Custom Aero RAF jacket

[John Lever]

After a long search for a curly fleeced RAF jacket, I decided to buy my own sheepskin and have Aero make one for me. I bought 6 UK domestic skins from an English tannery and selected the best one for the collar.
The sheepskin has a crimp to the wool and also some shine, the outer is very soft and is also shiny. Though the dull crumpled look is quite retro and vintage on some Irvin's. I actually prefer some gloss. It is very easy for jacket to look ' dead ' if they are too flat.
Using a template I supplied for the arm shape and some dimensions from my Eastman and other details suggested by Will to allow for skin sizes in the pattern this is the jacket we came up with.
Will actually made the jacket with Kelly on Thursday evening after the factory had closed for the day so I would get it in time for my short break to Austria. Such service is rarely found these days.
Will likes the material so much that they plan to switch over to it at some point.
Some other points -
The buckle is dull nickel and is a new casting from Japan.
A.M. Stamped zips
Collar strap.

Apart from a wrong size for the cuffs supplied by me,[ to be corrected after Xmas] the jacket is perfect and is exactly what I have been looking for. The Australian Merino is the 'Holy Grail' of course, but is seemingly impossible to find.

One of the best RAF jackets available today. The jacket is beautifully made, warm and very comfortable to wear.

A very big thanks to all at Aero.
More pictures to follow.

 

[deanglen]

Looks just as nice in this forum as it does 'over there'.





dean

 

[Spitfire]

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap
What a fantastic jacket!!!!! With a perfect fit - and nice shine!
Congrats with a job well done.

 

[Smithy]

Soren's right John, that's a pearler of an Irvin. Love the curly fleece. You wear it well!

 

[rikbb]

amazing work

And great collaboration between manufacturer and client.
The fur is great… the way I want it too!
rik

 

[aswatland]

Congratulations John. Your mid war Irvin is the best I have seen from Aero. The skins are spot on and it fits you very well indeed. You should get a lot of wear out of this jacket with the colder spell here in the UK.

 

[HighandDry]

Wow, beautiful jacket! I have a B-6 on order from Aero and I hope that mine turns out as nice as yours!

BTW, I noticed that you have a lot of shearlings. Any concerns about wearing shearling in the rain? Also do you ever condition your shearlings?

Congrats again.

 

[Edward]

Looks great, John.... wonder if Aero kept a record of the pattern? I've been impressed by the quality of the Aero sheepskins I've seen, but the sleeves on their Irvins always looked a bit too slim to me... Yours looks bang on.

 

[John Lever]

Looks great, John.... wonder if Aero kept a record of the pattern? I've been impressed by the quality of the Aero sheepskins I've seen, but the sleeves on their Irvins always looked a bit too slim to me... Yours looks bang on.

I hope so. We just need to tighten the cuffs by a couple of inches and reduce the cuff windflaps so that there is more room for the leather to sit properly around the forearm.

 

[John Lever]

We have just returned from a short break in Austria where I wore my new jacket for 3 days all day in the snow at temperatures around 5 below freezing. It was light, warm and very comfortable with almost no shoulder ache.
I forgot to mention that the metal clips that hold on the elastic strap are riveted on to the back of the collar. In the very low temperatures I held the collar in the up position tight around my face by pulling the strap up onto my forehead under my hat.

If you want a shiny curly fleeced jacket, this is the one to go for.

 

[irvinsuit]

Custom Aero Irvin

Hi John, your custom Irvin is fantastic and your choice of skins is outstanding.
I have spoken recently to Will regarding a new hooded Irvin however the skin samples that he sent didn't really fire me up. May I ask which tannery you approached for the skins that you finally used, because I think that a hooded Irvin using these skins would look brilliant.

Thanks

Steve.

 

[John Lever]

Hi John, your custom Irvin is fantastic and your choice of skins is outstanding.
I have spoken recently to Will regarding a new hooded Irvin however the skin samples that he sent didn't really fire me up. May I ask which tannery you approached for the skins that you finally used, because I think that a hooded Irvin using these skins would look brilliant.

Thanks

Steve.

I can't really say as it's confidential at the moment. If you want Will to make you a jacket like mine, just ask him. He knows where the hides are from and can easily get some if you ask him.
They are not expensive and come from UK domestic skins.
I don't want to let pre-empt any release that's all.

 

[Spitfire]

I really really like the look of that short, curly wool - wish I had known about it, before I ordered my Irvin.
Oh well - just another reason for getting the next one:eusa_doh:

 

[irvinsuit]

Hooded Irvin

John, I understand, no problem. I'll get saving for a Hooded Irvin and I'll phone Will in due course. Thanks

I can't really say as it's confidential at the moment. If you want Will to make you a jacket like mine, just ask him. He knows where the hides are from and can easily get some if you ask him.
They are not expensive and come from UK domestic skins.
I don't want to let pre-empt any release that's all.

 

[bburtner@moran]

Custom RAF jacket

John:Why is this fleece hard to find??Just being curious..

 

[John Lever]

John:Why is this fleece hard to find??Just being curious..

Lack of imagination by manufacturers ?

 

[Naphtali]

We have just returned from a short break in Austria where I wore my new jacket for 3 days all day in the snow at temperatures around 5 below freezing. . . .

Your photographs plus temperatures identified make the questions cogent.

1. Where are your mittens or gloves?

2. Where do/would you put them in this, or other Irvin jackets, when not wearing them?

3. How did WW II bomber crew members address the problem of keeping hands warm in unheated aircraft when flying to-and-from German-occupied territory?

 

[aswatland]

How did WW II bomber crew members address the problem of keeping hands warm in unheated aircraft when flying to-and-from German-occupied territory?

They wore several pairs of gloves. Quite often bomber crewmen wore electrically wired Irvin suits in which the gloves and boots were heated from wires running through the Irvin jacket and trousers that connected to the aircraft's electrical system.

 

[John Lever]

I did wear gloves, and neck tube and a hat when we were in Austria. I wore the jacket briefly at home to take the photo.

 

[aries-buzhor]

Hello John. Is it still possible to see the pictures? There are signs "Photo not found" on all of them.