AeroFan_07
I'll Lock Up
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It's not about the flaws.
There are two kinds of people in this hobby; People who like the style & buy these clothes based on the price tag and people who are truly all about vintage pieces. The second group falls into two categories but I'll get back to that.
The price-tag group doesn't want to go through all the fuss of figuring out what's what - and believe you me, there's a lot to learn - so they tend to stick to the pricey repros which are easily graded, classified and a whole less fussy and vague. Basically, pricey reproductions guarantee that you're getting quality alongside the look and that's actually very cool.
Perfectionism that unfortunately often results from the way of "modern vintage" is an adverse side-effect, a cancer of the hobby and sucks the soul out of it but that's another story altogether.
As far as the vintage folk goes, some will simply pile up on vintage jackets and collect them, while the others will want to actively wear them - but - knowing of the scarcity of truly fine vintage pieces, many people will often resort to repros in order to keep their vintage pieces intact.
I personally wouldn't feel right wearing something very rare and precious out of fear of damaging it so ideally, I'd rather wear a repro while keeping the real deal safe at home. That doesn't make much sense but obsession rarely does.
I really like what you are indicating here Monitor. Even if I do not fit any of these catagories specifically. I just like leather jackets, boots, belts, etc. I was a motorcyclist between 2007 - 2012 (all pre-FL days) and I had, prior to 2012, owned over 40 different M/C style leather jackets. Yes, my friends & family all indeed thought I was nuts.
Part of the reason I gravitated toward the Motorcycle style of jacket, even long before I actually rode a bike, was for reasons of fit. Having sleeves that actually stayed close to my hand while driving/riding was indeed a revelation to me. Something I always wrested with in high school & college as I was 6' 1" tall and (in those days) like 145 lbs. Try fitting that with a standard Large or Medium store-bought jacket. A Joke indeed. Gave a lot of laughs to the ladies I suppose looking back. LL Bean and maybe Carhartt offered Long options and that could at least help.
This is part of the reason I am, at best, cautious about "vintage" originals is that I prefer to actually wear, and use what I own. Most if not all the originals I have tried just do not fit, or if they do it's pretty awkward. The second reason is the smell. Pre-Covid I would have never described myself as a "germ-o-fobe" whatsoever, however i have always been very consious of smell and just prefer things clean overall. I have a serious aversion to smoke smell, which seems to infect a high percentage of vintage products, and these would not even be allowed in my home.
All this to say, the reproduction market does make sense to me. So one last comment -- when I first encountered Aero Leathers - at Thurston Brothers store in Seattle in 2013, I was 100% overwhelmed. I had never encountered something like that prior. I also nearly passed out when I saw the price. It took a year for me to swallow this, and that is when I bought my first of these. It is a fun, interesting hobby to be involved in but it comes with a price tag.