{"product_id":"vintage-1950s-rivetts-highwayman-horsehide-cross-zip-motorcycle-jacket","title":"Vintage 1950s Rivetts Highwayman Horsehide Cross-Zip Motorcycle Jacket","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eTwo names are stamped on the zip pulls: Aero on the front, Swift on the chest pocket. Aero zips were made at Treforest, near Pontypridd, in South Wales, by a firm started in the late 1930s by a refugee from Nazi Germany. Swift was another British zip name, advertised at the 1947 British Industries Fair. On a jacket meant for the wind, the zip is the first thing that has to hold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eNow take it to the Ace Café on a wet Saturday night, with the North Circular running past outside. By the fifties the Ace belonged to the ton-up boys, riders chasing 100 mph. Somebody drops a coin in the jukebox, and the game is to ride to Hanger Lane and back before the record ends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHollywood made the cross-zip jacket famous. In late 1953 Marlon Brando wore a black leather one in The Wild One. The British censors refused the film a certificate in 1954, and it was not passed until 1967, so it stayed out of most British cinemas for most of the ton-up years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe jacket is a Rivetts of London Highwayman. Rivetts began in Leytonstone, East London, in the late nineteenth century, building and selling bicycles, and later motorcycles. In the 1950s it put the Highwayman name on its leathers, and Highwayman is still one of the names most closely tied to the café racer look.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIt closes on an angle, so the lapel folds across the chest and the wind has no straight seam to find. The lapels snap down flat, a snap at the neck holds the collar, and the leather epaulettes snap at the shoulders. The chest pocket has a rolled leather edge around its zip, and two more zipped pockets sit at the hips for your hands. The cuffs zip, so they close over a gloved wrist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe belt is leather, with a brass buckle and three brass eyelets, and it runs across a band of diamond quilting that goes round the waist. At the back the quilting deepens into a kidney panel, peaked at the top, to cover your lower back. The stitching is still crisp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe leather is horsehide: dense, tight in the grain, and stiff when new. It takes a long time to break in, and once it has, it moulds to the wearer. Here it is black, with a glossy sheen over the chest and sleeves. Across the shoulders and the upper back the finish has rubbed back to pale brown, and the cuffs and hem show the same. The stitching and the quilting have come through it intact, and every snap, zip and buckle is still here. It has been worn, and it shows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eInside, a thick black wool lining covers the body, and the sleeves are lined in smooth grey so an arm goes straight in over a shirt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe record ran out a long time ago. The jacket carried on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition \u0026amp; Restoration\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eVery good vintage condition for its age. The black finish has rubbed back to pale brown across the shoulders and upper back, with similar wear at the cuffs and lower hem. The horsehide carries creasing throughout. The seams are very strong, and the stitching and quilting are intact. The snaps, zips, belt and buckle are all present. The wool lining is intact. Cleaned in the workshop, then conditioned by hand in two stages: our neutral conditioner first to open up the fibres, then our heritage conditioner to finish. Ready to wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Features\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRivetts of London Highwayman horsehide cross-zip motorcycle jacket\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1950s motorcycle cut, tapering to the waist\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAero front zip, with Swift stamped on the chest pocket zip pull\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChest pocket zip set in a rolled leather edge\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo zipped hand pockets\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZipped cuffs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSnap-down lapels, with a snap at the neck to hold the collar\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSnap-down leather shoulder epaulettes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeather belt with brass buckle and three brass eyelets\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuilted diamond band at the waist, front and sides, with a deeper kidney panel across the back\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThick black wool body lining\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmooth grey sleeve lining\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize \u0026amp; Fit\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAll measurements are taken with the garment laid flat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChest, armpit to armpit: 24.5 in \/ 62.2 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShoulders, seam to seam: 20 in \/ 50.8 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSleeve, shoulder seam to cuff: 25 in \/ 63.5 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnderarm seam to cuff: 18 in \/ 45.7 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBack length, base of collar to hem: 26.5 in \/ 67.3 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBest suited to:\u003c\/strong\u003e a 46\" chest, Size XL\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFit:\u003c\/strong\u003e A close 1950s motorcycle cut, made to be worn near the body for full protection. It tapers to the waist, where the belt draws it in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePlease go by the measurements above, and compare with a similar jacket you already own.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Revive Restore Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55000700748099,"sku":"EB5184","price":995.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0786\/2232\/7107\/files\/IMG_8397_43ce70a5-7f18-4485-87dd-9fc2dd5e186c.jpg?v=1793379054","url":"https:\/\/reviverestorevintage.co.uk\/products\/vintage-1950s-rivetts-highwayman-horsehide-cross-zip-motorcycle-jacket","provider":"Revive \u0026 Restore Vintage","version":"1.0","type":"link"}