/fa/ - Fashion

>>14989063
>>14990128

To be on the balanced side, there are singular advantages to cheap leather jackets that should be commented on.

1) They allow you to experiment with 'looks'. If you've never worn a double-rider, but have always wanted to see what would happen, there's nothing wrong buying one from TopMan for 180$ made of fake leather and wearing it for a season. If it doesn't work for you, then you haven't lost 800$ for a Schott Perfecto.

2) Occasionally you might find a 'deal' that could be considered a cheap leather jacket. For instance, AllSaints does their seasonal sales where you could get one of their jackets for half price, including their leather stock. Granted, you're still going around 400-500$, but since their jackets are not worth the retail AT ALL, at least this way you'd get something real.

3) If you've never worn leather before, and wish to figure out your size and what works for your body, then a cheap leather jacket might be a way (like No. 1) to experiment with this. The only measurements that matter are the sleeve length, back length, chest, and waist circumference/diameter. You want all of these to fit directly to you, as if you were wearing a slim-fit t-shirt that contacts or hugs your body in all the places without pinching or crushing. By figuring out your actual size, you can then save money and have a proper company make you a jacket with custom sizing for you so that it'll look good.

Beyond this I can't think of any reason to buy a cheap leather jacket.

>pic is one of the customs I had made years ago. Anons on this forum hate the style but the fit is untouchable. Your friendly Donte...

>>14957563
Wait until AllSaints has their end of season sale. If you're on top of it, then you can get the jacket you want for around half price. Do NOT pay full price for it.

AllSaints, like many other seasonal fashion brands, tend to not think through their designs because from their point of view, fashion is momentary. They always leave the design open to make improvements or changes for next season, thus making the jacket you just bought out of date. This can be anything from the cut to the pockets to whatever.

Regarding their leather quality, I've never been a fan. For their distressed lamb jackets, they use shit quality lamb. For their non-distressed lamb, it's still not great quality and it tends to look very poor very quick.

So, buy them if you know what they are: temporary fashion. But do not buy them at full price.

Finally, regarding the design: the double-rider is the most famous moto jacket there is, so everyone produces a version of it. Try on many of them to see which ones work for you the best, then wait for the sale, and then buy. Win win win.

>>14221695
My brother has one from AllSaints, and after examining it closely, I know clearly about the quality. Also, they did a sale at the end of season which was 50-60% off....if they can mark down their leather jackets that far, you know that something is slightly odd.

>>14223475
Most if not all leather is tanned in Pakistan because their environmental 'laws' are far more lax than anywhere else. This allows them to use chemicals you can no longer use in the Western world, and when you're finished with those chemicals, to dump them unceremoniously into the nearest fresh water source (which you also can't do in a civilized country). Thus, most if not all tanned leather comes from Pakistan.

As a result, budget companies tend to source their leather in Pakistan AND have them constructed there. My Soul Revolver was made there, as was most of my other jackets by other manufacturers. It's not an automatic strike for a jacket to be made in Pakistan...the issue is who sourced the leather, who constructed the jacket, and how it fits you.

Pic related: one of my jackets made in Pakistan.

>>14223014
Of course I live (in infamy).

>>14223727
Agreed. I still want to get a horse-hide jacket, but I don't have room in the stable at the moment. It's fucking expensive, but it lasts forever. Your piece looks awesome though: as long as the shoulders sit at the right place, then it'll always be 'timeless'.

>>14224283
Cool; it's got generous lapels, which is definitely less utilitarian and more fashion oriented, but you pair it well. I don't have the frame to wear a double-rider jacket, so I always envy those who do.

>>13619211
>>13619227
cont.

As a gentle comparison, this jacket was custom made for me, according to my dimensions, and I'd say it's fair for me to declare it to be a good fit. When zipped, there is NO room at all anywhere...it's literally a leather 'shirt' that hugs the body without constricting it. The shoulders are where they need to be, the cuffs end at the right place, etc.

It took me years to get to this fitness level, but I stabilized and then started getting proper clothing (suits first for work, then all the fun stuff). Now I've been putting on some muscle lately and dropping fat because I'm getting older, and thus the DMC coat experiment happened as well (it would not have looked good on me when I was younger). Anyway, the point is that you need to stabilize your size before buying a leather jacket, because the cost is prohibitive and the look is specific.

In the 90's, oversized leather jackets were common and appropriate. But today, everything is fitted. The fitted look will never go out of style, but the oversized comes back in every 35 years. The point is, a fitted jacket will last you longer in terms of fashion, but you have to stay in shape in order for it to work.

Good luck with your challenge Anon. Keep exercising, watch what you eat, and make sure to have patience. These things take time, but they're worth it once you get there. I can now wear off-the-rack clothing, which I never could before....you have no idea how gratifying that is when you're surrounded by a culture that promotes obesity....

>>13487628
>>13488567

cont.

With leather jackets, I ended up altering my style to suit the jacket, which may be a 'no-no', but I honestly didn't care. I valued the 'look' of the jacket more than my own flexible fashion of what I wear with it, so it was 'jacket first', everything after. Dark blue jeans always work with a leather jacket, so that wasn't a problem. It was the rest that I had to slightly adapt to (a black shirt always works, white shirts work fine on certain jackets, collared shirts work for only two of the jackets, etc.). Beyond this though, when I'm not wearing a leather jacket (which is a statistical rarity), anything goes, and I don't really care as long as it fits well and compliments my figure and skin tone.

One limiting factor is my figure and frame: I'll never be model-skinny, nor would it be beneficial for me to be that way for my job. What I'm trying to maintain here is a slightly above average muscular frame, mixed with just enough fat to be 'famine' resistant. So, average in shape guy.

But this is in itself a limiting factor. A great majority of clothing and fashion looks great on people who are model thin...but that's just not a reality for me. I'm not 80's chunky, but I could never pull off most british fashion, as an example. This also means that things like grunge don't really look good on me, because I'm not 'heroin-chic' enough.

In combination with >>13488586, here's one of my other jackets...it's one of the oldest I have, but it was custom made for me from a startup company that sadly no longer exists. I posted it before on the other ledder jackettes general, but that thread is now kaputt. This is just an example though...my proper riding jackets are not necessarily 'generic', but they're definitely not haute couture. I've gotten very comfortable with the slim-fit black t shirt, jeans, and jacket. It's so damned easy, and doesn't require effort. This new jacket however requires far more effort..

Same Anon as the DMC5 jacket in the other thread. Here's probably my favorite of my casual jackets, though I've lost weight since the photo was taken a few years back. Still fits well, but it's now a little less sculpted (as the leather has softened up). Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts in the other thread...I'm still learning, but I think I've finally figured out why the palettes for that jacket are always going to be in the grey/black/white area, but I'll post reasons in that thread when I've narrowed them down.

Look forward to seeing other jackets here.