Get Dressed in Pakistan – Customised Leather Suit

I was cold-called on Instagram. Normally I never respond, but this request was different and I quickly realised: THIS could be interesting. An experience report: Buying a made-to-measure leather suit in the design of my choice – from Pakistan.

Before you read, please note: this post was translated with the help of Deepl.
If you find any errors – please have fun first and then give me a hint.

Who hasn’t seen them, the dubious offers in the inbox: sexual enhancers for everyone and everything, investments with astronomical returns, three million likes on Facebook for five dollars, even more millions from Nigerian princes. I delete and block them all the time.

Eshal Wasim also wrote to me unsolicited, but he hit the right button. His response to one of my Instagram posts sounded interesting, so I replied. After a few kind words, he got straight to the point, offering me a „high quality, custom-made leather suit in the design of my choice“. At a sensational price and with free delivery.

I know all about the stalls in the slums at motorcycle shows: Shoddy workmanship, cuts for scarecrows, open seams even when unworn and cardboard for protection. If at all. Eshal dispelled my doubts with very good reviews from all sorts of countries. He also sent the usual influencer photos – and the girls really did cut a fine figure (Macho mode off). Racing mates were pushing the leather hard into the kerbs. I don’t do that anymore, but hey – the asphalt on the Alpine passes is dangerous too, so there you go.

I still hesitated: If you buy cheap, you buy twice. And even if the price is in the toy money category, it hurts to spend it twice. But when I read „Made in Indonesia“ in the lining of my current textile suits, I pulled out the Instagram conversation again. As if I needed another argument: my Ducati leather suit was getting a bit tight in an awkward spot.

To make a long story short, I placed the order. And why not? In the best case I get leather that fits well, otherwise you get this testimonial.

Design

In my mind, black is NOT the only possible colour for a good motorcycle suit. My Held AeroSec textile suit is very close to the ideal, so I sent a picture of it to Pakistan. With a request for more white, more red and less black.

I also wanted to show my patriotism as a border crosser in the area where Italy, Switzerland and Austria meet. So I asked for the tricolour. It took less than two hours for the first design to arrive by e-mail – and I liked it straight away:

This one didn’t say cheap: I spotted ergonomically pre-shaped arms and legs, an aero hump, important sliders all over the place and lots of stretch fabric. I also recognised a lot of manufacturer’s logos, but for the price I thought a bit of publicity for a ride was perfectly acceptable. So: no requests for changes.

Taking
 measures

The leather had to be made to measure, so „one size fits all“ was not enough. Looking back on 30 years of motorcycling, I remembered clothes that were too wide in the belly (yes, unimaginable), too short in the legs, too long in the chest. They flapped in the wind, their zips pressed against the skin. Two-piece suits that did not fit properly, combined with painfully constricting pads.

I realised all this when I had the chart with over 20 different measurements in front of me. A good piece of work.

Production
 and delivery

I didn’t discuss production times and delivery dates, and the Vinschgau winter wouldn’t have given me any reason to. At these temperatures I would have worn the leather in front of the TV at best. But on the 27th of December my inbox rang: there are pictures.

I liked THAT a lot!

Waiting
 for the leather

Time passed. After fourteen days, I asked for the first time about the status of the shipment. „It’s on its way to Italy.“ Another two weeks passed. „There was a problem with DPD in Germany. We take it back. We are forwarding to the Netherlands.“ Ah yes. Another update: delay due to change of shipping company. I started to say goodbye to my play money.

Again after two weeks: „It’s the custom.“ The parcel had obviously been there for over a week. Finally I got a tracking number – but it didn’t work. I read something from Belfast (UK) with a date long past and no change in status.

A true odyssey: from Pakistan to Germany, to the Netherlands, from there to Ireland, back to the Netherlands and finally to Verona. My new leather has already travelled further in the first weeks of 2023 than I have in the last two years. Not bad. Meracious Sports apologised to me several times, informed me quickly and in detail, and was visibly embarrassed. It was all good for me – I wouldn’t have had time to ride.

After an unsuccessful delivery attempt – they said I was not at home – I eagerly accepted the parcel after almost two months in the post.

Important notice: Meracious Sports also offers „Urgent Suit Delivery“. In this case it takes three working days for the suit to be manufactured and four or five working days for the delivery to Italy, using Fedex direct shipping services.

The first
 ride

Of course I had to try it out straight away. The smell and feel of the leather is promising, and after a few stretches and the correct positioning of some protectors, I find a comfortable spot. The forearms are cut tight, however, making me a candidate for an arm pump. Surprise: there is no inside pocket and the lining rustles like cheap packing material. Standing upright is possible, although the shin and knee pads get in the way and the legs look too long at first glance. In the saddle of my Ducati, however, the cut is perfect.

The quality of workmanship is less than first-class in some details, such as parts of the (removable and washable) lining, where the cut is a little hectic and slanted. Crooked seams, such as the Velcro on the cuffs, are the work of an obviously short-sighted person. The metal plates on the knee protectors won’t stay unscratched for long – once I get down on my knees to take a photo, they’re history. I doubt the security of the front zip will survive the summer. But none of that matters because the quality is there where it counts: most seams are triple stitched, the protectors fit snugly, nothing pinches or scratches, and the leather is unobtrusive while riding.

My
 conclusion

I still feel a bit like a cyborg, with the MotoGP hump and thick protectors on my forearms and shoulders turning me into a hunchbacked Igor off the bike. Sliders on the elbows and all the lettering are a bit exalted, but probably state of the art. After the first 100 kilometres I am convinced – the value for money is unbeatable. I surely will have a lot of fun with this leather.

It would be unfair to blame the manufacturer for the long delivery time. But if there had been an urgent need for new leather, the project would have failed. As I bought out of season, everything is fine with me. So: play money well spent, spectacular self-experiment successful, and I can recommend it with a clear conscience.

Please note: With „Urgent Suit Delivery“ it would have taken three working days to manufacture the suit and four or five working days for delivery to Italy using Fedex direct shipping services.

Contact to
 Meracious Sports

Meracious Sports contacted me via Instagram, but can also be reached via email or at www.meracioussports.com.

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For the sake of order: This BlogPost was financially supported; I did not pay the price originally quoted. The shipping costs and the fight with the parcel services were paid by the manufacturer.

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