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Thoughts on Shangri-La leather jackets?

photo2u

One Too Many
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claremont california
Expensive. The leather does not work for me. Have you looked at ebay? Sometimes you see nice Comp weight older Vansons for sale. I got one very similar to the shagri la with much nicer leather for 200 dollars. The older Vansons are some of the best bang for the dollar.
 

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
Expensive. The leather does not work for me. Have you looked at ebay? Sometimes you see nice Comp weight older Vansons for sale. I got one very similar to the shagri la with much nicer leather for 200 dollars. The older Vansons are some of the best bang for the dollar.

I have, I'm from the UK so there isn't a lot of choice with regards to vanson domestically, and I can get this new Shangri-La jacket for roughly £405. Plus import duty, I'd probably be paying the same for a vintage/second hand Vanson. I have looked at old Schott and Aero jackets too but similarly, in the UK and EU the prices seem to either be the same or more.
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,768
Expensive
Cheaper than an Aero. 'Expensive' is relative.
The leather does not work for me.
Could you elaborate?

Have you looked at ebay? Sometimes you see nice Comp weight older Vansons for sale. I got one very similar to the shagri la with much nicer leather for 200 dollars.
What's the use of comparing the price of a brand new jacket to the price of a used one from a different maker (and saying it's better bang for buck)?
 

photo2u

One Too Many
Messages
1,994
Location
claremont california
I have, I'm from the UK so there isn't a lot of choice with regards to vanson domestically, and I can get this new Shangri-La jacket for roughly £405. Plus import duty, I'd probably be paying the same for a vintage/second hand Vanson. I have looked at old Schott and Aero jackets too but similarly, in the UK and EU the prices seem to either be the same or more.

That is one reason to state where you're located before you post. It also helps if you list your location. There are several good sellers from the UK who advertise in eBay. I have purchased some jackets from them. After 40 dollars for shipping cost was not a dealbreaker for me. Good luck with your jacket.
 
Last edited:

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
That is one reason to state where you located before you post. It also helps if you list your location. There several good seller from the UK who advertise in ebay. I have purchased some jackets from them. After 40 dollars for shipping cost was not a deal breaker for me. Good luck with your jacket.

Thanks, I am a bit put off though after buying a jacket recently from Japan, the shipping ended up costing around £70 ($94).
 

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
That is one reason to state where you located before you post. It also helps if you list your location. There several good seller from the UK who advertise in ebay. I have purchased some jackets from them. After 40 dollars for shipping cost was not a deal breaker for me. Good luck with your jacket.

Thanks, I am a bit put off though after buying a jacket recently from Japan, the shipping ended up costing around £70 ($94).
Cheaper than an Aero. 'Expensive' is relative.
Could you elaborate?


What's the use of comparing the price of a brand new jacket to the price of a used one from a different maker (and saying it's better bang for buck)?

So I take it you're a 'fan' of this particular jacket? I'm a little torn now between the version with and without a collar. I can get the collared one for £498 or the uncollared one for £429. Was just wondering if you thought it would be worth it to spend the extra £70? Thanks.
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
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6,768
So I take it you're a 'fan' of this particular jacket?
I'm neither a fan or nor a hater. From what I can see from the pics the leather looks high quality. I Just checked their website and they use Vicenza steer hides. Overall construction quality looks good. But for me personally these jackets have too much of a fashion vibe going on.

shangri-la-heritage-varenne-black-steerhide-jacket-still-life-sleeve.jpg


I can get the collared one for £498 or the uncollared one for £429. Was just wondering if you thought it would be worth it to spend the extra £70? Thanks.
I'm a huge fan of mouton collars. Too bad theirs are backed with nylon, therefore I highly doubt these will survive 3 years of regular use. 70 doesn't sound unreasonable though. From a high end jacket maker a mouton collar will easily cost you a couple of hundred.

shangri-la-heritage-varenne-black-steerhide-shearling-jacket-still-life-collar-button.jpg
 

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
I'm neither a fan or nor a hater. From what I can see from the pics the leather looks high quality. I Just checked their website and they use Vicenza steer hides. Overall construction quality looks good. But for me personally these jackets have too much of a fashion vibe going on.

shangri-la-heritage-varenne-black-steerhide-jacket-still-life-sleeve.jpg



I'm a huge fan of mouton collars. Too bad theirs are backed with nylon, therefore I highly doubt these will survive 3 years of regular use. 70 doesn't sound unreasonable though. From a high end jacket maker a mouton collar will easily cost you a couple of hundred.

shangri-la-heritage-varenne-black-steerhide-shearling-jacket-still-life-collar-button.jpg
It'd be used maybe twice a week, not for riding though just for going out. Do you reckon it'd be worth getting one put on after the fact?
 
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17,070
Location
Chicago
I'm neither a fan or nor a hater. From what I can see from the pics the leather looks high quality. I Just checked their website and they use Vicenza steer hides. Overall construction quality looks good. But for me personally these jackets have too much of a fashion vibe going on.

shangri-la-heritage-varenne-black-steerhide-jacket-still-life-sleeve.jpg



I'm a huge fan of mouton collars. Too bad theirs are backed with nylon, therefore I highly doubt these will survive 3 years of regular use. 70 doesn't sound unreasonable though. From a high end jacket maker a mouton collar will easily cost you a couple of hundred.

shangri-la-heritage-varenne-black-steerhide-shearling-jacket-still-life-collar-button.jpg
That is a piss poor way to attach a mouton collar!
 

Aloysius

My Mail is Forwarded Here
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3,227
Mate, I remember the Reddit exchange. You were drawn to this jacket because it was the closest you could find to the jacket you saw in a music video. The jacket in the music video turned out being an Aero Highwayman.

At £670, this jacket costs £20 more than the Aero at full price, and a couple of hundred more than the Aero on discount. Just get the Aero. It's the jacket you were after in the first place.
 

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
Mate, I remember the Reddit exchange. You were drawn to this jacket because it was the closest you could find to the jacket you saw in a music video. The jacket in the music video turned out being an Aero Highwayman.

At £670, this jacket costs £20 more than the Aero at full price, and a couple of hundred more than the Aero on discount. Just get the Aero. It's the jacket you were after in the first place.

Yeah, thing is I can get this jacket for £405 without the collar or £475 with. So I'm a little torn to be honest.
 

Mich486

One Too Many
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1,668
I’d base the decision on desired fit. HWM is boxy the other definitely more fitted.
 

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
This was based on seeing a Highwayman worn, and OP found this while looking for the same pocket layout.
£400 is a lot of money to spend on an unknown quantity.

This is true, but £400 RRP is about on par with an LC (European) Schott. I'm well aware they aren't worth anywhere near that but still.

£475 for a Steerhide 'highwayman' with a collar, or £650 for an Aero highwayman... Or £550 for a Simmons Bilt roadster to my specs...

Damn I can't decide lmao.
 

Aloysius

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,227
LC Schott is an inflated, meaningless price for Europeans who want to buy things with an American logo. It's not a useful comparison at all. It's like citing the RRP of Invicta watches.

Ultimately you'd be spending close to the full price of the thing you want for a compromise of unknown quality, which basically never works out. Your Five Star made sense– it's actually quite a good jacket, fits you extremely well, and costs a fraction of the price of the jacket you're after. One of these does not.

You could email Aero asking when they expect the next batch of apprentices to be working on Highwayman, and if one in your size could be reserved for when they do. Ken has suggested this before to people who wanted to buy Aero A-2s. That would run you £400.
 

Laurus

Familiar Face
Messages
55
LC Schott is an inflated, meaningless price for Europeans who want to buy things with an American logo. It's not a useful comparison at all. It's like citing the RRP of Invicta watches.

Ultimately you'd be spending close to the full price of the thing you want for a compromise of unknown quality, which basically never works out. Your Five Star made sense– it's actually quite a good jacket, fits you extremely well, and costs a fraction of the price of the jacket you're after. One of these does not.

You could email Aero asking when they expect the next batch of apprentices to be working on Highwayman, and if one in your size could be reserved for when they do. Ken has suggested this before to people who wanted to buy Aero A-2s. That would run you £400.
Thanks for that, I'll probably do that but what are your opinions on Simmons Bilt? I'm well aware of their history with Aero, but they appear to have quite a bit of customisability with their jackets.
 

Mich486

One Too Many
Messages
1,668
Fit dude… try to understand what you want. These two jackets look superficially the same but fit very differently. The delta in quality is close to zero. The delta in price is also small.
 

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