Ask a Question, Get An Answer About Outerwear

[MrProper]

Thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate your opinion. Honestly I always thought about getting the original. Only thing is, that the original is goat and I thought Buffalo is thicker, heavier and more durable.

I wouldn't bet on buffalo being more durable than goat.
I'm pretty sure the Bundeswehr thought about what was the best material for their purpose back then. And if that was buffalo, they would have taken buffalo (at least as long as the price was reasonable). Goat looks like new for a long time (which is not everyone's case), is sturdy, and is also okay in terms of weight.
I can't remember how thick the leather was back then, unfortunately. But had I been able to afford it, I would have wanted one back then.

 

[jonbuilder]

No Aero is one price for all, no deduct VAT.
But they just had the 25 off sale which is like their way of saying no VAT and then some. Good deal if the right jacket shows up.
Good to know our American members don’t even have to pay sales tax! There is no duty for Canadian customers, but there is still the 12 percent sales tax. Ugh.

The VAT tax on Aero jackets has been discussed in other threads. I do not know how or why Aero charges overseas customs the same price it charges in the UK where the VAT is included in the listed price. I know when I was in France and purchased a pair of hand-lasted shoes the VAT was deduced from the sales price when I showed my passport.
Just to clarify state sales tax is not collected in the US on overseas goods coming in
Customs fees are not collected if less than the total value of the package is less than $800

 

[Robbie79]

I'm about to buy my first Pecos boots, however they are one size too big and I wonder if someone has an advice to make them smaller.
I've found many ways to make them smaller on the Internet, e.g. heel cushions/pads, leather footbeds (e.g. from Red Wing), so called toe fillers made of soft EVA-material, etc. without know which one is the best. Therefore I would appreciate first hand experience from you guys before I make the purchase.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Robbie

 

[Harris HTM]

I'm about to buy my first Pecos boots, however they are one size too big and I wonder if someone has an advice to make them smaller.
I've found many ways to make them smaller on the Internet, e.g. heel cushions/pads, leather footbeds (e.g. from Red Wing), so called toe fillers made of soft EVA-material, etc. without know which one is the best. Therefore I would appreciate first hand experience from you guys before I make the purchase.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Robbie

My experience says that with lace boots you can rather easily get away with a size too big with silicone insoles. With slip-on boots then this is more tricky. I own a pair of Chippewa Engineers that I stupidly bought a size too big (funny thing I bought them in the US while on a business trip in 2010 after trying them on). I got the silicone insoles, tightened the strap and wore them for years - however my whole foot was a bit lifted up due to the insole and my big toe rubbed against the edge of the steel toe. From one point on I wore them only after placing a hansaplast around my big toes.

 

[Robbie79]

My experience says that with lace boots you can rather easily get away with a size too big with silicone insoles. With slip-on boots then this is more tricky. I own a pair of Chippewa Engineers that I stupidly bought a size too big (funny thing I bought them in the US while on a business trip in 2010 after trying them on). I got the silicone insoles, tightened the strap and wore them for years - however my whole foot was a bit lifted up due to the insole and my big toe rubbed against the edge of the steel toe. From one point on I wore them only after placing a hansaplast around my big toes.

@Harris HTM Many thanks for your feedback and recommendation. Are the silicone insoles removable or do they have an adhesive layer? Is it a heel cushion like this https://amzn.to/3Hcew1A or a full insole?

In parallel I'm asking Jamie @EastWestApparel if he has an advice or experience with following adjustable shoe filler:
https://amzn.to/2ZYn5Me

Thanks again!

 

[Harris HTM]

@Harris HTM Many thanks for your feedback and recommendation. Are the silicone insoles removable or do they have an adhesive layer? Is it a heel cushion like this https://amzn.to/3Hcew1A or a full insole?

In parallel I'm asking Jamie @EastWestApparel if he has an advice or experience with following adjustable shoe filler:
https://amzn.to/2ZYn5Me

Thanks again!

The ones I've used for my Engineers were fuul-length silicone insole, no adhesive, like this:

I use the one you've posted (heel cushions) with my William Lennons and Tricker boots because I have started having some issues with my right heel, a hereditary gift from my mom. These heel cushions tend to make a lace boot slightly more uncomfortable on the instep when the fit is on the tight side.

 

[Robbie79]

The ones I've used for my Engineers were fuul-length silicone insole, no adhesive, like this:
View attachment 376863

I use the one you've posted (heel cushions) with my William Lennons and Tricker boots because I have started having some issues with my right heel, a hereditary gift from my mom. These heel cushions tend to make a lace boot slightly more uncomfortable on the instep when the fit is on the tight side.

Thanks - The ones I posted are used for the shoe toe area and not for the heels (I've seen the ones of the heels). The shoe toe fillers are adjustable and made of flexible EVA material. I'll likely decide between the silicone insoles and the shoe toe fillers or try one first and if it doesn't work out I'll try the other ones.

 

[Harris HTM]

Thanks - The ones I posted are used for the shoe toe area and not for the heels (I've seen the ones of the heels). The shoe toe fillers are adjustable and made of flexible EVA material. I'll likely decide between the silicone insoles and the shoe toe fillers or try one first and if it doesn't work out I'll try the other ones.

I was referring to these you've posted, the heel cushions:
"Is it a heel cushion like this https://amzn.to/3Hcew1A or a full insole?"
You can try all three options, even if you end up using only one then I think it'd be easy to find a friend or relative who could use the rest.

 

[JMax]

I normally go YKK and be done with it. This time I’m looking into purchasing a different replacement zipper for a recently purchased vintage jacket. It has not arrived yet so I can’t measure it. X zip where the zip goes all the way up the left side, bottom lapel. I see a bunch of different lengths for main zips being sold. In 1/2” increments. 24, 24.5….30, 30.5, 31 and so forth.

My question— what length should I be focused on? What is the minimum length? Im guessing that it’s better too long than too short. Lol. Given that, does it really matter, just go long and Dena can cut it as needed?

Thanks.

Edit: Looks like around 20” is the norm for all of my jackets.

 

[Mike Walton]

Anyone able to ID this jacket visually? Leather with wool lining and a button collar but the only tag is the Made in USA, materials and care tag. No name anywhere. Any ideas?

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

I normally go YKK and be done with it. This time I’m looking into purchasing a different replacement zipper for a recently purchased vintage jacket. It has not arrived yet so I can’t measure it. X zip where the zip goes all the way up the left side, bottom lapel. I see a bunch of different lengths for main zips being sold. In 1/2” increments. 24, 24.5….30, 30.5, 31 and so forth.

My question— what length should I be focused on? What is the minimum length? Im guessing that it’s better too long than too short. Lol. Given that, does it really matter, just go long and Dena can cut it as needed?

Thanks.

Edit: Looks like around 20” is the norm for all of my jackets.

yeah, they can cut the zipper shorter. So if in doubt, go a little longer.

 

[BlueAltitudes]

About how long do you all think it takes to break in horsehide leather? Specifically Shinki if that matters at all. I'm not too sure.

 

[Jin431]

About how long do you all think it takes to break in horsehide leather? Specifically Shinki if that matters at all. I'm not too sure.

Depends on the weight and finish of the specific hide but biggest factor is the amount of wear time and type of activity you are doing while wearing the jacket. From personal experience I'd say a good 6-8 weeks of daily wear between 4-8 hours of light activity did it for me. That's just breaking it in though, I feel it would take years of regular wear to properly mold a jacket to the wearer.

 

[BlueAltitudes]

Depends on the weight and finish of the specific hide but biggest factor is the amount of wear time and type of activity you are doing while wearing the jacket. From personal experience I'd say a good 6-8 weeks of daily wear between 4-8 hours of light activity did it for me. That's just breaking it in though, I feel it would take years of regular wear to properly mold a jacket to the wearer.

Hmm, that's longer than I thought! I need to start wearing them more often than I considered to properly wear them in then. My Fine Creek Leathers is a 3 oz Shinki Horsehide which I acquired around April or May time frame and it's just now starting to feel a LITTLE bit worn in haha. I didn't wear it much during the summer because it was too hot here in Sacramento.

 

[Jin431]

Hmm, that's longer than I thought! I need to start wearing them more often than I considered to properly wear them in then. My Fine Creek Leathers is a 3 oz Shinki Horsehide which I acquired around April or May time frame and it's just now starting to feel a LITTLE bit worn in haha. I didn't wear it much during the summer because it was too hot here in Sacramento.

it takes a while and some effort to get them to wear and feel right. I breaked in 2 full aniline shinki jackets in about 6 weeks, currently working on a black teacore which is almost there and a really heavy shinki Mulholland that's nowhere near being comfy. I have an older brown shinki Mulholland (atleast 3 years old) that's pretty much breaked in but not showing any real wear.

 

[jonesy86]

Does anyone know where I could buy a button like this one? I think it is a bone cat eye or fish eye 5/8th inch two hole black button.

 

[Marc mndt]

Does anyone know where I could buy a button like this one? I think it is a bone cat eye or fish eye 5/8th inch two hole black button.
View attachment 379218

I've searched everywhere to buy a set of these for my next Field Leathers project, no luck. Either they were plastic or they had to be ordered in wholesale quantities. I ended up buying a used Ralph Lauren cardigan (with bone cat eye buttons) for €5.

 

[jonesy86]

I've searched everywhere to buy a set of these for my next Field Leathers project, no luck. Either they were plastic or they had to be ordered in wholesale quantities. I ended up buying a used Ralph Lauren cardigan (with bone cat eye buttons) for €5.

View attachment 379263

Thanks, I was going crazy trying to find these buttons.

 

[Carlos840]

Thanks, I was going crazy trying to find these buttons.

Here are Corozo Cats eyes buttons.
Coroso is a natural material, and was pretty commonly used for buttons in the 20s, it went out of fashion when bakelite became cheaper and more common.

https://bennosbuttons.com/cz-49-genuine-corozo-shirt-button.html

I bought some Corozo buttons for a project and they are really nice, smooth but not plasticky:

https://jamestailoring.co.uk/product/classic-grey-suiting-button-made-from-natural-corozo/

 

[Carlos840]

I've searched everywhere to buy a set of these for my next Field Leathers project, no luck. Either they were plastic or they had to be ordered in wholesale quantities. I ended up buying a used Ralph Lauren cardigan (with bone cat eye buttons) for €5.

View attachment 379263

Actually, the ones on the left are also Corozo, you can tell by the lines that look like level lines on a map.