Another Good Wear A-2

[SamReu]

Folks, it arrived in the mail yesterday. John emailed me the link of this jacket, an Aero contract, size 42, after dropping the jacket in the mail. It looks marvelous and fits beautifully.
http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/aero3.html

 

[scotrace]

Another perfect jacket!

 

[Rob]

Looks real good to me! :eusa_clap

 

[greyhound68]

Great looking jacket. Is it horsehide? Noticed the interior pocket nice touch.

 

[Windsock]

Great looking jacket. Is it horsehide? Noticed the interior pocket nice touch.

I was wondering the same thing George, it looks too soft and wrinkly but then it's darker and more even than the Bonanza Mesa Moo Cow on my USL.

SamReu's jacket shows how John's really nailed the details on these later examples. I don't mind the pocket per se but what I like about GoodWear above all others is the accuracy of the detail so I wouldn't have one in mine.

 

[SamReu]

Spokes Man

Gentlemen, thanks for les bon mots. When I contacted John, I asked him if he could put in an interior pocket (I know, sacrilege to some) in such a way that it wouldn't interfere with the exterior of the garment. He thought about it for a bit, and said he thought it could be done if he stitched it just behind the exterior pocket. Have at it, I said. And so he did ... at no extra charge, I might add.
I also sent him a nice-fitting denim jacket that I had lying around, and John built the Aero from that. It's steerhide, and the color is called English pub coffee. Like me, the leather came from North Carolina. I'm hard-pressed to say which Tar Heel product is more wrinkled.
Like you, I've had other A-2's, and most were pretty good, but I have never had one that fit like this. Now, I have to unload an A-2 or two.
I ordered the jacket in late August. It showed up about five weeks later. True, the jacket wasn't cheap, but good clothes rarely are. This is a good garment.
If I get off my lazy rear end, I will try to post some photos of the jacket in action.

 

[Rufus]

Beautiful jacket! I've never covetted an A-2..but..hmm..

Eglish pub coffee...? Eek.. tis clearly named by someone who's never had the misfortune of ordering coffee in an English pub.
Otherwise your jacket would be grey... with grease on top!

Look forward to more photos of jacket on the proud owner..

Rufus

 

[BuzzTheTower]

Aero A-2s

SamReu, I'm super glad you're enjoying that A-2. The Aero patterns are just fantastic...very classy looking and simple. English Pub Coffee is an interesting name, but the leather industry actually names leathers more for the ambiance of horse tackle and furniture. The fact that I'm making jackets of any of this leather is very interesting to those who make and sell it. Even my goatskin from Europe is from a tannery that pretty much only sells goatskin for shoes.

I've just made a pattern from an original Aero 16160 (which Chennault wore) and I think this is my new favorite A-2. The design is beautiful and I love the details, like a rounded pocket flap and square pocket body.

Just like most Aeros, the sleeves are a bit longer (or you could say a smaller jacket has a short body). Here are some photos of my test jacket...

http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/test_aero16160.html

J

 

[Fletch]

The fact that I'm making jackets of any of this leather is very interesting to those who make and sell it. Even my goatskin from Europe is from a tannery that pretty much only sells goatskin for shoes.

Yes, the wheels turn according to the (sometimes not very rational) rules of the mass market, all the way down the line.

I googled Bonanza Mesa just this week and every last blinkin' result was for furniture. Not upholstery or leathers used in furniture, but finished retail product. Those looking to buy hides by the square foot would not get far.

A lot of it is the closed nature of any craft culture. My family has been tangentially involved in the furniture business over the past few years, and those companies are a very cagey bunch, many of them under multi-generational family ownership and subtly distrustful of folks from outside the trade or even the region (in this case the South). I don't imagine things are much different in the garment game.

 

[kampkatz]

I really appreciate all the pics. What an education one gets from following these forums. As it is said: "a picture is worth 5000 words." Great jackets, by the way.