Explaining the Aero Fit.

[Rich22]

It's too small. The neck hole was in the 15" range if I remember correctly, but I wear dress shirts with 16" collar. This is what I mean when I say sizing down in Aero would not help because neck hole becomes too small. And because of that, the / \ crease happens. Even in zipped up mode, you can see the slight / \ creases. This is not an Aero pattern issue, but a sizing issue. In my experience, I wore the wrong size. If I bought a size or two up , I would not have the /\ creases but I also might not like how it fits in the body. This is why I say Aero has smaller neck holes for their tag size, especially compared to other makers.

Thanks for the reply. How many years did it take to deform that badly? Were you the only owner? I've never seen another collar (and surrounding area) appear to have deformed so badly.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Thanks for the reply. How many years did it take to deform that badly? Were you the only owner? I've never seen another collar (and surrounding area) appear to have deformed so badly.

Nothing was wrong with the jacket. It's just too small at the collar for me. I don't want to give you the idea that the jacket was bad. It certainly was NOT.
These are the pics I took when I sold it in the classifieds here. Nothing is wrong with it. It is not deformed. But when my neck is 16" and the neck hole is almost an inch smaller that's what it will end up looking like.
I only shared these posts because I wanted to inform my experience on how sizing down on Aero will NOT work. But there is nothing wrong with the actual Aero jacket I had. I don't want any mis leading that could harm the reps of the maker. Just to be clear!

 

[MrProper]

It's too small. The neck hole was in the 15" range if I remember correctly, but I wear dress shirts with 16" collar. This is what I mean when I say sizing down in Aero would not help because neck hole becomes too small. And because of that, the / \ crease happens. Even in zipped up mode, you can see the slight / \ creases. This is not an Aero pattern issue, but a sizing issue. In my experience, I wore the wrong size. If I bought a size or two up , I would not have the /\ creases but I also might not like how it fits in the body. This is why I say Aero has smaller neck holes for their tag size, especially compared to other makers.

I'm not entirely convinced by the neck hole theory.
I have an Aero with these creases and neck hole that is not too small.
I have another jacket with a smaller neck hole and do not have the creases. I still maintain that the creases comes because of the neck to shoulder angle being too shallow.
If it should be the neck hole, then rather because it is longer than wide with aero and not round, as with other jackets.

 

[Rich22]

There must be more to it than the neck being too tight... no offence, but both the collar and the area around the collar look mushed and mangled in your front on fit photo. My neck is quite thick and I wear 17.5 dress shirts, so unsurprisingly I've owned jackets I couldn't do up at the throat, but never experienced any visual issues.

 

[handymike]

I don’t currently have an Aero, but here are some jackets from various makers.

Aero tends to build their models more like the green cafe racer. That “hangs” more on my neck than others when I stand up straight, as it’s rotated forward and designed to fit when leaned over your motorcycle. Others are made to be worn standing up. On my Aero jackets, I noticed that if I leaned my head forward and rolled my shoulders forward the creases disappeared (they weren’t set-in).

 

[Canuck Panda]

I'm not entirely convinced by the neck hole theory.
I have an Aero with these creases and neck hole that is not too small.
I have another jacket with a smaller neck hole and do not have the creases. I still maintain that the creases comes because of the neck to shoulder angle being too shallow.
If it should be the neck hole, then rather because it is longer than wide with aero and not round, as with other jackets.

The cafe racer is the only Aero jacket I have with the / \ crease problem. Every other Aero I have so far does not. So I have always thought it was just a size problem because it is a size smaller than all my other Aeros. The flatter shoulder slope angel is definitely a fit issue for guys with big traps. But I have pretty flat shoulders so I am ok with all my Aero's shoulders.

There must be more to it than the neck being too tight... no offence, but both the collar and the area around the collar look mushed and mangled in your front on fit photo. My neck is quite thick and I wear 17.5 dress shirts, so unsurprisingly I've owned jackets I couldn't do up at the throat, but never experienced any visual issues.

I wish there was more I can tell you but unfortunately I have sold that jacket. If I still have it I could do a side by side compare to my other Aero jackets, which are great. My experience with their cafe racer pattern has not been the best. Without an actual Aero cafe racer jacket in my hands, I really cannot say much more about it.

I don’t currently have an Aero, but here are some jackets from various makers.
View attachment 358267
Aero tends to build their models more like the green cafe racer. That “hangs” more on my neck than others when I stand up straight, as it’s rotated forward and designed to fit when leaned over your motorcycle. Others are made to be worn standing up. On my Aero jackets, I noticed that if I leaned my head forward and rolled my shoulders forward the creases disappeared (they weren’t set-in).

This is actual a great way of showing how the shoulder seams are constructed. I will see if I can make a comparison photo this way.

 

[mihai]

Isn't this just part of the fun? The excitement you get when your custom jacket is delivered and it turns out you've nailed the fit. Without trial and error, we could close most of the threads here. It's the journey of getting to that point that you know what works for you that's half the fun.

I'm speaking for me personally.

1. Given the jacket price / wait time / physical distance I prefer that the jacket fits pretty well. By this I mean not looking 1-2 sizes off, like I'm wearing an older brother's clothes. Ok some creases, in shoulders, here and there are unavoidable given the specifics of each pattern. I can get over them.

2. Going custom can be dangerous. I did it so with a local tailor and the jacket had to be redone. Despite that I got measured several times previously.

3. I avoid ordering new jackets due to sizing issues mainly. Even for standard sizes. For such money / time it's not acceptable for me that something goes wrong. I prefer to buy pre-owned where I can see the jacket, get the actual measurements. Takes more time to find something but it works better for me.

Concrete example about sizing being way-off:
Aero Brando jacket FQHH size 44 that I owned. I wear 42 normally, so a jacket 22-23 inches P2P normally is fine, even 24 P2P works sometimes depending on the shoulder. In theory this jacket was a size larger, no big deal. In practice however was 26 inches P2P (https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/aero-brando-motorcycle-jacket-sz-44.92057/). Fit-wise it was way-off for me. 10 inches too much over my "allowed" maximum size. You could see that between the shoulders the leather was "waved" looking way larger.

 

[born113]

sizing down in Aero would not help because neck hole becomes too small.

Can I make an order to increase the size of the neck of the jacket at the same time as the manufacture of the jacket itself? I mean Aero.

 

[born113]

What era does the Long Halfbelt jacket belong to?

https://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=26

 

[ton312]

What era does the Long Halfbelt jacket belong to?

https://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=26

The Aero long HB is built off the 50’s block.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I have hoarded two different sizes of the same jacket. Thought I post it here as my Aero fit theory:

Northeaster jacket, both CXL FQHH, both wool tartan lining, black one is size 38, natural one is size 40. Both stock sizing, as I am aware of now.

Difference in fit photos:

Measurements of the 38:

Measurements of the 40:

I don't think there is a Aero pattern problem. But there are things to consider when downsizing. I remember someone here once said that the Aero patterns are Not as forgiving as other brands. I believe that would be spot on observation. And the culprit lies in the size of the neck hole. This is my theory and experience. I wear 16 34/35 shirts, and the size 38 neck measures 17" around the outside of the collar. This is too tight. Which translate into the bunched leather at the neck, and would strain the neck over the course of the day. However, with the right neck size this issue does not exist. Also the sleeves are slimmer on the 38, and I tend to wear short sleeves with that jacket more often over the 40. Most US motorcycle jackets have "floating necks" or "neck gaps". While this doesn't appeal to many people, it's what makes the pattern comfortable and full range of motion. Aero, and many other non motorcycle brands looks better without the neck gap, but it is harder to get the sizing right.

I think I also figured out the Aero size tag mystery. At least in my case it was just me being an over insisting (not listening) customer, and Aero didn't have the balls to tell me the truth, or just didn't wanna waste breath on me after a long day. My Barnstormer coat was tagged 36 because I insisted on it being as slim as my Crombie coats. Aero took my order, gave me a size 38 Barnstormer with a 36 tag. Now many years later and lots of unnecessary money parted, I wish I had just listened and ordered a 40.

That's all I got on the Aero size mystery. Now onto the next mystery. BK

 

[jglf]

Anyone want to send their Aero to Dena or JL to see if they can widen the neck hole to alleviate the strain? Not sure if it’s possible.

 

[born113]

My Barnstormer coat was tagged 36 because I insisted on it being as slim as my Crombie coats. Aero took my order, gave me a size 38 Barnstormer with a 36 tag. Now many years later and lots of unnecessary money parted, I wish I had just listened and ordered a 40.

Do I understand correctly that you now prefer size 40 for all Aero jackets of the 1950s?

Thank you so much for this size comparison !

 

[zebedee]

I'd size down for Aero's larger 'coats' like the Mariner or Stockman, up for Cafe Racer. This neck problem I am lucky never to have had.

 

[Canuck Panda]

@jglf I am sure things can be done but it starts to get pricey if the labor hours starts to add up.
@born113 I do now. You can always ask for slimmer torso dimensions as custom. Not sure if that's how they work.
@zebedee That's right. My Barnstormer in size 38 has the same sizes (neck/shoulder/P2P so on) as my 50's jackets in size 40. I wish I had known about upsize for the Cafe Racers. I followed the P2P rule and sized down. Very costly mistake.

 

[born113]

Northeaster jacket, both CXL FQHH, both wool tartan lining, black one is size 38, natural one is size 40. Both stock sizing, as I am aware of now.

Difference in fit photos:
View attachment 400872

Maybe this is a stupid question and the answer should be obvious. But how do you feel when you move your arms up? Is freedom of action different in different sizes? Can you say that moving your arms is noticeably more comfortable in size 40?

 

[zebedee]

Sizing up on the 30's patterns and down on the 50's patterns seems the way to go, at least for me. The overcoat styles you can take as labelled unless you aren't wanting to layer, when you size down. Aeros are true to era size- the Highwayman, LHB, etc., are cut to wear over more than a t-shirt, I think. Any Aero that I've always layered under was crease-free; ones I took at (50's) size and then 't-shirted' under developed creases. The Cafe Racer hangs on my neck a little if I stand up straight, but not if I'm leaning forward.

 

[born113]

Sizing up on the 30's patterns and down on the 50's patterns seems the way to go, at least for me. The overcoat styles you can take as labelled unless you aren't wanting to layer, when you size down.

All measurements of tag 40 Aero LHB correspond to my mass market 2020's clothing tag 38.
And with these inputs, I'm trying to find a correlation.

 

[zebedee]

All measurements of tag 40 Aero LHB correspond to my mass market 2020's clothing tag 38.
And with these inputs, I'm trying to find a correlation.

I don't know what to suggest. There are too many variables at play. I think that 'fit' may be a thing so elusive that it's almost luck. I'm not super-particular when it comes to jackets, only the fit of shoes or boots.

 

[handymike]

I think it’s important to remember that most of Aero’s patterns were created in the 80s and 90s. The way we wear our clothes has changed a bit since then, so sometimes getting the “modern fit” simply by changing tagged size can be tricky unless you look at the premier line- which can run slim. You have to figure out which base the jacket is modded from (like the last of a shoe) and make your adjustments from there.