Last month prior to a two-week HA cruise of the Norwegian fjords, I was able to spend almost a week in London, which I found to be a fascinating big city, although I found that if one walks at all tentatively on the streets, one is likely to be run over and turned into sidewalk kill by pedestrians. :eeek: Initially I was overwhelmed by the London Underground (Tube) but much less so by the second day. Kudos to a couple of TFL members - Craig (Sloan) and Eric (wdw) for pointers on what to see while there and how to go about doing it.
Since I traveled with my wife and daughter, I had to hit all of the usual sites (Hampton Court Palace, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, London Tower & Bridge, etc. However, two stores that were on MY short list were Lewis Leathers and American Classics.
The first was Lewis Leathers, and was given directions there by Tim Sabin while my wife and daughter were both doing something else. Since I was alone, I was not pressed for time and was able to finally try on stuff there. Specifically, I found that the two jackets of most interest to me were the Dominator and the Corsair. Although the Corsair has a less busy outward appearance than the Dominator, I found that the slant of the handwarmer pockets on the Dominator seemed to be better positioned for use as handwarmers than the Corsair. I pointed this out to Tim who illustrated how the pockets on the Dominator were slightly more vertical than on the Corsair. Anyhow, enough of a difference to make me favor the Dominator.
Both above models were sized the same. I had heard that the Lewis jackets were sized a bit small and found this to be my experience, and noted that a size 44 Dominator seemed to best work for me, although I would need to add 1" to the body and 1.5" to 2" to the sleeves from the standard. Most were lined with red quilted cotton, but found my preference to be olive non-quilted cotton that I saw on a couple there. I also I found I preferred their black horsehide over the cowhide. I was really impressed with the Lewis product and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Tim.
The other store that I liked was American Classics but walked in there with my wife and daughter, my wife fidgeting and looking at her watch the entire time we were there. [huh] Later that day though I returned the favor while at Fortnum & Mason's.
For the brief time I was at American Classics I enjoyed talking to Julian Bates, who is a Brit but found he attended high school in a Dallas suburb just 2-3 miles from my home. Small world.
For the first time ever, I was able to look at and try on a couple of Eastman jackets and found Eastman's USN Model 442-A in size 46 was a perfect fit. I could have easily spent another couple of hours there but felt my wife's hand in the small of my back pushing me out the door after 15-20 minutes.
Anyhow, I though I'd share my brief experience with those two stores and what seemed to fit and catch my fancy while there. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed visting with Tim Sabin and Julian Bates, and again acknowledge Sloan and wdw giving me the heads up.
Since I traveled with my wife and daughter, I had to hit all of the usual sites (Hampton Court Palace, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, London Tower & Bridge, etc. However, two stores that were on MY short list were Lewis Leathers and American Classics.
The first was Lewis Leathers, and was given directions there by Tim Sabin while my wife and daughter were both doing something else. Since I was alone, I was not pressed for time and was able to finally try on stuff there. Specifically, I found that the two jackets of most interest to me were the Dominator and the Corsair. Although the Corsair has a less busy outward appearance than the Dominator, I found that the slant of the handwarmer pockets on the Dominator seemed to be better positioned for use as handwarmers than the Corsair. I pointed this out to Tim who illustrated how the pockets on the Dominator were slightly more vertical than on the Corsair. Anyhow, enough of a difference to make me favor the Dominator.
Both above models were sized the same. I had heard that the Lewis jackets were sized a bit small and found this to be my experience, and noted that a size 44 Dominator seemed to best work for me, although I would need to add 1" to the body and 1.5" to 2" to the sleeves from the standard. Most were lined with red quilted cotton, but found my preference to be olive non-quilted cotton that I saw on a couple there. I also I found I preferred their black horsehide over the cowhide. I was really impressed with the Lewis product and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Tim.
The other store that I liked was American Classics but walked in there with my wife and daughter, my wife fidgeting and looking at her watch the entire time we were there. [huh] Later that day though I returned the favor while at Fortnum & Mason's.
For the brief time I was at American Classics I enjoyed talking to Julian Bates, who is a Brit but found he attended high school in a Dallas suburb just 2-3 miles from my home. Small world.For the first time ever, I was able to look at and try on a couple of Eastman jackets and found Eastman's USN Model 442-A in size 46 was a perfect fit. I could have easily spent another couple of hours there but felt my wife's hand in the small of my back pushing me out the door after 15-20 minutes.
Anyhow, I though I'd share my brief experience with those two stores and what seemed to fit and catch my fancy while there. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed visting with Tim Sabin and Julian Bates, and again acknowledge Sloan and wdw giving me the heads up.
