Club Obi Wan

I came across this company today. Here is a link to their Indy Jacket:

http://www.leathercult.com/index.php?ma ... ts_id=1358

It looks similar to the 80's Wested we saw some pictures of recently. Check out the pocket flaps and side straps.

Does anybody know who these people are? Does anybody have a jacket made by this company?

It looks alot like Belstaff's CS jacket. nice leather.

SB

Seems to be a site made up entirely of stolen images. And they have the cheek to watermark them!

The older jacket was one of mine. A 90's Wested. The jacket on the manikin with the wooden hands is a Belstaff.

Wow. I wonder what their jacket really looks like. Perhaps a Halloween costume or something.

Makes one wonder if they make a jacket at all...

Do you think they just slap their label on a jacket they get from some other factory, located in some other country, continent, or... subcontinent?

Based on the company name, I would say if you buy one of these jackets there's a good chance you'll end up chanting uncontrollably and investing large portions of money to support " the cause "

SB

Isn't that what people are already doing here? Ranting, I mean chanting uncontrollably and spending lots of money?

Dr. Evil wrote:Isn't that what people are already doing here? Ranting, I mean chanting uncontrollably and spending lots of money?

Yes, but we are a good cult. Not one of those evil ones where everyone wears the same thing.

Hey, at least these guys can do it in any color, including "Pink Panther!" Tony could only make his in bright orange or green!

Dr. Evil wrote:Do you think they just slap their label on a jacket they get from some other factory, located in some other country, continent, or... subcontinent?

It's happened before.

Regards !Michaelson

My experience indicates that most of the time, the jacket you get from these types of vendors will be one that is not represented in the photos at all. They steal images to get your cash, then use the cash to design a poorly made jacket, that bears no resemblance to the stolen image. An average consumer who stumbles across these vendors may not even notice the difference. They typically do not use photos of their own jackets because they do not have any jackets in inventory. It is not like they are buying them and stocking the racks and waiting for a customer to order, or even that they are personally making them to order. Usually, they are the middleman. When pressured enough to use their own photos, you will see why they did not do that to begin with as they are generally very inaccurate, and almost always low grade lamb or low-quality calfskin. Tanning methods are sketchy as well as odd odors (fishy), dye that runs easily, and junk hardware are all common.

Dr. Evil wrote:Do you think they just slap their label on a jacket they get from some other factory, located in some other country, continent, or... subcontinent?

There is nothing wrong with this. All you have to do is design a label and the manufacturer will put it on for you. Then you get your shipment complete with your manufacturer tag. Some will even design your label for you. It is not much different from what the retail stores do. It is easy.

There are even two companies that have really nice jackets made by factories overseas: US Wings and Wested.

Dr. Evil wrote:There are even two companies that have really nice jackets made by factories overseas: US Wings and Wested.

There are three - Magnoli's are made in India.

Really? I thought they also did custom orders. Are the measurements just e-mailed to the factory or something?

I'm still imagining the cheap buckles and bad leather of those knock-off jackets. Rick5150, have you ever seen anybody with one of those jackets? I bet they weren't too satisfied. I wonder if there are any pictures buried somewhere around here.

Dr. Evil wrote:There are even two companies that have really nice jackets made by factories overseas: US Wings and Wested.

Recently, whilst cruising that big auction site, I came across a vendor that was selling Indy jackets that looked exactly like off the rack Westeds (They were using actual pictures of the jackets for sale. They did not appear to be stealing photo's from Wested's website)

The seller just so happened to be located in the same country that the imported Westeds are made. The only difference I could see in the jackets was the lack of the Wested label.

It's not uncommon for some overseas factories to make extra units of the product "off the books" and sell them out the back-door.

However, I don't recommend buying those type of bootlegs.
Sure they are made in the same factory and are usually cheaper, but it is still illegal (not to mention immoral). Also, since no one is paying extra for quality control, there probably is none.

Well, you may think it's immoral, and that's an okay opinion to have, but I don't think it's illegal. I've been to quite a few developing nations, European nations, South American nations, and even to a few nations of the Middle East that are pretty well off. In those places, there are no trademark laws and no copywright laws. Factories that make designer goods sale the same goods, with the same labels and everything right on the street. Yes, I've seen the fakes and knock-offs and that is not what I'm talking about. The items I am talking about are straight from the same factories that make the designer products and have all the tags and same packaging. For example, a friend of my family in Peru works at a factory there that has a contract to make a certain type of shirt with little alligators sewn on them. The workers there can make a few shirts for themselves and sell them on their own. That's just the way it goes. Is it immoral? They're paying for the fabric they use. They sew the garments they sell on their own time. There's not a single law against it in Peru, as far as I know. By the way, I've got about ten of these shirts. They came with the tags attached and some of the prices were listed in dollars, some in Euros, and some in pounds. The tags inside the shirts also say designed in France and made in France. These are the shirts that hop into trucks, drive to the port, get on boats, and sale away to department stores and street vendors all over the world. Companies know that not everybody is going to be able to buy one of their purses for 300 bucks, but if you let your product go and sale for much less on the streets of the world, you're gonna sell way, way more purses. It's bussiness.

I think with this company specifically, there does seem to be a bit of a " too good to be true " aspect to their selections. pretty much everything you could ask for. would be interesting to see some testimonials of anyone that ends up purchasing from these guys.

SB

What I found interesting is that they also make custom fit jeans for people. If you look at their website, they even tell who they're a subsidiary of, which I thought was pretty straightforward. But, then again, there are plenty of companies out there that tell you the same thing and both they and their parent company are really just shady operations taht will rob you blind. I know this was a real problem with a few camera companies based in New York City for a while when I was heavy into the camera hobby thing.

Perhaps they do a really good job of copying film jackets. Who knows. Obviously, we now know that they posted pictures of a Belstaff jacket and, for some reason, KT Templar's 90's Wested, but perhaps their jacket will actually either look like that Belstaff, or an old 90's Wested. I personally am not willing to toss 100 or 140 dollars on a jacket that could very well end up being an old, overstock women's department store lambskin jacket with vinyl pockets sewn or supber guled onto the front. On the other hand, at least it would be slim fitting.

I really wouldn't want a lamb jacket anyway. I'm clumbsy and run into to many things while I'm walking. It would proabably rip the first day. Perhaps if they were using some other leather, I might give it a whirl if they could actually show me a photo. It wouldn't be so hard to imagine some other company out their making nice jackets. All you need is the material, some equipment, and somebody who can actually slap it all together without jacking it up too bad.

That last sentence is the hard part, Dr. Evil

-KB

Dr. Evil wrote:Rick5150, have you ever seen anybody with one of those jackets? I bet they weren't too satisfied.

Yes, me! At one point, I looked at these manufacturers in the same way you do. That is why I made the post above. For example, I have an Indy jacket with a Wilson's label that looks as if it were made by somebody while they were having a seizure. I had 'replicas' of jackets that are so far off from the pictures used on the site (often only screen captures from the actual film) that you cannot tell what you are looking at. Sadly, they are often well made, but lack the leather quality and level of detail necessary to be a halfway decent replica.

Dr. Evil wrote:Perhaps they do a really good job of copying film jackets. Who knows. Obviously, we now know that they posted pictures of a Belstaff jacket and, for some reason, KT Templar's 90's Wested, but perhaps their jacket will actually either look like that Belstaff, or an old 90's Wested.

Please do not fall for this. A reputable jacket manufacturer, will not use a stolen image of another manufacturers jacket. They do this because the photos make their prices look like what it is - a steal. What you will get may be junk and it may be decent, but it will not be what is advertised. I have had quite a few 'encounters' with vendors of this type. In fact, once they are discovered and the word is out, you will often see the exact same photos and the exact same product line pop up under a different vendor. Sorry to say you are looking at the same vendor with a different name.

Thanks for the input and if I were in the mood to buy a jacket, I would certainly heed your advice.

To be honest, I have already been disapointed once or twice by certain credible vendors and that gets to be pretty lame, so if I were to buy another jacket, I'd want it to be a sure thing as far as quality material and craftmanship goes. I'd probably get a Todd's or a US Wings. If I was really in the mood to toss money around, I would go with one of the non-Indy jackets we've been seeing some pictures of lately, but some of those are about a thousand dollars and I just am not playing in that arena at the moment. Talk about seeing a jacket made by somebody who is having a seizure, I've got the same story. Those hands must have been shaking at the sewing machine.

If I wanted to experiment, I think I would find some nice, eye-catching leather, find a good tailor, and have them make a jacket for me. Perhaps on my next trip to Peru.

They sell black leather shorts, they must be evil.

I don't know, Rex. I bet if Indy wore leather shorts, we wouldn't see enough of them around here.

Dr. Evil wrote:Thanks for the input and if I were in the mood to buy a jacket, I would certainly heed your advice.

Aw, c'mon! You know we're all always in the mood to buy a jacket! Sometimes we just have to face the fact that we're limited by finances, or closet size, or secret government organizations staking out our postal addresses, or (far more seriously) our spouses...

LJ

binkmeisterRick wrote:I don't know, Rex. I bet if Indy wore leather shorts, we wouldn't see enough of them around here.

This could have been quite another saga ...


TMFR

"You didn't win today, kid, but it doesn't mean you have to like it."

TMFR

Yeah, wives really do clamp down on jacket purchases. My wife has started calling this HH I'm messing with "The Other." Luckily, she has set a date in the future, after which point in time I will be allowed to make another purchase.

But don't ever try to stand in their way when they're buying baby stuff that has no rational explination for its necessity. My God. Who in their right mind spends 75 bucks on a handful of pastel-colored plastic boxes?

_, if you're ever in Turkey, I hear they have amazing tailors.

I wonder if they've gotten their first C&D from LFL yet.

_ wrote:

maboot38 wrote:I wonder if they've gotten their first C&D from LFL yet.

That would require an address that is not a vacant lot...

This is true.

_ wrote:
Yes - Very dangerous.. BTW LJ? Kelly thought you looked quite dashing in your duster...

Thanx. I knew that somehow that comment about her taste in men would come back to haunt me!

LJ

QED

LJ

(Actually, I think you said it was an evil little laugh)