In Review - I Thrifted a $2450 Leather Jacket for $38 - Himel Bros Kensington

As I was making my way through the outerwear section at our local Buffalo Exchange the other day, a nationwide second-hand clothing store that sells brands like J. Crew, Banana Republic, and Gap, I spied a leather jacket down the rack that looked different from the usual fare. Most of the leather you'll find at second-hand stores like this is either bad cheap contemporary or bad cheap vintage. This jacket, though, looked to be made from a quality hide in a classic cafe racer style. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the distinctive "HB" logo and "Himel Bros" label come into view, the tag on a jacket named the "Kensington." I had a heart attack when I flipped the price tag over: $38. 

If that doesn't blow your hair back immediately, imagine going to a used car dealership and finding a Ferrari in a field of Ford Pintos - priced like a Ford Pinto. And no one around you has any idea what a Ferrari is. I kept waiting for an employee to decry, "What is this doing here?!" and tear it out of my white-knuckled fists, but it never came, from the girl checking me into the fitting room to the guy ringing me up at the front. Part of that may be due to the success of the ultrasmooth play-it-cool face I adopted walking around the store while clutching it to my chest, which I imagine must have looked a lot like constipation.

I wasn't sure at first what I wanted to make out of this post aside from a quick "oh my god, look what I found" type of thing, but it's been a while since we've done an in-depth look at something like this, so let's do it.

Quick Stats

Style - Himel Bros Kensington Cafe racer
Tagged Size - 40
Leather - Dark brown oil-tanned front quarter horsehide, Shinki tannery (presumed)
Lining - Reproduction Vietnam-era tigerstripe camouflage cotton
Hardware - NOS/vintage zips and snaps vs. vintage reproduction
Production - Canada

Also pictured: Sweatshirt - Knickerbocker MFG, Bandana - Wallace and Barnes, Boots - Red Wing

Background

Often when you gain an interest in a hobby, you quickly realize there are different levels to it. You typically start with something entry-level to test the waters, and gradually you step up as your taste and appetite increase until you reach a point where you are either satisfied or out of money. The same holds true for leather jackets. At the bottom end of the pyramid, we have fashion companies like H&M or Zara, whose aim it is to pump out the cheapest garments as quickly as possible. Proponents of this bracket typically talk about how they "hold up pretty well," are good for people who don't know if they like the style (the most valid argument, in my opinion), or are good "beater" jackets (an unfortunate way of thinking about the things you own). Above that level lies an entire spectrum of quality that ranges largely from bad to mediocre until you finally reach Schott NYC - the perennial gatekeeper for quality leather jackets. A similar analog to Schott would be what Allen Edmonds used to be for shoes, what SuitSupply was for suits, or what I was for your mom.

The top tier of heritage style leather jackets is populated by brands such as The Real McCoys, Fine Creek Leather, John Chapman, Freewheelers, and Himel Bros, to name a few. All known for their extreme attention to detail, high level of craftsmanship, and use of only the best materials, Himel Bros stands slightly apart from some of the other more strict repro makers.

Dave Himel was a vintage clothing dealer and collector once upon a time before heading off in 2008 to start his own line of vintage-inspired leather jackets under the eponymous label Himel Bros Leather. Today, Himel Bros jackets are generally considered to be among the best in heritage style leather jackets on the market, bar none. As you might expect, they are also among the most expensive. Derek Guy from Die, Workwear! actually wrote about this exact jacket five years ago in an article named "A Cruel Cosmic Law," which states that there must be some sort of cruel rule of the universe that puts things that you really want just out of reach. He couldn't afford it, and neither could I until I found it for the price of a Uniqlo sweater. For a few days afterward, I would wake up in the morning and check to make sure the jacket was really hanging in my closet, that I hadn't dreamed the whole thing up. It was just crazy to think that I somehow got a hold of a jacket I'd coveted for years.

The general arc of this storyline

Materials 

There's no "right" answer about what the best hide is to make a motorcycle jacket out of, though convention leans towards steerhide and horsehide. Horsehide is known for its relative toughness and tends to be a little lighter/thinner than cow, making it ideal for leather jackets. From Horween's blog:

"[D]oes horsehide make the best jackets? The answer is in the eye of the beholder. I would only say that it makes a different jacket, just like it makes up into a different shoe when compared to other leather options. Certain hides and certain tanning processes lend themselves well to certain end uses, with the type and formulation of the tannage often being the most significant factor."

It really comes down to personal preference, especially in today's world, since a great many people who will wear a "biker jacket" are not actually biking. I ride in my basement, for instance, but only on my Peloton and usually in my underwear to save on laundry. This jacket, I'm fairly sure, is made from dark brown oil-tanned front quarter horsehide (FQHH) from the Japanese tannery Shinki. Shinki is renowned among leather enthusiasts, but if you are relatively new to tanneries you could think of them somewhat as the Horween of the East. The hide on this Kensington is a deep brown (almost black) pigment finish on top of what is known as a "tea core," a lighter brown base tone that slowly reveals with wear. This is similar to how a pair of rope-dyed indigo jeans ages, so the garment becomes more uniquely paired to its owner as time goes on. Some boot companies, like Red Wing, also use similar finishing on tea core boots like the 2966 Engineers or round toe Klondike Beckmans. Because of the way the hide is finished on the Himel, it's also a bit more lustrous than a naked aniline hide or my matte black Real McCoys horsehide. In hand, it's relatively light but still feels rather stiff.

Himel Bros sources its all-cotton thread from one of the only thread companies left in America. The hardware is tough - secure, confidently engaging snaps and the zippers (at least the main and sleeves) appear to be deadstock vintage Lightning Fastener from Canada.

Design

The Kensington is a cafe racer, which at its core is a relatively minimal single-breasted design with a band collar and a single center zipper, as well as two chest pockets. The most famous example of such a jacket is probably the Buco J-100, though numerous examples abound.

Vintage Buco J-100 (picture from Wearekoalas - now offline)

Early Brooks racing shirt (picture from The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets)

Himel Kensington plain back

Dave Himel's designs are inspired by vintage jackets he's come across in all his years of experience as a vintage dealer (his old blog, The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets, is still a great resource on the web), but they're also updated for modern sensibilities. He builds on that cafe racer base with a Canadian 1930s-style plain back panel rather than a bi-swing or pleated back, elements often incorporated into a biker jacket for a greater range of motion, and makes up for them by factoring in a little extra give behind the shoulders. All in all, I think it keeps with the pared-down appeal of the cafe racer very well. You might also notice the subtle V-shaped gusset over the belt buckle, which allows for a full range of motion if you were seated on a motorcycle or on your couch gesticulating wildly at a football game or Wii fishing.

This is visually is one of the most interesting points on the jacket and extends the length of the jacket without restricting your ability to point and scream at the TV. Under the arms, you'll find ventilation grommets to keep those swampy pits well-aerated. The collar features two snaps, the tighter of which snaps in securely to promptly choke you, if you are into that sort of thing. The sleeves feature front-facing unlined zippers, which you don't find very often on modern jackets. Though I can see its advantages, this is one of my least favorite aspects of the design. It certainly helps airflow inside the sleeves, but having front-facing unlined zippers is absolute hell on a wristwatch unless you like the idea of metal teeth scraping across your watch face, and I just don't like having to choose between wearing one or the other.

The inside of the jacket is outfitted with a left-sided inner pocket and lined in heavyweight Japanese cotton twill repro Vietnam-era tigerstripe pattern. Truth be told, this lining wouldn't be my first choice if I was shelling out my own money to make the jacket, but I've come to associate it with Himel products as a kind of signature element. It's one of the first things I recognized when I first saw it in front of me, truthfully.

Construction

All production is done in Himel Bros' studio by a small handful of employees (or Dave himself). The quality is exemplary throughout, as you might expect. Stitching lines are dense and clean with little exception, the panels are well-clicked, and there isn't a part of the jacket that isn't very finely finished. Against my Schott Perfecto, which is no slouch in the make department, the Himel is clearly a step above. Compared to my vintage Real McCoys jacket, I'd say they generally stand on equal footing, which is to say that both are superlative.

Stitch comparison - From left to right - Real McCoys, Himel Bros, Schott

Sizing

Himel jackets are mainly made to order, and the size of this one is labeled 40, which led me to think I had no chance of fitting it at first. For reference, I'm 5'11" and 143 lbs, normally an alpha size S or 37" chest. My Schott is a size small, which is slightly roomy and long on me, and my RMC is a 36 (!), which fits with just a tee's worth of wiggle to it - my preferred fit of the three. At this stage in life, I maintain my weight 20% so that my wife won't divorce me, and 80% so that my clothes will still fit.

Leather jacket fits are like dog shows; everyone's got their own image of what perfection is. There are some generally agreed on "right" points of fit, shoulders and general shaping, but a lot of it is also subjective - more so than with tailoring. You'll find some people like room for layering and comfort, and others like their jackets cut slim on the body (a lot of Japanese accounts have men wearing theirs in what we'd call super skinny fits in the West, yet still manage to look amazing). I usually prefer my jackets pretty closely cut and on the shorter side.

I reserve the right to do a complete 180 on this, but after wearing it a few weeks, I'd say the Kensington fits me well in the shoulders and sleeves, though the body is maybe a tad too full and long for my personal preference. You might expect this for its tagged size of 40, though I think it wears more like a true 38. Due to the V-shaped front, the zipper ends around the beltline but the jacket extends further, making it seem longer than it wears. The other issue that I have is that the shoulder slope from the collar is a bit severe and can lead to the collar riding up when zipped. That may change as the leather molds a bit more to my frame - it's still fairly stiff and armor-like aside from some arm creasing. But given that it's labeled 1-2 sizes up from my normal, it's hard to be too mad at the overall fit.

That being said, if I was having it made from scratch today, I'd keep the shoulders and sleeves and go down a size in the body and length. You may have noticed on some of the photos with the mannequin that it's labeled a size 36 but annoyingly, it's closer to a 38. On top of that, the jacket on that fit has a medium weight sweatshirt under it.

Styling

Also pictured: Belt - Thirteen50 (replaced buckle), Jeans - Kapital Century Denim, Keychain - Japanese brass fishook and beads (DIY)

Wearing a leather jacket can be intimidating for many guys, and I'd agree that jackets like the Freewheelers Centinela or Himel's Grizzly jacket aren't the most approachable for the Average Joe (though I would personally wear the crap out of them). Cafe racer style jackets, however, are for leather jackets what Type III "trucker" jackets are for denim. It's hard to find a guy who won't look good in one thrown over a tee shirt and a pair of jeans.

On the other hand, horsehide, especially a wax-finished hide with a fair amount of shine, falls on the more heavy-denim-and-workwear-boots side of the spectrum, so that can restrict what looks natural with it. Things that are vintage, beat up, or a little lived-in pair most organically. The world of rugged heritage Americana is not that vast, and I'd say most of it can be worked in with the Kensington quite easily.

Thoughts and Conclusions

Life has a lot of ups and downs to it, but sometimes the universe throws you an absolutely epic bone. The thing is, though, that you have to put yourself in that sweet, sweet position to get boned. I don't shop at second-hand shops quite as much as I used to, but that doesn't stop me from doing a quick drive-by at our second-hand shop whenever I walk through Center City Philadelphia. Thrifting is a numbers game, and making sure you're in the right place at the right time and knowing what to look out for maximizes your chances of finding a Ferrari for Ford dollars. Even though I'd rank Philly near the bottom end of major cities for thrifting, I've still been able to find Dries Van Noten pants for around $40, half of the RRL I own at an average price of $15-20, and a few other things I've picked up just to flip. But all of that pales in comparison to the Himel Kensington.

How do we judge value in such an expensive item, though? At higher price points, it's a completely different beast altogether. We typically evaluate cheap products on how long they will last (see the above on H&M and Zara, for example), but past the threshold from junk to a solid level of materials and build quality, "value" becomes less linear in terms of practical returns on your money. Above it, the things we look for are more often found in the intangibles - nitpicky details, unique aesthetic, or the unwillingness to cut corners or take shortcuts at any point start to dominate the discussion. Spending multiple times above what you need often comes from an appreciation for skilled work and visionary design, rather than a realistic expectation that a jacket twenty times as expensive will last twenty times longer. This is a concept that a lot of men frequently have trouble with either grasping or accepting.

Perhaps most importantly, though, a leather jacket should just make you feel plain good. Menswear has a tendency to take itself too seriously sometimes, and perhaps no one more guilty than a person running a style blog about going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. As I've come to be more comfortable with menswear on the whole, though, I've realized that dressing from emotion has resulted in much more enjoyment than worrying about if the break of my pants or if the length of my sleeve is 1/8" too short. An entirely practical or scientific approach to buying clothes is an awfully joyless way to go about it all, really.

To finish up, I haven't completely decided whether or not to keep the jacket yet, to be honest. Right now, it doesn't give me the same degree of joy I get wearing my Real McCoys jacket, but I don't think that's fair to say this early. We're still getting to know each other, and that's a process I've learned not to rush to judgment on because I've been wrong many times before. That goes double for a leather jacket, which can take a long time to meld with unless you are regularly wearing it out in the rain or just getting your daily jacket reps in. What I do know, though, is that the Himel Kensington certainly lives up to the hype on its own merits.

And for $38:

Things I Liked

• Excellent craftsmanship
• Top-level materials, no expense is spared or corners cut
• A uniquely subtle take on the cafe racer
• 98.4% discount

Things I Didn't Like

• A little too full and long perhaps in the body...for a size 40 on a true 37 (ie this is an unfair criticism)
• Unlined front-facing zippers make wearing a watch a nightmare

More in the Range

• See my old Real McCoys post for a list of alternatives. And please excuse my old hair, as I'm sure in a few years I will ask you to please excuse this mustache.
• My other new picks would be any of the 3sixteen x Schott collaborations (roughout or the current custom Chromexcel horse)