AMAZING Vintage Levi’s Leather Jacket for sale on Etsy

AbbaDatDeHat · May 20, 2018

Awesome goat’s Terry!! Good arguments all around. The Levi’s worth?? Whatever someone is willing to pay. A very nice specimen to be sure.
B

EmergencyIan · May 20, 2018

I can’t add much of anything to this, but I have several vintage shirts that tags read something like “styled and tailored in California.” These shirts are from the 1950s. Seems like that was a popular selling point, back then. I can see that being so as many folks were drawn to move to California in the 50s and 60s.

- Ian

jeo · May 20, 2018

tmitchell59 said:
Interesting thread that hits home with me. By accident I have built a small, but interesting goathide jacket collection. Four or five jackets. Several probably made in the bay area where this Levi was probably made. I use probably because it is guess work on my part. Levi is from the bay area which was home to Block, Ralphs Pugh. Both of those makers could have made this jacket.

Labels do add value. A Block Bilt or Ralphs Pugh label would be even more interesting to me than the Levi label. Take away the label and you still have a nice 30s half-belt.

The 4K price sorta clouds the jacket. No one sees it worth that, so people don't see it worth much?

Vintage jackets from the 30s can be in this nice condition. This Californian is near mint. Is it original or reproduction?

I see these goats as more interesting than the Levi. All are 42/44 sized.

Thanks for sharing these and your insight! That first Californian is drool worthy! That collar...wow! And yes, of course it’s original. You can tell. Same with the Levi’s.

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tmitchell59 · May 20, 2018

jeo said:
Thanks for sharing these and your insight! That first Californian is drool worthy! That collar...wow! And yes, of course it’s original. You can tell. Same with the Levi’s.

Thanks to you for bringing this jacket out from the etsy closet. I go there and do see interesting jackets there. have bought and sold there. My store is currently empty, I don't get a lot of action selling there.

I would put this on ebay just to advertise it. You don't have to sell it there. Fees would be a killer. It will be seen and there will be buyers interested.

The iconic Sears Hercules that I mention above. Sold overnight for $2400. It came on late at night and was gone before day break. Few people saw it or even know if was for sale.

I would estimate this would sell in the $2400 range, more if it was horsehide.

Take away the label and it goes into the $600 range. Just based on condition and year. It is a hard to find 30s half-belt. Even without a label it is a stand out jacket.

Block Bilt label or other Bay area makers: $1000 in goat. Horsehide $1200
California Sportswear label: $700

I don't think I have done a thread on the Cali Capeskin. It fits better now, so I think I'll do one.

jeo · May 20, 2018

tmitchell59 said:
Thanks to you for bringing this jacket out from the etsy closet. I go there and do see interesting jackets there. have bought and sold there. My store is currently empty, I don't get a lot of action selling there.

I would put this on ebay just to advertise it. You don't have to sell it there. Fees would be a killer. It will be seen and there will be buyers interested.

The iconic Sears Hercules that I mention above. Sold overnight for $2400. It came on late at night and was gone before day break. Few people saw it or even know if was for sale.

I would estimate this would sell in the $2400 range, more if it was horsehide.

Take away the label and it goes into the $600 range. Just based on condition and year. It is a hard to find 30s half-belt. Even without a label it is a stand out jacket.

Block Bilt label or other Bay area makers: $1000 in goat. Horsehide $1200
California Sportswear label: $700

I don't think I have done a thread on the Cali Capeskin. It fits better now, so I think I'll do one.

Looking forward to it. That’s a killer jacket!

I agree with you. If it was mine, not only would I put it on eBay, but as another forum member pointed out, I would reach out to Levi’s to see if they have interest. Maybe other clothes/jacket makers.

I think a Levi’s collector is more likely to buy this than just your regular ole leather jacket junkie.

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Sloan1874 · May 20, 2018

Having chatted to Ken at Aero about vintage Levi's, $4,000 could arguably be a conservative figure if you take into account the value this might have to LVC's archives and potential for reproducing.

jacketjunkie · May 20, 2018

I'm still not convinced this is an original vintage piece. The buttons, the zipper, all the hardware looks way too fresh to me. I may be convinced otherwise if there were close ups of the zipper to compare to close ups of the similarily old jackets showed by TMitchell, but then again, I wouldn't buy the jacket for 4k USD either way, so it doesn't really matter, I guess.

edit; just noticed there is a few close ups.. yeh.. I'm no expert by any means, but I'd expect some signs of wear on the hardware of a jacket that is supposed to have seen a lot of wear judging by the condition of the leather.

Peter Bowden · May 20, 2018

Wonder what it would be worth after several years hard wear?

jeo · May 20, 2018

jacketjunkie said:
I'm still not convinced this is an original vintage piece. The buttons, the zipper, all the hardware looks way too fresh to me. I may be convinced otherwise if there were close ups of the zipper to compare to close ups of the similarily old jackets showed by TMitchell, but then again, I wouldn't buy the jacket for 4k USD either way, so it doesn't really matter, I guess.

edit; just noticed there is a few close ups.. yeh.. I'm no expert by any means, but I'd expect some signs of wear on the hardware of a jacket that is supposed to have seen a lot of wear judging by the condition of the leather.

Hardware can be replaced, which might be the case here. The chest pocket zipper and front zipper (to me) don’t look the same. Also if you take a good look at the last photo, there is some stitching missing which is more likely to happen on a vintage jacket than a repro. LVC was founded in 1999, so the oldest one of their repros can be is 19 years old, not to say that stitching can’t become undone after 19 years. Would love if someone could actually verify wether it’s vintage or not.

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tmitchell59 · May 20, 2018

I wrote the seller. Ask if they had contacted Levi and sent a link to this thread. The seller is in Sacramento CA. They seem to specialize in old jeans.

tmitchell59 · May 20, 2018

All the vintage hardware is available, I even have vintage Talon zippers and even ball and chain pulls. All the makers have access to some supply of their own vintage hardware or reproduction.

I've not seen a Levi reproduction with these vintage zippers. Aero makes repros for Levi and they don't use these parts. Too hard to find, too expensive, too old, too much risk.

Not sure why people think it is not original. Look at the Cali I posted above. It is even in better condition. They exist.

Gamma68 · May 21, 2018

jacketjunkie said:
I'm still not convinced this is an original vintage piece. The buttons, the zipper, all the hardware looks way too fresh to me. I may be convinced otherwise if there were close ups of the zipper to compare to close ups of the similarily old jackets showed by TMitchell, but then again, I wouldn't buy the jacket for 4k USD either way, so it doesn't really matter, I guess.

edit; just noticed there is a few close ups.. yeh.. I'm no expert by any means, but I'd expect some signs of wear on the hardware of a jacket that is supposed to have seen a lot of wear judging by the condition of the leather.

I've followed this thread and agree with the above. I'm no expert either, but the zippers and cuff buttons look really shiny, fresh and unworn compared to the leather. I'd also expect the tag to look more worn. The seller should anticipate these types of questions and address them in the listing.

Kuro · May 21, 2018

Looks legit to me. There is a lot of wear to the liner in the few pictures you can see the liner. The pocket zipper shows a hint of green corrosion... Last, it does look like zipper repair of the main zipper has been done in the past, however it looks like a vintage Talon zipper.

The little bit of zipper research I have done shows a rounded profile on the section that holds the zipper tab. Repro Talon zippers are flat in the same area from all that I have seen.

So add the external wear, plus the internal wear and the vintage zipper equals a possible vintage jacket. Of course, some further research would be required if it is a modified LVC jacket, but I doubt that would not be difficult to confirm, their styles should be easy to research right?

tmitchell59 · May 21, 2018

I did get a nice response from the seller. I ask her permission to post her reply. She has read the thread. She does have a backstory about the jackets origins.

I'm sure she will consent. I will post her remarks.

Sneak peak: Her father has owned the jacket since the 70s.

Boyo · May 21, 2018

It will be nice to hear the backstory, as it adds to the uniqueness of the jacket, and to silence those who thought it was a repop (Me).. But, i'm not in at $4G's

tmitchell59 · May 21, 2018

This is the response from Jenny, the etsy Store owner.

Hi Terry,

Thank you so much for the info and for the link to the thread. I've had this jacket for a few years and after researching it I also thought it would be of interest to Levi's for their archives. I've reached out to a customer of mine who is a designer for Levi's LVC line. We had a back and forth and nothing came of it. I'm not sure how exactly to get in touch with the right people at Levi's - if you have any info about that I'd love to know.

My dad, a lawyer, handled the estate of the owner of this jacket who died in the 70s. It's been in my dad's closet since then. Which is the explanation for the amazing condition of the jacket and the hardware.

I've been selling Levi's for about 5 years and have done a ton of research about Levi's jeans. I consider myself fairly expert in identifying the age and era of denim, but I don't know a lot about leather. Thanks for letting me know that it's Goat hide.

I used the label and the hardware- the zippers and buckles - to narrow down the date to the early 40s.

Another member mentioned reaching out to other companies who are reproducing vintage leather jackets - like Aero. If you have any info about that I'd appreciate it as well. I priced it at $4k based on the fact that it's made by Levi's and I've yet to find even a photo of an original jacket from this era. I can't imagine and don't expect that anyone other than a Levi's collector would pay that kind of money - I also realize that Etsy isn't the ideal venue to reach that market, but the fees on eBay would be ridiculous.

Thanks again for taking the time to write to me. I'd be grateful for other info or advice you can give.

Jenny

Gamma68 · May 21, 2018

@tmitchell59, thanks for contacting the seller and posting her reply here. Her response settles the debate. It's a great vintage piece that's out of my limited budget, but super cool nonetheless!

jchance · Jan 18, 2024

tmitchell59 said:
The iconic Sears Hercules that I mention above. Sold overnight for $2400. It came on late at night and was gone before day break. Few people saw it or even know if was for sale.

I would estimate this would sell in the $2400 range, more if it was horsehide.

Take away the label and it goes into the $600 range. Just based on condition and year. It is a hard to find 30s half-belt. Even without a label it is a stand out jacket.

Block Bilt label or other Bay area makers: $1000 in goat. Horsehide $1200
California Sportswear label: $700

I don't think I have done a thread on the Cali Capeskin. It fits better now, so I think I'll do one.

It seems like you have very good knowledge on what brands/models are overpriced compared to their qualities and which are undervalued. Would you mind expanding on this knowledge? I’m trying to learn more about vintage leather jackets and would appreciate knowing this information and also what brands/models would be considered the cream of the crop, regardless of their prices.

tmitchell59 · Jan 19, 2024

jchance said:
It seems like you have very good knowledge on what brands/models are overpriced compared to their qualities and which are undervalued. Would you mind expanding on this knowledge? I’m trying to learn more about vintage leather jackets and would appreciate knowing this information and also what brands/models would be considered the cream of the crop, regardless of their prices.

I have all the same questions you just posed. Those are The questions that drive my collecting. By reading the thread here you will become educated.

It's important to know what you want.I see you looking around so you're growing your knowledge.

Like others here I share my knowledge at any opportunity.If you ever have a question just write me

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