Do you know Grailed ?
This second-hand site stands out for two things: its resolutely high-end, if not luxury, positioning , and his excellent editorials, on his blog "Dry Clean Only", in which we sometimes find very detailed information on the history of fashion and trends.
However, if I think about it today, it is not for the site itself, but rather for the evocative force of its name , very inspiring.
"Grailed" .
If it is impossible to translate into a single word in French , he evokes the idea that certain clothes can be "elevated to the rank of the Holy Grail".
And behind the concept of the Grail, a mysterious treasure of medieval legends, obviously lies the idea of a "quest" , of which the Grail is supposed to be the culmination.
In other words, a Grail is an “ultimate” garment in its category.
Not so much "ultimate" because it would be "perfect" , but rather because knowing this ideal, knowing so precisely what one is looking for, is the result of long years of passion, experimentation and reflection.
Of course, what you consider to be your "Holy Grail" may change over time. But there are certain unfulfilled clothing desires that we see refine and mature over the years, in the background, at the back of our minds... Until one fine morning, we wake up and exclaim:
" That's what I want. And sooner or later, I'll end up getting it just like that!"
Today, I would like to share with you one of my "Grails" , the quest for which has become more precise over the years.
I have a small list in mind, and if you like it, I plan to give you others for this "Carte Blanche" format, on the subject of boots, coats, jeans...
But this time, we'll start with the Perfecto.
My ideal perfecto in the past looked more like this: impeccable workmanship, immaculate lambskin and luxurious zips... ( Atelier Bertrand)
A few years ago, my ideal was the Perfecto in its "luxury" version: lambskin with a grain bordering on perfection, chrome zips exuding refinement... Something very contemporary, in fact.
And having tested (and owned) such a jacket for a while, I was long delighted by this "refined" approach which helped to make the perfecto more accessible in terms of style.
Then one day he became too small, and ended up in the hands of a friend .
I told myself that sooner or later I would have to replace it. But over time, I started dreaming of a perfecto that was the polar opposite of the first one…
My ideal black perfecto
First of all, I ended up being seduced by the idea of a leather that develops a lot of patina , unlike the smooth lambskin from my old Atelier Bertrand .
1. Do we make spreads on the patina?
That said, we are sometimes disappointed by what the patina of time can give in real life.
Because when you read everywhere that leathers "become more beautiful with age" , you expect great contrasts, to be projected into a comic strip, to find the texture of an old film and finally... You are just faced with an object that fully accepts its age.
The patina of a well-preserved vintage Aero Leather (horse) leather. It's far from ugly, but it doesn't rock the boat either.
And for good reason: we sometimes forget that old photos of said actors, musicians, or even our parents, are not only tinged with subjective nostalgia , but also with a grain and color treatment very different from what you would see in a modern image... Or if you saw the play with your own eyes.
This is the rendering of Indiana Jones' jacket in the film (which was probably "aged" manually by the costume designers, by the way).
It's not for nothing that Instagram fascinated the general public in its early days with its "vintage" filters of all kinds: they have the power to embellish reality.
In short, it's part of the magic of "retro", and its limits...
Said jacket on a more neutral contemporary photo. It remains beautiful. But it does not have the same magic as in the film. And above all: it is not a patina of "natural wear".
Patina may have a charm, but it's not magic either. It's not like in the movies.
Well... that's what I thought.
2. "Fine Creek Leathers": a patina like in a dream
Because if you know a little about Japanese brands and the aesthetic philosophy of "Wabi-Sabi" , you might suspect that there would be one to take up the challenge.
That's where Fine Creek Leathers comes in.
The first time Benoît mentioned the brand to me , I missed its main asset.
This is roughly what I saw during a quick Google Images search:
A brand new Fine Creek perfecto. At first glance, it's a very nice leather (horse), with a particular grain... But not enough to go all the way to Japan to find it, right?
It was only a few days later, when the name came back to me, that I realized what made them unique by doing a second search. Because then… I came across this:
This patina is absolutely incredible. And yes, it is indeed the same model as above, which was completely black at the beginning.
And there, it’s absolute love at first sight.
I learned that the brand sources its products from a Japanese tannery, with which it has developed an exclusive tanning recipe for horse leather.
Via this vegetable tanning , we obtain a leather that develops a patina like no other.
First, the natural grain of the skin is strengthened, giving it a supple, grained appearance similar to that of deer leather , but with an even more pronounced character.
It's a photo, and yet it almost looks like a cartoonist's pencil strokes when you look at the folds on the sleeves.
But most importantly, the deep black pigment gradually fades , gradually revealing the natural color of the leather underneath.
And in itself, this gradual loss of surface pigments is a common mechanism in the long-term patina of leather.
What makes Fine Creek unique is that the leather is tanned and treated so that this shedding is faster, and more "melted".
So you get these gorgeous gradients that go from black to brown.
The nuances are of a richness that I have never seen elsewhere on a "natural" patina.
I exclude any comparison with "artificial" patinas made by human hands. , because in addition to costing a fortune to be truly beautiful, they almost never manage to imitate the "harmonious chance" that such a natural patina causes.
A photo of another model, probably thicker, and in what I assume is a more mint condition. The patina is still different.
If my heart fell for the "Léon" model (the most popular I think), the brand also seems to offer different thicknesses of leather, but also different finishes , which will give patinas even different from the one shown above.
In short, Fine Creek takes on the challenge of offering leathers with a patina that is as ideal as "the idea we have of patina".
Again. More patina photos please!
The funny thing is that to a layperson, such leather would look beautiful, but it probably wouldn't seem "out of the ordinary."
Precisely because it corresponds to the common fantasy that we have of "beautiful, well-aged leather"... While such leather practically does not exist.
"More royalist than the king"
This kind of product illustrates very well the wonderful paradox of certain Japanese brands , which revere vintage so intensely that their reproductions and interpretations end up being "more authentic than the original".
This approach is also explained in the eternal and essential book "Ametora".
It's the same kind of philosophy that drives brands like Orslow and its jeans, which are the ideal version of "old, well-polished jeans."
Or, The Real McCoy's, which strives to reproduce vintage pieces while combining maximum historical fidelity and a quality that is undoubtedly beyond the standards of said pieces at the time...
And more simply, it is also this extremism that means that certain Japanese selvedge canvases have ended up being more textured and grainy than the first Levi's canvases of yesteryear.
3. A short, fitted, old-school cut
Despite the accolades, my quest for the Holy Grail wouldn't be one if all I had to do was order a Fine Creek jacket to accomplish it.
Because if I really talk about my "ideal" perfecto, it would not only have leather like the one I showed you above, but also a cut adapted to my body shape and my style.
It's not obvious when I'm dressed, but I have a so-called "athletic" physique: I weigh 73kg for 1m72, with a chest size of 106cm, and a waist size between 75 and 79cm.
To clarify a little what these numbers mean from a ready-to-wear perspective , it means that I have the bust and shoulders of a "large" M, a waist size of S, or even XS.
As for the length of the tops, you should know that brands generally design XS for people between 1m70 and 1m75...
The model from Rivet & Hide wearing this famous "Léon" weighs 78kg for 1m82. Seeing the length and the fit on him, I know in advance that the jacket will not fit me.
In short, the verdict is very clear for me: if I buy a jacket ready to wear, it has a good chance of being either too tight or too long and loose at the waist.
In addition, still because of my body shape, I am more favored by silhouettes with mid-rise waists. , highlighted by a top tucked into the pants .
...Which is obviously difficult if your jacket completely covers your waist and falls to your hips (or even impossible when it is closed).
Note that these silhouettes were well represented in the 50s to 70s, during which they were even the norm.
Marlon Brando (and his very strong 1m75) would have had a hard time wearing his iconic Schott Perfecto without its original, short and fitted cut.
Beyond that , the fit seems to me to be an important parameter for a perfecto , regardless of the style or morphology.
Because when it is open (unless you are tall and very slender), your silhouette will be weighed down by the two crossed panels of a jacket that is a little generous at the waist.
Enthusiasts will rightly point out that Aero Leather jackets are available as special orders, customizable and made to measure. YES... But this is not Fine Creek leather.
Besides, it's a sweet irony when you know that this design was invented so that motorcyclists would be better protected by the double layer of leather at the front but...
A perfecto is more often worn open than closed . And it is in this configuration that he takes best advantage of his style.
By the way, I think ideally I would prefer a slightly copper-toned zipper like on this model. Am I being a bit nitpicky? Yes. ( Aero Leather "Indian Ranger")
So, to sum up, I need a jacket with the exclusive Fine Creek leather, but cut for the belly and height of an XS, but the chest and build of a large M.
Well... It's not won.
Mission impossible?
How do I do this? Am I going to try to get said leather from a mysterious Japanese tannery? , on the other side of the world, and then try to find a skilled craftsman who will transform it into a jacket here?
Mission almost impossible: not only is it very difficult for an individual to buy leather worthy of the name at retail, but the Japanese cult of secrecy will not help.
Not to mention the price of such a project, which would probably be... Crazy. I wouldn't even dare to try to estimate it.
Another thing that really appeals to me about the Aero Leather "Indian Ranger" is the design and placement of the pockets, zips and belt.
Could I try to buy one through a contact in Japan? , after hours of checking measurements online , and then retouch it?
Maybe. That said, beyond the cost it would represent, there is no guarantee that such a retouch would give a truly convincing result.
So be it. Could I then hope, in my wildest dreams, that the brand would offer a secret half-measure service , or that they would make an exception for me just because I am very nice and have great taste? But yes, of course I can.
It's all crazy. But that's also what passion is.
And the day you accomplish such a quest, when you obtain such a Grail... Your garment will bear not only the value of its beauty and its financial investment, but also the value of the path you have taken to obtain it.
Anyway, now you know my first "Grail".
And you, what are these pieces that you have such a precise idea of that you have made a "Grail" of them?
