Vegecow Lewis Leathers quality

[Canuck Panda]

Guys, I picked up my jacket in Lewis Leathers London today. I have some mixed feelings about the jacket. I love the leather and design; but I feel that the jacket, after made to my measurement, is a bit out of the portion. Please see photos below.
Firstly, two of my fitting photos. I’m 173cm and 86kg. Overall I’m quite happy about what they did with my request (a back measurement of 57cm).
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But what comes to my concern is the portion of the jacket. I kinda feel the collars and lapels are too big for a size 42, and the length of the zip waist (marked in red and green) is too short after the modification. It makes the jacket looks more like a cropped suit. Also on the back, I feel like the portion of the middle part (mark in red) is too short compared to upper part and lower part. I don’t know if it’s the result of my wide physique; or it’s the lack of portion/pattern adjustment after Lewis receive customer’s request. What’s your thinking? Do you think I should accept what I have now?
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It looks very good on you. The whole outfit looks really well put together.
It does look different flat.
This is a veg cow/horse right? Hard decision, expensive that looks good on the body but looks very different hanging on the rack.
The proportion is actually what a CHP jacket would be.

 

[Damon141]

This reminds me of a picture someone posted of a Real McCoy J100 size 46 which they shortened, it just looked off.

You can get away with it, definitely looks better on than off and from the back it isn’t noticeable. Maybe try it with a different style of trousers, I am wondering how it looks zipped.

You said it, you’re frame is wide and you notice it more because it’s a shorter jacket. I would guess for it to look perfect then you would have to go full custom where like you said, the right maker could possibly make sizing adjustments to everything including lapels, pockets, zipper, belts sleeve diameter.

 

[Marc mndt]

Guys, I picked up my jacket in Lewis Leathers London today. I have some mixed feelings about the jacket. I love the leather and design; but I feel that the jacket, after made to my measurement, is a bit out of the portion. Please see photos below.
Firstly, two of my fitting photos. I’m 173cm and 86kg. Overall I’m quite happy about what they did with my request (a back measurement of 57cm).
View attachment 447405
View attachment 447408

But what comes to my concern is the portion of the jacket. I kinda feel the collars and lapels are too big for a size 42, and the length of the zip waist (marked in red and green) is too short after the modification. It makes the jacket looks more like a cropped suit. Also on the back, I feel like the portion of the middle part (mark in red) is too short compared to upper part and lower part. I don’t know if it’s the result of my wide physique; or it’s the lack of portion/pattern adjustment after Lewis receive customer’s request. What’s your thinking? Do you think I should accept what I have now?
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In terms of proportions It does look different from a regular Lightning, no denying that. But I don't think it looks off. I think it will look great when combined with casual pants.

I still have the pics of you wearing my sheepskin Cyclone with 62 cm back length, which does look better in the front imo but I'm not sure the longer back length would work with a stiffer leather like the veg cow. There would probably be too much material bunching up on your lower back.

 

[Edward]

Guys, I picked up my jacket in Lewis Leathers London today. I have some mixed feelings about the jacket. I love the leather and design; but I feel that the jacket, after made to my measurement, is a bit out of the portion. Please see photos below.
Firstly, two of my fitting photos. I’m 173cm and 86kg. Overall I’m quite happy about what they did with my request (a back measurement of 57cm).
View attachment 447405
View attachment 447408

But what comes to my concern is the portion of the jacket. I kinda feel the collars and lapels are too big for a size 42, and the length of the zip waist (marked in red and green) is too short after the modification. It makes the jacket looks more like a cropped suit. Also on the back, I feel like the portion of the middle part (mark in red) is too short compared to upper part and lower part. I don’t know if it’s the result of my wide physique; or it’s the lack of portion/pattern adjustment after Lewis receive customer’s request. What’s your thinking? Do you think I should accept what I have now?
View attachment 447410
View attachment 447411

It looks visually short in the pictures of it lying flat, but imo it looks grand when it's worn - which is what actually matters. Long as it looks fine on and doesn't feel too short (it's certainly not too short visually), I wouldn't think about it.

 

[Tom71]

Agree with the above comments. For my taste, I would add an inch (or even a bit more) in length. The way you wear it gives it a 1920s look which suits you quite well, but it’s just not the right look for this jacket.

 

[Salmosalar]

Agree with the above comments. For my taste, I would add an inch (or even a bit more) in length. The way you wear it gives it a 1920s look which suits you quite well, but it’s just not the right look for this jacket.

I think the main issue lies in the mismatching style of the loose fitting trousers - this type of jacket works much better, in my opinion, by pairing it with slimmer fitting jeans in my view, with black boots. The trousers in your photo would match better with a different jacket style - eg a halfbelt. It still does lok a little short, even so, but I suspect that impression is being amplified further still by what you are pairing it with here, so maybe try a different combo to see if that helps balance it out better?

 

[Joshua Holland]

Totally agree with Salmosalar on mix of style. The trousers accentuate the shortness of the jacket. I realize it’s my own subjective opinion that others may disagree with, but denim goes with leather jackets. Period.

 

[Edward]

Totally agree with Salmosalar on mix of style. The trousers accentuate the shortness of the jacket. I realize it’s my own subjective opinion that others may disagree with, but denim goes with leather jackets. Period.

Definitely subjective. As ever, so much comes down to whether you want to mix it in with modern fashion, or you're among those of us who want a 20s - 40s look overall.

 

[Blackadder]

There is no fixing the back proportion unless you opt for a smaller armhole. The seam of the upper part is where it should be, half way down the armhole. Everything is in the right place and yet it does look odd because you asked for a shortened jacket base on your preference for say higher rise pants. Wearing lower rise jeans would make the jacket look even shorter. I don't think LL did anything wrong in this case. The Cyclone looks better because it has one piece back and it is longer.

 

[TheBigEraser]

Guys, thanks for all the constructive feedback and honest answers. Really really appreciate them. I’m still traveling, so, sorry for the late response. I didn’t bring casual/ slim fit trousers with me so I can’t test the suggested combo now. As couple of fellow members suggested, I think the result mainly comes to that my lack of experience on the pattern without front drop; as you can see, my requested back measurement works fine ( I almost wear all my pants as high as the grey pants in the photo), and it usually works with jackets with front drops. Marc provided the photo of me wearing a lightening with a 62cm back; the leathers are already bunching up a lot. Maybe I should have taken a mid point, like 24 inches back measurement for this jacket. So I will discuss with Lewis and try to find a solution. Will keep you updated!

 

[Aloysius]

Looks like Lewis just had an absolutely massive price rise.

I should have ordered last year. Base leathers are now the price of the veg-tan cow.

 

[red devil]

Just checked, a veg tan Universal racer is £1980 now. Ouf!

 

[Aloysius]

Just checked, a veg tan Universal racer is £1980 now. Ouf!

Could have ordered two jackets a month ago for the price of one now!

 

[Tom71]

Just wow!

I have always liked LL for their moderate pricing, but I always thought the veg-tan surcharge to be excessive.

No classic model under GBP 1.300 any more means, they are easily 25% above Schott which I always thought to be a reasonable competitor in terms of cool-factor, heritage and quality.

Shame...

 

[Aloysius]

I have always liked LL for their moderate pricing, but I always thought the veg-tan surcharge to be excessive.

Yes, I had no particular desire for that hide (it’s nice but not even one of their traditional hides) but had planned to get a Lightning 402, a Bronx Twin-Track, possibly a Universal Racer. What a shame that they’ve gone up this drastically.

 

[red devil]

I had been thinking about a Universal Racer for a while, but not at these prices. My turquoise Lightning will remain my only LL I guess.

 

[TartuWolf]

Visited the LL store in London. Was not impressed to be honest. Loved the veg tan cow though. All other leathers were majorly underwhelming. The guy quoted me ~2k pounds for a custom in veg tan cow. All the jackets I saw there were very meh compared to the Vanson E was hauling around on my back. Personal opinion / preferences of course. Glad I got to experience Lewis Leathers in person and I'll be completely fine if I never get to experience it ever again. But the veg tan cow was lovely.

 

[Tom71]

Visited the LL store in London. Was not impressed to be honest. Loved the veg tan cow though. All other leathers were majorly underwhelming. The guy quoted me ~2k pounds for a custom in veg tan cow. All the jackets I saw there were very meh compared to the Vanson E was hauling around on my back. Personal opinion / preferences of course. Glad I got to experience Lewis Leathers in person and I'll be completely fine if I never get to experience it ever again. But the veg tan cow was lovely.

To be honest, it took a while for LL and their almost ‚Bauhaus-like‘ bleakness to grow on me. Plus, the regular horse can be quite vinyl-like, depending on batch.

AFTER getting used to the looks, I am a big fanboy, though. The quality is top as concerns longevity or accurateness of stitching, the jackets are reassuringly heavy, and the designs are a welcome departure from the endless Perfecto/Buco clones.

If you look at the endless list of (in-)famous aficionados (Lemmy, Slash, Ewan McCregor, Frodo, Fields of the Nephilim - I could go on…), my desire for Rock‘n‘Roll heritage is also met.

I wouldn’t want to decide between a Perfecto and a Lightning for ‚best Cross-Zips‘ in terms of street cred, but both are perfectly fine, IMO.

 

[MrProper]

I have just configured my corsair again. 1400 EUR. The 20% VAT has been deducted, but it will be added back when I import it. I.e. approx. 1700 EUR to me. That's almost EUR 500 more than I paid at the time.
Far too expensive for my taste.

 

[Aloysius]

I have just configured my corsair again. 1400 EUR. The 20% VAT has been deducted, but it will be added back when I import it. I.e. approx. 1700 EUR to me. That's almost EUR 500 more than I paid at the time.
Far too expensive for my taste.

Likewise, Lewis is above the tax threshold in the US so the tax refund will be mostly cancelled out for American customers as well.