I first posted this on the Vintage Leather Jacket Forum as I collect A2 Jackets, but I think that most of the ideas apply to any of us, so I thought I would share this with all of you here on this forum .
I just turned 73 a few months ago, and I started thinking about all the jackets I’ve collected over the last 25 years and more importantly ..., Why the hell I did that!
So here are some of my thoughts on this ....... uhh....hobby .
1. No matter how many jackets you might own, you can only wear one at a time.
2. Today’s latest and greatest jacket that you paid hundreds of dollars for.... will be tomorrow’s closet queen that you tossed over for that new latest and greatest jacket, that you paid hundreds of dollars for.
3. If you want your new repro to look like a worn beat up original..., then you have to wear it and beat the piss out of it, like they did to worn beat up originals.
4. If you want your jacket to look like an original, remember that original owners only had one jacket and refer back to statement #3.
5. Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.
6. Try as I might.... I still can’t figure out how to take all these damn jackets with me when I go.... The best I’ve been able to manage is, taking the one that I’ll be wearing when they close the lid!
7. If you are buying jackets with the idea that these are collectors items that will be worth more money when you go to sell them.... remember that the world is full of “cheap bastards” and that we have our fair share here on VLJ as well.
8. I’ve made some friends on this forum. I’ve pissed off some people on this forum. Once people read this posting , I’m not sure what side of that statement they will come down on.
9. Ive come to realize that over the years, I’ve spent thousands of dollars and owned several Original A2’s, GWs , ELCs , Aeros, along with many other jackets, but when it came down to wearing them, I always picked one or two favorites and all of the rest were wasted money.
10. When I had to choose between buying a new jacket or buying a new item for the house of lesser value, I swallowed elephants and choked on fleas , and bought the new jacket while complaining about the cost of the cheaper household item.
11. Regardless of how we view these jackets i.e. “GWs are the greatest, ELCs are the bomb, Aeros are the coolest” etc, etc, etc, . Remember that they are really just articles of used clothing , nothing more.
12. Regardless of which jackets I wear, my wife thinks that they all look alike, and at this point of my life is suggesting I get tested for dementia!
13. Because of this hobby and this forum, I have friends who I’ve never met, and probably never will, but I still consider them as friends.
14. I’ve promised myself that I would never buy another jacket, but that was 8 years and 11 jackets ago.
15. I live in Florida where the average year around temperature is about 79 degrees F. Why do I have or need 5 Shearling jackets , but more importantly why am I so excited about the new D1s being posted on the forum. Have I lost my mind??
16. Lastly....... I promised myself that if the COVID 19 doesn’t take me down , I’m going to sell some of these jackets and take the money and put it to better use by traveling to different places and meeting some of my friends, who I just haven’t met yet.
Cheers
I just turned 73 a few months ago, and I started thinking about all the jackets I’ve collected over the last 25 years and more importantly ..., Why the hell I did that!
So here are some of my thoughts on this ....... uhh....hobby .
1. No matter how many jackets you might own, you can only wear one at a time.
2. Today’s latest and greatest jacket that you paid hundreds of dollars for.... will be tomorrow’s closet queen that you tossed over for that new latest and greatest jacket, that you paid hundreds of dollars for.
3. If you want your new repro to look like a worn beat up original..., then you have to wear it and beat the piss out of it, like they did to worn beat up originals.
4. If you want your jacket to look like an original, remember that original owners only had one jacket and refer back to statement #3.
5. Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.
6. Try as I might.... I still can’t figure out how to take all these damn jackets with me when I go.... The best I’ve been able to manage is, taking the one that I’ll be wearing when they close the lid!
7. If you are buying jackets with the idea that these are collectors items that will be worth more money when you go to sell them.... remember that the world is full of “cheap bastards” and that we have our fair share here on VLJ as well.
8. I’ve made some friends on this forum. I’ve pissed off some people on this forum. Once people read this posting , I’m not sure what side of that statement they will come down on.
9. Ive come to realize that over the years, I’ve spent thousands of dollars and owned several Original A2’s, GWs , ELCs , Aeros, along with many other jackets, but when it came down to wearing them, I always picked one or two favorites and all of the rest were wasted money.
10. When I had to choose between buying a new jacket or buying a new item for the house of lesser value, I swallowed elephants and choked on fleas , and bought the new jacket while complaining about the cost of the cheaper household item.
11. Regardless of how we view these jackets i.e. “GWs are the greatest, ELCs are the bomb, Aeros are the coolest” etc, etc, etc, . Remember that they are really just articles of used clothing , nothing more.
12. Regardless of which jackets I wear, my wife thinks that they all look alike, and at this point of my life is suggesting I get tested for dementia!
13. Because of this hobby and this forum, I have friends who I’ve never met, and probably never will, but I still consider them as friends.
14. I’ve promised myself that I would never buy another jacket, but that was 8 years and 11 jackets ago.
15. I live in Florida where the average year around temperature is about 79 degrees F. Why do I have or need 5 Shearling jackets , but more importantly why am I so excited about the new D1s being posted on the forum. Have I lost my mind??
16. Lastly....... I promised myself that if the COVID 19 doesn’t take me down , I’m going to sell some of these jackets and take the money and put it to better use by traveling to different places and meeting some of my friends, who I just haven’t met yet.
Cheers
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