I realize that current market prices have been beaten to death here over the past several years, but I'll add to the fire.
In my personal opinion, I think maybe we've reached a point where there are only two really good options: Good Wear and Five Star. Allow me to elaborate.
A Good Wear A-2 in horsehide is $1549 USD. For that price you get a handcrafted work of art that is acknowledged within enthusiast circles to be second-to-none. For roughly $1500 USD, you can get an Eastman, which is a fine jacket, but not exactly on par with a Good Wear. And that's for their "house" jacket. Approx $1700 for an "original maker", and you can debate at that point who got closer to the original; Good Wear or Eastman. But you're paying a $200 premium to get it now (maybe) vice waiting for a Good Wear, and to get it at the size Eastman offers. For roughly $1160 USD you can go for a Kelso; you have hopefully half the wait time as a Good Wear, but maybe also half the quality. And if you are already breaking the $1000 mark...why settle? If you can find a cracking good deal on a Buzz Rickson, you might get around $1500 USD, but again, an off-the-rack jacket of dubious "authenticity". So, once again, if you can wait...why settle? We've reached the point where, weird as it is to say, Good Wear is the "budget" option in repros. (I can't believe I'm actually writing that...Good Wear is the budget option). Once, people wrote on here about not being able to afford a Good Wear, and getting an Eastman or Kelso instead. Now, there's simply no more affordable option, and no reason not to go Good Wear. At least in this price "bracket".
Of course, there is another price tier, and if you're going to mention the budget option, you have to bring up Five Star. Five Star is not Good Wear...but they don't come close to breaking the $1000 line. I'm not comparing Five Star to Good Wear. But, since the other "high end" repros are simply not competitive with Good Wear on pricing and, specifically, pricing-to-quality, I honestly can't see buying them anymore, and if they aren't "worth it", might as well go for the true budget option if you aren't going to buy Good Wear. I own an Eastman and a Five Star, but my Eastman predates the current prices. The leather on the Eastman is more "interesting" than the Five Star, and would be worth the premium if they still came in at under $1000...but they don't. They're north of Good Wear, and the Five Star honestly fits better, drapes better, and most importantly, the collar and shoulders fit better. I did zero customizing on the Five Star, unlike most. I bought the RW 27752 in stock since Shawn was able to pattern off an original, according to a thread on this forum. I wanted to see how it fit with zero modifications. I don't think Eastman's leather alone is worth the price over Good Wear, and honestly not even Five Star since there is no customization, the knits remain substandard, and the fits can be weird. I've never seen Kelso leather in person...it might be worth the premium if you can get it south of $1000 with a sale, but I've also seen threads on this site regarding both construction quality and customer service issues with them.
So there we are. Or, at least, there I am. I can't rationalize any other makers within their respective budget brackets.
In my personal opinion, I think maybe we've reached a point where there are only two really good options: Good Wear and Five Star. Allow me to elaborate.
A Good Wear A-2 in horsehide is $1549 USD. For that price you get a handcrafted work of art that is acknowledged within enthusiast circles to be second-to-none. For roughly $1500 USD, you can get an Eastman, which is a fine jacket, but not exactly on par with a Good Wear. And that's for their "house" jacket. Approx $1700 for an "original maker", and you can debate at that point who got closer to the original; Good Wear or Eastman. But you're paying a $200 premium to get it now (maybe) vice waiting for a Good Wear, and to get it at the size Eastman offers. For roughly $1160 USD you can go for a Kelso; you have hopefully half the wait time as a Good Wear, but maybe also half the quality. And if you are already breaking the $1000 mark...why settle? If you can find a cracking good deal on a Buzz Rickson, you might get around $1500 USD, but again, an off-the-rack jacket of dubious "authenticity". So, once again, if you can wait...why settle? We've reached the point where, weird as it is to say, Good Wear is the "budget" option in repros. (I can't believe I'm actually writing that...Good Wear is the budget option). Once, people wrote on here about not being able to afford a Good Wear, and getting an Eastman or Kelso instead. Now, there's simply no more affordable option, and no reason not to go Good Wear. At least in this price "bracket".
Of course, there is another price tier, and if you're going to mention the budget option, you have to bring up Five Star. Five Star is not Good Wear...but they don't come close to breaking the $1000 line. I'm not comparing Five Star to Good Wear. But, since the other "high end" repros are simply not competitive with Good Wear on pricing and, specifically, pricing-to-quality, I honestly can't see buying them anymore, and if they aren't "worth it", might as well go for the true budget option if you aren't going to buy Good Wear. I own an Eastman and a Five Star, but my Eastman predates the current prices. The leather on the Eastman is more "interesting" than the Five Star, and would be worth the premium if they still came in at under $1000...but they don't. They're north of Good Wear, and the Five Star honestly fits better, drapes better, and most importantly, the collar and shoulders fit better. I did zero customizing on the Five Star, unlike most. I bought the RW 27752 in stock since Shawn was able to pattern off an original, according to a thread on this forum. I wanted to see how it fit with zero modifications. I don't think Eastman's leather alone is worth the price over Good Wear, and honestly not even Five Star since there is no customization, the knits remain substandard, and the fits can be weird. I've never seen Kelso leather in person...it might be worth the premium if you can get it south of $1000 with a sale, but I've also seen threads on this site regarding both construction quality and customer service issues with them.
So there we are. Or, at least, there I am. I can't rationalize any other makers within their respective budget brackets.
