Distressing a leather jacket

[navetsea]

to me those tattered clothes, wornout leather jacket that have lost most of its finish, they only look good on black and white photos or in the movie with the correct post postapocalyptic setting going. In everyday real life, it's very hard to wear those thing those Japanese in the video wearing without being seen in negative way, unless you are a well known celebrity, or a beautiful woman, lol.

I got some scratches on the front of my jacket from replacing water bottle dispenser... got several scratches on my sleeve from the cat, honestly earned.

 

[Edward]

I'm glad my cat 'only' destroyed my sofa, and not one of my jackets (which, for the most part, would be harder and cost more and take longer to replace!).

 

[DrMacabre]

Buy vintage, you'll get the perfect aged look in a week or less depending on the speed of the postal service used

JK, im looking into this topic as well after purchasing a 1980's cooper A-2, the leather is just plain boring, there is no discoloration, not a single part of the jacket says its more than 30yo.

All my other leather jackets are just so good looking all beat up and sh*t.

Leather jacket in the washing machine sound a littl scary, can you tell me more about it for those who did it ?

To illustrate this topic, here is an aged (naturally?) avirex vs the cooper.

 

[breezer]

in the film industry the costume department often have to age new clothes - the term is 'breaking down' - to give then a realistic look. Leather jackets are often put in the washing machine.

 

[ai00344]

That Cooper looks virtually brand new Dr. I think it’s going to take more than a washing machine treatment to get that thing aging.

@DarkKnight we are still waiting for post crash pics of the Boardracer

 

[zebedee]

BigJ I am about to start teaching 'A Scanner Darkly' to my students. Really, though, nothing beats 'Ubik'.

Wearing jackets in the rain, chucking them on the floor and long nights drinking and stumbling about will do wonders for any jacket.

 

[DarkKnight]

Here it is post-crash:

 

[zebedee]

Get a buddy to wear it and tell him to crash more.

 

[navetsea]

I was thinking of buying a mannequin with bent arms put the jacket on it and just leave it in the garden let the sun and rain does their job.

 

[ton312]

Here it is post-crash:

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I'm impressed. I wouldn't think the Vicenza had the sand to take any real abuse. Turns out you had a happy accident and improved the jacket!

 

[navetsea]

I bet it was an emotion rollercoaster...
smile from ear to ear looking at the jacket
slicing own wrist looking at the bike.

 

[DarkKnight]

Luckily the bike survived. The headlight is a bit screwed up and a few scrapes around the place - but it's not totalled and doesn't need a mechanic.
I actually didn't notice the jacket until a few days after. I was mostly nursing my injuries.

 

[Big J]

You want to distress a jacket?
Send it to my sister-in-law's house while she's ragging on her deadbeat husband for not helping around the house, not helping with the kid, coming home from work late every night, never having a day off from work, not having a pay rise for ten years, not saving for the future etc.
I'm totally distressed after ten minutes of listening to that, a jacket might take half hour or so.

 

[navetsea]

one time an old guy on bicycle riding toward me on a one way road, I move to the right he synched with me, I moved to the left he did the same, finally I braked and fell butt first into a rain water filled pothole, the guy passed by and yelled at me angrily, and I broke my clutch lever and shifter bent gear stuck at 5th, got to stop a 3 wheeled rickshaw pedicab, and lift my stuck rearwheel on it, I sit as passenger with my arms steering my bike home, the most humiliating day, lucky I wore a full face helmet on.

 

[ai00344]

Here it is post-crash:

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Love that jacket man....perhaps my favorite on the forum....

 

[Edward]

I was thinking of buying a mannequin with bent arms put the jacket on it and just leave it in the garden let the sun and rain does their job.

Why not go the whole hog and drag it behind a car?

one time an old guy on bicycle riding toward me on a one way road, I move to the right he synched with me, I moved to the left he did the same, finally I braked and fell butt first into a rain water filled pothole, the guy passed by and yelled at me angrily, and I broke my clutch lever and shifter bent gear stuck at 5th, got to stop a 3 wheeled rickshaw pedicab, and lift my stuck rearwheel on it, I sit as passenger with my arms steering my bike home, the most humiliating day, lucky I wore a full face helmet on.

What is it about bicycles that kills people's common sense? Honestly, the number of idiots I see among cyclists cycling on the footpath, running red lights, and on and on.... idiocy far out of proportion to the number of them on the road.

 

[Deacon211]

Buy vintage, you'll get the perfect aged look in a week or less depending on the speed of the postal service used

JK, im looking into this topic as well after purchasing a 1980's cooper A-2, the leather is just plain boring, there is no discoloration, not a single part of the jacket says its more than 30yo.

All my other leather jackets are just so good looking all beat up and sh*t.

Leather jacket in the washing machine sound a littl scary, can you tell me more about it for those who did it ?

To illustrate this topic, here is an aged (naturally?) avirex vs the cooper.

View attachment 96734 View attachment 96735

Ya know Doc, that Avirex may not be as naturally aged as one might suspect.

Avirex was/is big on the pre-distressed look. I'd almost argue that they pioneered it back in the '80s when jackets were becoming the cool thing again.

I've washed my jackets from time to time, gently, and worn them dry. It doesn't seem to do anything to the jacket and at least starts the process of shaping the jacket to your frame.

I do wonder how well that Cooper would take any concerted effort to age it however. My 2004 Pharr G-1 was very resistant to any of the fading that we love (and I rather suspect that many of the original jacket makers struggled to avoid). At best/worst, where the top coat came off the leather was sort of a sickly grey and not the beautiful shades of vintage skin.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[navetsea]

but sickly grey when exposed for sometime will turn into bone yellow right?

 

[01flhr]

Personally i didnt spend a ton of money on a new jacket so it could look worn out before i got it. I bought it to wear it out. I just dont feel like i get my moneys worth out of pre distressed clothing. I want to be the one to put it in distress.

 

[tropicalbob]

I was thinking of buying a mannequin with bent arms put the jacket on it and just leave it in the garden let the sun and rain does their job.

I'd be afraid the mildew would do its job.