Unrefined Vision
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 102
Genuinely blown away that I am sat here writing about my beautifully made, perfect fitting Simmons Bilt tailgunner in this incredible chocolate brown Shinki horsehide barely two weeks after PLACING my order, and I think the fine people at Franklin & Poe had a lot to do with that.
A quick search of the Fedora Lounge didn't yield many references to this shop, so I thought I'd shout them out.
It's a shop in Philadelphia, PA, and though I've never been to the shop i can say every time I spoke with them over the phone was a positive experience. I always felt appreciation as first a potential, and now an actual customer. With respect to this jacket, and having refined my preferences for particular styles and patterns over the past year or so, I had for some time been looking for a straight zip, three pocket jacket in a certain shade of brown leather. A highwayman style jacket basically. My closet includes several styles in black leather that I've been able to find OTR, but for whatever reason a nice example in a brown leather had been proving elusive. Even after thorough investigation aided by the Lounge. It seemed that going the custom route would be my best option, and though I've admired beautiful jackets posted by members such as @torfjord and @Motocann from Simmons Bilt I always hesitate when buying a jacket that I cannot try on.
In comes Franklin & Poe. I recently noticed the "citywide" jacket on the website, which even mentions the option to place a custom order on the item listing. This seemed like the safest bet to try out a custom Simmons Bilt. Working through a trustworthy shop with easy returns/refunds gave me more confidence for a successful outcome, so I quickly placed an order for a size 40 which would end up serving as my fit jacket. In this hide and with the small upcharge for the two way main zipper that Debs had quoted me, a direct order placed with Simmons Bilt would already be over $1200, and that's without any consideration for shipping or potential additional charges. The $1300 for the "citywide" jacket seemed like an acceptable premium to me if it helped yield a positive result. I will add that after that initial purchase there was no additional charge. Not for the return of the fit jacket, any of the alterations for my individual order including the two way zipper which Debs had quoted as an upcharge, or for shipping from Simmons Bilt to me. That was nice, and a smooth part of the experience. Furthermore, having tried on a size 40 in person gave me the peace of mind I was looking for.
As you can see the sleeve length was definitely too much. A few other minor changes like reducing the body length and shoulder width I think just helped it to fit more precisely. Also, I wanted the chest pocket to sit a little lower. Making these minor adjustments happened during several phone calls with Dane at Franklin & Poe. He patiently listened while genuinely seeming happy for the discussion. I know were talking about basic customer service, but I get the sense that the people that work in the shop are passionate about these types of clothing. Also, just being able to pick up the phone and always reach someone definitely is nice. Generally my requested measurements of pit to pit 22.5", shoulders between 18.5" and 19", body length of 24.5" sleeve length of 24.5" and hem width of 20" are reasonably close to standard for the pattern so there wasn't some huge transformation. But this is what Franklin & Poe requested in my order, and this is what I got!
TLDR: Franklin & Poe served as the "middle man" for my custom Simmons Bilt tailgunner order. Working with them was a smooth process with regular communication which gave me peace of mind. Franklin & Poe is overall a good shop that I would certainly recommend anyone to check out. Given the shop's regular business with Simmons Bilt orders placed through them might get priority which could explain how I received my jacket barely two weeks after the order was placed. Also, Franklin & Poe has standard jackets in stock that one can use to check out the fit of Simmons Bilt patterns and to use as a way to determine sizing adjustments if needed for one's order.
-Cheers!
A quick search of the Fedora Lounge didn't yield many references to this shop, so I thought I'd shout them out.
It's a shop in Philadelphia, PA, and though I've never been to the shop i can say every time I spoke with them over the phone was a positive experience. I always felt appreciation as first a potential, and now an actual customer. With respect to this jacket, and having refined my preferences for particular styles and patterns over the past year or so, I had for some time been looking for a straight zip, three pocket jacket in a certain shade of brown leather. A highwayman style jacket basically. My closet includes several styles in black leather that I've been able to find OTR, but for whatever reason a nice example in a brown leather had been proving elusive. Even after thorough investigation aided by the Lounge. It seemed that going the custom route would be my best option, and though I've admired beautiful jackets posted by members such as @torfjord and @Motocann from Simmons Bilt I always hesitate when buying a jacket that I cannot try on.
In comes Franklin & Poe. I recently noticed the "citywide" jacket on the website, which even mentions the option to place a custom order on the item listing. This seemed like the safest bet to try out a custom Simmons Bilt. Working through a trustworthy shop with easy returns/refunds gave me more confidence for a successful outcome, so I quickly placed an order for a size 40 which would end up serving as my fit jacket. In this hide and with the small upcharge for the two way main zipper that Debs had quoted me, a direct order placed with Simmons Bilt would already be over $1200, and that's without any consideration for shipping or potential additional charges. The $1300 for the "citywide" jacket seemed like an acceptable premium to me if it helped yield a positive result. I will add that after that initial purchase there was no additional charge. Not for the return of the fit jacket, any of the alterations for my individual order including the two way zipper which Debs had quoted as an upcharge, or for shipping from Simmons Bilt to me. That was nice, and a smooth part of the experience. Furthermore, having tried on a size 40 in person gave me the peace of mind I was looking for.
As you can see the sleeve length was definitely too much. A few other minor changes like reducing the body length and shoulder width I think just helped it to fit more precisely. Also, I wanted the chest pocket to sit a little lower. Making these minor adjustments happened during several phone calls with Dane at Franklin & Poe. He patiently listened while genuinely seeming happy for the discussion. I know were talking about basic customer service, but I get the sense that the people that work in the shop are passionate about these types of clothing. Also, just being able to pick up the phone and always reach someone definitely is nice. Generally my requested measurements of pit to pit 22.5", shoulders between 18.5" and 19", body length of 24.5" sleeve length of 24.5" and hem width of 20" are reasonably close to standard for the pattern so there wasn't some huge transformation. But this is what Franklin & Poe requested in my order, and this is what I got!
TLDR: Franklin & Poe served as the "middle man" for my custom Simmons Bilt tailgunner order. Working with them was a smooth process with regular communication which gave me peace of mind. Franklin & Poe is overall a good shop that I would certainly recommend anyone to check out. Given the shop's regular business with Simmons Bilt orders placed through them might get priority which could explain how I received my jacket barely two weeks after the order was placed. Also, Franklin & Poe has standard jackets in stock that one can use to check out the fit of Simmons Bilt patterns and to use as a way to determine sizing adjustments if needed for one's order.
-Cheers!
