I have a better ides. Take a week off and fly down to Mallorca; hang out in a few open air cafe's and get a little vitamin D. It's good for the jacket and good for the soul.
That's the thing about Scotland. Even when the sun is out, it's rarely ever really that warm! I've been caught out in London a few times: left a chilly April Glasgow dressed appropriately, arrived in beautifully warm weather, immediately regretting my choice of jackets... It's like taking a sauna dressed in a suit of armour!
Background: having seen a fantastic Wayfarer in natural Vicenza on Thurston's website, I decided that my collection had a hole in that was a perfect fit for it.
So I took a trip to Gala to try one on - I think most people find themselves sitting between sizes and I toggle between 36 and 38, depending on style and era - and get up close and personal, so to speak, with the leather.
Anyway, while I was there, Ken sold me on their new unfinished, mid-weight 'raw' Italian leather. It's to being about four or five shades lighter than the Vicenza, and finished with a light oiling rather than sealed with a top coat.
This means it;s open to elements and will develop character and patina at an accelerated rate. At the moment, it's a creamy, almost latte-ish colour, but with a bit of sun and the inevitable showers, it will start to deepen to a honey-caramel colour.
Wow. That’s an amazing colour. Beautiful.With the weather being kind to us over here, I thought I'd dig out the Wayfarer and do some update shots. This is with a fair bit of wear, some soaking, sun-drying and conditioning. It looks not bad at all:
I'll bet. It's turning a beautiful color, and, as predicted, the areas around the pockets and stitching are just starting to show the darkening they'll have soon. It almost looks like suede. One good trip to Spain should do it.It is one of those leathers that you have to be completely fearless with. The first few marks feel like physical blows, I won't deny it, but then you just start wearing it out and about and it starts to take on it's character. I think if you live in a hot climate, the change in colour will happen much faster than if you live, say, on the edge of Glasgow, but you can speed up the process with a bit of time and attention. It's a jacket that attracts a lot of positive comments.