This is the second part of the Archetype D-pocket making-of. For why I'm writing this and what we're trying to achieve, please refer to Part 1. This time, let's go straight into the story of the zippers.
Which zipper, and how to use it?
First, looking from the front, the main zipper puller and the D-pocket zipper puller that catch your eye, on the existing La-brea, share the same shape. But across various original vintage pieces, you'll notice that different puller shapes were actually used.
This is a detail that honestly doesn't jump out at you and is easy to miss. I wonder how many of you reading this knew this level of detail. To be honest, even though I'd been offering Simon's products, I didn't know every one of these details inside out.
Shall we compare it with another part? The puller on the zipper that closes the sleeve, in most cases, shares the same shape as the D-pocket zipper puller. Beyond which puller shape to use, another thing we changed is the angle of the zipper that closes the hidden pocket inside the jacket.
From the existing La-brea through the second sample, the puller shape changed along the way to reflect feedback (to the same puller as the main zipper), but one thing didn't change: the angle of the diagonal. Original vintage pieces tend to lie at a gentler angle. In this final version, we plan to reflect this point too.
Honestly, if you go through the zipper details one by one, there's really no end to it. And in a way, it's an area with no single right answer.
According to Simon, 1930s Leather Togs jackets were often custom pieces, and zippers were used as circumstances allowed at the time, so there are differences even between the surviving original vintage pieces themselves. Even so, through discussion we arrived at the current version, and my thanks go once again to Freddy and Jon for helping us nail down the details by comparing against 1930s vintage Leather Togs pieces!
The shape of the D-pocket
The shape of the D-pocket, which even gives this jacket its name, was one of the elements we put the most work into, in order to precisely reproduce the vintage piece through careful reference. The parts we took special care with are the full, rounded curve at the top of the pocket and the concave curve at the lower left. If you compare the first and second samples, you can see the shapes differ slightly from each other.
In the final version, we'll likely keep only the points each version got right. The full, rounded curve at the top was better realized on the second version, close to the original vintage, so it will come out in that shape, while for the concave curve at the lower left it's actually the first sample that more closely resembles the original vintage.
The sleeves
On the sleeves, the point we agonized over most was whether or not to add stitching detail above the sleeve studs. On the legendary D-pocket jacket featured in Rin Tanaka's book (which was also the biggest inspiration for this jacket), you can clearly see sleeve stitching present.
But according to Jon, this stitching wasn't a detail that was always there. This ties back to what we said earlier when discussing the zippers, but this too is not a question with a single right answer, in my view. So, weighing it all up, we decided to keep the stitching in this final version, though following Freddy's feedback, compared to our first La-brea the angle and placement of the stitching were adjusted slightly. It moved a little closer to the end of the sleeve and the angle was made a little gentler. I hope these decisions turn out to be satisfying for all of you.
In addition, the width, or girth, of the sleeve will also be adjusted slightly. A design where the sleeve narrows toward the cuff, fitting for a jacket built for riding, is an element we've adopted since the original La-brea, and not just on this jacket: all of Real Simon's double rider jackets carry this detail.
That said, taking on board Freddy's opinion that the degree was a bit much and felt somewhat restrictive, the level will be adjusted. I expect it will land at a level that's comfortable to wear in everyday life while losing nothing in wind protection when riding.
I didn't touch on this in the collar section, but the shape of the wind flap that fastens the collar was also changed to be rounder and fuller.
The reason I'm mentioning this belatedly, at the risk of stating the obvious, is that I want to emphasize once more that this jacket really was built for riding! I hope more people come to enjoy riding in this jacket. Once the finished sample is ready and the weather warms up, I'm heading straight out for a ride myself!
The stitching
As for the stitching, as many of you have probably noticed, all the stitching is now done in thread that matches the color of the leather. Honestly, on the existing La-brea, the element I personally liked most was the contrast stitching. Many double rider jackets do match the color of the leather with the color of the thread. The existing La-brea was rather a bold attempt, and that look actually became an iconic part of the color character of Real Simons' La-brea line.
But in this version, since the goal is to make a jacket faithful to the original vintage, we decided to unify the colors, and so far we're very happy with the result.
What's left
There are still a few elements not yet decided! The shape of the studs at both ends of the pocket zipper, and the double-stitching detail on the collar, may change slightly, but in all likelihood they won't differ much from the second sample. If any detail does change, we'll let you know right away by email or on the product page, so please stay tuned!
This may well have turned out to be the most tedious of the blog posts I've written, so thank you to everyone who read all the way to the end. I hope the jacket arrives at your door soon and, beyond that, becomes a cherished jacket in your everyday life. As I wrote in our shop's introduction, I truly believe that jackets and boots are items that shine the more you wear and use them hard. You don't need to buy many jackets. I hope our products settle in quickly, like a friend you can trust and rely on, and spend many long years with you.