Brando jackets

[H.Johnson]

I wear them in summer and mainly in sand. I have several pairs from the same time and I suppose I unconsciously 'rotate' them, which evens out the wear. They are a very hard-wearing shoe, not like the gummy crepe soles you get today. But, then, nothing's like it used to be...

I have a number of fifty year old shoes and boots, some of which have been resoled and some not. I think at one time you would have expected a decent pair of shoes to last fifty or sixty years.

Jinkies, do you not wear thm much, or are they simply that good? Have you had them re-soled?

 

[Graemsay]

I keep on thinking that a reversible Waterfront would be a good idea. I think that there might be something wrong with me.

 

[Papa M]

I keep on thinking that a reversible Waterfront would be a good idea. I think that there might be something wrong with me.

I thought so myself a while back and very nearly bought the one that Aero were offering for £350. It seemed like I would have been getting two very different jackets for the price of one.

However I decided against it because the FQHH would have made a very stiff and uncomfortable interior lining, and when reversed the woollen plaid would also have been an uncomfortable interior lining.

In the end I opted for a conventional non-reversible Waterfront with a black cotton lining.

 

[Edward]

I wear them in summer and mainly in sand. I have several pairs from the same time and I suppose I unconsciously 'rotate' them, which evens out the wear. They are a very hard-wearing shoe, not like the gummy crepe soles you get today. But, then, nothing's like it used to be...

I have a number of fifty year old shoes and boots, some of which have been resoled and some not. I think at one time you would have expected a decent pair of shoes to last fifty or sixty years.

Ah, I see. I'm sure wearing them on sand makes a difference. As to durability and quality.... yeah, I've come to a point where I do think it worth paying out more for something that will last and can be resoled over time, rather than a pair of cheaper, "disposable" shoes. After all, shoes at £150 that last for ten years work out cheaper in the long run than those at £50 that do two...

 

[Edward]

Sooo..... it's here! Got it today...

Love it. That label is great, too. I bought a 42R, which is my suit jacket size, and it fits me just like my ELC A2 (unsurprisingly, as it basically is an A2 design in another textile). No room for a big sweater under there (I'd have to go up a size for that), but I didn't want that; I was looking for a jacket that I could wear over a shirt as an alternative to an A2, not a B3/Irvin. Very pleased.


Oh..... and I love the smell. lol

ETA: The snaps are indeed very tight - any suggestions as to how to free them up a bit? At present, I'd feel the need to be extremely careful for fear of tearing them out of the cloth. Crackin' jacket, though.

 

[Papa M]

Interesting that yours is 42 and mine is 44 and yet mine looks not much fuller than yours. However you can see on the shoulder and sleeve length that I have allowed space for some sweatshirt layering during extreme temperatures.

Yes my snaps are tight too - but as long as you support the material when you open them you should cause no damage.

 

[Edward]

Yes, I think I could have gone up to the 44 without it swamping me, though as I plan both to lose a little weight and not wear more than a shirt below it (I tend towards the B3 in extremes of cold), I'm happy with the 42.

The interesting thing is - apart from the obvious difference in feel, and warmth, just how like an A2 it really is in cut and fit. Much more so than I'd expected. I'm planning to wear it out over the weekend, so it'll have its first road test then...

 

[Papa M]

Another cold front moving in from the North-West next week. You'll really appreciate the jacket as it completely keeps out the biting wind.

I haven't worn mine in rainy weather yet but I'm guessing that it has similar properties to my Filson which reckons to still keep you dry even when the wool has absorbed 80% precipitation.

 

[Edward]

So... I wore the Waterfront travelling to and from a burlesue night up in Warwickshire this weekend. Saturday I had an undrshirt and short sleeve shirt under it, today just a T shirt. Very pleased... it's the next warmest thing to my B3, and significantly warmer than an A2 ould have been. While not at all uncomfortable, I could have been just a touch warmer. Given the pretty low temperature out (cold eough both days for breath to condense), and me not wearing much below the jacket, thats pretty impressive...

 

[Edward]

What're you rebelling against, Johnny?

So, I thought just for a bit of fun I'd post some pictures of my other Brando jacket in action. At the very least, these images may serve as a cautionary tale of what happens when you adopt the dress of a handsome, old-school Hollywood icon, thereby inviting the inevitable, unflattering comparisons.... :

It's just a cheapy "mall" jacket I bought back in 2002, for about a hundred bucks on eBay (including shipping tog the UK). Cheap, but actually rather a nice cowhide to it that has worn very well over time. I have my eye on several of Aero's mc jackets (hoping to afford a King of the Road with a couple of minor mods to it next year, maybe into the Summer). Needless to say, this one is now limited to the costume wardrobe....

Enjoying the hat. It still needs fully broken in, but I'm considering buying a similar one in different colours and less the metallic strap for more frequent wear. Actually, I did think an olive green one with russet brown leather would be a nice, civilian alternative to a crush cap for wearing with an A2.... Anyhoo.

 

[Papa M]

...these images may serve as a cautionary tale....

You'd probably get quite a bit of attention if you wore that stuff in my hometown.

 

[Stearmen]

Brando Impression

Thats a good Brando impression Edward! Back in 94, I decided I needed another Triumph Bonneville. After I bought a cheap 76, I rode it by a friends shop. He wasn't there but his wife was, so I said, do I look like Brando, she said, "keep loosing your hair and gaining weight and you will"! Wrong vintage Brando, rode off into the sunset with a thourally deflated ego!

 

[Edward]

Thats a good Brando impression Edward! Back in 94, I decided I needed another Triumph Bonneville. After I bought a cheap 76, I rode it by a friends shop. He wasn't there but his wife was, so I said, do I look like Brando, she said, "keep loosing your hair and gaining weight and you will"! Wrong vintage Brando, rode off into the sunset with a thourally deflated ego!

lol I think I'm fast heading towards Vito Coreleone Brando myself...

You'd probably get quite a bit of attention if you wore that stuff in my hometown.

lol Well, the Bearlesque boys liked it!

 

[dr greg]

the wool trade

.

I have two Australian made Norwellan Mills OSHKOSH jackets with virtually identical pattern and colour wool, I wonder if it was exported to the UK to make those things! It might well have happened before the UK joined the Common Market...

 

[Edward]

I have two Australian made Norwellan Mills OSHKOSH jackets with virtually identical pattern and colour wool, I wonder if it was exported to the UK to make those things! It might well have happened before the UK joined the Common Market...

Certainly when the Empire still existed in any significant degree I think it would have been the norm to prefer raw materials from the dominions? The contemporary idea of the "global village" (and attendant environmental worries about the cost to the planet of importing goods as opposed to producing them locally) is possibly somewhat older than normally thhought, in that case.

 

[captaincaveman1]

You'd probably get quite a bit of attention if you wore that stuff in my hometown.

+1.

 

[dr greg]

trade wars

Certainly when the Empire still existed in any significant degree I think it would have been the norm to prefer raw materials from the dominions? The contemporary idea of the "global village" (and attendant environmental worries about the cost to the planet of importing goods as opposed to producing them locally) is possibly somewhat older than normally thhought, in that case.

Of course, it's a well-known fact that when Britain joined the Common Market (as it was then)in the 60's it torpedoed the Australian dairy industry which had preferential treatment over European sources, which is why a lot of old country towns in old dairy country have virtually no buildings built after the
50's. The resultant exodus of farming families from those towns left some districts nearly destitute and land values collapsed, and several years later, the counterculture types began to move there from the cities...but that's another story.

 

[mattfink]

You'd have a problem wearing the BRMC logo around here on a leather jacket...looks too much like the Outlaw MC logo.

 

[Edward]

You'd have a problem wearing the BRMC logo around here on a leather jacket...looks too much like the Outlaw MC logo.

Yeah, so I gather.... I'm not sure if the Outlaws organise in the UK, but I'd be incredibly careful where I wore anything resembling colours I hadn't earned. That, and who wants to be thought of as a wannabe?

 

[Papa M]

I'd be incredibly careful where I wore anything resembling colours I hadn't earned. That, and who wants to be thought of as a wannabe?

You'd be pretty safe anywhere wearing BRMC colours since it was an entirely fictitious motorcycle gang.
In fact you'd more than likely be taken as a fan of rock band Black Rebel Motocycle Club, or perhaps someone out for a fancy dress party.

If I remember correctly that piston logo was ripped from an early hot rodding club rather than a bike gang.