I’vd been trying to avoid vintage/worn in jackets … just because I'm not educated enough to understand their value, it deeply confuses me why some are worth £90 and some £900.
The above comment is commonly echoed among new forum members. Let’s crowdsource a guide on vintage leather jackets. I’m sure people here has different opinions on their favorites and what’s overrated and underrated when it comes to vintage.
If you’re a size 34-40 US, there are a lot of vintage leather jackets in your size. About half of the vintage leather jackets is in size 36–the average American men’s size in 1930s-1950s. If you’re size 42 and above, you might have to wait a long time for one to show up.
Except for Cal and Langlitz, I suggest staying with mid 1950s or earlier. Due to availability, mid 1950s or earlier mostly use horsehide, late 1950s steerhide, and 1960s-later cowhide. Generally, older jackets tend to be more expensive.
You’d want to find one in a good condition, no leather crackings or mold/mild dew. The jacket’s condition could increase or lower its price point. And simple supply and demand dictates that more popular brands command higher prices, and vice versa. For instance, Durable, Buco, and Sears Hercules are highly sought after and thus command a higher price than what their quality indicates or their alternatives. I’d suggest staying away from these popular brands.
-Around $100, up to $200: This is entry-level, with mostly 1960s-later jackets. You can also find some 1950s or earlier jackets that are thrashed and require extensive repairs. For example, Brooks gold label, Reed, Kehoe, Fidelity, Excelled, Branded Garments, Lesco, Harley Davidson AMF.
-Around $300: This is the sweet spot of vintage leather jackets. Most leather jackets can be found at this price point, if you wait long enough. For example, Cal (any decade), Al’s, Windward, Sears Oakbrook, Aldencrest, Spiegel, Kit Karson, Guide Master Wolf / Edgo / Julesons, 1950s Fidelity, Nelco, Blatt, Grais, Taubers.
-Around $700: collector’s territory, usually in excellent condition. For example, Sears Hercules, Ralphs-Pugh, Star Glove (prob closer to $1k), Cal red label (prob closer to $500), 1950s Harley Davidson.
- 4-digits: extremely rare jackets like original Peter’s, original Trojans, Block Bilt, original Buco in good condition, cat’s eye (1940s Californian), 1940s or earlier Harley Davidson. Otherwise, sellers are still in the clouds, wait and let them come down to earth with time.
If you’re just starting out, I suggest you get a Cal, which can easily be found in any sizes. It would change your opinion on vintage leather jackets. In this leather-jacket game, the only way to learn is to dive in, head first. If you stay in the $300s, you can recoup most, if not all, the cost if it doesn’t work out. Don’t be afraid to buy a few, lose a few $20s, and you’ll be familiar with the vintage jackets in no time. If you read this guide and most of the links over several times, you’d be well versed in the vintage market.
You should first learn how to date a jacket by zipper:
Dating Outerwear by zipper design
Hardware like zippers can be incredibly useful when it comes to dating vintage clothes, especially when other means of identification (union tags, makers tags) are not present. During the "golden era", Talon was America's largest zipper company. Their constant refinement of their design allows...
You should read, and familiarize yourself with the brands, labels, and jacket’s details in, the following threads. If the threads are intimidating, focus on the pics and skip the writings. You should take notes of the brands mentioned in the second linked thread.
Cal-Leather
I just found out that this brand is still in business. I feel silly. I've only seen their jackets on ebay. It seems like they are pretty low key and not as out there as Langlitz but apparently they make jackets according to your measurements. They also have HH which Langlitz does not. their...
Vintage Outerwear: Threads of the Past
I've been thinking about this thread for some time. Hopefully this thread can capture discussion of Vintage Outerwear without derailing other threads. While writing this I thought of several other topics. This Peters is a good place to start as it is currently for sale on ebay. I have...
Sears Motorcylce Jacket History 1949-1963
Sears is credited as the largest supplier of traditional cross zip Motorcylce jackets. Not surprising given their huge retail presence in the 1950s. This visual history will look at the catalog pictures and descriptions by year and include contemporary pictures of the catalog jackets. I have...
Montgomery Ward (Windward) Motorcycle Jacket History 1947-1963
This will cover the Three Amigos of the Catalog World Post WWII was the Motorcycle jacket boom (The Golden Age). Young men coming out the service looking for some fun take to the open road. Riding Gear had been produced since the invent of the Motorcycle. Regional Shops all over the country...
J.C.Penney (Sportclad) Motorcycle Jacket History 1947-1963
Post WWII was the Motorcycle jacket boom (The Golden Age). Young men coming out the service looking for some fun take to the open road. Riding Gear had been produced since the invent of the Motorcycle. Regional Shops all over the country were producing riding wear for Civilian and Police work...
1950s Aldens / Aldencrest Leather Jackets
Let’s get a thread started for 1950s Aldens / Aldencrest leather jackets. Below the big three department stores (Sears, Ward, and Penney’s) with mail catalogs in the middle of the 20th century, Aldens (and Spiegel) was up there as a big commercial supplier of leather jackets. It was in business...
Any Love For Those Cheap Old Fidelity Leathers?
Any other lovers of Fidelity Leathers here. I know they're definitely not the highest quality jacket ever made, but they're cool, cheap and look great with some weathering. FYI Fidelity, from Everett Massachusetts (just outside Boston) states that they were formed in 1941 to make Peacoats and...
Taubers of California
"If one was going to build a collection of a specific maker of vintage jackets, I think Taubers would be one of the most interesting brands to pursue" The quote is from another thread. Taubers are the first jackets I stared collecting after a tip from a long gone member here. From there I...
Kit Karson Jackets
Okay, so momentum has built to start a master thread on Kit Karson. @Marc mndt popularized these excellent jackets recently on TFL. Very likely made by Wolf as a private label, these are high quality, typical 50s design horsehide biker jackets, but I have also seen bombers and and car coats with...
Wolf Outerwear Company, The Guide Master | Research, Finds, Discuss | + Julesons, Fidelity, Edgo, Kit Karson and other made by Wolf
I want to collect all available information in one place. Please correct me if I made a mistake and join the discussion and show your jackets . Let's start with the information we learned in this Thread main information was provided by the descendants of the founder of the company. . The...
California Sportswear Co. (CSC) aka Californian (1930s-1950s) thread
This is thread started on 1950s or earlier California Sportswear Co. (CSC) aka Californian of Los Angeles. CSC was a prolific maker of leather jackets between 1930s-1980s. They joined in a lawsuit to challenge the use of "made in California" Californian, by non-California makers. They prevailed...
Rich-Sher thread
This is the thread on leather jackets by Rich-Sher, 1950s or earlier, who I’ve heard high praises. @Gamma68 did most of the findings in this OP, linked in the next post. Rich-Sher jackets were made by the Novelty Sportswear Manufacturing Company. Almost all the Rich-Sher jacket labels have "NS"...
Vintage Schott-Beck Motorcycle Jackets
I couldn't find a specific thread on this topic, though I saw several adjacent. I figured it was appropriate to have one because this is definitely one of the pieces to this history. It's well known that Beck had jackets made by Schott, some of which were available under a different model name...
Below are less relevant vintage jackets because they are extremely rare. I included them for completeness but you can skip these.
Los Angeles Sportogs thread
This is the thread for Los Angeles Sportogs from 1950s or earlier. Members have often been curious about this little-known brand, so here it is. LA Sportogs or LASC is pre-war due to their usage of Talon sunrise zippers. They were one of the two makers (the other being CSC) for Montgomery Ward...
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Original Indian Motorcycle Jackets
As a collector of vintage Indian Motorcycles and antique riding gear I want to put some light onto motorcycle jackets tagged with "Indian Sportswear for Motorcyclists". This was the mercandise company to the famous Indian Motocycle Co. in Springfield Mass. They offered riding gear from 1946 to...
Ralphs-Pugh Company
So I'm back with more questions...Ralphs-Pugh Company? Does anyone know anything about their jackets. I know they were located out of San Francisco, and I believe the one I just picked up is a 30's model due to the zippers (both thanks to @Dinerman). Is anything else known about them?
The Legendary DURABLE (Wild One) Jacket
Since it's been established on an other film jacket addicts forum, that the jacket worn by Marlon Brando in the Wild One was made by Durable (and not Schott), those jackets have become very valuable and quiet rare to find... I'm a lucky guy, then, because I own 2 of these jackets, and n°2...
Pre-1950s Sawyer Tanning Co.
Terry @tmitchell59 sent me down the rabbit hole of researching this excellent tannery called Sawyer Tanning Company that provided hides for many survived pre-1950s leather jackets. I figured I might as well start a thread to document my research. A pic is worth a thousand words. Let’s start...
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