My leather jacket database.

[JMax]

Aside from the fact that his jackets are as well built as humanly possible, once you interact with him you realize he cares as much as the other makers touted for their love of building jackets, he is willing to impart his considerable knowledge in a respectful manner, and, unlike some other top tier makers, runs a well-oiled business. He always responds in a timely manner, meets deadlines with a superior product, and doesn’t go off on rants about his ability, doesn’t say that what he does for a living is somehow superior, or openly question if members here are simply jealous of his “superiority”. IMO, he is an artist without the baggage who runs an efficient business. I’ll take it.

 

[Monitor]

Are there two jacket makers called Lost Worlds or have I woken up in a parallel dimension?

 

[red devil]

Interesting how the attitude about Lost Worlds has changed through the years. When I bought my Test all the discussion was about his website comments and his attitude. Pretty much condemnation. Folks could not seem to look past his comments and see the jackets.

His jacket were criticized as too heavy, lack of character, no patina.

I don't think he has toned down his website and the jacket look the same.

So what changed?

- Well as I mentionned earlier he had an undeserved bad reputation to start with.
- The criticism about the jackets being too heavy probably disappeared with people wearing CXL from Aero. How could you call LW too heavy if you buy CXL?
- The lack of character was unfounded criticism by people who had no idea. These jackets clearly show a lot of character with some wear. I think the evolution of my suburban was a good counter example, it was very plain at first but then developed beautiful character.
- The level of craftsmanship of LW was shown much more clearly, now forum readers realise that LW is at the top of the heap deservedly so, as opposed to some other makers that are overrated.

Basically there needed to be some new blood in the forum to show a different perspective which is what happened. As a consequence of this, you can now see a wider variety of jackets then say 5 years ago.

Aside from the fact that his jackets are as well built as humanly possible, once you interact with him you realize he cares as much as the other makers touted for their love of building jackets, he is willing to impart his considerable knowledge in a respectful manner, and, unlike some other top tier makers, runs a well-oiled business. He always responds in a timely manner, meets deadlines with a superior product, and doesn’t go off on rants about his ability, doesn’t say that what he does for a living is somehow superior, or openly question if members here are simply jealous of his “superiority”. IMO, he is an artist without the baggage who runs an efficient business. I’ll take it.

That is very well said

 

[JMax]

@Monitor No to first. With everything going on in the world? Probably yes to the second. Lol

If Stuart has teed off on you for some reason, I would be interested to hear about it. As long as you don’t compare his jackets to Zara, you should be ok my brother. Hope all is well.

 

[zebedee]

I like the LW peacoat, but I am not a fan of any of the other styles - I like the peacoat in the full knowledge that it wouldn't suit me. I like the website because it's unintentionally funny and has a kind of floating rage- like Machine Gun Joe in 'Death Race'.

The craftsmanship on the jackets does look amazing and I am sure that the product is absolutely at the top of the range; if peacoat suited me, he'd be my first stop.

 

[JMax]

To clarify a bit, no question he touts his jackets as the best on his website. In my first post I was referring to one-on-one contact with him. Especially telephonic. Very different from the vibe the website gives off.

And he never implies or states that what he does, make jackets, is somehow a worthier endeavor than anything else- that is what I meant by the “what he does for a living” comment. Many artistic-minded people do this, and it irks me. He answers questions patiently and enthusiastically. You look down at your watch and realize you have been talking jackets for quite some time. He never gets frustrated with my questions or requests.

I get why the website may put people off, dealing directly with him is another thing entirely.

 

[red devil]

To clarify a bit, no question he touts his jackets as the best on his website. In my first post I was referring to one-on-one contact with him. Especially telephonic. Very different from the vibe the website gives off.

And he never implies or states that what he does, make jackets, is somehow a worthier endeavor than anything else- that is what I meant by the “what he does for a living” comment. Many artistic-minded people do this, and it irks me. He answers questions patiently and enthusiastically. You look down at your watch and realize you have been talking jackets for quite some time. He never gets frustrated with my questions or requests.

I get why the website may put people off, dealing directly with him is another thing entirely.

That's why I have been encouraging people to give him a call

 

[J Leather Investigater]

Pic of my first l.w.

Interesting how the attitude about Lost Worlds has changed through the years. When I bought my Test all the discussion was about his website comments and his attitude. Pretty much condemnation. Folks could not seem to look past his comments and see the jackets.

His jacket were criticized as too heavy, lack of character, no patina.

I don't think he has toned down his website and the jacket look the same.

So what changed?

I dont think people kept them long enough to properly break them in terry.
You can pick your weight.
Break it in plenty of character

 

[Monitor]

To clarify a bit, no question he touts his jackets as the best on his website. In my first post I was referring to one-on-one contact with him. Especially telephonic. Very different from the vibe the website gives off.

And he never implies or states that what he does, make jackets, is somehow a worthier endeavor than anything else- that is what I meant by the “what he does for a living” comment. Many artistic-minded people do this, and it irks me. He answers questions patiently and enthusiastically. You look down at your watch and realize you have been talking jackets for quite some time. He never gets frustrated with my questions or requests.

I get why the website may put people off, dealing directly with him is another thing entirely.

Website isn't the problem for me. I actually find it charming. The no BS approach. There's a lot going on in those product blurbs but it's all brutally honest in a folk art kinda way and more importantly, really shows that they truly and honestly believe in their product which, as I have said before, is to me the only one on the market worth its price tag. LW leather jackets are crazy expensive but in my opinion, if, I dunno, the RMC J-24 costs $2500 right now, Lost Worlds should be $4000. You are getting something that tops any other maker in pretty much every way. Even if you're not a fan of heavy leather, getting an inferior product for more money is... Silly.

I suppose they just ought to remove the emailing bit from the website and insist people just call them instead 'cause email correspondence leaves much to be desired.

But I won't get into detail. Y'all seem to be very happy after interacting with Stuart over the phone and I believe you that's an entirely different story. Just saying the experience over the email, while not negative, isn't very reassuring, so to say.

That aside, before handling one of their jackets, I too was convinced the jackets look dull due to never seeing a photo of a broken in LW. I was wrong. Leather LW uses is the most unique I've handled but it did take a while to realize this. While it won't necessarily fade and patina, the grain that pops up from just creasing the leather is unlike anything I've seen. It completely changes as you wear it.

 

[JMax]

I emailed him today asking when he would bill my account. I closed with stay safe. His almost immediate response, “billing today, thx, you too”. Classic.

 

[Hh121]

I have owned 9 LW jacket, they are all in different level in terms of hide and build quality, it all depends on his machinist. It will be interesting to see how LW will end up after 10 years.
From the photo I saw, his machinist looks much younger than him, maybe he can open his own business like Greg some day.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

Sorry oic of 1st l w.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

If i was forced to pick one jacket an could only own 1 it would be a Lost worlds, hands down

 

[Superfluous]

LW's website is obnoxious, but not so off putting as to preclude patronage of the brand.

I would love to own a LW jacket, but the weight of his HH exceeds my personal preference. I know many here love very heavy leather and I applaud your commitment. That said, these leathers do not work for me. I thought about LW's deerskin, but even that appears remarkably heavy. Does anyone know otherwise? How does the LW deerskin compare to the weight of Vicenza HH?

I have owned 9 LW jacket, they are all in different level in terms of hide and build quality, it all depends on his machinist. It will be interesting to see how LW will end up after 10 years.
From the photo I saw, his machinist looks much younger than him, maybe he can open his own business like Greg some day.

I incorrectly thought that Stuart made the jackets himself. How many machinists does he employ and what role, if any, does Stuart play in the construction of new jackets?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I'm with you Super. I've had several LWs over the years. The weight and leather finish is just not to my tastes.

 

[red devil]

Website isn't the problem for me. I actually find it charming. The no BS approach. There's a lot going on in those product blurbs but it's all brutally honest in a folk art kinda way and more importantly, really shows that they truly and honestly believe in their product which, as I have said before, is to me the only one on the market worth its price tag. LW leather jackets are crazy expensive but in my opinion, if, I dunno, the RMC J-24 costs $2500 right now, Lost Worlds should be $4000. You are getting something that tops any other maker in pretty much every way. Even if you're not a fan of heavy leather, getting an inferior product for more money is... Silly.

I suppose they just ought to remove the emailing bit from the website and insist people just call them instead 'cause email correspondence leaves much to be desired.

But I won't get into detail. Y'all seem to be very happy after interacting with Stuart over the phone and I believe you that's an entirely different story. Just saying the experience over the email, while not negative, isn't very reassuring, so to say.

That aside, before handling one of their jackets, I too was convinced the jackets look dull due to never seeing a photo of a broken in LW. I was wrong. Leather LW uses is the most unique I've handled but it did take a while to realize this. While it won't necessarily fade and patina, the grain that pops up from just creasing the leather is unlike anything I've seen. It completely changes as you wear it.

Yeah calling him is indeed the best option, otherwise feel free to ask in a thread or PM me. Very happy to help as much as I can and pretty sure so are the others. The whole point of this forum is to share knowlege, so use it!

LW's website is obnoxious, but not so off putting as to preclude patronage of the brand.

I would love to own a LW jacket, but the weight of his HH exceeds my personal preference. I know many here love very heavy leather and I applaud your commitment. That said, these leathers do not work for me. I thought about LW's deerskin, but even that appears remarkably heavy. Does anyone know otherwise? How does the LW deerskin compare to the weight of Vicenza HH?

You can get 3oz HH which is pretty pliable, that I believe should match your requirements? Otherwise, my courrier peacoat in deerskin weighs 2.08kg and it is a longer jacket.

Only thing we need to figure out is your fit, that is the tricky part, happy to help.

 

[Monitor]

LW's website is obnoxious, but not so off putting as to preclude patronage of the brand.

I would love to own a LW jacket, but the weight of his HH exceeds my personal preference. I know many here love very heavy leather and I applaud your commitment.

I have two LW's and while both are supposed to be "super heavy", they're not as thick as CXL or Vanson, etc. Lost Worlds HH is a denser hide, if that makes any sense, it's more stiff out of the box and might give the impression that it's extremely heavy but it's not. Had a Schott 118 made of heavier hide, not to mention Natal, Walter Dyer, etc.

I have also seen my friends LW's A-2 and I know LW makes these in a period correct weight. It was a new jacket, not even broken in thus still a bit less pliable but the overall weight and feel was exactly the same as the A-2 by RMC which I had.

All that is to say, I don't believe you'd find LW's lighter weight hide to be much different to Real McCoy's Shinki. Definitely tougher to wear out of the box but not heavier.

CXL is very different. It's heavy but also very greasy and waxy which much of the weight comes from. CXL also won't crease that way. LW hide just feels different.

 

[Monitor]

Yeah calling him is indeed the best option, otherwise feel free to ask in a thread or PM me. Very happy to help as much as I can and pretty sure so are the others. The whole point of this forum is to share knowlege, so use it!



You can get 3oz HH which is pretty pliable, that I believe should match your requirements? Otherwise, my courrier peacoat in deerskin weighs 2.08kg and it is a longer jacket.

Only thing we need to figure out is your fit, that is the tricky part, happy to help.

Red Devil, speaking of leather jacket databases, I think you have a certain jacket photos of which you absolutely positively must post ASAP so why's that not done yet? XD

 

[red devil]

Red Devil, speaking of leather jacket databases, I think you have a certain jacket photos of which you absolutely positively must post ASAP so why's that not done yet? XD

i actually ordered a tripod a few minutes ago lol

 

[Blackadder]

I have also seen my friends LW's A-2 and I know LW makes these in a period correct weight. It was a new jacket, not even broken in thus still a bit less pliable but the overall weight and feel was exactly the same as the A-2 by RMC which I had.

All that is to say, I don't believe you'd find LW's lighter weight hide to be much different to Real McCoy's Shinki. Definitely tougher to wear out of the box but not heavier.

Have to disagree. They are not the same because one is chrome tanned and the other is veg tanned. Creases developed would be very different, teacore vs blue core etc. Pretty significant difference to some, probably not a big deal to others.