Some perspective on leather jacket pricing?

[jchance]

I was just idly thumbing through the J Crew catalog that arrived in the mail a few minutes ago, when I noticed they had a “Leather Flight Jacket” going for $1095. Yes, I had to read it again. $1095. No customization, only available in standard S/M/L sizes, etc. “Imported” which could mean anything. J Crew’s one footnote to quality on this particular style jacket was the “carefully washed oiled Italian leather with authentic details”.
If this kind of mail order J Crew leather jacket is going for $1095, I’m thinking that the prices of some of the vendors on here (notably a couple out of Seattle/Scotland) are starting to look like a *******g bargain, when comparing the quality, legacy, leather selection, and customization options they offer for nearly the same price. Just my humble observation/opinion.

It’s interesting to read about J Crew’s pricing then in 2025. I went on its website and the current men’s flight leather jacket retails $798, despite 11 years of inflation since.

Meanwhile, Japanese-made leather jacket pricing has gone up significantly in the last decade, now typically 300,000 yen from 125,000 yen in 2016.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Wow! A lot of names I've not seen here In a Long time - BigJ being one of them.
This thread was pre-my-awareness of FL.

Pricing? Sky's the limit, it seems. New and Used.