dudewuttheheck
I'll Lock Up
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I just got my new jacket yesterday and I am WAY too excited. Please excuse the essay below. If you want to read it, good luck 
My first foray into leather jackets was in around 2009 when I went to Hollister and saw what I thought at the time was a really nice fake leather bomber jacket. Sure, it was garbage, but I was 16 at the time and knew nothing of real leather. At the very least, that jacket lead me to finding real leather jackets. In fact, it was that item in particular that got me more interested in clothing in general. Yes, it was a crappy fake leather jacket, but I actually got a LOT of compliments on it and really enjoyed it at the time.
Eventually, however, the fact that it wasn't actually a quality garment made me want something much more. My search for great leather along with my simultaneous foray into raw denim lead me to places like The Fedora Lounge and the Iron Heart forum. I immediately fell in love with Himel's Kensington jacket as well as the J-100 and A2 from RMC. Most importantly, I fell in love with Shinki horshide and as a result, all three leather jackets I have purchased have been Shinki jackets. At this point, the Himel was a bit out of my price range and the Buco RMC was a pipe dream in terms of price. I passed on A2s at the time largely because there are way too many poorly fitting A2s around forums and the internet and I didn't want to be one of those guys.
After looking for over a year, I settled on a J-100 in seal brown shinki from Diamond Dave. It was a great jacket and I was very happy to get it. It was well made overall, but there were definitely some small details that made me slightly uneasy. I knew it wasn't the best of the best and unfortunately, that bothered me every time I looked at it or put it on. After a year and a half, I was seriously starting to consider replacing it, but with what?
As luck would have it, I spotted a roughwear A2 from RMC Japan on ebay that was a pretty good price. I jumped on it and was very happy that I did. I honestly bought it simply because I was curious how I would look in an A2. My original fake leather jacket that made me fall in love with leather was a sort of A2/bomber style jacket and I wanted to see how I would look in a real one. It turns out that I liked how I looked in it quite a lot! More importantly, my fiance loved it and said she much preferred it to my DD J-100 and any other jacket I showed her on the internet. I was quite shocked that a 22 year old girl was into A2s more than moto jackets because I had always assumed the opposite was the norm. I was thrilled nonetheless. Still, I was unsatisfied.
While a great jacket, that particular model was a little too short for me and I found that it had the same problem a lot of A2 jackets have: it looked a little too big/fit too loose around the torso. Most importantly, it was used. With something as major as a great leather jacket, I wanted the entire process of owning it to be as personal as possible. I wanted to pick out the exact right jacket with no compromise, find the exact right size (or have it custom fit), and I wanted to be the one to do all of the breaking in myself in order to make it truly mine through and through.
I considered the RMC J-100 and the Himel Kensington along with A2s from Goodwear and RMC. I decided that when I did finally get the right J-100 (and I do plan on buying one still) it would be black which made sense as I also really wanted an A2 which of course tends to look better in brown. I own almost no black clothing right now, so the A2 had to be the first purchase. I spent a few weeks looking around and finally found a Japanese store willing to sell RMC products overseas at a reasonable price without any proxy or buying service.
They had some Buzz Rickson A2s in stock which looked nice, but didn't spark my interest. In addition, I was able to try on the black Buzz Rickson A2 at Self Edge LA (along with some Flat Head jackets) and while it was nice, even my used RMC jacket appeared to be just a bit better constructed in my opinion. The RMC jackets were a lot more money than the BR jackets and only two were in stock in my size. Fortunately, they were both the Real McCoys fit instead of the Roughwear version which was great because I wanted the slimmer fit. One model was the regular Real McCoys contract jacket and the other was the same fit, but with red silk lining. This seemed pretty cool and I really liked the flashier knits (brown and olive combo wool), super dark brown color, and the eyecatching red interior which apparantly has the cool backstory of being allowed only for pilots that became aces.
Still, I was unsure. The descriptions in a few places were unclear as to whether the silk was just a name based on what the original pilots lined their jackets with or if it really was a true 100% silk liner. After some research and emails, I learned that it really was a 100% silk lined. It was pretty much a no brainer at this point. Sure, this one was way more expensive and is quite a purchase, even with the yen so low right now. The liner pushed it over the top for me along with everything else. The bright red color and backstory were pretty cool (whether it's true or not haha), but the fact that silk is just so soft, comfortable, and most importantly, rather cooler than pretty much any other liner made it perfect for me in socal. I made the purchase and finally thought I would be getting my ultimate jacket.
It arrived today and it is everything I hoped it would be and more. The size is perfect. It is just long enough and is just a little on the tighter fitting side, which is what I want. The construction is PERFECT. I haven't found any flaws yet and don't expect to. The brown is so dark it is almost black and I really feel that this will look incredible once it starts to age. Of course, the hide is beyond gorgeous. It is quite smooth for the most part right now, but I can already see some creases forming and I have seen enough Shinki to know how epic this will be after a few years. Perhaps most importantly, the lining is next level. Of course, it is unnecesary and maybe not even period correct. However, it peaks out a bit sometimes and adds a bit of flash and cool factor. More importantly, it feels like I'm being massaged by clouds when I wear it and definitely feels cooler than any other jacket I have owned by a VERY wide margin. It's 85F out today, and I can comfortably wear it in the house right now, which I have never been able to do with any jacket. This means I paid a little more money not only for comfort and flash, but also for the fact that I can wear the jacket more than I otherwise would be able to. Let's be honest, who doesn't want to wear their jacket more?
Well, if you actually read through this whole pointless essay, you are officially my new best friend. I am just so excited because I FINALLY have a jacket I feel completely and utterly enamored with with no regrets and no compromises after looking and trying for 3 and a half years! For the first time, I have my dream item of clothing without trying to convince myself that flaws and imperfections or compromises are livable. Obviously, this is not my last leather jacket purchase at all. That black J-100 is calling my name and a Rainbow Country Single Rider's jacket or a Himel Heron wouldn't be too bad either . However, when/if I get any of those, they will be additions, not replacements and if for some reason, I can never buy another jacket, I would still be happy. I know there are many great jacket makers, but I know there is nothing better made or better for me than what I have which feels amazing. Now, to start breaking this baby in! Thanks for reading or for at least bothering to scroll past this long post to get to the pics . I'm just so happy to finally have this that I had to post my life story haha.
My first foray into leather jackets was in around 2009 when I went to Hollister and saw what I thought at the time was a really nice fake leather bomber jacket. Sure, it was garbage, but I was 16 at the time and knew nothing of real leather. At the very least, that jacket lead me to finding real leather jackets. In fact, it was that item in particular that got me more interested in clothing in general. Yes, it was a crappy fake leather jacket, but I actually got a LOT of compliments on it and really enjoyed it at the time.
Eventually, however, the fact that it wasn't actually a quality garment made me want something much more. My search for great leather along with my simultaneous foray into raw denim lead me to places like The Fedora Lounge and the Iron Heart forum. I immediately fell in love with Himel's Kensington jacket as well as the J-100 and A2 from RMC. Most importantly, I fell in love with Shinki horshide and as a result, all three leather jackets I have purchased have been Shinki jackets. At this point, the Himel was a bit out of my price range and the Buco RMC was a pipe dream in terms of price. I passed on A2s at the time largely because there are way too many poorly fitting A2s around forums and the internet and I didn't want to be one of those guys.
After looking for over a year, I settled on a J-100 in seal brown shinki from Diamond Dave. It was a great jacket and I was very happy to get it. It was well made overall, but there were definitely some small details that made me slightly uneasy. I knew it wasn't the best of the best and unfortunately, that bothered me every time I looked at it or put it on. After a year and a half, I was seriously starting to consider replacing it, but with what?
As luck would have it, I spotted a roughwear A2 from RMC Japan on ebay that was a pretty good price. I jumped on it and was very happy that I did. I honestly bought it simply because I was curious how I would look in an A2. My original fake leather jacket that made me fall in love with leather was a sort of A2/bomber style jacket and I wanted to see how I would look in a real one. It turns out that I liked how I looked in it quite a lot! More importantly, my fiance loved it and said she much preferred it to my DD J-100 and any other jacket I showed her on the internet. I was quite shocked that a 22 year old girl was into A2s more than moto jackets because I had always assumed the opposite was the norm. I was thrilled nonetheless. Still, I was unsatisfied.
While a great jacket, that particular model was a little too short for me and I found that it had the same problem a lot of A2 jackets have: it looked a little too big/fit too loose around the torso. Most importantly, it was used. With something as major as a great leather jacket, I wanted the entire process of owning it to be as personal as possible. I wanted to pick out the exact right jacket with no compromise, find the exact right size (or have it custom fit), and I wanted to be the one to do all of the breaking in myself in order to make it truly mine through and through.
I considered the RMC J-100 and the Himel Kensington along with A2s from Goodwear and RMC. I decided that when I did finally get the right J-100 (and I do plan on buying one still) it would be black which made sense as I also really wanted an A2 which of course tends to look better in brown. I own almost no black clothing right now, so the A2 had to be the first purchase. I spent a few weeks looking around and finally found a Japanese store willing to sell RMC products overseas at a reasonable price without any proxy or buying service.
They had some Buzz Rickson A2s in stock which looked nice, but didn't spark my interest. In addition, I was able to try on the black Buzz Rickson A2 at Self Edge LA (along with some Flat Head jackets) and while it was nice, even my used RMC jacket appeared to be just a bit better constructed in my opinion. The RMC jackets were a lot more money than the BR jackets and only two were in stock in my size. Fortunately, they were both the Real McCoys fit instead of the Roughwear version which was great because I wanted the slimmer fit. One model was the regular Real McCoys contract jacket and the other was the same fit, but with red silk lining. This seemed pretty cool and I really liked the flashier knits (brown and olive combo wool), super dark brown color, and the eyecatching red interior which apparantly has the cool backstory of being allowed only for pilots that became aces.
Still, I was unsure. The descriptions in a few places were unclear as to whether the silk was just a name based on what the original pilots lined their jackets with or if it really was a true 100% silk liner. After some research and emails, I learned that it really was a 100% silk lined. It was pretty much a no brainer at this point. Sure, this one was way more expensive and is quite a purchase, even with the yen so low right now. The liner pushed it over the top for me along with everything else. The bright red color and backstory were pretty cool (whether it's true or not haha), but the fact that silk is just so soft, comfortable, and most importantly, rather cooler than pretty much any other liner made it perfect for me in socal. I made the purchase and finally thought I would be getting my ultimate jacket.
It arrived today and it is everything I hoped it would be and more. The size is perfect. It is just long enough and is just a little on the tighter fitting side, which is what I want. The construction is PERFECT. I haven't found any flaws yet and don't expect to. The brown is so dark it is almost black and I really feel that this will look incredible once it starts to age. Of course, the hide is beyond gorgeous. It is quite smooth for the most part right now, but I can already see some creases forming and I have seen enough Shinki to know how epic this will be after a few years. Perhaps most importantly, the lining is next level. Of course, it is unnecesary and maybe not even period correct. However, it peaks out a bit sometimes and adds a bit of flash and cool factor. More importantly, it feels like I'm being massaged by clouds when I wear it and definitely feels cooler than any other jacket I have owned by a VERY wide margin. It's 85F out today, and I can comfortably wear it in the house right now, which I have never been able to do with any jacket. This means I paid a little more money not only for comfort and flash, but also for the fact that I can wear the jacket more than I otherwise would be able to. Let's be honest, who doesn't want to wear their jacket more?
Well, if you actually read through this whole pointless essay, you are officially my new best friend. I am just so excited because I FINALLY have a jacket I feel completely and utterly enamored with with no regrets and no compromises after looking and trying for 3 and a half years! For the first time, I have my dream item of clothing without trying to convince myself that flaws and imperfections or compromises are livable. Obviously, this is not my last leather jacket purchase at all. That black J-100 is calling my name and a Rainbow Country Single Rider's jacket or a Himel Heron wouldn't be too bad either
. However, when/if I get any of those, they will be additions, not replacements and if for some reason, I can never buy another jacket, I would still be happy. I know there are many great jacket makers, but I know there is nothing better made or better for me than what I have which feels amazing. Now, to start breaking this baby in! Thanks for reading or for at least bothering to scroll past this long post to get to the pics . I'm just so happy to finally have this that I had to post my life story haha.
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