Mystery Moto Help - Aero?

[hodgeko]

Hey, everyone. Just picked up this cool MC jacket at a vintage store in Porto, Portugal. It seems obvious the main zipper (and maybe the lining) have been replaced. But the other zips and the snaps look older. The sleeve and pocket zips are labeled Aero. Can anyone help identify what this jacket is or when it comes from? I like the style with the side adjusters. What is that style called? Thanks for any help!

 

[Guppy]

I'm not very familiar with them at all, but Lewis Leathers makes a style called the Lightning in a few variants which this reminds me of a lot. I'm not sure what other makers do their MC jackets in this style with the pocket configuration shown, but I believe that there are a few European makers who have. I'm not sure who was the original or when the design originated, probably 60s or even earlier.

 

[hodgeko]

I'm not very familiar with them at all, but Lewis Leathers makes a style called the Lightning in a few variants which this reminds me of a lot. I'm not sure what other makers do their MC jackets in this style with the pocket configuration shown, but I believe that there are a few European makers who have. I'm not sure who was the original or when the design originated, probably 60s or even earlier.

Thanks!

 

[Mysteryo]

It looks like a Mascot to me...

 

[hodgeko]

It looks like a Mascot to me...

Ooooh, thanks, I’ll research those.

 

[hodgeko]

It looks like a Mascot to me...

Judging by this one for sale on Etsy, I’d say you nailed it. Thanks again!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1310024715/

 

[Edward]

It looks like a Mascot to me...

Yes. This is a Mascot Black Night (no K). Mascot were made in Britain between the late fifties and the late eighties (like so many brands, they rose and fell in a wave just behind the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry itself).

The key Mascot signature touch here is the left breast lapel (right of photo); I've never seen another brand where the zip sits back from the edge like that. This of course is designed to provide something of a stormflap when the jacket is zipped right up - see photo:

It's probably fairly light leather; I believe (like many original Lewises) the Mascot jackets were primarily sheep. Mascots were a popular jacket in a lower priceband than Aviakit's Lewis and Rivett's Highwayman lines. They were also popular with punks who either couldn't afford a Lewis or weren't lucky enough to find a used one going cheap. AS memory serves, some of the boys in the Damned wore them before the money came in. Fearghal Sharkey famously wore his Black Night on the cover of the Undertones eponymous 1979 debut LP:

About ten years ago someone revived the Mascot line - thread on it here: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-return-of-mascot-leathers.82279/


They had a website and sold their jackets also through the Ace Cafe, alongside the Lewis jackets in stock there. The business appears not to have survived; Google still seems to cash their photos, but the website itself is long gone. I think they didn't quite find their market as a streetwear jacket in time, and they wouldn't really have been suitable as a riding jacket now. Nice if you can find a good one used. They vary a lot in price, not having quite the same cachet as the Lewis brand, but I've seen them sell on eBay for anywhere between GBP50 and GBP200.

 

[Edward]

As an aside, you'll often see these (and a few other, similar British jackets) show up on an eBay search for "Aero", as those distinctive 'coffin' puller zips that were used on quite a few British bike jacket brands in that period were branded Aero zips - nothing to do with Aero Leather Clothing of Galashiels. Some ebay sellers seem to use this as a naughty way to up their hit rate. It's a grey area with eBay's rules, as using a brand other than the one of the item on sale (e.g. "Not Bill Kelso, Not RMC" or "Like Aero Eastman Avirex") is forbidden, but saying "Mascot Jacket with Aero Brand Zips" is technically true....

 

[hodgeko]

Yes. This is a Mascot Black Night (no K). Mascot were made in Britain between the late fifties and the late eighties (like so many brands, they rose and fell in a wave just behind the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry itself).

The key Mascot signature touch here is the left breast lapel (right of photo); I've never seen another brand where the zip sits back from the edge like that. This of course is designed to provide something of a stormflap when the jacket is zipped right up - see photo:

View attachment 520181



It's probably fairly light leather; I believe (like many original Lewises) the Mascot jackets were primarily sheep. Mascots were a popular jacket in a lower priceband than Aviakit's Lewis and Rivett's Highwayman lines. They were also popular with punks who either couldn't afford a Lewis or weren't lucky enough to find a used one going cheap. AS memory serves, some of the boys in the Damned wore them before the money came in. Fearghal Sharkey famously wore his Black Night on the cover of the Undertones eponymous 1979 debut LP:


View attachment 520180


About ten years ago someone revived the Mascot line - thread on it here: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-return-of-mascot-leathers.82279/


They had a website and sold their jackets also through the Ace Cafe, alongside the Lewis jackets in stock there. The business appears not to have survived; Google still seems to cash their photos, but the website itself is long gone. I think they didn't quite find their market as a streetwear jacket in time, and they wouldn't really have been suitable as a riding jacket now. Nice if you can find a good one used. They vary a lot in price, not having quite the same cachet as the Lewis brand, but I've seen them sell on eBay for anywhere between GBP50 and GBP200.

Great info, thanks so much! I’m more than happy to have a little UK punk history on my back!

 

[Edward]

Great info, thanks so much! I’m more than happy to have a little UK punk history on my back!

The Undertones were of course from 'Stroke City' itself - officially nowadays referred to as "DerryLondonderry", so there are probably a couple of interpretations of that available.