Lewis Leathers Dominator Navy Horsehide

[Frame]

Hello everyone, a nice package from England arrived recently and inside was this Lewis Leathers Dominator jacket in navy horsehide. It's a little stiff but this is a lightweight leather (1.1 - 1.3 mm is what they specify on their site) and it is softening up very easily already. It feels great, actually surprisingly warm with the red lining, they call it sail cloth. The sleeves are lined with a thin satin. Very easy to wear. Not sure how well the navy blue is going to appear but it's a pretty pleasing color. They did have a brighter blue and several other colors which were outstanding, along with options like stripes etc, but I went for the subtler vibe. Looking forward to seeing how this leather breaks in with some wear. For me, I kind of dig the Lewis Leathers patch but I can see how others might differ on that. Thanks for looking!

 

[ton312]

Man that's a really lovely jacket. I'm not one to advertise a maker for free and avoid branding as much as possible on clothing but for the love of God that is a beautiful jacket, perfect fit and a really, really cool color.
TBH the overall kickassness of the jacket makes the little makers patch kind of disappear. Very nice jacket indeed. Well done!
Would love to see some pics in full sun to appreciate how blue it truly is. LL has always been on my radar, especially the older ones. Haven't found the right opportunity just yet. Their CR patterns, like the one @Monitor has, is probably the coolest jacket ever made.

 

[handymike]

What a fantastic jacket!
Congratulations, and please keep us updated on how it ages. My guess is that with regular wear it will be amazing in 5-8 years

 

[Fanch]

That is a very nice jacket, and I almost placed an order for a Dominator a couple of years ago as a cruised through the LL store while I was visiting London. I decided that I favored the Dominator over the almost identical Corsair, primarily because the Dominator had hand warmer pockets at a more favorable angle for my hands than the Corsair. I like the snap too at the bottom of the zipper that I think helps keep tension off the zipper and is reminisent of the old WWII Luftwaffe flight jackets. I particularly like your navy color. Well done!

 

[eugenesque]

Congrats! I like how the navy is deep and it subtly looks like black.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Perfection

 

[Mysteryo]

Great jacket! Congrats! How long was the waiting time?

 

[Frame]

Thanks everybody. From my visit to the Lewis Leathers shop in London till it arrived on my front porch (USA) was four weeks. I ordered a stock size 40, with one inside chest pocket, the red sail cloth lining, satin sleeve lining, and black zipper tape. The shop was great, lots of fantastic stuff in there. Couldn't be happier with this jacket, been hanging around the house wearing it as much as possible till the cooler weather arrives. Sorry about these pics, I'm not sure they're completely in focus -- the person taking the pictures is lovely but not the greatest photographer let's just leave it at that.

 

[ButteMT61]

I'm with @ton312 about branding in general, but Lewis gets a pass I think because I grew up with guys/gals riding with them and I'm used to it. That's a killer jacket, and I'd love to see some shots of the inside if possible!
Congrats on a killer jacket.

 

[Edward]

That is a very nice jacket, and I almost placed an order for a Dominator a couple of years ago as a cruised through the LL store while I was visiting London. I decided that I favored the Dominator over the almost identical Corsair, primarily because the Dominator had hand warmer pockets at a more favorable angle for my hands than the Corsair. I like the snap too at the bottom of the zipper that I think helps keep tension off the zipper and is reminisent of the old WWII Luftwaffe flight jackets. I particularly like your navy color. Well done!

I've always wodnered if so many of us see a hint of the Luftwaffe look because we're remembering Battle of Britain and similar films made at the height of Lewis' sixties heyday, when they were often used as a stand-in for WW2 era pp leather jackets!

 

[Edward]

I'm with @ton312 about branding in general, but Lewis gets a pass I think because I grew up with guys/gals riding with them and I'm used to it. That's a killer jacket, and I'd love to see some shots of the inside if possible!
Congrats on a killer jacket.

I've never been able to put an exact year on it, but best as I can figure out, Aviakit were putting a 'Lewis Leathers' label on the chest of these jackets at least by 1968, so it's certainly not a 'new' feature in the way Barbour or Belstsaff suddenly became very blatant with a lot of their branding during the last decade.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Yes - I passed on an affordable Belstaff because of that awful label. The Lewis somehow works.

 

[Edgar Laurel]

Thanks everybody. From my visit to the Lewis Leathers shop in London till it arrived on my front porch (USA) was four weeks. I ordered a stock size 40, with one inside chest pocket, the red sail cloth lining, satin sleeve lining, and black zipper tape. The shop was great, lots of fantastic stuff in there. Couldn't be happier with this jacket, been hanging around the house wearing it as much as possible till the cooler weather arrives. Sorry about these pics, I'm not sure they're completely in focus -- the person taking the pictures is lovely but not the greatest photographer let's just leave it at that.

Amazing jacket. Congrats.
A LL jacket has been on my radar for quite a while, and the Dominator seems to be the style I like the most by them.
LL jackets are said to fit kind of snug, did you order your actual size or sized 1 up?

 

[Frame]

Hello Edgar, yes I'd say this jacket fits on the snug side. Fortunately I was able to visit the Lewis Leathers shop in London and try on the various jackets, turned out the standard size 40 in the Dominator with no alterations was just right for me. I will say that the armholes are cut somewhat low, so the jacket does rise up a bit if I stretch my arms out to the sides. The Dominator is style no. 551, but they also have a no. 551T which is the Dominator with a very slim cut, I believe primarily for the Japanese market. Now that one was definitely too tight for me in a size 40. My jacket I ordered with the red sail cloth lining, which does have some light insulation in there, so it did tighten up the fit just a little bit, I can feel it in the shoulders but on the other hand the jacket is still brand new and the horsehide is going to break in although it is pretty soft already. Lewis Leathers offers the option of other linings without any insulation which would loosen up the fit a small amount. Just for reference, here are the measurements I took of my jacket, the Dominator no. 551 in size 40:

Pit to pit: 22 in
Shoulders straight across back seam to seam: 18.5 in
Back length collar seam to bottom: 24.75 in
Front length bottom of collar to bottom of jacket: 21.5 in
Sleeve: 26.5 in

 

[Fanch]

When I visited the Lewis Leathers store in London a couple years ago, I left with a few impressions. Normally I wear a size 42 in virtually everything Aero makes but think I would require a size 44 Board Racer. My Sheenes are size 42 with 2" added to the circumference of the waist.

When I tried on a size 42 LL Dominator, I noticed it was OK in the torso and waist but too tight in the chest and shoulders. A size 44 Dominator fit very well, although the guy who helped me said I probably needed the torso/waist tightened by 1/2" on each side. Of course I needed 1" added to the body length and 1.5" to 2" added to the sleeves.

All of this data makes me think the Dominator / Corsair pattern might be similar to that of the Aero Board Racer. Maybe someday I'll have the opportunity to try on a size 44 Board Racer to make the comparison.

 

[Edgar Laurel]

I'll try to sort that out with LL. See if they can specify the measurements so I can check which size should I go for in the future.
Do you know anything about the british racing green ( a deep dark shade o green they have) leather?

 

[Fanch]

I forgot to mention I really like LL olive cotton drill lining over their red quilted lining, just my personal preference.

 

[Edgar Laurel]

I forgot to mention I really like LL olive cotton drill lining over their red quilted lining, just my personal preference.

It would be a better match for a deep green jacket for example.

 

[Frame]

One more thing I'll add on the fit of this jacket, and that is the cut of the shoulders. I feel that the slope of the shoulders is a little more horizontal (not as downward sloping from the collar to the end of shoulder) as other jackets I have. That results in the corners of the shoulders riding just a little bit higher, at least on my frame. In trying on the various jackets in their shop, and looking at other Lewis jackets online, I'd say that seems to be a signature characteristic of the fit of these jackets, kind of a more square shoulder which gives the profile a distinctive look.

That British racing green color was fantastic, a really beautiful deep green. One thing though -- I just checked the Lewis Leathers site and they list it as an option only for their sheepskin, so you'd have to check with them if you're interested in other hides. Here's the link to that page, and they do indicate that in addition to their stock sizes, they will custom make a jacket to your individual measurements, either with an in-store visit or by measurements you provide.

http://www.lewisleathers.com/About-Our-Jackets.html

 

[Edgar Laurel]

One more thing I'll add on the fit of this jacket, and that is the cut of the shoulders. I feel that the slope of the shoulders is a little more horizontal (not as downward sloping from the collar to the end of shoulder) as other jackets I have. That results in the corners of the shoulders riding just a little bit higher, at least on my frame. In trying on the various jackets in their shop, and looking at other Lewis jackets online, I'd say that seems to be a signature characteristic of the fit of these jackets, kind of a more square shoulder which gives the profile a distinctive look.

That British racing green color was fantastic, a really beautiful deep green. One thing though -- I just checked the Lewis Leathers site and they list it as an option only for their sheepskin, so you'd have to check with them if you're interested in other hides. Here's the link to that page, and they do indicate that in addition to their stock sizes, they will custom make a jacket to your individual measurements, either with an in-store visit or by measurements you provide.

http://www.lewisleathers.com/About-Our-Jackets.html

Just spoke with James from LL to get some info about the leathers. Green is only available in sheep hide. LL Sheep hide is usually slightli thicker than horse hide and cow hide (1.4 mm vs 1.2/1.3mm) but softer and with a distinct grain.