Help me decide on a leather for new Aero?

[domaineminent]

I'm looking to order an Aero Seven soon and have most details figured out, the one thing I'm having trouble deciding on is the leather. I'd like something that's going to age well and show character, and drape well. My issue is I don't typically wear brown and the idea of having a brown jacket just doesn't hold a lot of appeal to me.

That said, the Blacked Brown Vincenza intrigues me - I know it hasn't been available for long but if anyone has pictures of how theirs is breaking in I'd love to see it. From the leather sample I have it seemed like the black top layer doesn't really wear through to the brown very easily - I scraped at it with my nail for a few minutes and the leather didn't change appearance. The black color itself was also very black, basically identical to the black Vincenza, from pictures I've seen posted here it did not have the same slight hints of brown.

The other leather that really appealed to me was the Dark Seal Vicenza - however it also seems like a leather that's unlikely to change much with age, it seems to be a very consistent color and didn't really lighten or darken with scraping, twisting, or folding.

The color that appeals to me the most is actually Cordovan, but none of the samples I received were as dark as I'd like. The steer was darkest but seemed to be a very consistent color; scraping, twisting, and folding had no obvious effect - and this leather seemed to almost completely lack any evidence of grain (something I like). The Vicenza cordovan was the lightest shade and seemed even more consistent in its color. The horse cordovan was almost the same as the steer but had a bit more grain. The tumbled horse showed the most variation in color; it definitely lightened from scraping, twisting, and bending. It also wasn't as dark as I'd like. If anyone has examples of any of these cordovan leathers as they age I'd love to hear from you and/or see pictures, especially if you have an exceptionally dark cordovan.

My other concern is with the Seven being a relatively tight fitting jacket a heavy leather like the steer or horse may not be well-suited. If anyone has any opinions on this I'd appreciate hearing from you. I do love the weight of the heavy leathers, I'm just concerned about how it will effect the fit/drape of the jacket.

Thanks!

 

[jacketjunkie]

There is plenty of tight fitting Cafe Racers and Sheenes around here in CLX horsehide and steer, it works fit-wise. If the jacket is too tight in heavy leather, it would be too tight in thinner leather as well, we are talking about 0.1-0.3mm leather thickness differencehere, that's close to nothing and doen't affect how snug the jacket fits, those other leathers are just softer from the start which makes it easier to squeeze yourself into it if the jacket is very tight or too tight.

The overdyed Vicenca is indeed a wild card, there's no jackets around that have aged long enough to judge. The black CLX FQHH and Steerhide have a brown base with a black topcoat too, though, so they are technically also overdye, it only takes a good while for the jacket to lose color and show brown. No over-night-effect, more of a few months or year of wearing effort. If you search around you'll find plenty of black CLX jackets where the brown is coming through..

 

[handymike]

I have a Seven in black CXL FQHH, and even though I typically wouldn't go for this leather I like it a lot on this model. Something about the snug feel and thicker/burly hide makes the experience of wearing this jacket pretty amazing. You can literaly beat the c**p out of it without wrecking it.
@Radz108 has one in Vicenza, and it also looks amazing.
If you like cordovan, I'd go with Tumbled HH like @Sloan1874 's BR or straight up Horween Cordovan steer.
In regards to fit...
The arms are extremely slim/ tight! you might want to make them a little bigger. I get a rash on the inside of my arms if I wear it too long. I'm no weightlifter either.
Also spec out your chest/gut/waist size.
I can't zip mine up with anything more than a t-shirt on.
Ps- I'd go with a longer zipper 1.5" short of bottom...not 3.

 

[Fanch]

It is my understanding that both Vicenza and CXL horsehides are FQHH, but since the CXL is packed with hot waxes, it is significantly heavier than Vicenza. As I see it, the primary advantage to chrome tanned CXL is that it has greater water resistance than the veg tanned Vicenza. I will say that if I could keep only one jacket in my collection it would be my black Vicenza Sheene bacause of fantastic look, feel, and drape, although I am intrigued with the blacked brown Vincenza but have no personal experience, nor have I seen a sample.

 

[domaineminent]

I've tried hunting for pictures here but the vast majority of them are missing because of some photobucket weirdness.

 

[handymike]

 

[smoz]

I had an Aero Highwayman in cordovan FQHH which I recently traded in with Aero. It's a really good choice if you want something that will age with a lot of character. I would guess that I bought mine about seven years ago, I only traded it because I wanted something new, I have a one in one out policy. I miss the jacket already.

If you would like to see how it looked with a couple of years wear see below, there are plenty more pics on this thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/a-highwayman-in-the-highlands.72176/

If you want to see how it looks after a few more years wear and tear see below, there some more pictures of the jacket I traded in on Aero's sales page: http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=3474

 

[ai00344]

I have a Seven in black CXL FQHH, and even though I typically wouldn't go for this leather I like it a lot on this model. Something about the snug feel and thicker/burly hide makes the experience of wearing this jacket pretty amazing. You can literaly beat the c**p out of it without wrecking it.
@Radz108 has one in Vicenza, and it also looks amazing.
If you like cordovan, I'd go with Tumbled HH like @Sloan1874 's BR or straight up Horween Cordovan steer.
In regards to fit...
The arms are extremely slim/ tight! you might want to make them a little bigger. I get a rash on the inside of my arms if I wear it too long. I'm no weightlifter either.
Also spec out your chest/gut/waist size.
I can't zip mine up with anything more than a t-shirt on.
Ps- I'd go with a longer zipper 1.5" short of bottom...not 3.

Curious why you recommend the longer zipper Mike? Lots of folks intrigued with the blackened brown myself included but it’s harder to find pictures of that leather than Bigfoot !

 

[handymike]

My jacket is cut shorter than a typical j100 model- 24" down the back. That puts the zipper at the top of my belt buckle. I like my buckle covered. Unless you have a longer jacket, I feel 3" is way too high up.

 

[domaineminent]

@Radz108 has one in Vicenza, and it also looks amazing.
If you like cordovan, I'd go with Tumbled HH like @Sloan1874 's BR or straight up Horween Cordovan steer.
[/QUOTE]

I'm curious why you suggest these two leathers specifically vs. the regular FQHH Cordovan or Vincenza Cordovan?

 

[domaineminent]

If you would like to see how it looked with a couple of years wear see below, there are plenty more pics on this thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/a-highwayman-in-the-highlands.72176/

If you want to see how it looks after a few more years wear and tear see below, there some more pictures of the jacket I traded in on Aero's sales page: http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=3474

Thanks for sharing! That leather looks really nice. I think if it was just a bit darker it would be about what I'm looking for.

 

[handymike]

The cordovan steerhide is the bomb!
I prefer the look and feel of broken in Steer to that of HH. The vicenza is different looking to me (on screen) it's not Horween cordovan color.

 

[domaineminent]

The cordovan steerhide is the bomb!
I prefer the look and feel of broken in Steer to that of HH. The vicenza is different looking to me (on screen) it's not Horween cordovan color.

What about it do you prefer? From what I've read it softens up quicker, and tends to be more grainy once it breaks in. From the samples I've seen it had basically no grain, even after lots of bending and folding. The cordovan steer sample was the darkest of all the cordovans (vincenza was lightest), and I'm kind of leaning towards it because of that. It was my wife's least favorite though, she seems pretty skeptical about me getting a jacket that's cordovan, and especially if it's not got good grain.

 

[Sloan1874]

Tumbled cordovan fqhh. It gets you a dark look with lots of grain and none of the break-in effort.

 

[GraceNote13]

I've had a several Aero CXL FQHH and CXL Steer jackets. I love both leathers but they are totally different, my steer jackets broke in faster are softer and show a ton of character fast but are thicker and heavier. On the other hand I have a 6 year old CXL FQHH jacket that other than the sleeves creasing could pass for new.

Something to think about, CXL is really stiff in the cold once it warms up it softens. So if you plan on using it in really cold weather the vincenza maybe a better choice. I wore my HB last week when I left the house it was 35 degrees and the jacket was stiff as a board, in the afternoon with the sun shining on it and about 60 degrees it was a different jacket soft and supple again.

CXL does have some variance in shade occasionally, I asked Holly to use the darkest cordovan she had for my 1930's HB it was definitely darker than my last bootlegger. I've really fallen in love with the CXL Black Overdye, my first one is finally starting to show the brown in some of the high wear spots.

 

[Rich22]

I had an Aero Highwayman in cordovan FQHH which I recently traded in with Aero. It's a really good choice if you want something that will age with a lot of character. I would guess that I bought mine about seven years ago, I only traded it because I wanted something new, I have a one in one out policy. I miss the jacket already.

If you would like to see how it looked with a couple of years wear see below, there are plenty more pics on this thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/a-highwayman-in-the-highlands.72176/

If you want to see how it looks after a few more years wear and tear see below, there some more pictures of the jacket I traded in on Aero's sales page: http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=3474

Jacket looks very nice except for the vertical creasing down the front... what do you think caused that?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

A size or two too large might be the culprit....

 

[smoz]

Jacket looks very nice except for the vertical creasing down the front... what do you think caused that?

I always suspected it was caused by having inside pockets, particularly on the same side as the outer breast pocket. I understand that Aero try and discourage this option.

 

[Sloan1874]

My LHB has inside pockets on both sides but develop creases like that, though you're absolutely right about Aero discouraging them. I suspect HD is on the money about the size. If a jacket is heavy and a size or so bigger, the 'excess' leather means it'll have a tendency to develop vertical folds - don't get me wrong, though, I think Smoz's jacket looks good.

 

[smoz]

You should see my new one that arrived this week, a Highwayman in seal Vicenza with button cuffs and Isle of Skye lining. I went along to Galashiels and was given plenty of good recommendations.