inside collar fabric. I’m thinking a dark burgundy cord to accent the dark seal brown hide

I like rolling up the cuffs to show off the corduroy.

 

[handymike]

I think it was 2013 or 14. He ran out of Dark Seal after the first iteration, and came up with this color over Seal Shinki. It took me awhile to truly appreciate the color, but it really goes with anything. It is either Cordovan or brown depending on the lighting.