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Field Leathers

Aloysius

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3,267
Yep. As you can see the tweaked Manhattan pattern Aviator is very close to the FW leathertogs repro. Just needs a bit less front drop and narrower sleeve ends.

Almost certainly going to go for one of these Marc specials. Just a matter of figuring out which.

Bought a horse jacket. If what people on this forum is accurate, He didn’t like matching horsehide panels, so instead he substitutes a completely different animal with completely different properties. Cow and horse have completely different qualities. Moreover he is substituting a struck through horsehide with tea core cowhide.
They don’t. If tanned identically they’re indistinguishable to the eye. Horse has a historical cachet because they used it in the 30s and 40s but they used it because it was cheap and abundant. It wasn’t considered special at the time. Postwar, farming mechanized and people could afford more beef so it was a direct substitution.

The qualities of horse and cow are so similar that Greg Eastman had to DNA test vintage jackets to figure out which were which. The tanning method determines more than anything else.

I am surprised you don’t know this, given:
I have probably more jackets than many people on here put together. I probably have more freewheelers and himels alone than many people on here put together.
 

Aloysius

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see above quote from Nick Horween of Horween leathers who begs to differ with you....im okay with not being able to distinguish horse from cow hide in a hundred year old jacket.

He is talking about the raw hides. In other words, the fresh skin off of a cow or horse.

Post tanning, they become visually pretty much identical. In fact, this was the basis for a scandal in which an unscrupulous seller was selling horsehide as a premium upgrade, then selling cowhide anyway despite the upcharge. This was obviously an act of fraud, however it is telling that so many people with wide jacket and leather collections couldn't tell the difference…
New though, I bet a lot of times they are very different, for the reasons stated in the article I linked above.

On the contrary, the minor differences between cow and horse hide, if visually apparent at all, only become so as the jacket is worn in and the leather develops break.

I can tell which of my jackets are horse and which are goat and dear and cow....especially when new.

Deer, goat, and sheep hides are completely distinct from horse and cow. Those two in particular are nigh-indistinguishable. You're introducing irrelevant things here to obfuscate this point.

I mean I could double down with you that I can tell the difference between stingray or crocodile leather and cowhide. Sure. That doesn't say anything about cow v horse in particular.
 
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17,105
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He is talking about the raw hides. In other words, the fresh skin off of a cow or horse.

Post tanning, they become visually pretty much identical. In fact, this was the basis for a scandal in which an unscrupulous seller was selling horsehide as a premium upgrade, then selling cowhide anyway despite the upcharge. This was obviously an act of fraud, however it is telling that so many people with wide jacket and leather collections couldn't tell the difference…


On the contrary, the minor differences between cow and horse hide, if visually apparent at all, only become so as the jacket is worn in and the leather develops break.



Deer, goat, and sheep hides are completely distinct from horse and cow. Those two in particular are nigh-indistinguishable. You're introducing irrelevant things here to obfuscate this point.

I mean I could double down with you that I can tell the difference between stingray or crocodile leather and cowhide. Sure. That doesn't say anything about cow v horse in particular.
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Messages
17,105
Location
Chicago
Toxic would be saying I must be naive or must not know good leather because I want what I actually paid for (like Damon said to me above). When I respond by saying i have many jackets and know my leather and craftsman ship probably better than most on this forum you call me toxic....i see how things work around here.
Sounds like you have a nice collection of jackets that a lot of other people also have. However, buying online catalog pieces from makers producing knock-offs of American made pieces of American history does not make one an expert on anything.

Since you seem to be primarily interested in replicas, you could enlighten us by posting your replica, the original jacket that inspired it, the original maker, hides used by both makers, years offered, etc. and using that as a basis to offer some form of useful information for perspective buyers to consult.
 

Damon141

Practically Family
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928
I don't think it's much use sending him detailed measurements of each and every panel, It's just that for me this back girth measurement really was an eye opener which showed me that I needed to size up. Because unlike ptp this is not a measurement that can easily be altered while keeping the rest of the jacket the same.

I went from a size 42 with 23"ptp to a size 44 with 23"ptp.
Ok I think I understand, it looks like the increase you made will help with everyday movement and not feel so constricted when reaching forward.

I did read a few times here that LeatherTogs had a wider shoulder and it seems like the “back girth” measurement you noted, which allowed them to no use an active back.
 

Damon141

Practically Family
Messages
928
Toxic would be saying I must be naive or must not know good leather because I want what I actually paid for (like Damon said to me above). When I respond by saying i have many jackets and know my leather and craftsman ship probably better than most on this forum you call me toxic....i see how things work around here.
Greg/Field Leathers announced they intended to fill ALL outstanding orders for brown pony Shinki Horsehide. So did you specify this color from the beginning?

But like Marc pointed out, being aniline this stuff varies like crazy, another small maker has access to brown pony but recommended against me ordering it because the samples he received were almost orange in color…..I don’t have knuckle tattoos yet but I have used the term “just sayin”
I’m sorry, i couldn’t help myself

I’ve heard it mentioned before that part of the value in ordering from Fields is getting an expensive leather like Shinki at a insane price, I agree but at the same time I would still keep my order if he switched to any other leather because of his attention to detail in his craftsmanship, the way he and Sam personalize your ordering experience, and the process and his open minded attitude towards customization.
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
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6,798
Hello all! I booked my place in Greg's queue back in June and I know there's still a long way ahead of me, but of course I am already thinking of my future jacket, and I wanted to discuss with you guys what do you think about my idea.

I've always wanted a nice 30s deco cross-chest jacket, Greg has some beautiful examples and after seeing Marc's last jacket I knew that he will do an outstanding job.

Here is my mood board of references, as you can see it's all very classic. I want a nice clean front with a nice pocket disposition, and a classic deco back, not too simple, not too complicated.

View attachment 459883 View attachment 459884

I am not an expert in patterns by any means, so the design I've done is completely based on aesthetics, but I hope Greg can get closer to this!

View attachment 459885

What do you guys think? Any suggestions? The type of leather is something I haven't thought about yet, I'll cross that bridge at the time, but I feel like it should be at least on the softer side, nothing heavy.
Dude, that's your jacket being made as we speak!

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CBAEAEAD-401A-419D-899D-D525BFF04DEF.jpeg
87A60662-0EDD-47EB-A8E4-8A66BADBB965.jpeg
 

Kenan

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345

Aloysius

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3,267
Great jacket and details, but it looks as if Greg didn’t fix the square shoulder problem yet. You think it will be less remarkable with wear and time?

I could be wrong but from Canuck's post I think the squared off shoulder is a deliberate house style thing.

Sort of like roped shoulders or pagoda shoulders in some tailoring houses. (I tend to spec roped shoulders on bespoke suits.)
 

Kenan

A-List Customer
Messages
345
I could be wrong but from Canuck's post I think the squared off shoulder is a deliberate house style thing.

Sort of like roped shoulders or pagoda shoulders in some tailoring houses. (I tend to spec roped shoulders on bespoke suits.)
As far as I’m aware Greg has been working on changing the look of those shoulders. I have an order on a San Francisco coming up. When I spoke to Sam last I showed her a picture of a San Francisco with those shoulders and she said this:

“As I’m sure Greg has mentioned this jacket was a pattern test and still a work in progress, this area you have highlighted is one of the areas we have now adjusted , so no need to worry about that .”

Seeing that on a new jacket does make me wonder if it is a house thing like you said, but hopefully he doesn’t apply that shoulder pattern to my jacket..
 

Aloysius

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3,267
Seeing that on a new jacket does make me wonder if it is a house thing like you said, but hopefully he doesn’t apply that shoulder pattern to my jacket..

Might be a thing you can request in that case. I can see wanting it for a dressier jacket but not on others.
 

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