Best Aero Machinist for Workcoat

[Montecristo]

Guys,
Which machinists of Aero would you recommend? I am sure all of their workers can produce wonderful jackets, but I am particularly picky in small details, so I would like to come as close at perfection as possible;-) I am considering to order a Workcoat or Maxwell, so any hints as to which machinist has most experience in this style would be appreciated.

 

[Carlos840]

I highly doubt Aero offers a "pick your machinist" scheme!
I also don't think they employ people that are not capable of putting together a jacket worthy of its label...

Lastly, perfection doesn't exist, there will always be something.

 

[regius]

Agreed, perfection doesn't exist. It's in your eyes (reads: head). Better give up before you are disappointed. Their jackets are all good. For a peace of mind, let me relate a personal experience, I once gave an Apprentice/Trainee Highwayman to a college buddy, he wears the shit out of it and it's his only leather jacket. He purposefully stretch it forward, sideways, pose in it. As he still does believe a tough leather jacket is....tough. The jacket was examined by me three years later. It's still intact at all the seams and corners.


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[jacketjunkie]

It is only a jacket and you won't ever find perfection in a man-made thing. Aero is a good product, better than many, but if you seek long enough, you always find imperfections. Don't do that to yourself. Just buy one, enjoy wearing it instead of lieing it under a magnifier and be done with the subject of a new jacket for the next 5 years.

 

[nick123]

Probably a conversation better served with Aero directly. I'm sure they'd help out.

 

[ton312]

Perfection is found in fit, get that right and you won't care about anything else.

 

[Monitor]

Dude... You'll never gonna enjoy a single jacket if you will worry about stuff like that. Believe me on this.

 

[Peacoat]

As ton312 said, concentrate on getting the fit right, and you will be satisfied. If you are in the US, go through Wade and Carrie (Thurston Brothers), and you will take most of the guesswork out of the fit. If you are going to count the stitches, buy a jacket other than leather.

 

[Mark]

Asking Aero for a particular machinist is likely to cause raised eye brows if not offence. They are all good I am sure.

 

[Harris HTM]

I own 4 aero jackets, a shackleton waistcoat, 2 schott's and recently I got a ladies Aero for my girlfriend. On ALL 8 items there are small details that could have been better, such as uneven or not straight seams, slightly mismatched panels etc, for which personally I don't care. It is a man-made product, you cannot avoid it. Just concentrate on the fit and don't mind for minor details. Enjoy your jacket without a magnifying glass!

 

[rocketeer]

Certain machinists are probably chosen for their experience in a particular style or material such as Front quarter horse, sheerling, A2, B3 or B6 etc, but leave it to the experts in the factory, I am sure they will turn out a first class job who ever is chosen to make your jacket.

 

[TREEMAN]

Aero makes these decisions and they don't charge you anything extra for it......

 

[Montecristo]

Asking Aero for a particular machinist is likely to cause raised eye brows if not offence.

Actually not. I have asked this for an earlier jacket and is was no problem at all. You just have to be willing to wait a little longer. But maybe I go for the "let them sort it out"-option this time.

 

[Bullitt]

When I visited the Aero factory, I had a chat with the man who cuts the leather and gives the projects to the machinists/artisans. He said that some of them prefer making a certain jacket type and take on projects accordingly.

The people at Aero want you to have the best jacket possible, therefore you can trust them to have your jacket made by someone who is experienced and produces a jacket as close to perfection as possible.

Always remember, it is a handmade product.

 

[Sloan1874]

I wonder who does the cloth ones. I'm finding myself increasingly drawn to the idea of Letterman jacket...

 

[Justhandguns]

I know I am going to get shot here as there are so many Aero fan boys (and girls) here. Aero's stitchings are not as meticulous as some other manufacturers, maybe it is because we are always asking for thicker hides which is quite difficult to manipulate. I have two Aero A-2s, one is pure perfection while the other simply is 'ordinary' at best.

As most of you know, the Aero jackets have their maker's name written somewhere on the tags, if you buy enough from them, you know that there are dedicated persons for each pattern, and each of them finished by one person only. Correct me if I am wrong.

One other thing is, from what I have seen so far, the general QC of those jackets sold by Thurston and Japan are better than their factory direct. Not sure if it is the case, I need you fellows to prove whether I am correct.

 

[Sloan1874]

That makes no sense whatsoever, JHG. Why would any company vary the quality of a design depending on where it was going? "Sorry, Julie, this is meant for Craig over in Glasgow - you know, the guy who owns five sub-par jackets already and can come down and examine all our stock whenever he feels like it? You've done far too good a job. It'll just raise his expectations in future and we can't have that..."

 

[Guppy]

That makes no sense whatsoever, JHG. Why would any company vary the quality of a design depending on where it was going? "Sorry, Julie, this is meant for Craig over in Glasgow - you know, the guy who owns five sub-par jackets already and can come down and examine all our stock whenever he feels like it? You've done far too good a job. It'll just raise his expectations in future and we can't have that..."

When you put it that way, it sounds silly, yeah.

But here's how it's entirely plausible:

Aero have multiple employees, with varying level of skill and seniority and experience. They're all good enough to be Aero employees, but some are better than others. They work on jackets one at a time, not in an assembly line fashion, and each craftsperson signs their work, and over time certain employees, such as Julie, become known as especially good, the best of the best.

Enter a distributor, such as Thurston Bros. They have demanding clientele who do custom orders all the time, and a large percentage of Aero's US business goes through them. Do you think Thurston will just get run of the mill jackets, or will they negotiate using their leverage in doing volume orders and special custom jackets for extremely nitpicky vintage geeks who care about the tiniest, most inconsequential details, in order to get the best quality work form the best workers in order to minimize return and rework?

Seems pretty likely if you ask me. They don't ask individuals to work to a lower standard depending on who ordered or from where; they put their best workers on their most important contracts.

 

[Fanch]

Thus far I have avoided stepping on this banana peel. I have several pairs of custom western cowboy boots made by Felipe Ramirez in Dallas, who died not too long ago. His stitching wasn't always perfect, but his boots fit like a dream and wear like iron. His boots were made by hand, and everything I bought from him had his own unique personal touch, including imperfections that mattered to me not in the least. I'm not necessarily drawing a parallel here but hopefully most of you can get my gist.

 

[Sloan1874]

When you put it that way, it sounds silly, yeah.

But here's how it's entirely plausible:

Aero have multiple employees, with varying level of skill and seniority and experience. They're all good enough to be Aero employees, but some are better than others. They work on jackets one at a time, not in an assembly line fashion, and each craftsperson signs their work, and over time certain employees, such as Julie, become known as especially good, the best of the best.

Enter a distributor, such as Thurston Bros. They have demanding clientele who do custom orders all the time, and a large percentage of Aero's US business goes through them. Do you think Thurston will just get run of the mill jackets, or will they negotiate using their leverage in doing volume orders and special custom jackets for extremely nitpicky vintage geeks who care about the tiniest, most inconsequential details, in order to get the best quality work form the best workers in order to minimize return and rework?

Seems pretty likely if you ask me. They don't ask individuals to work to a lower standard depending on who ordered or from where; they put their best workers on their most important contracts.

What makes you think I'm not a demanding customer? Look, if you've ever been to the Aero factory and met Ken, Denny, etc., the one thing you know is that they treat every order as the same - whether it's Thurston or a domestic order, a big star or just a guy off the street - not just because that's the way they work but it's just the most efficient way to do things in terms of time and manpower.
Also, why do you think that Thurston etc have the whip hand? It's Aero who have the global reputation, not them. Don't you think that if Thurston were to throw their hand in, there wouldn't be any number of stockists wouldn't jump to fill their boots?