Small questions thread

[Monoral]

Can someone recommend me a good London base proxy?

thank you in advance.

[richard_cao]

Has anyone ever used package forwarding service to avoid import duty? I live in Canada where import duty is crazily high(duty+tax is about 30% for clothes). I heard that instead of shipping the item directly to your country, you can ship it to a forwarding company and let them to re-declare the value of goods in order to avoid duty. I don't know if that is possible. Has anyone tried this before?

[goldsamxo]

Questions about the stores linked with SZ;
What websites do sales & around what time do they do them? I take it around the time the stores start getting in FW items? Just looking, because I'm thinking of picking up pieces from [ knives ] by Julius but I wanna see if it'll go on sale.

[agentred]

Question: is gluing pins to leather jackets a thing?

Was reading this interview with Dave1 and he mentions it, but do you pin and glue? Just glue? Does anybody else do this?

http://uk.complex.com/style/2015/10/dave-1-guide-to-perfect-leather-jacket

Thinking of gluing an undercover pin on an undercover jacket, and it does make sense since I fold it on planes/stuff it in bags, but there's probably a downside here... maybe he's referring to flat metal pins and not the concave 'voting buttons' style.

[ant]

Hello all. Couple questions for you guys. Picked up a brand new (or at least it was listed as such) Rick leather mollino from eBay and that little piece of cloth at the bottom of the zipper is a bit tattered, though enough so to cause issues when trying to zip the jacket up. Is there an easy fix or would I need to get the entire zipper replaced? The seller recommended clear nail polish and though I wasn't sure if that would work or not, I assumed it's not a permanent fix. Any ideas?

Also, this is my first leather jacket from Rick. I have a few other leather jackets, one of which is from Epaulet and it uses Horween shell leather. The leather feels soft to the touch and it even looks "wet." Not sure how to describe it. Rick's feels stiff as hell and feels and looks super dry. I was pretty shocked when I first handled it, as it felt like one of those cheap mall brand jackets. Is this because it's new and the leather will settle over time? Is it because it's old and needs to be conditioned? Something else, maybe? Would appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks.

[beyondthemeans]

Hello all. Couple questions for you guys. Picked up a brand new (or at least it was listed as such) Rick leather mollino from eBay and that little piece of cloth at the bottom of the zipper is a bit tattered, though enough so to cause issues when trying to zip the jacket up. Is there an easy fix or would I need to get the entire zipper replaced? The seller recommended clear nail polish and though I wasn't sure if that would work or not, I assumed it's not a permanent fix. Any ideas?

Also, this is my first leather jacket from Rick. I have a few other leather jackets, one of which is from Epaulet and it uses Horween shell leather. The leather feels soft to the touch and it even looks "wet." Not sure how to describe it. Rick's feels stiff as hell and feels and looks super dry. I was pretty shocked when I first handled it, as it felt like one of those cheap mall brand jackets. Is this because it's new and the leather will settle over time? Is it because it's old and needs to be conditioned? Something else, maybe? Would appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks.

It's very hard to give you an answer if we don't know what leather it is on your jacket. Rick has used so many different kind of skins and treatments on his jackets over the years, ranging from very soft and thin to heavy and stiff.
Older mollino jackets tend to get some trouble with the bottom end of the zip over the years. If it is really making the zipper not go up properly I would look into doing that nailpolish fix. Otherwise I would just leave it if it is not a big problem. You can only properly fix that plastic ending by replacing the zipper entirely.

[DudleyGray]

Has anyone ever tried super glue for reinforcing or fixing that part of the zipper fabric? I haven't had that issue just yet, but it might be krazy enough to work.

[ant]

It's very hard to give you an answer if we don't know what leather it is on your jacket. Rick has used so many different kind of skins and treatments on his jackets over the years, ranging from very soft and thin to heavy and stiff.
Older mollino jackets tend to get some trouble with the bottom end of the zip over the years. If it is really making the zipper not go up properly I would look into doing that nailpolish fix. Otherwise I would just leave it if it is not a big problem. You can only properly fix that plastic ending by replacing the zipper entirely.

Yea', I definetly don't want to replace the entire zipper. But at the same time I don't want to have to reapply nail polish every other day either. At least not for something that was listed as brand new.

Anyway, thanks for the help. I'm not sure at this point, but I think I may just wind up returning it.

Oh...and the code is LBO, which, I believe, is boxed calf leather?

[blackfedora]

Yea', I definetly don't want to replace the entire zipper. But at the same time I don't want to have to reapply nail polish every other day either. At least not for something that was listed as brand new.

Anyway, thanks for the help. I'm not sure at this point, but I think I may just wind up returning it.

Oh...and the code is LBO, which, I believe, is boxed calf leather?

Rick carries leather codes over multiple seasons and despite the code being the same, the leather rarely is. In the case of LBO, the earliest iteration of jackets with that code are at least SS11. I have a Safari made with that leather from that season and it is a very dense, but not terribly thick leather. It has some grain to it and is stiff with a sheen. It holds it's shape well and creases up nicely with age. When I received it second hand last year, I too found it a little dry to the hand and oiled it up with neetsfoot oil with minimal change to the overall softness, but it did feel a little more moist, but not terribly. I have seen newer jackets use that leather code, but have yet to handle them in person. It is an atypical leather in regards to feel for Rick, but I do appreciate that it is different, but that particular year doesn't feel like a mall leather jacket. A picture of the tag would be helpful in providing more information about your jacket.

That being said, many of the leathers from Rick have degraded in quality from over the years. One of the starkest examples is the blistered lamb (LB) which has been around for at least 8 years (starting in 2009 I think). Initially, it was a fantastic leather, but more recent editions of jackets with that leather code are an absolute shame, they feel and look like recycled paper. A by-product of mass production I suppose.

On a side note, your other leather jacket from Epaulet is almost certainly not shell cordovan unless it is made up of patch-work pieces and cost many thousands of dollars. This is simple a matter of the size of the "shell" or buttocks portion of the horse being physically too small to make the large sections required for constructing a jacket. A single shell can make a single shoe, 1 horse = 1 pair of shoes and nothing left over. From what I have gleaned from the learned folks here on the forum (some of whom have dealt with the Horween tannery), nearly all the shell cordovan used in the leather industry is ear-marked for shoes/boots and on very rare occasion has been fashioned into messenger bags (this was discussed extensively elsewhere on the forum). The jacket is simply just horse leather/cordovan, which is common enough for jackets discussed jackets on this forum.

[ant]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate it.

My mistake on the shell thing. I always associated Horween with shell, so when I knew it was made of horsehide, my brain just kind of went there. But yes, you're right. Thanks for making that clarification.

As for the Rick, here go a couple pictures. One of the jacket tag and the other of the sale tag.

[vegettoo]

Wat happens to ricks leather quality, I just received a new model of jacket, its a kind of mixed molino and bauhaus, leather code is LCW which is box calf,and its so thin,it's totally different with the 14aw one I got

[vegettoo]

Anyone knows does ma+ shoes has the good year Walt? As I couldn't see stitching outside,it has glue or something?

[nyarkies]

Anybody can comment on the quality of Rick's shearling leathers? Also, how's the warmth when worn in winter weather here in the east coast? I like the look of the pieces with longer fur.

[vegettoo]

Anybody can comment on the quality of Rick's shearling leathers? Also, how's the warmth when worn in winter weather here in the east coast? I like the look of the pieces with longer fur.

rick shearling is still good ,it literally has better quality than the leather piece, I can wear only a tshirt under it when the temperature around 8 degree

[Faust]

Anybody can comment on the quality of Rick's shearling leathers? Also, how's the warmth when worn in winter weather here in the east coast? I like the look of the pieces with longer fur.

They are awesome, but I would not dare buy one without trying one on. All shearlings are super warm.