Perfecto motorcycle jacket - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Perfecto is a brand of double style leather motorcycle jackets manufactured by American clothing company Schott NYC

Schott NYC

Schott NYC is an American clothing manufacturing company located in New York City. The company was founded in 1913 by brothers Irving and Jack Schott. Schott NYC was the first company to put a zipper on a jacket and they created the classic Perfecto motorcycle jacket, made popular in movies like...

. The first jacket was introduced in 1928, making it the first ever double style leather motorcycle jacket. Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

wore a Perfecto #613 in the 1953 movie The Wild One

The Wild One

The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...

. The jackets were also worn by punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

pioneers The Ramones.

History of the Perfecto

In 1928, Irving Schott of Schott Bros designed a leather motorcycle jacket he named the Perfecto. It was a double style design and the first of its kind. Schott Bros later manufactured a very similar jacket for the Beck label called the Beck 333 Northeaster. Both of these styles are rare today and highly valued by collectors.

In the late 1940s, Schott Bros introduced a new jacket based on the original Perfecto design called the 613. It was soon nicknamed the "One Star" because it had a star on each shoulder passant

Passant

Passant may refer to:* In heraldry, an attitude.* The en passant chess move of a pawn* A transverse shoulder strap on a military uniform, originally to attach epaulettes...

. A few years later, the company introduced the 618 which was identical to the 613 except for the stars. This was the style that Marlon Brando wore in the movie The Wild One. The stars on the passants and the snaps on the collar of his jacket were not original, but added to the jacket. These jackets have a snug, almost tailored fit, which is suited for motorcycle riding. They are also short by today's standards.

Perfecto timeline

The 613 and 618 Perfectos have been produced for more than 50 years, so finding out when a vintage jacket was made can be difficult. There have, however, been slight variations in the design over time. Some of the details in the timeline below overlap.

Late 1940s

The 613 One Star is introduced. Jackets are made out of horsehide. Neck label is rectangular, black with Perfecto App U.S Pat ??? Genuine Horsehide Front Quarter - Style Quality printed in gold letters. TALON main and cuff zippers and 'Miter' belt buckle (rectangular with mitered corners). Side pockets are at an approx. 60° angle and breast pocket at a 50° angle, zippers close up. Jackets have snaps for attaching fur collar, no snaps on collar, plain snaps, sleeves are double stitched, passants are also double stitched and have a rounded end. Stitching on collar is placed further in than it is on lapels. Lining is black with grid stitching. Straight lower back panel and underside of sleeves are one piece. Inner lower facing and sleeve placket

Placket

A placket is an opening in the upper part of trousers or skirts, or at the neck or sleeve of a garment. Plackets are almost always used to allow clothing to be put on or removed easily, but are sometimes used purely as a design element...

s are made out of faux leather/vinyl.

Early 1960s

Jackets are made out of steerhide. Neck label is black with Style Quality Perfecto Genuine Steerhide All Hand Cut in creme and red letters on coat of arms/crest. Small long white size tag with black letters directly below neck label. Schott Bros. Inc. printed on leather neck hanger. Stitching on collar and lapels is placed at the same distance from edge. Passants have one seam and a pointy end. ESKO cuff zippers. Side pockets are at an approx. 55° angle and breast pocket at a 65° angle.

Late 1960s

Neck label is black with bull and cactus, Perfecto genuine steerhide - handcut Schott Bros. Small white size tag with red letters directly below neck label.

Early 1970s

Neck label is square, black with Schott in white curly letters above orange and yellow coat of arms (lion? and unicorn on the sides of it and an S in the middle).

Mid - late 1970s

Jackets are made out of steerhide (613/618) and naked cowhide (118, introduced in 1977). Neck label is rectangular, creme white with bull in upper left corner, Perfecto in yellow diagonal stripe and by Schott Bros. in lower right corner. Small white size tag with red letters directly to the right of neck label. TALON cuff zippers. Side pockets are at an approx. 55° angle and breast pocket at a 60° angle.

Early 1980s

Schott NYC appears on neck label, small white size tag with black letters directly to the right of neck label, tag with American flag and Made in U.S.A directly to the right of neck label (under small white size tag). Nothing printed on leather neck hanger. Schott (YKK) main zipper, EMAR cuff zippers and rectangular belt buckle with oval sides. Pocket zippers now close down. Lining goes all the way down inside of jackets, leather sleeve plackets. A slight dip in bottom part of lower back panel, otherwise straight.

Mid 1980s

Schott stops producing the 613 One Star. Underarm footballs, two piece underside sleeves, oval lower back panel, inside pocket and snaps on collar are introduced. Snaps for attaching fur collar are removed (no fur collar produced). Snaps have Schott stamped on them. Motorcycle rider instead of bull appears on neck label, size is printed on the American flag tag. Leather inner lower facing. Side pockets are at an approx. 60° angle and breast pocket at a 50° angle (reverse from what they were in the 1960s-70's and more like they were in the 1950s), side pockets are moved further away from the center of the jackets and down a bit. Square thin buckle is introduced.

Late 1980s / 1990s

Schott reintroduces the 613 One Star (in steerhide with mid 70's neck label) but without snaps for the fur collar and with inner pocket. Snaps on 613 are plain. Snaps for fur collar back on 618/118. Style 118 is updated to a fuller fit, 613/618 retain original slim fit. Schott NYC chrome main zipper, IDEAL sleeve zippers and bigger square belt buckle (by Century Canada) are introduced. Side pockets are at an approx. 60° angle and breast pocket at a 45° angle.

Today

Style 118 is fitted with new chrome pocket zippers with different pulls (Schott recently switched back to the original chain zipper pulls) and a snap under the belt buckle to prevent it from damaging the gas tank. The side pockets on the 118 have supposedly been moved closer to the center of the jacket for easier access. The 613/618 have not been updated since the early 1990s.

Perfecto in film

Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

in The Wild One
The Wild One
The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...

, 1953;
John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...

in Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...

, 1978;
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...

in Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...

, 1987;
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...

in Cry-baby
Cry-Baby
Cry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical film written and directed by John Waters. It stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel "Cry-Baby" Wade Walker, and also features an expansive ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Kim McGuire, David Nelson, Susan Tyrrell, and...

, 1990;
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...

, 1991;
John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...

in Wild Hogs
Wild Hogs
Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...

, 2007;