About to Buy a Leather Coat, need opinions

[bobjones]

Hi all. Am new here, and highly value the opinions of the veterans here. I am about to purchase a FQHH coat from Aero, whose sterling reputation has been cemented by many posters here. I seek a car-coat type jacket that I would be wearing for many years, and have spent significant time educating myself on leather jackets in general. Based upon that, it would seem Aero is the best choice, and is perhaps the finest men's leather coat manufacturer today.

But, I still do have a few questions about styling that I could use some help on:

1)Does anyone here own either the Aero Cheyenne, Veste de Rallye, or the Stockman?
- if so, what lining and hide type (seal, oil-pulled, etc.) did you pick?
- how long have you had the jacket, and how has it changed over time?

2)Was there a specific reason you chose that style coat over the other 2 mentioned above?

My understanding is that the Cheyenne is the biggest, widest fit (for heavier builds), and the Stockman is the longest (for taller men), with the Veste de Rallye in between. Is that an accurate assessment?

3)Which color did you pick, and have you been happy with your choice?

Thank you very much to all those who reply.

 

[HDRnR]

Don't own any of those models but I have a brown Barnstormer in steer and a cordovan halfbelt in horse. The Barnstormer is more for colder weather with alpaca lining while the halfbelt has a tartan lining. Both are great jackets and get alot of use.

 

[Smithy]

Not Aero but if you are after a "car-coat type jacket" then perhaps you should also consider the Eastman Leather Brooklands Motoring Coat. I don't have one myself but they appear to be very popular with the vintage open top crowd.

http://www.shopcreator.com/mall/eastmanleather/topic/topic-24284-1.stm

 

[DJS Press]

Bob:

I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs. and I've had no problem getting my Highwayman and Long Half Belt made to fit me correctly.

Call Mark Moye and explain your situation. He'll make good recommendations and help walk you through the process to make sure you get the fit your looking for, or to caution you if a particular model may not be the best for you.

 

[Graemsay]

Bob,

I owned two successive Veste de Rallyes some years ago. Unfortunately I filled out a bit, and so traded it in against my current Aero, which is a Hercules.

My first Rallye was in a vintage horsehide, which was lighter than the front quarter that I got my second jacket in. Unfortunately the first one was stolen after I'd had it for a year or two, so I didn't get to see how it aged.

The black FQHH (which is what my Hercules is in) has kept its colour, whereas I believe that the browns (particularly the oil pull) will fade and darken in patches.

Both jackets had the Alpaca wool lining. It's very warm - I used to only be able to wear the jacket between October and March. It didn't wear that well. I tended to carry a bag of books (I was a student at the time), and wore through it over a year or two. I'm going to get cotton drill next time.

I believe the Rallye is cut to fit over a suit jacket, whereas the Stockman is a closer fit. I don't know about the Cheyenne.

Also bear in mind that Aero can heavily customise jackets. So you can add or remove pockets. And add extra length. I'm a similar size to DJS Press, and they could tweak the Hercules to fit.

 

[tonypaj]

Just a couple of things to add. I've got a Barnstormer in FQHH, an it is seriously heavy, 4-5 kg... Colors are also interesting, mine is cherry, very red to begin with, now (heavily used for 2-3 years) mixture between red, brown, black. However, beware of the possible "bleeding" of the color, it has been discussed here to great extent...

 

[Graemsay]

Tony, please could you do me an enormous favour, and post a photo of your Barnstormer.

I've been thinking about getting an Aero in Cherry, and was curious to see how the leather ages.

Thanks.

 

[tonypaj]

Tony, please could you do me an enormous favour, and post a photo of your Barnstormer.

I've been thinking about getting an Aero in Cherry, and was curious to see how the leather ages.

Thanks.

It looks more worn than regular black or brown, I'll try to post something tomorrow...

 

[bobjones]

Thanks to everyone who has replied, you guys are great.

I am leaning towards a Cheyenne in brown FQHH, as it is a slimmer fit than the Veste, though both are quite attractive coats indeed. Thank goodness for Mark's site, the photographer on the main Aero website needs to take some better shots IMHO.

I agree that unless you live in a very cold climate, cotton is a better choice, as one can always just add a layer if need be. And the comment about Aero's flexibility is also very accurate, as they have shown a complete willingness to basically build a jacket from scratch.

A few other questions:

1- for those with a brown aero, is that "darkening in spots" an appealing aging of the jacket, or make it look bad over time?

2- i will probably not get the storm cuffs - any reason to reconsider?

3- any thoughts on the seal dark brown HH? what is the jerky HH?

i was told these are lighter weight HHs, but in my preference, the darker the brown the better. However - I would get their "regular" brown if thats the only brown available in FQHH, as the hide durability is paramount.

4 - it seems Aero uses 2 types of jacket stitching, a "roll-over" and an end-to-end stitch. My preference is for the roll-over at all seams, any thoughts on this?

5 - what does everyone wear their longer aeros with? IMHO I believe that it is attractive enough to go from very casual with jeans right up to (but no including) a suit.

Thanks again all.

 

[Graemsay]

Aero had a picture of a used oil pull steerhide jacket on their site a few weeks back. Unfortunately they've sold it, and taken the picture down, but I'm sure that if you asked they could send it to you.

The jacket had acquired a fantastic lived-in look, due to the darkening and lightening of the hide. I liked it a lot and am seriously considering oil pull FQHH as a consequence. If you want something to keep the new, shiny look then it's probably not for you.

Apparently the current batch of oil pull FQHH is quite dark brown, though not as dark as the seal. Aero will send a sample if you ask.

All three of my Aeros have had storm cuffs, and I've had no problems with them, and haven't found that they get in the way.

Incidentally, Aero offer the cotton drill lining in red, which looks very nice. If you want something a bit more striking than the typical brown, then it would be an option...

I tend to wear my jackets with jeans, as I don't tend to dress any more formally. I'd expect that a Cheyenne (or similar) would go well with smarter clothes.

Edit: Thanks for the offer to post pics of the Barnstormer Tony. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

 

[tonypaj]

Edit: Thanks for the offer to post pics of the Barnstormer Tony. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

Here's a url, this was more complicated than I thought, there are a couple of more pictures there, as well... Pictures are with my cell phone, the real color is a bit redder, it was bright sunshine...


http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2475332530103093466EGliDk

 

[bobjones]

Cheyenne collar

I noticed in comparing the Cheyenne collar to the Lost World one on the "Downtown", the Aero might not have a straight line style. Meaning, when buttoned up to the top, the edge of the Cheyenne might not be vertical. Am I off on this?

Here are the 2 coats in comparison:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=6120375&uid=142228

http://www.lostworldsinc.com/Horsehide_Leather_Car_Coat_Downtown.htm

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on adding a bi-swing back to the Cheyenne? Is this a stylistic not-to-do?

 

[Graemsay]

Tony, many thanks for the pictures. The cherry horsehide ages very nicely.

Bob, the way the colours on the cherry have gone is similar to how the brown oil pull leather looked on Aero's site.

The bi-swing back that Aero uses looks similar to that used on traditional tweed shooting jackets. So it should work stylistically, and I've seen pictures of overcoats with pleated backs, though these tend to be a single, central pleat.

I've been thinking about a Mariner (with a bi-swing back), and that would be easier to adapt, as most of Aero's jackets that have these use a half-belt style. So adding one to a Cheyenne would involve a bit more surgery.

The straight (or not) front is probably down to the dummy and cut of coat. The Aero jacket looks looser on its dummy, and it might be hanging at a slightly odd angle.

Incidentally, the Lost World jacket looks closer to the Stockman.

 

[bobjones]

Bob, the way the colours on the cherry have gone is similar to how the brown oil pull leather looked on Aero's site.

So the regular brown is a bit darker? On Mark's site (I look there since his pictures are better than the main Aero one) even the "regular" brown seems to have several slightly different shades to it. I imagine it might have something to do with the hides available that week/month, etc.

So adding one to a Cheyenne would involve a bit more surgery.

Quite possibly. When I order the coat shortly I will raise this issue with Aero.

The straight (or not) front is probably down to the dummy and cut of coat. The Aero jacket looks looser on its dummy, and it might be hanging at a slightly odd angle.

Indeed. I wanted as straight a line below the collar as possible, but this is not a huge issue.

Incidentally, the Lost World jacket looks closer to the Stockman.

What makes you see it that way? Do you mean by the overall shape? This is tough to verify as Mark offers no pictures of the Stockman on his site, and Aero's one Stockman pic is less than clear

 

[Graemsay]

I get the impression that the shade of the leather varies with the batch. So (for example) their current supply of oil pull is very dark brown.

Perhaps the solution would be to ask Aero to build your jacket out of the darkest piece of brown heavy horsehide that they have in stock.

The Cheyenne (as well as the Veste de Rallye and Stockman) has a three piece back, with a top panel across the shoulders, and two panels split by a vertical seam below.

If you want to add an action back, then the vertical seam would be eliminated, and you'd end up with three panels separated by a half belt. Something like the Mariner, but with the top back panel split into a separate shoulder and back panel, with the bi-swing back on the latter.

I've seen this arrangement on shooting jackets, and (I think) on a few of Aero's jackets in Mark's gallery.

The LW jacket looks like a slimmer cut than the Cheyenne, and I believe that the Stockman is also a slimmer cut than that jacket. The main difference between it and the Stockman is that the latter has patch pockets sewn on the outside of the jacket.

 

[Graemsay]

I was right, the Half Belt Deluxe has the bi-swing back with a shoulder panel.

Pictures can be seen here:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=13495440&uid=142228

 

[bobjones]

I was right, the Half Belt Deluxe has the bi-swing back with a shoulder panel.

Pictures can be seen here:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=13495440&uid=142228

Hi Graemsay.

I put in my order, but without the bi-swing, as you indicated, would require significant reconstruction to the coat, including the addition of a belt in the back, which I didn't like. Cleaner lines are preferable for me, so I will just have to sleep more nights wearing the jacket so it wont be too hard to move my arms

Anyway, the coat won't be in my hands until mid April (seems very far away right now, sigh), but I am quite excited about it. In NYC everybody buys black leather mall jackets it seems, so I am very glad I went with something different.

 

[Graemsay]

Glad to hear that you've gone through with it.

Did you go for the normal brown, or the oil pull in the end? (I'd have gone for the oil pull personally, but if I get an Aero it'll probably end up in Cherry.)

I'm still trying to figure out what I want. I'm after either a Mariner or (just the last day or so) a Stockman. Or possibly something shorter, such as an A-2 (I have spoken to John @ Goodwear), a Californian or even a Cossack.

 

[Flitcraft]

Just to stir the pot...

check out Wested Leather's "Dr. Who" jacket...


Dr Who Jacket


As worn in th TV series Dr Who this 3/4 Jacket is based on a WW2 German Submariners jacket.

Wested Leather made this jacket for the film 'Das Boot'

Available in Black Hide or Brown Predistressed Hide.

 

[Flitcraft]

Oops!...

Too late!
I should learn to type faster![huh]