New Enthusiast - in need of help

[tomasahoj]

Hello everyone,

first of all I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Tomas and I am 17 years old. I've always loved vintage clothing and old hollywood so naturally I gravitated to this hobby.

I've already collected a few jackets, not many though (it's a very expensive hobby). But I need some tips.

This is my favorite jacket. James Dean 1988 motorcycle jacket. I was so happy to find it.

Ever since I got I've been doing a lot of research on how to properly take care of leather jackets. I've asked my mother and grandma as well. My mother told me that she has had leather jackets for 20 years but she has never done anything to them (as in she didn't take care of them) and they still look good. My grandma told me that she remembers that her son (my uncle) used to use some spray on them but she doesn't really remember what it was. So here come my questions:

1. Is my leather jacket dry and if so, then how can I tell? (I've researched it online, the jacket feels heavy but you can still bend the leather easily).

2. What products should I use for the jacket?

Thank you.

 

[Monitor]

1. Is my leather jacket dry and if so, then how can I tell? (I've researched it online, the jacket feels heavy but you can still bend the leather easily).

2. What products should I use for the jacket?

Thank you.

Hi.

1. This is a complex subject and your leather jacket doesn't ever have to get dry (and once it does, no leather conditioner can help it) but right now all you need to know is that your jacket is good and you've nothing to worry about for another 20 years.

2. There are many products for maintaining leather and none that I personally find to be particularly useful. I think you have Erdal leather spray over there. Good stuff. It moisturizes leather, adds a bit of wax to it... It'll be fine. Petroleum jelly is okay, too if you don't mind greasy. You can get that stuff at any shoe store.
I don't know. I am not much of a fan of leather care products though I occasionally use them, mostly on shoes.

I think you're better off cleaning the jacket off with a dry or slightly damp towel once per year, than stuffing it with stuff.

 

[tomasahoj]

Hi.

1. This is a complex subject and your leather jacket doesn't ever have to get dry (and once it does, no leather conditioner can help it) but right now all you need to know is that your jacket is good and you've nothing to worry about for another 20 years.

2. There are many products for maintaining leather and none that I personally find to be particularly useful. I think you have Erdal leather spray over there. Good stuff. It moisturizes leather, adds a bit of wax to it... It'll be fine. Petroleum jelly is okay, too if you don't mind greasy. You can get that stuff at any shoe store.
I don't know. I am not much of a fan of leather care products though I occasionally use them, mostly on shoes.

I think you're better off cleaning the jacket off with a dry or slightly damp towel once per year, than stuffing it with stuff.

Hi,

first of all thank you for such a fast answer, I really appreciate it. Can you please expand on the dry towel cleaning method? How to do it and stuff?

 

[Monitor]

Hi,
first of all thank you for such a fast answer, I really appreciate it. Can you please expand the dry towel cleaning method? How to do it and stuff?

Nothing to it; Simply wipe the jacket off, that's all.

 

[Carlos840]

Hello everyone,
first of all I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Tomas and I am 17 years old. I've always loved vintage clothing and old hollywood so naturally I gravitated to this hobby.

I've already collected a few jackets, not many though (it's a very expensive hobby). But I need some tips.

This is my favorite jacket. James Dean 1988 motorcycle jacket. I was so happy to find it.

Ever since I got I've been doing a lot of research on how to take properly take care of leather jackets. I've asked my mother and grandma as well. My mother told me that she has had leather jackets for 20 years but she has never done anything to them (as in she didn't take care of them) and they still look good. My grandma told me that she remembers that her son (my uncle) used to use some spray on them but she doesn't really remember what it was. So here come my questions:

1. Is my leather jacket dry and if so, then how can I tell? (I've researched it online, the jacket feels heavy but you can still bend the leather easily).

2. What products should I use for the jacket?

Thank you.

Hi, welcome.

Your jacket doesn't look dry to me.
That doesn't mean you can't put anything on it, just don't overdo it. I have jacket that are 20 years old and have never received any sort of conditionning, but i also have jackets that are much younger and felt dry so i gave them a coat of something and IMO they looked and felt better afterwards.

My favorite products are Pecards, Lexol and Connolly's hide food.
Depending on the type of leather i use one or the other.
On yours i would probably use a very thin coat of pecards, applied with the hands (warmth from your hands helps), buffed with a soft cloth. Less is more, no need to saturate the leather.

Edit: like Mointor, i agree that most of the time all you need to do is wipe the jaacket down with a damp cloth and that's it.
I regularly wipe the back of the collar and the inside of the wrist area with a damp cloth as the oils from the skin can damage leather in the long run .

 

[Guppy]

Welcome to the forum.

You might be interested to know that the actual jacket worn by James Dean in that photo was made by Cal Leather, a company that still exists today, and which is highly regarded here. The model worn by Dean is known as the California Highway Patrol, or CHP, and is a pattern made by many other companies as well. I think James Dean may be more famous for the red windbreaker that he wore in Rebel Without a Cause.

I'm 46 years old and when I was your age James Dean was still considered an icon of Hollywood cool, but I never saw much of his work. I did see Rebel, but I thought it was dated and hokey, and really showed how innocent that time was compared to the 1990s. I wonder how many people your age know about him and how they think about his place in history.

As everyone knows, James Dean died young, like Heath Ledger or River Phoenix or Brandon Lee, just as he was coming into his prime, and it made him immortal, but not in a way I can recommend to anyone. But if you ask me, the Cal CHP is far and away a cooler jacket than the Rebel windbreaker.

As to your question, leather is preserved by tannins, waxes and oils. It should feel very slightly waxy or oily when it is properly conditioned. But it shouldn't be so moist that it's leaving a residue on things it comes into contact with, or feels sticky. If the surface feels parched, then it could be time to clean and condition the leather.

Most of the time you can clean leather by wiping it down with a dry cloth or a slightly damp cloth. Conditioned leather repels water, so if you notice your leather is absorbing water instead, then you can condition it, once it's fully dried from the water exposure.

Generally you should be sparing with the conditioning stuff. People recommend different products, from mink or neats foot oil to petroleum jelly to products derived from bees wax or silicone. If the manufacturer recommends a product, it's never a bad idea to follow the recommendation. Otherwise you can try different things and see what you like. Test it out on an inconspicuous area, or a scrap piece of leather first, to make sure you will be happy with the results. Don't over condition, and follow the instructions.

 

[Guppy]

PS here's one of the nicest looking Cal CHP jackets I've seen on ebay. They're sure pricey, but they're built like a tank. I'd love to have this one. New they're about $1500.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1960s-Cal-Leather-LAPD-CHP-Motorcycle-Jacket-/203766824065

 

[tomasahoj]

Welcome to the forum.

You might be interested to know that the actual jacket worn by James Dean in that photo was made by Cal Leather, a company that still exists today, and which is highly regarded here. The model worn by Dean is known as the California Highway Patrol, or CHP, and is a pattern made by many other companies as well. I think James Dean may be more famous for the red windbreaker that he wore in Rebel Without a Cause.

I'm 46 years old and when I was your age James Dean was still considered an icon of Hollywood cool, but I never saw much of his work. I did see Rebel, but I thought it was dated and hokey, and really showed how innocent that time was compared to the 1990s. I wonder how many people your age know about him and how they think about his place in history.

As everyone knows, James Dean died young, like Heath Ledger or River Phoenix or Brandon Lee, just as he was coming into his prime, and it made him immortal, but not in a way I can recommend to anyone. But if you ask me, the Cal CHP is far and away a cooler jacket than the Rebel windbreaker.

As to your question, leather is preserved by tannins, waxes and oils. It should feel very slightly waxy or oily when it is properly conditioned. But it shouldn't be so moist that it's leaving a residue on things it comes into contact with, or feels sticky. If the surface feels parched, then it could be time to clean and condition the leather.

Most of the time you can clean leather by wiping it down with a dry cloth or a slightly damp cloth. Conditioned leather repels water, so if you notice your leather is absorbing water instead, then you can condition it, once it's fully dried from the water exposure.

Generally you should be sparing with the conditioning stuff. People recommend different products, from mink or neats foot oil to petroleum jelly to products derived from bees wax or silicone. If the manufacturer recommends a product, it's never a bad idea to follow the recommendation. Otherwise you can try different things and see what you like. Test it out on an inconspicuous area, or a scrap piece of leather first, to make sure you will be happy with the results. Don't over condition, and follow the instructions.

Hello,

before buying this jacket I've done a bunch of research on it + I already was a big fan of him. I am aware of the fact that his jacket was Cal Leather, the jacket of his is kept at Fairmount Historical Museum (I am including a picture). The original one had a brown fur collar instead of this black one but this still is a good alternative for someone my age who doesn't have that much money to spare + is from Europe so shipping can cause problems.

Like everybody is saying in the thread, I'll stick to the towel method, it seems easy and effective.

 

[tomasahoj]

You might be interested to know that the actual jacket worn by James Dean in that photo was made by Cal Leather, a company that still exists today, and which is highly regarded here. The model worn by Dean is known as the California Highway Patrol, or CHP, and is a pattern made by many other companies as well. I think James Dean may be more famous for the red windbreaker that he wore in Rebel Without a Cause.

I also forgot to mention that the jacket I posted in the thread is a replica done purely by The James Dean Foundation in 1988. It's not JD1 by Schott from 1985. That was a collaboration in between Schott and The James Dean Foundation.

 

[Will Zach]

Tomas, you can find vintage Cal Leathers CHP jackets online pretty inexpensive ($200-300) if you are patient and look for them. Some are from the 50s (these will be more expensive), some from the 60s and 70s. But they all are a real deal, thick leather, heavy. Same stuff James Dean was wearing. Check out this thread:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/vintage-cal-its-changing-my-outlook-on-things.103829/

PS - your Schott collab jacket is cool too.

 

[tomasahoj]

PS - your Schott collab jacket is cool too.

I also forgot to mention that the jacket I posted in the thread is a replica done purely by The James Dean Foundation in 1988. It's not JD1 by Schott from 1985. That was a collaboration in between Schott and The James Dean Foundation.

 

[Will Zach]

OK, got it.

 

[Peacoat]

Our resident expert on all things James Dean is @HoosierDaddy. He grew up in Fairmount and knows what is left of the family. He has been a bit under the weather for a while, but if he logs on, he may have something to add to the discussion.

Welcome to the Lounge. PC

 

[tomasahoj]

Our resident expert on all things James Dean is @HoosierDaddy. He grew up in Fairmount and knows what is left of the family. He has been a bit under the weather for a while, but if he logs on, he may have something to add to the discussion.

Welcome to the Lounge. PC

Always enthusiastic to learn new things.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

welcome buddy. You've got good taste. Lots of Cal fans on here and I bet James Dean has a lot to do with it. My wife actually did a painting of a famous James Dean photo but super imposed one my dogs on it LOL. It's in my avatar.

I'm selling a Cal jacket right now. I've been through a bunch of them because getting the fit right is so hard. I'll give you a great deal (assuming you have a 42ish chest) since it's the holidays and I'm always happy to support anyone who is passionate about anything. If you want more info, just PM me.

And also, your current jacket is fine. No need to condition. Lightly damp towel wipe down is great idea.

 

[Aloysius]

I love what Cal Leathers does but I honestly don't get why people are immediately trying to talk a kid who just came on here to ask for maintenance advice about his (quite nice) jacket into buying another almost identical jacket…

 

[tomasahoj]

I love what Cal Leathers does but I honestly don't get why people are immediately trying to talk a kid who just came on here to ask for maintenance advice about his (quite nice) jacket into buying another almost identical jacket…

Don't worry about me, bud. I wouldn't make an impulse purchase just like that.

I didn't end up grabbing the jacket anyways because shipping is a way too expensive.

 

[Aloysius]

It's also entirely possible that the Foundation picked Cal themselves to do this replica, since it's presumably not Schott again, and anyway California HP/LAPD jackets were (and are) made by several manufacturers.

One thing you may wish to pick up (that would also be less redundant than a similar jacket) is a pair of Lee 101 rider jeans, which Dean (and many others) wore. I believe Lee Europe makes a repro of the 50s model that frequently goes on sale. But in terms of wardrobe staples, I think you have the jacket covered!

 

[tomasahoj]

It's also entirely possible that the Foundation picked Cal themselves to do this replica, since it's presumably not Schott again, and anyway California HP/LAPD jackets were (and are) made by several manufacturers.

One thing you may wish to pick up (that would also be less redundant than a similar jacket) is a pair of Lee 101 rider jeans, which Dean (and many others) wore. I believe Lee Europe makes a repro of the 50s model that frequently goes on sale. But in terms of wardrobe staples, I think you have the jacket covered!

Dean wore Lee 101z rider jeans in Rebel and Giant. In real life he also had a pair of those and then a pair of Levi's 501 that can be seen in the image that I am including (they are on display in the James Dean Gallery).

 

[JMax]

Because Dean wore a Cal. Because Cal can be special jackets.