My "poor mans" Wolverine cycle jacket

OK, so I didn't feel like shelling out the nearly $600 for a Vanson original Wolverine jacket. So I improvised a bit and came up with this. I searched endlessly to find the perfect 'blank' jacket to use. Finally, I found one close enough for my liking. It's not an exact match, but that's fine with me. So I got the jacket, then I bought the leather and took it to a local seamstress. I made up a template for the detail at the waits and showed her a picture for the stripes on the sleeves. I'm very happy with the end result and it's amazing what a few stripes will do for a plain brown cycle jacket. Hope you like it.

 

It works well. Did it set you back too much?

I can't remember the name of the jacket, but there were a few people that used a specific plain black racing jacket bought off eBay and just added stripes themselves.

 

I think that looks FANTASTIC. Kudos to you sir.

-Matt

 

Lokks great. Mind if I ask how much the project cost in total?

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. The total cost came to about $270. The base jacket is by levis. You can find them on ebay for about $130 to $150. The leather cost me about $35 and the work by the seamstress was $90. She gave me a great deal. It is well worth it as I now feel much cooler wearing it as opposed to the plain brown. Obviously I wasn't going for screen accuracy, but the general look and feel of the jacket. So for the bottom detail I kinda crossed the X1 and X2 versions, then added my own personal touch.

 

I think it look * GOOD... I suggest maybe weathering the yellow leather a little. Make it look not so new.

I think you did a great job and save a HEEP of cash.

EXCELLENT.

Oh yeah....... nice poster over your right shoulder. heh heh heh

 

Okay, cool. I wasn't going to say anything. It looks great. I'm a big fan of the X2 version by Bates Leathers but $1200. I got a screen used Lethal Weapon 4 jacket for $850. K

 

It doesn't look "poor mans" to me. That is a great looking jacket at a great price. :thumbsup

 

Lookin good.

 

That looks great man. Nice job.

 

Nice work. I may have to try my hand at one of those...

 

Where did you get the leather in that great yellow color?

 

Which model Vanson jacket was used for the movie version? I just went to the Vanson website and didn't see a jacket that looked like the one Wolverine wears in the movie. I doubt I will buy one if they are indeed $600... but I was just curious how well it matched your Levi's jacket.

- J.

 

Thanks again guys. Yeah, I like the look of the Bates jacket too. Particularly the waist detail. Seems much more "wolverine" with the pointed tips. But I liked the Vanson too, so I made a compromise between the two and came up with what you see.

The leather came from Montana Leather Co. which can be found here. http://www.montanaleather.com/deerskin.htm
It's 'gold' deerskin. They have two grades, 1 & 2. Grade 1 is completly clean, while grade 2 is still clean but has a few tiny holes. I picked up the grade 2 hide since all I needed was enough for the stripes and not an entire garment. No problems there and saved a few bucks.

I believe the vanson jacket was an original design for the movie and is only made upon request. Don't think they have it on their site. The levis jacket is nice, but there are quite a few differences. The vanson has slanted vents, a different style collar, and a little different cut. Since the Levis is more of a fashion jacet and not a true riding jacet, it's a little different. But it does the trick for me. I just wanted a plain brown/dark brown cycle style jacket with no side lacing or zippers. I actually stumbled across this by accident and figured it would be as close as I could get without getting a vanson. And I couldn't be happier with the result. It's a good alternative for anyone who wants the look but not the pricetag of a wolverine jacket. As long as you're content with not being 100% screen accurate that is.

 

Yeah I thought about weathering too. Just trying to figure out a good method without degrading the quality of the leather too much. Any suggestions?

I like that poster too, haha. Rock on Jack.

 

OK... now I gotta ask... which model Bates Jacket does Wolverine wear in X2? Just got my interest piqued, went to the Bates website and all I see really are the Terminator2 wear that they made for the movie.

Just curious,
- J.

 

Both the Vanson and the Bates Logan jackets are custom designs. Neither company has an exact "base" jacket. Snoose is the only person I know who got one of these. Here's a few pics of the Bates before it went to the studio. K

 

GREAT JOB. Jjust a quick note, the Vanson jacket has orange, not yellow stripes and they are 1" thick and a little higher....

And I don't mean to take away from the job you did but for $270 why didn't you scramble $230 more to get the Vanson one? They are $500 now.

 

"GREAT JOB. Jjust a quick note, the Vanson jacket has orange, not yellow stripes and they are 1" thick and a little higher...."

So even the movie jacket has orange stripes? Always looked more golden-yellow to me. Either way, I like what I've got. My stripes are 1" with 3/4" spaces. The spaces may be a little larger which makes the stripes look smaller than an inch. Yeah, I know that the stripes should be a bit higer. I tried my best to show where I wanted them placed, but it kinda left my hands when I handed the jacket over.

I actually used the pic of the vanson from your site for ref., Mantis. That helped out a lot.

"And I don't mean to take away from the job you did but for $270 why didn't you scramble $230 more to get the Vanson one? They are $500 now."

I actually thought about just that issue. There are a few reasons why I went the direction I did. First off, I'm a college student with a part time job. It pays the bills and leaves just enough for fun (and this expensive hobby, hah). Granted, I could have kept saving a bit more, but I guess i couldn't justify $500 on one jacket. The direction I went allowed me to buy all of the separate components over a few months and have the work done to my liking. Someday I might pick up the real deal, but I'm happy with what I've got for now.

Moving away from the jacket for a sec, I'd like to get a wolverine dog tag. I know they're around. Can anybody point me in the direction of the best source? Thanks,

-John

 

So, I could custom order a "Wolverine" jacket from Vanson for $500? Do I just call them up and ask them for the jacket worn by Wolverine in the movie? Or will I just get some snickering on the other end before they hang up on me? How did you find out the jacket is $500?

- J.

 

vanson search page

Just type wolverine into the keyword search and it'll bring it up. K

 

Not to veer a little off topic, but didn't a board member have recent problems with Vanson regarding the Wolverine jacket?

 

Thanks for the link kittlemeier.

Hmmm, anyone care to expand about these problems with a Wolverine jacket from Vanson? I was thinking of ordering one but not until I hear what this problem was.

- J.

 

I remember aparently somthing about the order taking months to complete the jacket and kept "making up" excuses. I made a thrad a while back on the wolverin jacket where he shared it, I"ll look for a link.
EDIT: Here's the link:
http://www.rpf.invisionzone.com/index.php?...08&hl=wolverine

 

I heard that as well, but I have ordered three with no problem.

 

How long did it take to get your order?

 

Not only am I wondering how long it took for you to get your order... but when did you place your order for the jackets? And did you order 3 at once or over a period of time?

- J.

 

I'm interested in an update too. I'm planning on getting one.

-Jason M

 

Well, in case anyone is interested in purchasing one of these jackets from Vanson, I gave them a call today and here's basically what I was told:

If you goto Vanson's website and do a search for the Wolverine jacket, you get 3 "options" that appear priced at: $559.00, $614.90 and $714.90

Apparently, the 2 higher priced options are no longer available. She told me that they were their "signature" series and they no longer have any for sale. So, the cost for the Wolverine jacket is $559.00 if you fit in a large. She did ask me what size I was before quoting me a price so if you're small, medium or extra large, then there might be a difference in price.

They custom make each jacket to order and once the order is placed it takes 6-8 weeks to make it.

I gotta go home and find a tape measure now.

- J.

 

Well, don't measure yourself. Don't even find a friend to do it. Just go to your local tailor. For a $559 jacket, you'll kill yourself if you ordered the wrong size.

Trust me, people order 3 jackets over on COW(Indiana Jones forum) just b/c they measure the jacket themselves and find it's too big/too small, sleeves are too short/too long, etc.

 

Purchased them all at different times...took about 4-6 weeks for each but they were all custom made....that is off a series of measurements....VERY surprised they are doing mediums larges etc....they run small...