If you could keep only 3 leather jackets...

[Poltung]

... Which 3 would it be? No budget limits, doesn't need to be a jacket you currently own.
Explain which model, which leather from which brand, and why.
You can't swap them, sell them, replace them, except by the exact same jacket if impossible to repair.

I'll start, order doesn't mean preference:

- Shangri-la heritage Varenne steerhide:
It's pliable, very comfy yet quite sturdy. My most versatile and comfortable jacket by far. It's elegant and rugged at the same time.
It goes with almost anything for almost all occasions without standing out too much, layered or not, with or without the wool collar.

- Lost Worlds, Speed Demon or my Lightning 402 sample, 3.0-3.5oz.
Tank cross-zip for concerts and nights out at the bar. I don't like LW's ultra thick leather, and am completely happy with their thinner yet still plenty tanky hides.

- Aero Leather shearling lined HB deluxe in Vicenza horsehide takes the cake.
It's very wearable, comfy and toasty, without CXFQHH's thickness and clamminess in cold weather. Definitely my favorite jacket for colder days.

Last pick was very difficult, I really wanted to take Rainbow Country's Hercules or TFH's café racer.
Alas, while RC's Herc is absolutely beautiful to look at and wear especially for city center strolls and restaurant dates, I find it too difficult to pair with everything in all occasions compared to the SLH Varenne, and not "specialized" enough compared to Aero's shearling HB for cold and LW's HH for rugged and rough conditions like spilled drinks and moshpits in concerts.

 

[zebedee]

Aero Leathers Maxwell in cordovan tumbled fqhh, Aero Highwayman in brown fqhh, Aero 1920s Work Coat in russet Badalassi.

 

[Zoro]

I will stick to jackets I own. Anything I don't own nor tried, makes no sense cause I can't be sure I would like them.

I would keep my Thedi shearling for the colder months, the Aero J100 for warmish weather and inbetween seasons, and the Vanson Highwayman as crosszip that can work in mild temps but also cold ones as I can layer under it.

Any of the others I either don't like them as much or I find what they offer is not different enough.

 

[Poltung]

I will stick to jackets I own. Anything I don't own nor tried, makes no sense cause I can't be sure I would like them.

I would keep my Thedi shearling for the colder months, the Aero J100 for warmish weather and inbetween seasons, and the Vanson Highwayman as crosszip that can work in mild temps but also cold ones as I can layer under it.

Any of the others I either don't like them as much or I find what they offer is not different enough.

I think you can somewhat project yourself if you own(ed) a type of leather and a style from a manufacturer, like Lost Worlds's 3.0oz HH, in a "cross zip style".
But amazing pick and your Thedi looks awesome! How's the Vanson? Need pics!

 

[Poltung]

Aero Leathers Maxwell in cordovan tumbled fqhh, Aero Highwayman in brown fqhh, Aero 1920s Work Coat in russet Badalassi.
View attachment 821777

That workcoat looks amazing, how long have you had it? How's the squeak? And it's cool to see some tumbled Aero, we seldom see one nowadays

 

[Zoro]

I think you can somewhat project yourself if you own(ed) a type of leather and a style from a manufacturer, like Lost Worlds's 3.0oz HH, in a "cross zip style".
But amazing pick and your Thedi looks awesome! How's the Vanson? Need pics!

Here's the Vanson - https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...ou-wearing-today.82949/page-3020#post-3213610 | https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...ou-wearing-today.82949/page-3015#post-3211558

The mouton collar is removable, so it would allow for extra versatility (although I far, far prefer the look with it).

 

[aorange]

I imagine my answer today will not be my answer in a years time…but here goes:

1. Rainbow Country G-1 in Seal HH (cotton lining). The G-1 is my favorite military jacket. It’s got tons of mobility, a unique fit to it, and is surprisingly the most popular style among non-enthusiasts. Goat skin has a lot of perks, but I’m the type of person who doesn’t need many different types of leather. I like horse and I like Shinki (smell, temper, etc.).

2. Good Wear Arcadia Halfbelt in Russet HH (wool plaid lining). One of the cleanest designs for a halfbelt I’ve seen, and we all know that every wardrobe needs a half belt. Good Wear’s aniline russet will age in the opposite direction as RC’s seal brown.

3. Freewheelers Speedmaster in Rude Black (relined in rayon). It’s hard choosing between all of the interesting moto jacket designs, but I think the deciding factor here is wearability in warmer weather. I’ve always liked the idea of a J-100 but hated how unshaped it looked on me. FW’s design here is flashier than other board racers, but I’ve always preferred more aggressive designs.

 

[zebedee]

That workcoat looks amazing, how long have you had it? How's the squeak? And it's cool to see some tumbled Aero, we seldom see one nowadays

It's about four years old, but I don't wear it that much as it's almost formal (it wouldn't be if I wore it to death like the others). It's still a bit squeaky, but not noticeable unless in a quiet room. Tumbled hides are great - it's a project to wear the Work Coat all winter in all weathers (as with a CR in blackened brown Vicenza). I used to just take two Aeros with me each time I did a two year contract in Shanghai or Hong Kong and wear them in. Now that I am settled permanently in HK, I have a rack of about 13 or 14 leather jackets and need to impose some sort of discipline to get them all into rotation...

 

[steve u]

The three I own. L.W.TEST
Sheeley Monarch
Cal leather

 

[Poltung]

The three I own. L.W.TEST
Sheeley Monarch
Cal leather
View attachment 821865

That LW test looks like it's wearing you and not the other way around

 

[Poltung]

I imagine my answer today will not be my answer in a years time…but here goes:

1. Rainbow Country G-1 in Seal HH (cotton lining). The G-1 is my favorite military jacket. It’s got tons of mobility, a unique fit to it, and is surprisingly the most popular style among non-enthusiasts. Goat skin has a lot of perks, but I’m the type of person who doesn’t need many different types of leather. I like horse and I like Shinki (smell, temper, etc.).

2. Good Wear Arcadia Halfbelt in Russet HH (wool plaid lining). One of the cleanest designs for a halfbelt I’ve seen, and we all know that every wardrobe needs a half belt. Good Wear’s aniline russet will age in the opposite direction as RC’s seal brown.

3. Freewheelers Speedmaster in Rude Black (relined in rayon). It’s hard choosing between all of the interesting moto jacket designs, but I think the deciding factor here is wearability in warmer weather. I’ve always liked the idea of a J-100 but hated how unshaped it looked on me. FW’s design here is flashier than other board racers, but I’ve always preferred more aggressive designs.

Never seen or handled Good Wear, how do they fare vs Japanese brands for example?

 

[Bfd70]

Never seen or handled Good Wear, how do they fare vs Japanese brands for example?

Good wear is a single owner maker in the US. I think in a poll with people who have actually handled or owned his jackets he would be rated in the #1 spot.

 

[TartuWolf]

Out of my currently owned 5 jackets (see full journey : https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/tartuwolf-jacket-journey.120005/ ):

1 . Vanson E in comp weight. The side laces really work for me to create my desired ideal Y shape. Very very mobile and comfortable cut as well. Beautiful mouton collar that I had made custom. I think I could top this with a custom Vanson by shortening the back and removing the kidney stiffener, but otherwise the perfect black heavy cross-zip in my opinion. Fantastic value as well, rather easy to find (in my sizes) in JP for 200-400eur.

2 . Aero Leather Hooch Hauler in brown CXL. I guess a cross-zip aviator is my favorite leather jacket design/model at the end of the day. I don't think I need to say much about brown CXL, perfect brown leather for my taste. The pattern is very flattering, even if not the most mobile (back gusset doesn't do much, would need a bit more upper back space) or comfortable (cuts into the back of the neck more than I would like, known aero pattern feature). Made me fall in love with shorter/cropped jackets, especially for thicker leather that does not want to bend when you sit. The only jacket that I paid full (ordred custom), apart from the dissapointing meh Rugged West (R.West ho ho ho).

3 . Obscure "I.G.Frank" chinese cross-zip aviator with some obscure JP horsehide. Got it very cheap, had it modified to slim down the waist. Got one of the gaping handwarmer pockets closed off as well. So it's a bit of a weird frankenstein. But it's very comfortable and flattering. Would be cool to get a "real" version of something like this (some brands like Field Leathers make similar ones), but I can't be bothered to pay 10 more and still gamble.

As far as jackets that I would really like to try..
The olive Y'2 Leather N1:

Yes I'm very jelous @theeprimitivesound !

 

[Poltung]

Out of my currently owned 5 jackets (see full journey : https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/tartuwolf-jacket-journey.120005/ ):

1 . Vanson E in comp weight. The side laces really work for me to create my desired ideal Y shape. Very very mobile and comfortable cut as well. Beautiful mouton collar that I had made custom. I think I could top this with a custom Vanson by shortening the back and removing the kidney stiffener, but otherwise the perfect black heavy cross-zip in my opinion. Fantastic value as well, rather easy to find (in my sizes) in JP for 200-400eur.
View attachment 821868 View attachment 821869 View attachment 821870 View attachment 821871

2 . Aero Leather Hooch Hauler in brown CXL. I guess a cross-zip aviator is my favorite leather jacket design/model at the end of the day. I don't think I need to say much about brown CXL, perfect brown leather for my taste. The pattern is very flattering, even if not the most mobile (back gusset doesn't do much, would need a bit more upper back space) or comfortable (cuts into the back of the neck more than I would like, known aero pattern feature). Made me fall in love with shorter/cropped jackets, especially for thicker leather that does not want to bend when you sit. The only jacket that I paid full (ordred custom), apart from the dissapointing meh Rugged West (R.West ho ho ho).
View attachment 821872 View attachment 821873


3 . Obscure "I.G.Frank" chinese cross-zip aviator with some obscure JP horsehide. Got it very cheap, had it modified to slim down the waist. Got one of the gaping handwarmer pockets closed off as well. So it's a bit of a weird frankenstein. But it's very comfortable and flattering. Would be cool to get a "real" version of something like this (some brands like Field Leathers make similar ones), but I can't be bothered to pay 10 more and still gamble.
View attachment 821866 View attachment 821867

As far as jackets that I would really like to try..
The olive Y'2 Leather N1:
View attachment 821874
Yes I'm very jelous @theeprimitivesound !

Amazing thread and amazing rotation, I see you're a Vanson and Aero fan! And yeah that Y'2 N-1 in olive is... Mwah.
Why were you disappointed in your RW though?

 

[TartuWolf]

Amazing thread and amazing rotation, I see you're a Vanson and Aero fan! And yeah that Y'2 N-1 in olive is... Mwah.
Why were you disappointed in your RW though?

Yeah both Vanson and Aero are top tier if you're aware of their limitations and quirks
The RW jacket itself had rather poor leather in my opinion, but the main issue were the overly tight elbows. I'm much more dissapointed in RW as a brand than the jacket that I had, but that line of conversation is a shortcut to getting this thread closed for the wrong reason, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[floater]

I hadn’t answered because I was really thinking about it, it’s tough even just out of the ones I have, 5 would be much easier.

I figured the only way I could make sense of just 3 is to break them down by weight, so I approached it like this.

Lightweight, 3oz/1.3 mm and under

Midweight, 3.25-3.75oz/1.4-1.7mm

Heavyweight, 4oz/1.8mm and over

And I’m just going from what I have because I’m pretty much set with my current ones, I’m not really craving anything different or new other than maybe an olive roughout straight zip chp, but that would be custom and it likely wouldn’t be a top 3 pick from my collection, so let’s go.

My easiest choice is the heavyweight class, I would pick my red/black shrunken buffalo jacket, it’s 2mm thick and most of the front is double paneled, it’s a tank, but it’s impressively flexible and non-restrictive when worn even though it has no expansion of any kind, I also like how unique it looks and it’s wild to see how this gets people’s attention, this would be my special occasion jacket.

My second pick would be the lightweight class, I would pick my black hh highway star, it’s borderline lightweight being around 1.3mm but it wears much lighter because of the smooth and oily veg tan hh and the silky smooth and fresh liner, it’s the newest in my collection but has quickly become my go-to black jacket, this would be my daily beater jacket.

My midweight pick is tough, I don’t think I can do it sorry, it’s going be a tie between my brown deerskin bodie and my brown hh mulholland, you’d think both being brown spread collar center zip designs it would be easy to pick one over the other, but the leather and how they feel when worn is soo different, it’s a really tough choice, both look and fit great, but one is the structured jacket that feels tough and protective, while the other is the super comfy jacket that drapes like a chunky cashmere cardigan, these would be my versatile dress up or down jackets.

 

[Oil Tanned]

I'm kind of a one trick pony when it comes to things I like. I have a dozen or more leather jackets but really only four get worn often.

#1 LW Rigger in russet. It's a fabulous jacket. Dresses up when you need it and looks great w/ Levis and boots which suits me fine. Black Levis are my go-to and harness boots are what's beside my bed in the morning.

#2 LW Leather Peacoat. It's a heavy duty, heavy black coat. Mine was bought 2nd hand and made for someone tall. I had the sleeves shortened and knit cuffs installed in part because I'm not a fan of the old school peacoat design with a curiously long sleeve length and these were even exaggerated beyond that. I don't know if it'll ever break in but it's a fabulous looking coat by any standard and I'd hope to always have it at hand. It feels like armor and is always among the very sharpest looking jackets in the room.

#3 Aero brown leather jacket w/ a sheepskin lining and collar. No sheepskin in the sleeves so it's a little like a warm vest. It's tight in the shoulders and the main zipper is in the process of failing as is common w/ Aero's but it has something that my other jackets don't; it looks lived in and better w/ every scrape and scuff.

The one I wear most often isn't on the list. It's a San Diego Leather Co jacket that set me back something like $100 USD and defies categorization. At front it looks a little like an office jacket crossed with a toned down cop jacket and has leather lace adjusters at the sides and a roughly 3-4" drop at the rear hem like a riding jacket. The more you look at it though the more it seems like a daily driver that just seems slightly out of place no matter where you are. What makes it jump on my back most often is that it's freakishly comfortable. If all of SDL's jackets are similarly comfy I'm shocked that they're not more common.