Following the post earlier in the week on my finished leather jacket from Gieves, here are a few of the construction and design details.
There is no hand stitching, as on most leather products, other than working a relatively full sleeve into a smaller armhole. The excess that can be worked in with leather is around half of that on a suit jacket – 1.25 inches rather than around 2.5, and mostly distributed with the rolling of the sleeve at front and back. However, even the careful machine stitching looks nice on the leather, particularly where it starts partway down a section, as on the sleeve seam above.
The sleeve lining used is the Gieves house pattern, and the buttons on the cuffs are secured on the back with mother-of-pearl buttons.
A longer piece of leather is deliberately used to run under the bottom of the zip, creating this nice roll. The rest of the waistband is made of two pieces, front and back, with a thin stiffener in between to retain its shape.
The way the seam across the top of the back runs into the sleeve seam is a nice detail.
The contrast of the leather pocket surrounds against the brown lining. Both internal pockets are zipped and finished as with a bespoke jacket – with a Gieves label on the left pocket and a customer label on the inside of the right.
Photos: Khalil Musa
Photos: Khalil Musa
It’s a lovely jacket, you must be very happy with the overall result. What’s next on the bespoke agenda ?
See reply on Monday’s post….
Some really nice details to the jacket; I especially like the cuff. Adds a touch of class.
Don’t let anyone know where you live or your closet will be raided!
The photography is fantastic and brings out the style and elegance of the jacket.
The detail with the mother of pearl buttons , the seam across and down in one line….just beautiful !!
Many, many compliments to all involved.
Looking at it saddens me how nowadays clothes are so cheaply and poorly made. Shame on the Hugo Bosses , Armani etc of this world.
Thanks – those details do make all the difference. Hopefully some of those will be incorporated in the new Gieves suits and casual offerings. I’ve seen some nice (if expensive) things
Absolutely fantastic! Looking forward to seeing your future commissions.
Old, loved and lived in leather gas plenty of character. But new leather is just so… damn… James Dean…
The details are incredible! Leather jackets aren’t for me but this is the first one I’ve seen that I really was impressed with.
Why did you choose Gieves as the tailor for this jacket. Do they have particular expertise with unconventional materials/cuts? Would other tailors be as good or better?
Thank you!
I chose Davide, essentially. He’s fantastic for things like this. Also worth considering Sedwell or Michael Browne at Chittleborough
Simon what about Davide vs Lorenzo C for something like this?
Very different styles. I’d probably go to Davide for something further away from traditional tailoring, but Lorenzo for tailoring in different materials, hence my suede jacket from him
Dear Simon,
I appreciate that without inspecting a piece first hand, you can’t really comment on the quality, but I’m sure you can make certain assumptions from what you already know about a brand. With that in mind, do you think the following jacket offers anything other than brand name over having a similar item made bespoke? The price isn’t too far removed from that of your leather jacket in this post, so any reason you can think of to go for the Brioni option?
http://www.mrporter.com/mens/brioni/suede-bomber-jacket-/497656
Thanks.
Just styling really, whether you prefer the design. A bespoke item can be very close, but it might not entirely replicate the design or materials
Hey Simon, Hope your well. You said about the excess being 1.25 for leather in comparison to 2.5 for a conventional tailored jacket. Would you mind telling me what you mean by ‘excess’. Also, the front of the jacket has a zipper… what zip did you end up with? (I’d assume Lampo, Raccagni or something of the like on a piece like this)
The sleeve on any jacket is bigger than the armhole it goes into. The difference between the two is the ‘excess’ and must be worked into the armhole gradually, in the same way a sleeve is worked into the cuff of a shirt, with small folds or ripples.
It was a Talon zip – we liked the look and functions very well.
What was the price of this jacket, Simon? It looks great with a flat front. Do you think this would look as good of a jacket if it were a navy blue suede, like your Stoffa jacket? Would it look odd with side pockets?
I’m building a capsule/minimalist wardrobe and so far have a dark green plain wax jacket and sand G9 Harrington jacket. Is there a third jacket you’d recommend? Perhaps a safari jacket as a fourth piece to complete the group? I don’t like long jackets very much, but appreciate the different look of the safari.
If you’re building a minimalist wardrobe I wouldn’t go for something as stylised as this (short, fitted, no pockets). Rather a suede blouson like a Valstarino or similar. More relaxed, casual, and in navy or brown
Since i’m shorter 5’3 and slim, wouldn’t the pockets just weigh down my height and resemble a potato sack? That’s how I sometimes feel about my Harrington jacket, which is good, but less fitted. I remember your comment about the Stoffa jacket and how that particular jacket weighed down your torso. But I understand your comment about a versatile casual jacket.
I’ve seen your suede cleaning video and was wondering: do you ever take your suede jackets to the dry cleaner? To actually “clean” the jacket after many uses?
I wouldn’t worry so much about that with something like a leather jacket. As long as the pockets are fairly flush to the body, and not bulky, it’s fine.
And no, I’ve never had to take my suede jacket to a dry cleaner, but I would do with a serious stain, eg something oily.
I love it Great post thanks,
Great post.Thanks for sharing.Keep up the good work.
A beautiful jacket, Simon.
You mentioned in an earlier post that David used your existing pattern to create this jacket. Do you think informal garment commissions like a leather jacket or a pea coat will always be better if the tailor already has a structured garment pattern to work from, or can an equally good fit be achieved from a first commission?
Many thanks!
I think it’s just as good as a first commission. Much more important is that you’re asking the tailor to do something that they’ve made before – and that you’ve seen the final result of, tried, and like.
That wasn’t the case here, and much as I liked the end result, it would have been a lot simpler and more predictable if this wasn’t the first Davide had made like this.