Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 25,082
- Location
- London, UK
Interesting responses on here. Myh own wardrobe tends to be primarily new - both leathers and other bits. As is the case with most folks, I'm sure, money and space are both at a premium for me, and I just can't justify owning something I'll never wear. While I do tend to dress "vintage" full time (though that often means pulling together a reasonable facsimilie of an early fifties look based on what I can find available), I'm not really that bothered as to whether my bits were made today or in 1933. TBH, Had I the money, I'd have all my suits made in Henry Poole now, but to thirties and forties patterns. It's the styls of the period that matter to me, not collecting orginal garments from the period specifically. As I said, limits to space and money.... also, I'm at the upper end, size-wise, of "vintage sizes"; it's relatively rare to find original bits that fit me and which aren't crazy money.... then there's the fact that when it comes ot my original pieces, I don't wear them very often as I'm wary of ruining something which is, effectively, irreplaceable.
I've owned a few leather jackets of varying age (c.1940s through 1980s) over the years, but the nature of the shifting market is such that surviving vintage pieces wearable by me are extremely rare. As the cost of the few examples that would be continues to rise - in spite of often poor condition - I'd rather just go new andbe sure of what I'm getting, knowing that it will definitely outlive me, and if it does fall apart there's a manufacturer I can go back to and complain, rather than just accepting that's the risk you take when buying a seventy year old jacket. This is not to say that I'd turn down the right, wearable, jacket if it came in at the right price, of course.
I suppose another argument in favour of repro might be that by buying from the likes of Aero, or Lewis, or whoever, it's one, small way I can do my bit to ensure that the styles and cuts we all love will stay around rather than becoming lost skills. I think for most of us, though, it's about size, availability and price.
I've owned a few leather jackets of varying age (c.1940s through 1980s) over the years, but the nature of the shifting market is such that surviving vintage pieces wearable by me are extremely rare. As the cost of the few examples that would be continues to rise - in spite of often poor condition - I'd rather just go new andbe sure of what I'm getting, knowing that it will definitely outlive me, and if it does fall apart there's a manufacturer I can go back to and complain, rather than just accepting that's the risk you take when buying a seventy year old jacket. This is not to say that I'd turn down the right, wearable, jacket if it came in at the right price, of course.
I suppose another argument in favour of repro might be that by buying from the likes of Aero, or Lewis, or whoever, it's one, small way I can do my bit to ensure that the styles and cuts we all love will stay around rather than becoming lost skills. I think for most of us, though, it's about size, availability and price.