Best leather for a lifelong jacket?

[dudewuttheheck]

The LVC 1890 (and of course the originals its a repro of) are a good illustration of the point. The denim is 8oz and–despite the fact that most of us who bought the repro bought it in our waist size–the originals that survive are oversized, because in reality they were worn as a lightweight but protective outer layer (hence the ‘waist overalls’ term) over their trousers.

Yeah that gets to another issue with heavy jeans. Most guys who buy them wear them way too tight and slim

 

[Canuck Panda]

Life long jacket leather. I will have to go with goat. I have been looking at a lot of vintage G-1's lately. The old ones are thin but they look new enough, some dates back to the 40s, been through combat, looks they are still wearable with a lining change and knits change.

 

[Aloysius]

Yeah that gets to another issue with heavy jeans. Most guys who buy them wear them way too tight and slim

Yeah, historically both lightweight and heavyweight jeans existed.

Levi's never really went heavyweight. Lee did, advertising that their jeans were 17oz, but crucially the jeans in question were wide legged cowboy jeans, so the possibility of the fabric rubbing against itself was far less of a concern.

Now you have people wearing 24oz Iron Heart skinny jeans, lol.

 

[handymike]

And me wearing these….

 

[navetsea]

perhaps the problem with selvedge denim jeans is in their pattern, they have to leave the outseam straight for the selvedge ID, also the fabric width leave little room to modify the fit for the seat area unlike non selvedge pants where the width of the fabric is much wider and give more freedom in pattern making and placing , with selvedge jeans it always either the jeans with more or less leg spread in the pattern, more leg spread = more hip room for the waist size but paid with hip flare and excessive whiskering creases around the crotch, or less leg spread = less hip room for the waist size, straining when sitting and the seam might be digging into your ass when bought with fitted top block but there is little hip flare and minimal or much neater whiskers, the patterning is archaic and very 2 dimensional you have to pick your poison, modern mall non selvedge jeans has a lot better cut for the seat area in their pattern, you can buy jeans in your waist size with enough seating room on the back yet look neat from the front with no hip flaring, just more modern more 3D space for the seat.

 

[navetsea]

And me wearing these….
View attachment 485363

I honestly think that is the only kind of jeans that looks fine to be worn with sandals.

 

[TartuWolf]

Wish there was more info about the relatively new Kelpie offering in this regard. Also trying to choose between the Aero leather options, most likely will go with thin CXL FQHH in brown.

 

[MrProper]

Wish there was more info about the relatively new Kelpie offering in this regard. Also trying to choose between the Aero leather options, most likely will go with thin CXL FQHH in brown.

I have the impression that you are very fixated on horse hide? If that is the case, I would look again despite cow/steer. I myself was HH fixated on shoes and jackets and now know that HH is not necessarily the measure of all things.

 

[TartuWolf]

@MrProper
I know what you mean. I do NOT think that HH is better than any other hide. But the ONLY thing I've ever had is cowhide (apart from the temporary Dustbowl that I had). I have a jacket coming in in goatskin(5* premium black waxed). And I feel like the CXL FQHH is kind of part of the classic/quintessential "Aero experience", especially for my first jacket from them. I definitely imagine myself ordering, for example, badalassi in the future.
I'm think I'm way more unreasonable / silly / naïve about insisting on veg tan / combi tan and full-aniline / semi-aniline.

 

[Aloysius]

And I feel like the CXL FQHH is kind of part of the classic/quintessential "Aero experience", especially for my first jacket from them.

If you mean the late-2000s TFL experience where all leathers except CXL FQHH were dismissed, then sure. But bear in mind that those people themselves found they preferred CXL steerhide when they were fraudulently sold it instead of horse… It was a very weird time on the forum.

The original Aero hide wasn’t CXL FQHH; it was Connolly, which is incredible but sadly no longer exists.

 

[handymike]

If you ever get the opportunity to try on a Connolly jacket from Aero, you will understand how they made a name for themselves.

 

[Aloysius]

If you ever get the opportunity to try on a Connolly jacket from Aero, you will understand how they made a name for themselves.

Alternatively, he could buy a 90s-or-earlier Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Land Rover, Jaguar or Aston Martin and enjoy the seats. Not the cheapest option though…

 

[handymike]

Or, just buy the hide and send it out....
https://www.connollybros.co.uk/leather-1

 

[Aloysius]

Or, just buy the hide and send it out....
https://www.connollybros.co.uk/leather-1

This is a new company that calls itself Connolly. It's not the original stuff.

Anyway, the answer to the question in the title is, pretty much indisputably, goatskin or kangaroo hide.

 

[TartuWolf]

If you mean the late-2000s TFL experience where all leathers except CXL FQHH were dismissed, then sure. But bear in mind that those people themselves found they preferred CXL steerhide when they were fraudulently sold it instead of horse… It was a very weird time on the forum.

The original Aero hide wasn’t CXL FQHH; it was Connolly, which is incredible but sadly no longer exists.

I've seen it mentioned many times that IF you want CXL then Aero is the place to go. Meaning that, in a way, Aero specializes in CXL more than any other jacket maker. From that perspective it also makes me want to try the Aero CXL. But if they don't have thinner FQHH then I might go with Kelpie, as the sample that I received also looks lovely. Almost a bit cordovan like with the burgundy coming through the brown.

I've heard Connolly mentioned in awe before, but have not seen many photos of it.
And yes, I've heard of the "storse debacle"

 

[VansonRider]

This is a new company that calls itself Connolly. It's not the original stuff.

Anyway, the answer to the question in the title is, pretty much indisputably, goatskin or kangaroo hide.

Kangaroo hide, seconded.

My Vanson bias aside, any heritage grade leather jacket will be a lifetime jacket if you care for it. Thats the idea of leather. Someone mentioned buying two, and that's a very smart call. Two jackets mean that if one gets soaked when you have to bail out of a plane using a rubber raft as a parachute, slide down a glacier and into the Amazon river, you can wear the second jacket while the first one slowly dries out in the shade away from a heat source over several days until you condition it and let that dry for another 24 hours until you can wear it again.

Or just get a Vanson, falling out of planes is just the recommended break in process for their hot wax stuffed and hand polished competition hide.

 

[Edward]

Yeah that gets to another issue with heavy jeans. Most guys who buy them wear them way too tight and slim

I see this a lot. It looks odd to me..... but then I'm really not interested in a fashion look post-1960ish. Most of the denimheads I encounter other than round here want slevedge and the rest of it, but they also want a skinny leg, and a "waist"band that's about four inches south of their natural waist. Horses for courses, of course, but it looks all wrong to me. I suppose that's the classic cloth vs cut thing. OTOH, I've seen repro trousers made to a perfect 1930s pattern, but which looked all wrong because they were made from modern cloths that were far too light, so the drape was all wrong.

If you mean the late-2000s TFL experience where all leathers except CXL FQHH were dismissed, then sure. But bear in mind that those people themselves found they preferred CXL steerhide when they were fraudulently sold it instead of horse… It was a very weird time on the forum.

The original Aero hide wasn’t CXL FQHH; it was Connolly, which is incredible but sadly no longer exists.

The CXL Steer can be beautiful too - though it has it's limitations. I remember being shown at Galashiels how some designs didn't suit it - those with open pleats like the Dustbowl - because it was too heavy a hide for them to "work" properly - whereas the FQHH generally would do it. Same old, same old - not every hide will be best for every jacket. I agree, though, that the variety we have now is much nicer than the fixed view of one hide to rule them all.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

I see this a lot. It looks odd to me..... but then I'm really not interested in a fashion look post-1960ish. Most of the denimheads I encounter other than round here want slevedge and the rest of it, but they also want a skinny leg, and a "waist"band that's about four inches south of their natural waist. Horses for courses, of course, but it looks all wrong to me. I suppose that's the classic cloth vs cut thing. OTOH, I've seen repro trousers made to a perfect 1930s pattern, but which looked all wrong because they were made from modern cloths that were far too light, so the drape was all wrong.




The CXL Steer can be beautiful too - though it has it's limitations. I remember being shown at Galashiels how some designs didn't suit it - those with open pleats like the Dustbowl - because it was too heavy a hide for them to "work" properly - whereas the FQHH generally would do it. Same old, same old - not every hide will be best for every jacket. I agree, though, that the variety we have now is much nicer than the fixed view of one hide to rule them all.

Yeah I don't get it either. People seem to think this looks modern and updated and therefore better, but they don't actually suit people's bodies well imo

 

[Aloysius]

Most of the denimheads I encounter other than round here want slevedge and the rest of it, but they also want a skinny leg, and a "waist"band that's about four inches south of their natural waist. Horses for courses, of course, but it looks all wrong to me.

This was true until the mid-2010s (although even then with a vocal straight leg minority) but since, both denim enthusiasts and the fashion market have shifted to higher waists and straight legs.

For instance, even ‘mainstream’ non-LVC Levi’s offers some new high waist straight leg cuts, sort of a “high street LVC” (a good direction to see this happening to the mainstream line, though sad that at the same time they’ve been moving LVC in a less repro direction).

 

[VansonRider]

This conversation on vintage clothes is making me nostalgic for the '90s swing revival. Those were some fun times