Ever think some jackets are overhyped

Definitely. The bang for your buck drops off significantly past around $1000 msrp IMO. The higher priced jackets are aimed at people who are ready to pay significant premium for brand, exclusivity/small scale production and details that most people wouldn't value as much like minor cut changes. They aren't generally aiming their products at highly price conscious buyers.

 

I think it would be fair to tell us what we're looking at. Apart from the maker I wonder which hide this is since you're making a comparison between this maker and LVC and others. LVC uses sheepskin or lambskin which has other properties than horsehide for instance. Also, Aero jackets are purpose built (Aero considers function/longevity more important than neat stitch lines).
What I'm trying to say is, you're comparing apples and oranges imo.

 

Yeah. All of them.

 

Not the neatest stitching for sure. Tell us what we are looking at

 

Lemme guess... RMC!

 

Probably a big reason why many of us have larger collections. Individually, nothing is perfect.

 

You are not throwing anyone under the bus by discussing manufacturers here.
We come together as a community to share not play guessing games.

 

Like Monitor, my first guess was RMC.
I can't help but smile now that i know it's a Himel, I have a Himel and it has some of the worst stitching i have seen on a 2000$+ jacket... (worst than what you are pointing out)
I keep reading people calling Himel a master, saying his stitching is one of the best, IMO his patterns are very nice, but the stitching is definitely not the neatest, at least not on mine or on what i am seeing online.
I personally would agree with you that IMO Himel is overhyped.

Edit: i think very highly of his patterns and designs, they are very cool and comfortable, i just think the execution is not as good as it should be.

 

I have two Himel Kensington’s which I love. Dave would be the first to comment that his stitching is not in the league of being laser straight. But I do love some of his design offerings and Himel Shinki is spectacular!

 

It's not just the stitching on Himel jackets that can be off. One of mine has sleeves that are attached at different rotations. Still a great jacket/coat, still one of my faves, you'd only notice it if you were closely inspecting but when you see it it's not insignificant.

 

I do. Above a certain price level I expect the stitching not to be sloppy.

 

I do...
I'm a musician, my job is to master what most people think is a simple activity, to focus on minute details.
It takes years and years of practice to become very good at it, IMO stitching a jacket is the same thing.
To me jackets are a craft/artform that i really enjoy because when i see a "perfect" jacket i relate to the hours of training and practice that it took to reach said perfection. The same reaction i have when i hear an amazing musician...
Some people say "i want to see that it was made by a human" to justifie poor craftsmanship, i think it's BS.
I enjoy seeing that the person who built a jacket cared enough and was good enough to make it as well as humanly possible.
I love the constant strive for perfection, and sloppy work is a real turn off for me.

If i didn't care about that i would just buy a Schott and be done with it...

Edit: sloppy workmanship is the main reason i barely wear my Himel, every time i put it on i know i am wearing a poorly constructed jacket, that bothers me more than how great it fits and looks...

 

I definitely think some jackets are overhyped. The most immediate example the that came to mind is my Iron Heart IHJ-54 Horsehide Riders jacket with collar.
Now let me start by saying that I love this jacket, it is well cut, well made, and more comfortable to wear than any of my other leather jackets. if I had to do it over again I would definitely buy it again.
The reason I say that is overhyped is because of the description of the leather on the IH website. To quote them, they say that it is “The nicest horsehide we have ever seen from any tannery anywhere.” While I certainly like the hide (it is substantial and yet as soft as lambskin) I would not put it above jackets I have made from Shinki horsehide, nor from horsehide tanned by Victoria in Italy, nor from Horween in Chicago for that matter.
Now I have to assume that the guys and IH have seen a lot of horsehide by now and so when I read this description (and looked at the $1750 price) I assumed that I was purchasing some truly unique leather that would make me forget I even owned other leather jackets and that simply was not the case. As I said at the beginning, I don’t regret this purchase at all but I do feel like they went a little overboard in the sales copy on this one.

 

Hear hear.

 

I agree with the above posts.
Expectations should be higher at this end of the leather jacket spectrum.
North of $2000 craftsmanship should be there consistently.
And as others allude to, enjoyment can be a separate issue from high cost/details.

 

Not a surprise to me, and Himel had indeed been my first guess before the answer was revealed. I'm never an OCD person when it comes to leather jackets, and I've never closely examined the stitch work on my Himel jackets, all I know is that they look pretty neat at a quick glance.

That being said, I did spot sloppy stitching on some of those few put on sale fairly easily. Not sure if it has anything to do with their increasingly coming in orders, which I keep reading from his posts, but I do think they could have done a more strict QC process.

Will I buy another Himel? Absolutely, they still offer quite some unique styles and one-of-a-kind designs, although at that price, I do expect a little more consistent quality.