Talked to a vintage tailor at a flea market in Portland and it flipped my whole view on zippers

I was browsing this booth at the Portland Saturday Market and this older guy named Hank saw me looking at a 70s leather jacket. He said "real designers think about the zipper pull like a handshake - it's the first thing you touch." It hit me different because I always just grabbed whatever YKK zipper was cheapest for my projects. Has anyone else found a random conversation that completely changed how you approach a tiny detail like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

perry.jessica3d ago

Sixty year old zippers feel better than new ones.

amymason3d ago

Hang on, I've had the opposite experience. Those old zippers on vintage jackets snag on everything and the teeth are so worn down they don't even lock properly. My 90s Levi's had a zipper that would just slide down on its own all day, had to safety pin it. New YKK zippers are super smooth, zip up with one finger, and actually stay where you put them. I'll take modern coated metal over some rusty old teeth any day.