Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Lusting After: Little Red Riding Jacket



[Pictured: Steve McQueen in his motorcyclist jacket.]

The Belstaff Trialmaster is a classic cool guy item.  While Barbour coats were for the hunter and the outdoorsman, Belstaff was for the biker and the badass.  The now Italian based company (in an effort to save the brand, Belstaff moved from England in the 1960's) doesn't peddle its wears for cheap though and a new jacket easily runs north of $500.  Aside from the standard issue nylon and waxed jackets available in an "everyday" color palette, it is the rare red Trialmaster that I currently have my eye on.  Unfortunately even a Belstaff sale is out of my price range, but that's where J. Crew comes in.

J. Crew has been selling the original Belstaff models for a while now, but they also offer their own ripoff of the very same coat, and it just so happens that the ripoff is in the much coveted red colorway. For $200 this is a pretty good bargain.  It is unlikely you are going to find a knock off with as good of an attention to detail while still keeping the price manageable.  I realize that this isn't the most practical jacket in the world, but it doesn't hurt to have that once piece that can be your stylistic middle finger to the world.  A red nylon racer jacket like this says a lot and I'm blindly agreeing with all of it.  If you do happen to currently be swimming in a pool of gold coins, ala Scrooge McDuck, then these are probably more your speed.


 
 
 

-L.A.S

27 comments:

  1. I like the red jacket very much, great detailing.

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  2. Belstaff in the UK were also a common sight on many a motorcyclist (a distinctly different breed to a biker).

    Not a bad thing but a bit of revisionism has deff. been done by an Italian PR firm.

    I see you've taken the wise move to side step which came first question International or Trailmaster... it can cause carnage.

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  3. Mr Brown-Interesting comment on the whole motorcyclist vs. biker comment...I should probably amend my post accordingly.

    I personally love the added Italian styling to this classic English garment and think the results are quite handsome.

    And no, I will not be messing around with any purist debates on what did, indeed, come first.

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  4. Hahaha.. it starts off with purists but then anyone who fancies a tear up chips in.

    I tend to agree with you on the Italian input. Yep, it's now a different product but without it Belstaff would probably have gone pop or be punting a load of lurid (sports)biker crud.

    Unlike Barbour and Filson which have loads of good products Belstaff had one iconic jacket which has been worked (sister).

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  5. Mr Brown- Exactly, I can't hate on a bunch of fellows who saved a great brand, whether or not they do only have ONE product and its various offshoots.

    Thanks for bringing the intelligent/entertaining comments as per usual. You're welcomed here anytime my man.

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  6. Ben- I'm not going to even try and front like it was a typo. I was sorely misinformed, so I thank you for the tip.

    All good now, thanks.

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  7. I had a friend back in high school who owned a Honda dirt/road bike hybrid in a dark wine color that he'd let me ride on his farm. I've probably been told the model at least a thousand times but I can't remember for the life of me what it was. It's the coolest bike I've ever seen. This post brought back some great memories.

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  8. trial/trail - say belstaff tilemaster and folk'll know what youre banging on about.

    verification that's well worth pointing out nonetheless.

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  9. just to be totally tedious, Mr McQueen is actually wearing a Barbour International in that pic-note the slanted pocket. That red coat is nice,but to wear it on a bike,I'd want it to be a bit...roomier.

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  10. Doug- Good call. Regardless, I love this coat and Barbour does not make a red one from what I've seen.

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  11. In case anyone cares...

    http://www.mcqueenonline.com/belstafftrialmaster.htm

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  12. enjoyed your post.
    great article on Belstaff Trialmaster here.
    http://www.sabotagetimes.com in the fashion& style section

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  13. I have seen many models of jackets. But this very beautiful jacket and its colore is very nice. I really appreciate your work.

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