Forum culture/expectations?

[baldipino]

Greetings, all!

I've enjoyed reading and trying to get my head around this forum. I've often felt, even as a kid growing up in the 70s, that I was born in the wrong era. This forum attracted me for that reason.

30's-50's style always has called to me. But hybridization/juxtaposition is also a big part of my DNA. Literally, as I'm a 1st generation Filipino-American who never felt quite at home in either culture. So a big part of my psyche is about taking disparate, perhaps even "incompatible" things and making them better as a mix than separate.

This brings me to the thread: Is there room on this forum for those who absolutely love the info and items displayed and explained AND who are looking to express this style, minus the access to the A-list jacketmakers?

Analogy: Is this the right/safe forum for enthusiasts to discuss minutiae of 1964-72 Chevy Chevelles down to the correct hose markings? AND for those who don't have/cannot afford a clean, uncut original, and therefore do a little modding/hotrodding whilst still keeping the aesthetic essence of the car intact?

Any and all opinions, advice, and observations are most welcomed!

 

[TLW '90]

If you're asking whether you can get along around here without being able to afford the premium costly leather jackets that are the most popular, I would say absolutely yes but there's a caveat here.

You may not fit in well with low quality mall jackets and stuff like that, but there is some really decent quality vintage leather jackets and vests from the 60's-80's available at affordable prices on Ebay.
If you learn what to look for you can have some good stuff without breaking the bank and be able to participate here.
It may be even more fun because there's a lot you can research and learn about.

Brands like Fidelity, Brooks, Branded Garments, excelled, and of course lots of 50's-60's wool is quite affordable as well.

 

[jchance]

Clothes don’t make the man. There is no gatekeeping here. As long as you have great style (how different clothing pieces coordinate to denote taste), you are welcome to hang. When it comes to leather jackets, fit is king. Hide quality is just secondary (a lot of people here cannot even tell hide quality through their screen), and no one, except the owner upon inspection, can count stitch per inch. From the computer / phone screen, I can tell you that I would not be able to tell whether you’re wearing an Excelled or Sears Hercules/RC, for example.

I mostly wear a 1940s custom leather jacket that most people here have never heard of. I think it looks good, fits me well, and that’s all it matters. I’m not here for likes and haters are going to hate (they can join my growing ignore list, too).

 

[tuanhng614]

I mostly wear a 1940s custom leather jacket that most people here have never heard of. I think it looks good, fits me well, and that’s all it matters. I’m not here for likes and haters are going to hate (they can join my growing ignore list).

I don’t see alot of that from you, bud! Put a few photos here to demonstrate for our friends to see.

I’m excited to see more learn more

 

[jchance]

I don’t see alot of that from you, bud! Put a few photos here to demonstrate for our friends to see.

I’m excited to see more learn more

I’m the same-outfit, different-day kind of guy. I do laundry weekly, and have several of the same blue university stripe OCBD shirt, and 3 of the same pair of pants. Leather jacket <$200.

 

[tuanhng614]

The grain is just beautiful to look at

 

[01flhr]

Im just a dumb oilfield hand that likes quality, ive bought a few jackets over the years and this is definately a forum that, although i dont know anuthing about alot, ive always felt welcome here, even if i dont exactly fit in. Everything i do know is because of this forum.

 

[torfjord]

My honest opinion: if everyone here wore the same exact jackets from the same exact makers this would be an excruciatingly boring place. This might ruffle a few feathers but the supposedly "top tier" Japanese stuff absolutely bore me to death at this point. It doesn't take any effort at all, just boatloads of cash. Having boatloads of cash to spend is not a substitute for style.

Bring on the weirdly surprising stuff! It's way more fun to see a post about an obscure brand without a forum reputation that makes/made stuff that fits the aesthetic and general interest of the forum.

Also, the outerwear sub forum has long since departed the strict 30-50's in terms of style. Lot of people here that are just generally into high quality leather, repro or vintage, but that have no interest in trying to replicate a mid 20th century silhouette. And that is completely fine, there's room here for plenty of different approaches.

 

[Khilij]

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, and I fit in just fine. I'm here to learn and expand my knowledge, and have some fun with some cool people along the way. I think you'll do just fine.

 

[TLW '90]

Just to clarify a bit on my previous post.

I said " you may not fit in well with low quality mall jackets and stuff like that " , and all I mean by this is that such jackets may see little engagement.
Nobody will get ran off with pitchforks.

You should be buying / wearing jackets that make you happy first and foremost, but obviously if you're posting on a forum you want people to engage with your posts.

 

[cbez]

What even is this post

Quality used jackets are extremely affordable even on a budget

Unless you can only throw $20 at a thrift rack, you can have something as nice as anyone else here

 

[TLW '90]

What even is this post

Quality used jackets are extremely affordable even on a budget

Unless you can only throw $20 at a thrift rack, you can have something as nice as anyone else here

It may take patience on ebay...etc for the right pieces and deals to pop up, but quality is definitely out there to be found.
I have yet to score anything too jaw dropping, but every Ebay score I have is higher quality than I could get for 4-5 times the price today.

I have also learned that a decent quality jacket that's really cool or interesting can be better than an immaculate quality jacket that's boring.
It depends on what you want though.

 

[jchance]

OP, I looked through your post history. I get that you’re on a budget, but if you’re only looking to buy Fivestar or Chinese leather jackets, your jackets are not going to look as good as RC or Thedi commonly posted in the What Jacket Are You Wearing Today? thread. The former is entry level, but you gotta graduate from them at some point to dip your toe in vintage / the secondhand market.

Most leather jackets I’ve owned are between $200-700, the upper end was a jacket bought new. At around $500, you can pretty much try anything, if you wait long enough and know what to look for.

If you’re in the US, get your hands on a Cal for around $200. That’s entry-level vintage available at a variety of sizes that could blow any jackets, repro or vintage, out of the water.