Brown or Cordovan for my Aero Highwayman?

[rloudon]

Shell Cordovan Match

I've had a couple of Cherry jackets and basically, no, it's not bright. It's not exactly a dull shade either but I'd say it's more dull than it is bright. Develops a very nice patina if you have the patience and is not a bad match at all for Horween Shell Cordovan #8

Do you think cherry or cordovan would be a better match for #8 shell cordovan?

I am looking at cherry or cordovan for my first leather jacket and would like to match against my dress shoes which are mostly #8 shell. I appreciate any help as pictures on the computer are especially difficult to judge.

 

[Fanch]

I also have dress shoes and belts that are Horween #8 shell cordovan. IMO cordovan would be a better match than cherry, although both would work. The cherry lacks the black tones that cordovan and #8 shell have.

 

[Sloan1874]

Cherry tends towards the purple rather than brown tones of cordovan, which will come through quite strongly as it ages. I would head for cordovan as its brown tones make it a much more flexible colour.

 

[zebedee]

Cordovan really is a great colour- I had some initial bleeding, but it stopped quite quickly, and the colour was definitely worth the pain.

If you get brown first, you will inevitably want cordovan later.

 

[Edward]

If people despair of getting cordovan shoes, I've found the Grenson burgundy leather to be an exact match.

I've also used an oxblood and black polish mixture on a pair of orangey-brown Trickers to get another exact cordovan match. You just need to be brave when you try that route though.

Any of the burgundy shoes from most of the big name English makers should work just fine. I have a couple of pairs of Barkers in burgundy which I typically wear with the Bootlegger (if you can see shoes in one of the photos above with my jacket, it'll most likely be the Barkers).

Aero are about to release a pair of cordovan boots. [huh]

As I recall, the Aero Jarrow boots are made with Horween CXL Steer, so while not exactly the same hide, the treatment and dying are the same, so they should be aclose to a perfect match as is possible without cutting them from the same piece of hide.

William Lennon have a pretty good match too, although it has a very pebbley finish. I'm in two minds about it and am waiting to see what my black boots are like before ordering a second pair.

I like grained leather. Less formal (you see it a lot in country brogues and boots) than smoothe leather, but I find it more durable. Much less prone to developing creases that can eventually wear through to holes where your shoe bends in line with the ball of the foot. Some of my favourite shoes are cap-toed with a smoothe toe and heel, and otherwise grained upper. Great look.

Absolutely cracking jacket Edward, great photo too.

Thanks - appreciate all the compliments on this one (the shot taken on William Blake's grave is probably my favouritre leather jacket shot of me, ever). The Bootlegger was my first new Aero leather, and followed a second hand AN6552 and a new Watrerfront (still got both, though the AN6552 is going to have to go, alas; just too neat a fit for my tastes in USN jackets, even once I lose the weight I need to drop). While I've gotten some cracking jackets since that, I think I definitely hit on something special with that first one. Looking forward to dropping the gut I now need to lose to get back in it properly!

Dunno when I'll ever be able to afford another Aero.... Bah! I've got like, four jackets all planned out to the last detail.

Only four?

Lightweight.

:lol: