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Finds and Deals - Leather Jacket Edition

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,768
It has had the main zipper oddly replaced with a very lackluster and small sized YKK
Is it the zipper that has been replaced, or just the slider?
Blue Woolish lining seen in the above Albert Richard, as well as in early Wolf and Hercules jackets but it could have been re-lined because this liner has a Center seam and its in such good condition it just almost seems it can't be original.
The center seam could be original. I just spotted this (totally unrelated) 30s jacket on Instagram which has a similar lining with center seam and it looks to be original.

EFACE33E-C3FE-4F2B-BE56-85D2589FF721.jpeg
0A29961D-CCCB-4B20-808C-F35707A0FDF8.jpeg
 

EAC

One of the Regulars
Messages
142
Is it the zipper that has been replaced, or just the slider?

The center seam could be original. I just spotted this (totally unrelated) 30s jacket on Instagram which has a similar lining with center seam and it looks to be original.

View attachment 444131 View attachment 444132

Agree with Marc mndt on this one. In the example below (from ericm.vintage on IG), the plaids are mismatched along the center back line, strongly suggesting a seam:

1660293138533.png
 

Claybertrand

One Too Many
Messages
1,544
Is it the zipper that has been replaced, or just the slider?

The center seam could be original. I just spotted this (totally unrelated) 30s jacket on Instagram which has a similar lining with center seam and it looks to be original.

View attachment 444131 View attachment 444132
I wondered the same initially regarding the YKK zipper but the base says YKK too so its a full replacement YKK. I am not even doing my normal quibbling about a YKK zipper on a vintage item. But I am a little surprised that Ralph Lauren Vintage Tailors couldn't do better with a period zipper. Perhaps this repair was done by another party. The chain of custody of this jacket and who did what to it as far as repairs if any would be fascinating to know.

I wonder if the Ralph Lauren people just did whatever they could to keep it as close to pure vintage as possible but perhaps did not restore the jacket to its original specs. Like a situation where one is fixing up a classic old 1966 car but putting rims on it from the same model but from a 1969 model year. To the average person, it looks like a stock old classic but to the experts, you can tell the car has mismatched parts. This jacket has many clear indications of it being this or that but some of these elements may not be original and are thus potentially misleading.




Agree with Marc mndt on this one. In the example below (from ericm.vintage on IG), the plaids are mismatched along the center back line, strongly suggesting a seam:

View attachment 444134

Regarding the seams in the liner, mine actually has a center seam and a seam on each side---I should have noticed and pointed this out. The inner sleeve material is not the same as the jacket body but rather it is a white or cream colored soft liner---probably cotton but it feels like felt sort of.

Here is a pic of my jackets liner seams for reference. As you can see, there is a center seam as well as a seam on each side. There are no discernable markings in the liner from removed or missing tags/labels. I am really just using the seams as a crude element to compare to other jackets. Most of the old blue wooly liners I see do not have seams. But this could be a minor thing......
 

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EAC

One of the Regulars
Messages
142
I wondered the same initially regarding the YKK zipper but the base says YKK too so its a full replacement YKK. I am not even doing my normal quibbling about a YKK zipper on a vintage item. But I am a little surprised that Ralph Lauren Vintage Tailors couldn't do better with a period zipper. Perhaps this repair was done by another party. The chain of custody of this jacket and who did what to it as far as repairs if any would be fascinating to know.

I wonder if the Ralph Lauren people just did whatever they could to keep it as close to pure vintage as possible but perhaps did not restore the jacket to its original specs. Like a situation where one is fixing up a classic old 1966 car but putting rims on it from the same model but from a 1969 model year. To the average person, it looks like a stock old classic but to the experts, you can tell the car has mismatched parts. This jacket has many clear indications of it being this or that but some of these elements may not be original and are thus potentially misleading.






Regarding the seams in the liner, mine actually has a center seam and a seam on each side---I should have noticed and pointed this out. The inner sleeve material is not the same as the jacket body but rather it is a white or cream colored soft liner---probably cotton but it feels like felt sort of.

Here is a pic of my jackets liner seams for reference. As you can see, there is a center seam as well as a seam on each side. There are no discernable markings in the liner from removed or missing tags/labels. I am really just using the seams as a crude element to compare to other jackets. Most of the old blue wooly liners I see do not have seams. But this could be a minor thing......

Pictured is the wool liner of a MC jacket tmitchell59 sold here; you can see the lateral seams:

1660333889730.png


I wouldn't use the presence of seams as a mark of inauthenticity. But the guys at RL could have done a very good job relining it.

It not unusual for the sleeve lining to be made of a different, often smoother material than the body. Attrition in the sleeves is oftern more uncomfortable than in the body when pulling on and off a garment.

Something I would suggest is to compare the lining with the one of another wool-lined jacket of the same era, if you have one in your possession, and check if it looks newer.
 

Claybertrand

One Too Many
Messages
1,544
These are all good points you make. I don't have any other jackets with this era of liner type. But it is a good suggestion. I am going to be looking at some of the jackets in the Lounge over the years and pay attention to the liners and how they are sewn. Thanks for posting Terry's jacket as a comp.

This is such a fun hobby!! I just wish I had more time!!!! I used to have plenty of time to clean and condition jackets. Then I started buying them at such a higher rate that I couldn't do the meticulous type of work I like to do on them so now I have piles of jackets that need some love. The deep dive research takes time as well that I wish I had more of to devote. Oh well,,,,,,,,, quite a benign problem to have I suppose.
 
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