kronos77
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 257
- Location
- Pennsylvania
My first brand new Aero is a 1930's Half Belt. My previous Aero jackets were second hand and heavily worn in so this is an experience. It took a while, an eternity, so it seemed, but it finally made it to my door last Monday.
Some may find it boring--it is black, all black. Black FQHH, black stitching, black moleskin lining, black drill in the sleeves. I just wanted a basic black leather, nothing fancy. As I am in the process of a complete upper body wardrobe rebuild, I wanted my first jacket plain and simple.
Since the sun went out after the first two pictures (it is gloomy here), I can't show all the details. The back is plain: Just a half belt, no yoke. I like the cleaner look, either a top yoke or a half belt but not both. One interior pocket, horizontal zip. The real issue was always fit and I think I got that. Some people might prefer different shoulder width, body length, sleeve length, etc, but for me it is perfect.
Nice of Aero to include a biography of the horse who donated his hide for my jacket. Nice to know about his happy life and I am sure the animal rights activist and horse lovers in my family will be glad to know the horse volunteered his hide to warm humanity. At least that's what i'll tell them.
As far as the fearsome FQHH goes, since my previous FQHH jackets were artificially broken in by their previous owners, I didn't know what to expect from from brand new, wild, bucking horsehide. Let me say, horse, I laugh at you! I was expecting maybe a year long battle to tame it, but i find it fairly comfortable after a few days and I expect in two weeks that it will be very comfortable. I even thought they gave me the mid weight by mistake. So don't be afraid of the heavy hide if that is what you want.
I need to say a word about Thurston Brothers and Carrie, who I dealt with. I couldn't have done it without them. They know the business and it is advisable to trust them. I had ideas about fit based on the fit jacket that differed from Carrie's. I trusted her and it paid off. If I went on my own judgement I would have been very unhappy or less happy.
Nobody is perfect and you shouldn't blindly and reflexively trust anyone. If you have concerns or questions, raise them. Send pictures, descriptions, whatever you have. But in the end, after considering the experts point of view, I suggest you give very heavy weight to the suggestions from Thurston Brothers.
The only regret I might have is not getting a tartan lining. I wanted something a bit warm so I went moleskin. I thought of having a tartan sewn over the moleskin, but the fabric I wanted was not cheap. I'll put the money toward my next jacket.
