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Real McCoy's not expensive enough for you? Try this...

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,801
Location
New Forest
It’s not the high asking price that is ridiculous. What’s outrageous is the combination v’s’ and m’s in that brand name. Wtf.
AMIRI
Embellished Hand-Painted Vitellino Leather Biker Jacket. £14,500. For details, and to order, see here.
expensive leather.jpg
 

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,325
Location
Ontario
the more we pay the more willing our mind to believe anything mythical about the object far beyond what other people would objectively see in it....
This is a common internet clothing forum disease, and it spreads rapidly and has infected lots and lots of people, here and in other places. I'm cured of it, mostly, which is why I will never spend more than a few hundred bucks on anything I wear. However, it does come back sometimes, and itches a lot, so it means antibiotics periodically, plus keeping my wallet zipped up.
 
Messages
17,512
Location
Chicago
I think what makes these jackets expensive, more than the price as new, is the loss on resale. Once it's off the lot so to speak...the depreciation takes hold. Given that condition is good and the item is desirable on spec for a majority of wearers...An average Aero can fetch about 1/2 its original purchase price. The Himel/RMC/etc jackets drop to around 1/3 original price. Ironically, true vintage gear can sky rocket above and beyond the original price by hundreds or thousands of $$ and are made from vastly inferior materials and craftsmanship (generally).
To me the true expense comes when you might be a fellow who moves things along in "pursuit". If you can buy one and plant a flag in the sand for 20 years....well you haven't lost any $ compared to the throw away fun boys and girls wasting thousands a year on trendy garbage. In fact, you've saved a stack load.
 
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Big J

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,961
Location
Japan
I agree with ton312, since I got into this scene, I never by jackets at the mall, aren't affected by trends, and think that maybe I own too many clothes now. Just socks and underpants to buy from now on until death = massive savings!

The coat in the OP is a brand I don't know, but seems to be Japanese? Is that correct?
I think a Japanese customer would likely see this as an investment, since outside of a corporate environment, few Japanese seem to grasp that things depreciate with use/time.
 

dubpynchon

One Too Many
Messages
1,046
Location
Ireland
the more we pay the more willing our mind to believe anything mythical about the object far beyond what other people would objectively see in it....

Leather fetishism lol.

I think what makes these jackets expensive, more than the price as new, is the loss on resale. Once it's off the lot so to speak...the depreciation takes hold. Given that condition is good and the item is desirable on spec for a majority of wearers...An average Aero can fetch about 1/2 its original purchase price. The Himel/RMC/etc jackets drop to around 1/3 original price.

This is why I won’t sell any new jackets I buy, I can’t stomach the huge loss in value when you sell. It helps that the next jacket will be the one, and I will stop buying after this one. It’s real, not a delusion.
 

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,325
Location
Ontario
I think a Japanese customer would likely see this as an investment, since outside of a corporate environment, few Japanese seem to grasp that things depreciate with use/time.
One often sees the argument made in clothing forums that good clothes are an investment, but it's a mis-use of the word. Buying high-quality clothing is smart because it usually lasts a long time, and if the designs are conservative, remains appropriate to wear. However, even the best stuff loses value over time, if used, so it's not an investment in any way, it's just paying more to defer replacement.
 
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Siggmund

One of the Regulars
Messages
111
Location
Bellingham, Washington
People appreciate different things about clothing. I think leather aficionados such as Loungers do appreciate some of the same things that fashionistas do: quality, aesthetics, identity stuff (what it means to wear a certain style) but where we part ways with $14K-for-a-jacket crowd is money. Our lot is priced-out. The other thing is fashion. As in "fashion season". Does anyone around here care much about all that? What ties it all together is that price points for fashion insure that no riff raff crash the party.
 

Justhandguns

Practically Family
Messages
780
Location
London
Buying high-quality clothing is smart because it usually lasts a long time, and if the designs are conservative, remains appropriate to wear. However, even the best stuff loses value over time, if used, so it's not an investment in any way, it's just paying more to defer replacement.

I think there should always be a 'cut-off' point. I was taught by my folks to buy quality stuffs, not essentially the most expensive ones though. Sometimes you have to wonder how much differences a RMC Roughwear A-2 (£1745) and a ELC Roughwear A-2 (£825) have. As for the Japanese, I think people who buy these jackets are usually one off buyers, they are certainly not like us bunch here.
 

dudewuttheheck

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,424
I think there should always be a 'cut-off' point. I was taught by my folks to buy quality stuffs, not essentially the most expensive ones though. Sometimes you have to wonder how much differences a RMC Roughwear A-2 (£1745) and a ELC Roughwear A-2 (£825) have. As for the Japanese, I think people who buy these jackets are usually one off buyers, they are certainly not like us bunch here.
I disagree strongly. While I am sure that there are many one off buyers for RMC, there are also one off buyers for Aero and Vanson as well.

It's important to note that the people on this forum are generally into leather jackets above all else. People who buy Real McCoys jackets tend to be people that are into high quality/heritage or whatever you want to call it clothing such as @Benj , @Superfluous , and myself.

It's still absolutely hilarious to me that Aero is fully accepted here while RMC is not. Neither company is perfect, but both jackets cost more than they need to and both are high quality and use expensive, high quality components.

Why categorize RMC differently to Aero? That's absolutely ridiculous. The line of thinking in most cases when purchasing from either brand is very similar. However, there are qualities about RMC that make them more appealing to certain people such as myself. The stitching is neater and tighter in my experience and by a significant margin. I much prefer the leathers that RMC uses. Of course RMC is further along the point of diminishing returns than Aero is, but even Aero and ELC are very far along that point as well.

You can get a tough, well made leather jacket crafted in a first world country for around $300. Aero is already way past this point.
 

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