Leather jacket not for riding

[AndrewDoesHair]

I own two vintage perfectos, and a vintage bomber jacket, but my wife says they look costumey, and now that's been engrained in my head. I feel like a greaser when I wear my perfecto now, and like lieutenant dan when I wear my Vietnam era G1... As fa as my riding jackets go, they're RIDING jackets, with pads and vents, so I couldn't exactly throw it on to drive to the bar... So I figure I wanted to get a leather jacket that looks cool, but I hate the idea of "fashion" jackets, which cost just as much as functioning jackets but are made as replicas of "real" jackets, in 3rd world countries, and have crap like fake distressing. If I can't find a better option I'm going to pull the trigge on a Schott cafe racer jacket, but I post here to learn of other options for a classic look, high quality construction, and style as a side effect to quality.

I've looked briefly at Vanson, and Brooks, and both seem cool. But I can only see them online, so it'll be a $400-$500 gamble to try one. I also kind of like the gasolina cafe style jacket, especially since it has snaps and a zipper (looks cool and retro), and it's priced very well. I like the look of the bonneville model jacket by Lucky Brand, but it's made in China and has fake wear on the edges, so for the $450 it costs I'd rather pay another $90 and get the real deal from schott...

What other brands or models do you think I could look at to fit my needs?

 

[Drewski]

I bought this jacket a couple of years ago, and it was the best on-line purchase I've ever made!!



http://britishmotorcyclegear.com/montana-jacket.asp



It has a casual look for just wearing "around" but can fill the roll of a riding jacket too. The colour is perfect for me too. Not black, not brown... kinda in between.

I get lots of comments and compliments on it.

 

[AndrewDoesHair]

I bought this jacket a couple of years ago, and it was the best on-line purchase I've ever made!!



http://britishmotorcyclegear.com/montana-jacket.asp



It has a casual look for just wearing "around" but can fill the roll of a riding jacket too. The colour is perfect for me too. Not black, not brown... kinda in between.

I get lots of comments and compliments on it.

That does look interesting. Mind if I be a pain in the butt and ask you about how it fits, and maybe get a pic or two of your actual jacket? It's always so hard to tell with promo shots on websites...

 

[SONICJK]

Get a cool vintage jacket off eBay.
No fake patina, cool look, and useful.
I have 2 schotts that I paid 50 bucks apiece for. Just look on there every day and you'll find something you like.

 

[Rich Ard]

And the vintage stuff on eBay often includes better measurements than new stuff online

 

[Drewski]

That does look interesting. Mind if I be a pain in the butt and ask you about how it fits, and maybe get a pic or two of your actual jacket? It's always so hard to tell with promo shots on websites...

Ya Andrew, I was really hesitant to buy based on just what you can see online. I used the sizing chart and it fits perfectly. Lots of length in the arms and it fits a little longer than a "bomber style", which is what I wanted. The leather is soft and the best description is a "brushed" not a shiny finish.

As I said... best purchase ever.

 

[Finnigan]

Ya Andrew, I was really hesitant to buy based on just what you can see online. I used the sizing chart and it fits perfectly. Lots of length in the arms and it fits a little longer than a "bomber style", which is what I wanted. The leather is soft and the best description is a 'brushed" not a shiny finish.

As I said... best purchase ever.

I got the same jacket, i agree the sizing is perfect

 

[Spring_Chicken]

Anyone tried one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004C1ZV8Y

 

[ILoveThumpers]

http://britishmotorcyclegear.com/montana-jacket.asp

Nice! Found my next jacket for sure...

-Deek

[EDIT] Wait, I just noticed the subject line says "...NOT for riding." I'm pretty sure you don't want to drop 300 bones on a armored jacket! [/EDIT]

 

[dbg326]

I also own the Montana jacket, and have been wearing it around as a casual jacket (bike is at home, I'm halfway across the country at school...less than ideal) Anyways, without the back protector, it wears very nicely. I bought my suit size, and am very happy with the way it fits. Snug, but not restrictive, even with the fleece liner in. I agree with the above poster on the color, it's definitely interesting.

EDIT: Oh and like Drewski, I've received lots of compliments on it.

Excuse the poor quality, but here's a shot of it, fairly new.

 

[VonYinzer]

As has been stated...

Ebay. I have a badass old 70s RAM brand coat. Set me back $20, shipping included. I wear it almost every day. Best part is, since its already broken in, nothing hurts it. It's had beer, liquor, oil, blood, mud, etc dumped and smeared all over it. Wet rag takes it all right off.

 

[AndrewDoesHair]

I ended up buying one. I'll give you more info than you probably care to hear, just in case anyone opens this thread because they've found themselves in the situation I was in last week...

The hunt started with this Lucky Brand jacket. Fit well, was surprisingly thick and heavy leather, also very soft. But it was overpriced for what it was, at about $450. I felt this way because I've seen their leather jackets go on sale for less than half of that. If it was priced at half of that, I'd have bought it on the spot. This was a size medium (I'm 6' 180lbs with a suit size 40L)

I ended up driving over an hour to my nearest Schott dealer, to check out a 654. I hadn't seen this style of jacket by them in person, and was hoping for the best. Of course I was disappointed. The leather was very thin and the jacket had absolutely zero bells or whistles, and the medium was too short while the large (pictured) was too baggy. I didn't feel like I was holding a $500 jacket. And believe me, I was bummed, I had $600 in my pocket when I took this picture, and I really wanted to get rid of it.

I drove around all day long, checking vintage shops and thrift stores, department stores, Nordstrom, Diesel, etc, with this cash burning a hole in my pocket. I was about to give up and go buy the Lucky Jacket, but just didn't want to make the drive (had driven hours already). I went home and looked at leatherup.com again, read 37 reviews on their basic leather jacket, and decided to just take a little $99 gamble...

I like it. Medium to heavy leather, just enough bells and whistles (wind flaps, inside pockets, removable liner which runs down through the sleeves, YKK zips). I ordered it early on a monday afternoon and had it the following morning, and didn't pay a cent for shipping. I feel like the sleeves could stand to be thinner and longer, but it's not terrible. Maybe I'll eventually try to have it tailored. This is a size medium, although the reviews on their site kept saying to size up.

My take is that the people saying "size up" are aiming to look like the model on the site

My plan if I didn't like this leatherup.com jacket was to return it and order the Speedway jacket from Gasolina. I still might get this eventually, to actually ride in. Looks cool, and vintage.