Khaki's with a vintage motorcycle jacket?

[Deleted member 16736]

So I'm already planning my next jacket order and it's a Cal-Leather Horsehide Jacket, which is an exact reproduction of the old Cal Leather MC jacket of the 30's on (when it was Star Glove). Am I stuck wearing just jeans with this thing or can I wear khaki's too and not be breaking some kind of rule? I won't be riding so I'm not worried about road rash. Thank you.

Here's the jacket (in cowhide):

http://cal-leather.com/Men's Jackets.html

 

[Hammer Down]

Khakis are not ideal with a black leather biker jacket, IMO. Different kinds of jeans are nice. You can go grey or black, etc. Also, I would invest in a pair of custom made goatskin pants. Those are The Bomb with the type of jacket you are buying. Goatskin pants fit awesome and stretch more. They are also stronger than steer or cowhide for leather of the same thickness.

If leather pants are over the top for you (because you don't ride motorcycles) then other kinds of canvas pants are nice. Camo pants, dark grey or dark black canvas, etc. Khakis, no. I guess people might have mixed black and light tan back in the 40's and 50's but these days that type of pant is not done with black leather jackets in most circles and would tend to clash with each other. Now Black and Tan beer is a different matter! Delicious! A black Aero jacket with a dark brown collar is cool and interesting, but that's dark brown with black, which is being done a lot these days, especially with younger folks. Rust brown that is almost reddish is being worn with black a lot, as well.

Just my thoughts. I'm sure somebody out there will vehemently disagree and that's great. Different strokes for diff folks.

 

[ultrark2004]

In so cal blue denim

 

[Deleted member 16736]

I guess I'm wondering if khaki's were commonly worn with an MC jacket back in the 30s/40s/50s. Since I'm trying to emulate the wardrobe of the period, I'm most interested in answering that question. I agree that by today's standards, it looks a little dorky.

 

[resortes805]

Khaki Jodphurs!

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

My son is now 25, so this is OLD news. When we lived in Alabama, our neighbor owned a Harley. He wore HIS company's work shirts with the sleeves ripped out and jeans on his bike. We moved to Wichita KS when he was a second grader. His 4th grade sweetie's Dad bought a Harley (an accountant). He road HIS Harley over one day, wearing a sky blue polo shirt (with little polo dude), white Bermuda shorts and topsiders. My son looked at him riding off and said "That just ain't right."

Khaki's and a leather jacket on a Harley IS NOTHING...

Later

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I'm pretty sure there's pics of my Grandpa in Khakis and a Leather Jacket on his Harley back in the late fifties floating around somewhere.

 

[nevadapd]

I'm pretty sure some police motorcycle divisions wear khakis with their leather motorcycle jackets.

 

[Edward]

It's hard to tell from black and white photos. I'm sure it was done back in the day (most things were: we tend to forget that not everyone back then was a clotheshorse with impeccable taste), though personally I'd prefer khaki style trews in a hue that works better with black - or a brown leather jacket.

 

[injunjack]

I that really replica from 30's??? I'd say later...

Nevertheless, what's the pricetag on these jacket?

 

[J.W.]

I think it might work with khakis that have already seen some wear. Personally, I prefer khakis with a brown leather jacket.

 

[Deleted member 16736]

I that really replica from 30's??? I'd say later...

Nevertheless, what's the pricetag on these jacket?

Cal Leather was originally Star Glove which was around in the 30's. In fact, one was just auctioned on eBay. The pattern hardly changed since Star was making them in the 30's. We think of MC jackets as 40's/50's, but they've been around for a long time. I think the Perfecto dates to the 20's.

The jacket is $2000, but includes hand-tooled belt and genuine mouton collar. Langlitz's version of the same jacket is $2400+ and there's no belt, and at the moment, no horsehide either. They're out and not optimistic about getting more, possibly ever. They will only source from their tannery and the tannery is out of HH.

 

[Edward]

Ouch, that's expensive! I'm sure they're great though.

If memory serves, Schott introduced the Perfecto in 1926, which is significantly earlier than we tend to associate the style with nowadays. The generic black leather biker jacket (most commonly the Perfecto, but also D pocket styles) didn't really achieve notoriety until its association with things like the Hollister Incident in the late forties and onwards, from which time it became associated with the bad boy / rebel image. not unlike the Harrington / Baracuta G9 style jackets that have been around since 1937, but today (here in the UK anyhow) are still most commonly associated by the average person with late seventies / early eighties skinheads. Or, for that matter, the MA1, much the same.

 

[Don Tomaso]

I would actually not care about rules. As long as you don't emulate KKK it's all fine.
My point of view would be, it's my jacket, my trousers, and not anybody else's business, as long as I don't offend other people.
I also think brown leatherjacket and khakis look great. Not too hot about black leather, though.

 

[galby]

Truly expensive. But I can see why that is. Great quality made for a lifetime.

 

[Aerojoe]

I think nowadays, Perfecto jacket plus chino pants make you look elegant. Not the best combination for riding a bike, though.

 

[dinomartino1]

Did not know Cal Leather was still in buisness, I have one of their 1950s horsehide police jackets, the modern one is pretty close.

 

[GoodTimesGone]

How about khaki colored jeans? I have some by Calvin Klein that fit like chinos. That way it wouldn't look too formal and clash with the jacket. Or as mentioned earlier cotton canvas trousers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Tom

 

[injunjack]

2 grand, wow, that's much. I was hoping for far less....
And I have one hanging in my closet which might be Cal-Leathers from around 50's and one which I think might be Golden Bear....a bit later judging from the collar. Both a bit too small for me unfortunatelly. They're available if somebody is interested.

 

[Deleted member 16736]

2 grand, wow, that's much. I was hoping for far less....
And I have one hanging in my closet which might be Cal-Leathers from around 50's and one which I think might be Golden Bear....a bit later judging from the collar. Both a bit too small for me unfortunatelly. They're available if somebody is interested.

I PM'd you.