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Colorful cafe racer thread

newtojackets

Practically Family
Messages
947
I thought it would be nice to have a thread dedicated to colorful cafe racers. All racing shirts are welcome, as long as they're in a color other than black or brown.

I'll kick off with this blue Luda Clothing racing shirt.

I did a thorough internet search but there is hardly any information to be found on the maker. All I could find were two or three eBay listings from a couple of years ago. Those jackets were supposedly from the 60s and they were made in England.

And that's exactly how this particular jacket was sold to me by the seller from France:

"Blouson café racer vintage 60s made in England.

Tres belle patine d'époque, aucun accroc, tous les zips fonctionnent."

View attachment 322879 View attachment 322880 View attachment 322881 View attachment 322882 View attachment 322883 View attachment 322884 View attachment 322885
The leather is in great condition and has just the right amount of patina. The jacket feels really solid. It's a nice touch how the stripes' edges are folded instead of showing the rough edges. Overall, stitching looks ok with exception of the sleeve zippers. Stitching on those looks a bit sloppy.

View attachment 322890

Fit / pattern

You can tell it's a racing jacket the second you put it on. The sleeves are really curved and the chest is tight. The jacket is in it's natural position when reaching forward. When standing straight with the arms hanging down, the chest feels a bit tight and the shoulder seams feel slightly uncomfortable.

View attachment 322894

View attachment 322896

I love it. Those angled chest pockets make a unique design and the blue / black color combination is great to match with black or indigo jeans.
Would you recommend a Luda. Have send a few floating about, and thought I might jump on one
 

bigmanbigtruck

A-List Customer
Messages
321
s-l1600.webp
Not mine, but saw this bates on Finds & Deals thread but think it belongs here. It’s certainly a vibe.
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,269
Would you recommend a Luda. Have send a few floating about, and thought I might jump on one
They're not very suitable for evey day use (off the bike). The curved sleeves, tight chest and rotated sleeve pitch make it uncomfortable to wear while standing upright.

IMG_4537.jpeg
 

Tom71

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,671
Location
Europe
Not quite a cafe racer but close enough.
Recent pickup from me. It’s from an English brand called Crowtree leathers

Annoyingly the red is slightly lighter in person than in the photos (I want the jacket to be the same colour as the photos. Any tips for darkening?


View attachment 617158 View attachment 617159 View attachment 617156 View attachment 617157

You can use cherry/cordovan coloured shoe polish. Try on a hidden spot first (inside of hem?).
Biggest risks that the colour will not darken The leather evenly but will appear streaky.
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,269
These bright colored jackets are usually pigment dyed having a thick topcoat. Shoe cream won't penetrate the topcoat. The only way to darken it is by applying on a new topcoat. I think @Canuck Panda did so with a couple of his jackets?
 

newtojackets

Practically Family
Messages
947
These bright colored jackets are usually pigment dyed having a thick topcoat. Shoe cream won't penetrate the topcoat. The only way to darken it is by applying on a new topcoat. I think @Canuck Panda did so with a couple of his jackets?
Ah interesting, curious to hear about what he has to say. If it is too difficult, I may just stick with the colour.

Out of curiosity, will a regular conditioner e.g. Pecard’s darken it

Also I noticed this jacket has this really cool tea core like effect, but the underlying layer is actually white, so there is white peeking through (quite hard to capture on camera): IMG_6272.jpeg
 

Tom71

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,671
Location
Europe
Ah interesting, curious to hear about what he has to say. If it is too difficult, I may just stick with the colour.

Out of curiosity, will a regular conditioner e.g. Pecard’s darken it

Also I noticed this jacket has this really cool tea core like effect, but the underlying layer is actually white, so there is white peeking through (quite hard to capture on camera): View attachment 617443

Although @Marc mndt is usually right, I would still try with shoe polish. I would indeed use the cream as a topcoat of sorts, for it will still darken the leather.
Of course, this will wear down with time but can be repeated. I was suggesting this as a fairly easy remedy which shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.

With an assembled jacket, you can’t soak/dye the whole piece without painting up the white parts too.
 

newtojackets

Practically Family
Messages
947
Although @Marc mndt is usually right, I would still try with shoe polish. I would indeed use the cream as a topcoat of sorts, for it will still darken the leather.
Of course, this will wear down with time but can be repeated. I was suggesting this as a fairly easy remedy which shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.

With an assembled jacket, you can’t soak/dye the whole piece without painting up the white parts too.
A cherry colored one like you mentioned earlier right?
 

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