Irregularities in leather - what's acceptable and what's not?

[erikb02809]

I recently took delivery of a long awaited Thedi Hector from Thurston Bros, and there are a small number of tiny gouges/holes in the topcoat of the leather, including a trio on one of the lapels near where it meets the collar that are setting my OCD off like crazy.

I checked with Carrie and was assured that with a leather garment that this was par for the course (and I trust her judgment), but it got me thinking, where does one draw the line for at what price point what level of irregularities are considered acceptable? I'll be the first to admit I'm legit OCD about stuff like this, so figured it'd be enlightening to see how fellow jacket enthusiasts view these types of things.

Edit: For the record I love the jacket. Just gotta train my eyeballs not to snag on those spots!

 

[navetsea]

what irregularity you're talking about on that lapel? is it the 3 minor oops stitching holes or the darker lines across the collar?, you know leather can only be sewn once unlike fabrics, sometime you have to forgive minor things, and beside after the leather getting creases these minor thing won't be visible, if you're OCD on things then you would feel more OCD over accidental creases that will not go away too and leather might not be a good idea, since even when new they look the same but minor differences in thickness or suppleness in the hide might produce different look in grain and creases, you might end up with sleeves that not mirroring each other in creases or one panel become grainier than the other or somehow fading more than the other.

my limit is for something more visible like if the pocket is not at the same position, zipper not balanced, or if the grain is too wildly different on the left and right of the jacket, just oops stitching holes I can look past it.

 

[Hh121]

You may consider sell it to me.

 

[JumpBoot]

Personally I think it looks the business. Just the nature of leather. But if you can’t abide it, I’m happy to take it off your hands.

Seriously, it’s fine. Unless it’s a flaw in the stitching (and this would only bother me if it affected the serviceability), or the quality of the leather itself, or the jacket being made out of spec, just enjoy the character of the garment.

 

[Fanch]

Looks like a nothingburger to me.

 

[navetsea]

first scratch on plastic shell of your brandnew glossy red victorinox, nothing worse than that, I keep that feeling as gold standard to compare anything else with.

 

[erikb02809]

Gotta clarify - I didn't post to complain. Just curious how picky you guys are about these sorts of things, versus other sorts of things, etc. (For the record, it's those "holes" on mine. I actually dig the darker lines on the collar a lot).

One of my favorite jackets I own currently is a Vanson/Logan's Closet Wolverine X-O that must've been sewn on a Friday afternoon by someone with a migraine. All sorts of crooked stitching. Baaaaaad in spots. But for whatever reason, my eye and mind don't snag on them. But these 3 little spots on the Thedi draw my eye every time.

The feedback I got from Navetsea was exactly the perspective/info I was curious about when I posted. What kind of spots/irregularities do you guys have on some of your jackets? How have you learned to love them? Lol. That sorta thing

 

[Big J]

I'm looking at the three holes in a straight line at the notch in the lapel, that run straight off from the line of stitching?
Looks like a stitching era/sloppy sewing machine work to me, with the thread removed. I'd be livid and send it back. At this price point, slipping machining is not acceptable, and someone needs more training/better supervision. QC should have prevented this jacket from going out the door.
Whatever the owner does to their own jacket is on them, but stitching errors are rookie mistakes.

 

[erikb02809]

Big J those are the spots. Up close, they don't appear to penetrate through the hide, so I'm not sure if they were on the hide prior to assembly or not, and that their lining up with the stitching may be a coincidence. I am not crazy about them being there, for sure, but the rest of the jacket is really nice.

 

[navetsea]

there are leather adhesive to mend holes, but for whatever reason outside of sofa repairer the other crafts don't seems to use it to mend this kind of small oops. just a dab in to the hole and a dab of dye or pigment he is very good at preantiquing his stuff would heal this easy.

 

[erikb02809]

Carrie recommended leaving them alone. I don't like the idea of having to fix anything on a jacket that cost over $1300. The more I'm thinking about this, the more I'm bummed out that they're there, but I'm pretty sure if sending it back were an option, I'd just end up receiving another jacket that had some sort of flaw somewhere else.

 

[srahimian24]

Personally, I would not get too upset about something like that. If it is something that's really bad/clearly sloppy then yeah. But something as minor as that would not bother me

 

[dannyk]

I think it would bother me a bit. It’s an expensive jacket, although expense is relative. I’m putting anything over 1,000 as a significant enough amount to put down. From a maker we consistently and constantly rave about their attention detail and super precise and insane sewing skills. It’s not a used jacket and it’s not the type of “damage” you would expect to happen during shipping. You say returning/exchanging isn’t an option? If it were an option I would pursue that. If you say it’s not then it’s not something that would drive me nuts, ruin the jacket for me, or make me want to sell by any means. I said return/exchange because it’s new and shouldn’t be there; but by no means is it noticeable, defective, ugly, etc...so if it can’t be easily “fixed” keep it, rock it, love it!

 

[erikb02809]

I think it would bother me a bit. It’s an expensive jacket, although expense is relative. I’m putting anything over 1,000 as a significant enough amount to put down. From a maker we consistently and constantly rave about their attention detail and super precise and insane sewing skills. It’s not a used jacket and it’s not the type of “damage” you would expect to happen during shipping. You say returning/exchanging isn’t an option? If it were an option I would pursue that. If you say it’s not then it’s not something that would drive me nuts, ruin the jacket for me, or make me want to sell by any means. I said return/exchange because it’s new and shouldn’t be there; but by no means is it noticeable, defective, ugly, etc...so if it can’t be easily “fixed” keep it, rock it, love it!

I messaged Carrie tonight to see if it would be possible to send back to Thedi for another. Given the "custom" nature of ordering a Thedi and the fact I've had it for about a week, I'm not optimistic.

 

[zebedee]

I'd be unhappy about it, but it isn't the kind of thing that will affect the jacket structurally. Quality Control should have picked that up- I'd ask Thedi for a partial refund, a credit note or something along those lines. If you sold it, you'd include information on the marks, no? Then you'd have to explain it to a buyer (that it didn't affect selling price, etc.- as a buyer, I'd immediately ask for at least a 20% discount, even if 'as new').

OCD is a side issue in this case- whether someone has OCD or not, there are cosmetic blemishes on that lapel.

 

[torfjord]

Are there actual holes in the leather or are they merely marks? If they are marks they might go away if you rub at the area with a clean cotton cloth.
I wouldn’t be happy with stray stitch holes in such a clearly visible place. If they were on the inside of the hem or someplace you would never see them I’d still be a bit bummed if the seller hadn’t mentioned them, but at least that’s easy to forget about.


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[jacketjunkie]

Three tiny dot marks in the topcoat? Wouldn't bother me. It's barely visible in this close-up shot, no way anyone will ever notice this when you are wearing the jacket unless he's rubbing his face into your jacket for some reason? I'm not even sure I would call that an irregularity that justified a return. After mere DAYS of wear, your jacket will have signs of wear much more significant and visible than these. If you are into perfect mirrorish even surface, leather is not for you, imho.

Actual stitch holes, misplaced pockets, heavily missmatched panels, super-wonky stitching or size differences of more than 0.5" are things I would consider irregularities justifying a return.

 

[Striver]

I also focus/obsess/be down too much on what are, in reality, small defects in things. Someone once said to me, after I was unhappy with a "fault' in a bit of home joinery I'd just finished, "You can see that today... you won't see it tomorrow" Sense thinking like that I thought.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Irregularities are kind of the point of leather jackets - they are hand made objects from natural materials. There are a few people who expect almost plastic standards of accuracy and faultlessness when it comes to leather goods and that is a view too. I would not be concerned about those little marks but having said that I wouldn't want too many of those.

 

[nick123]

$1300 is a lot; I can understand being concerned about errors. However, more importantly, how does it fit? I imagine, like any jacket, as the decades pass the jacket will naturally age and with it acquire all sorts of other blemishes.