About Us

The Simmons Bilt Clothing Company Ltd  

Simmons Bilt started manufacturing leather jackets in Oakland, California in the early 1900’s and ceased trading in the late 1930’s, they were regarded as one of the early pioneers in the production of leather jackets. They were also an early adopter of the new “zips closure” and used the ball & chain puller as their preference. Simmons Bilt created some great leather jackets that today are very rare to find. Through extensive research we managed to find enough information in the archives to enable us to form a template to emulate the craftsmanship employed back in the day at Simmons Bilt.

Simmons Bilt Clothing Company combines the spirit of heritage and authenticity using traditional craftsmanship, a tip of the hat to the artisans of old. Our purpose is to create classic vintage inspired outerwear garments with everyday functionality and fit for the more discerning customer. Each and every garment is individually produced here in our own factory by one single craftsman.We only use only the highest quality materials available to us, traditional craftsmanship with a focus on exceptional attention to detail, the result being a garment built for life that will develop character the more it is worn.

We appreciate that as The Simmons Bilt Clothing Company we have reinvigorated a name of pedigree and distinction, not to be taken lightly and our focus will be to pay homage to this early pioneering manufacturer through our quality and integrity. 

We continually review and modify our patterns, based on materials used and customer feedback, we also introduced some time ago into our team, time served pattern technicians, experts in their field, to work alongside our specialists ensuring the end product is a fusion of classic vintage style and contemporary functionality and fit.This together with sourcing new materials and hardware that is both befitting of such a prestigious name but also hardwearing so the garments we build today are still around for decades to come.

There are many manufacturers who produce garments to the exact specifications employed back in 30’s & 40’s, and there are some great examples out there to be admired. However, we are a continually evolving progressive company with aspirations to build on our portfolio year on year and rather than a focus on recreating exactly the styles of yesteryear we use vintage inspiration to produce garments that are relevant today.