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Field Leathers Customized Manhattan / Classic J-24 Review

AlexB

A-List Customer
Messages
306
Location
Berlin
Hey everyone,

It's been a while since I posted the last time, but I thought my latest leather jacket addition might be worth to be shared.
Being a motorcyclists myself, I always had a soft-spot for the classic asymmetrical biker jacket. However, I never pulled the trigger on a D-pocket. Living in NYC, over the past years I have basically tried all the stock jackets available given the proximity to Standard & Strange, Selfedge, and Franklin & Poe in Philly. From Real McCoys, over The Flatheat, FIneCreek, Y'2, to Attractions, to name just a few. I guess with the D-pocket jackets it's not different than with any of my other jackets - going custom was the only option to fit my 6.7 long-armed frame.

Long story-short in January 2022, I reached out to Greg from Field Leathers and got the process started. That brings me to the first point. There was definitely enough time of joyful anticipation until I received the jacket in August 2023 after 19 months of waiting. Was it worth it? Hell yes! No chance to wear a jacket before September in NYC anyways.

The design:
My goal was to closely mimic the Buco J-24 design and make some minor tweaks to make it truly my perfect cross-zip. Most of the things Sam and I kept going back and forth about in about 100 Emails are likely barely noticeable, which proves to me that they fit the design just right. For example it took us a while to get the D-pocket design fully sorted out. There are hundreds of variants out there - some rounder, some almost square, sometimes having the straight side being parallel to the main zip, sometimes not. I think we got it just right.
I also added a pillion pocket on one side only (kinda like the asymmetrical motto going through the jacket)
Other features include a slightly rounded kidney panel, snaps on the lower lapels only, a snap on fur-collar with blacked out snaps in the front. Also, likely blending in and not standing out are the lapels. We tweaked the size to make them a bit larger than normal. I could go on for a while but stop here.

The fit:
Most importantly, of course, the fit. I went with the full bespoke option, involving a cotton mock-up jacket to get the fit right as most of you likely have heard about. I am super stoked with how the jacket turned out. Out of the box the jacket fit like a glove and the tea-core Shinki horsehide is noticeably lighter than the CXL horsehide of my Aero jackets.

Overall, I am really really impressed with the Craftsmanship. While of course being a sturdy piece of clothing, the attention to detail is more reminiscent of a piece of art.

Enough words for now. I am happy to share more details as requested :)

Cheers from NYC,
Alex

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jeo

One Too Many
Messages
1,993
Location
Philadelphia
Incredible jacket Alex. Fits you perfectly and the design choices you made are spot on. Congrats!
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,211
What an amazing jacket. They've done a great job keeping the jacket and overall design in proportion. The added length looks totally natural (it body doesn't look stretched out / tubular ). Congrats and thanks for the review.
 

Brandrea33

One Too Many
Messages
1,078
Congratulations on an amazing jacket Alex!

Even more to enjoy, now that Greg has indicated he won’t be doing any custom bespoke designs.

I‘m not going to ask what you paid, but IMHO it wasn’t nearly enough considering the time Greg and his team have put into doing this sort of thing.

That is NOT a dig at you Alex. Just to say, I can see why Greg can’t continue on with these type of projects.

Consider yourself lucky and enjoy it!!!
 

Will Zach

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,694
Location
SoFlo
I think guys who got full bespoke jackets off Greg did incredibly well. These are true heirloom pieces, and I hate the word heirloom, lol. Those who didn't will do equally well with Regius.
 

AlexB

A-List Customer
Messages
306
Location
Berlin
Congratulations on an amazing jacket Alex!

Even more to enjoy, now that Greg has indicated he won’t be doing any custom bespoke designs.

I‘m not going to ask what you paid, but IMHO it wasn’t nearly enough considering the time Greg and his team have put into doing this sort of thing.

That is NOT a dig at you Alex. Just to say, I can see why Greg can’t continue on with these type of projects.

Consider yourself lucky and enjoy it!!!
I paid exactly what he was asking for of course - didn't try to negotiate, neither down or up :D
No worries, why would I interpret this as a dig against me?
Just looking at the hard facts, this is the market principle, supply and demand side were satisfied at the negotiated rate.

In all honestly, I also understand why he can't do this anymore. The incremental benefit he gets from offering this vs. having beautiful stock patterns is probably not worth the squeeze.

I consider myself lucky and will enjoy the hell out of it!
 

Brandrea33

One Too Many
Messages
1,078
I paid exactly what he was asking for of course - didn't try to negotiate, neither down or up :D
No worries, why would I interpret this as a dig against me?
Just looking at the hard facts, this is the market principle, supply and demand side were satisfied at the negotiated rate.

In all honestly, I also understand why he can't do this anymore. The incremental benefit he gets from offering this vs. having beautiful stock patterns is probably not worth the squeeze.

I consider myself lucky and will enjoy the hell out of it!
I meant, that in reality he probably should have charged double the ask, for the time it took.

Of course you paid the ask. That’s precisely why he‘s stopped offering this level of service. There’s no money to made, unless he charges what his time is really worth and I doubt many would be willing to pay the ask - is what I meant.

enjoy it, it’s a fantastic jacket, well done.
 

MrProper

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,165
Location
Europe
That’s precisely why he‘s stopped offering this level of service.
I don't think Greg has become poor because of the made2measure. As far as I know, it costs extra anyway if you want a sample jacket made of fabric. And alterations from the standard cost too. Since FL doesn't deduct UK VAT, but sells a lot outside the UK, that should be an extra 20% each.
No, I don't think we need to worry.
 

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