If you could only buy one SF jacket, which one?
Crwilsn
Posts: 65MI6 Agent
If you could only buy one SF jacket, which one? Now that the Menlo are available from mr porter, I am torn between my pre-order Barbour and the Levi's Menlo. The wife will kill me if I buy both (in fact she would kill me if she knew how much either one was alone).
For those that have both, which do you like better, use more, and think you would keep if you could only keep one.
For those that have both, which do you like better, use more, and think you would keep if you could only keep one.
Comments
I had a hard think about the Barbour jacket asI think it looks great, but I don't think I'd get as much use out of it as it is quite a specific look and so wouldn't be as versatile for me.
1) Levi's
2) Billy
3) Barbour
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The most unique of the jackets and the most functional. Because it isn't an "in-style" jacket it won't look dated in the future. And with the lifetime guarantee from Barbour it's literally a lifetime investment.
The Menlo would be my second choice. When new, shiny leather is in style then it will look dated, the same will happen when different "shapes" of jackets come in to style. Just because it's based on a 1930's design doesn't mean that it won't look very "2012" in a few years time. But I can see this rotating in and out of someone's wardrobe over the years.
I think the Billy Reid jacket would be the worst bet - different styles of pea coats come into style, and pea coats themselves as a concept are sometimes "in" and sometimes "out". I think that of all the SF jackets this is the one that people would get the least real-world use out of over the years and it's the one that will look the most dated in the future.
What about the PTI jacket? ;-)
1.SF 2.CR 3.OHMSS 4.DN 5.YOLT
It's also the coat most clearly visible and memorable in the film, and probably most closely linked with it. The problem I have with much of the clothing in the Bond films is that they're often only visible for a few seconds - the Menlo and the Peacoat fall into that category. The Barbour however gets a pretty decent showing...
Pea coats do happen to be really "in" right now, but they are never out. I have a late 1940s peacoat that sees plenty of wear in the winter time for casual use on weekends. Seeing that the pea coat goes back so far, it will never look outdated. What will look dated with the Billy Reid Peacoat are the peak lapels. That's a really trendy style right now, and a peacoat should be able to button all the way up for extra warmth. It's also tighter and shorter than a classic peacoat. A coat needs to create an air pocket inside to most effectively keep you warm. That's why I wouldn't want the BIlly Reid pea coat. But one of the nice things on the Billy Reid pea coat is the use of horn buttons rather than plastic buttons with anchors. I got horn buttons for my peacoat a few years ago and I'm really happy I did that.
I would go with the Barbour, though it wouldn't see as much use as my peacoat since I feel like it's out of place in the city. Though some people think they are fine to wear anywhere, and there is a Barbour store a few blocks from where I work.
The Barbour is the other jacket because as others have mentioned, its perfect for cold,rainy weather and its worn during one of my fav scenes in the film. That said, its not very eye-catching (as well it shouldn't be) and looks like an average jacket to me.
As for the Menlo leather jacket, i wouldn't want it all, its ridiculous price doesn't justify its couple seconds on screen and is the jacket that is least synonymous with Skyfall, being only seen in two very brief, forgettable scenes. and as a leather jacket i wasn't really that impressed with it, besides my Raiders of the Lost Ark jacket is my go to leather jacket.
I would probably stick with the Billy Reid, i love Pea-coats and the Shanghai scene and outfit are perhaps my favorite in the whole film. Though i agree with what others have said in regards to a pea-coat being really trendy at the moment and almost everyone wearing one, but the few times ive worn the BR out i've gotten alot of compliments on it as well as questions to were i got it.
I own all three and would have diff answers for diff Qs
E.g. Coolest looking, Likely to wear most etc
Billy Reid is my fave from the film but more likely to wear the Levi's due to what I do / go etc
One thing for sure is that my wardrobe is starting to get full and my missus thinks I'm going through some kind of early midlife crisis due to all these clothes constantly arriving
I agree with everything that you said - I could have written that post myself! I thought about getting the Menlo but got the Barbour instead; much better choice in my mind. Fantastic for inclement weather and surprisingly warm - I wore it out in cold, snowy weather with just a tee shirt and medium weight wool sweater and it was more than warm enough. Like you, I've gotten loads of compliments on it based on looks alone. I let one friend try it on and he almost gasped at how nice it was - he said it was the best made piece of clothing he's ever tried on and it's obviously worth the price (I concur).
$890 is a lot for a jacket. I know in some of the brands we are drawn to that is not a lot ($3k for TF cuff links
It's no surprise to me that the Barbour is so popular, as (despite having not received mine yet) it seems the most practical. I do appreciate you think it's a bit much for a worn out looking jacket Crwilsn, and I was worried that the Levi's would just look like a battered old jacket, but it looks very classy. It is very cool when you wear it. It depends how much you wear it I suppose, to get value for money, and even now I know I will probably wear the Barbour more, I have no regrets about the Levi's. It's just also I'm trying to step away from (even though I do enjoy it) collecting models and things like that-they're fine, but I can't parade them up and down the high street to show them off-well, I could do but non fans would obviously laugh! Whereas with clothes, I can own a little piece of Bond, and if the piece of clothing suits and fits me well, I can get a little bit of that Bond style, and maybe get compliments, instead of being laughed at. I'm sure I will buy a lot more replicas, models, etc in the future still, but spending a few hundred on something that will be on display in my house that only I will see on a regular basis, compared to a few hundred or more clothes that other people will actually see (and I will feel good wearing) seems a more sensible investment for me. I'm thankful for Bond-I've always taken an interest in what I wear, but since Skyfall came out it's making me want to be more fashionable.
the gamefair and a Northumbria ,great fantastic well made garments
but ,they do tend to pong after a few years ,they are cold ,damp,and they
are not leather car seat friendly,but they are 100% waterproof but as i live in London
the waterproof-ness is not an issue .So for me it has to be Mr Reid ,
sorry Barbour fans