Distressing a leather jacket

[tropicalbob]

Buy vintage, you'll get the perfect aged look in a week or less depending on the speed of the postal service used

JK, im looking into this topic as well after purchasing a 1980's cooper A-2, the leather is just plain boring, there is no discoloration, not a single part of the jacket says its more than 30yo.

All my other leather jackets are just so good looking all beat up and sh*t.

Leather jacket in the washing machine sound a littl scary, can you tell me more about it for those who did it ?

To illustrate this topic, here is an aged (naturally?) avirex vs the cooper.

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Just curious: what kind of leather is the Cooper? I've seen goatskin decades-old that barely look aged at all. Sometimes it doesn't seem to fade so much as get a worn-down, smooth look, which is kind of cool in its own right.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Ya know Doc, that Avirex may not be as naturally aged as one might suspect.

Avirex was/is big on the pre-distressed look. I'd almost argue that they pioneered it back in the '80s when jackets were becoming the cool thing again.

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I seem to remember that 80's distressed flight jacket look came out of the Indiana Jones craze that revived interest in worn looking leather.

 

[Guppy]

in the film industry the costume department often have to age new clothes - the term is 'breaking down' - to give then a realistic look. Leather jackets are often put in the washing machine.

In the film industry, they only have to care how it looks. On camera. For a few weeks. They don't have to care about it lasting after that. I think people who want to artificially age their stuff are too impatient.

Wear it, and let it naturally wear in.

 

[Guppy]

I was thinking of buying a mannequin with bent arms put the jacket on it and just leave it in the garden let the sun and rain does their job.

Mold will set in. Just wear it a lot, and don't baby it.

 

[willyto]

If you want to break in your jacket faster the only thing you have to do is the following:

- Don't wear anything else but the jacket you want to break in (You're allowed to wear underwear, trousers are not mandatory though)

- When you get home don't remove your jacket except when taking a shower and some would even go as far as taking a shower with it.

Basically just wear the jacket 24/7 and you'll see the progress. You can help by rolling the jacket, spraying water over it until is damp while wearing it, pulling your sleeves up to your elbow, shaping the collar with warm water,etc but the secret is to just wear the jacket literally all the time without worrying about it at all. Don't ever hang it and just sleep with it.

If you remove your jacket then just roll it or throw it to the floor without any care, it helps the leather to break in.

 

[handymike]

This is after 6-8 months. Aero FQHH

It was bathed in and worn. Then I got it and did HWT to the whole thing again, and took a steamer to it.
Now it is 1 year old.

 

[super17]

I am for the natural aging as well....but yet i don't like how leather jacket look when brand new! I d rather buy a good vintage. I heard about the "leave it outside few weeks in rain and sun" but wouldn t really trust it!

 

[ton312]

Perhaps I'm alone here...but I love a new, crisp and unyielding leather jacket. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate them as they take form to the wearer. But man, when you first put on a super stiff, thick ass jacket that hasn't yet been worn. It's pretty freak'n awsome.

 

[navetsea]

sometime it is just the kind of life we have don't do much to give character needed for a leather jacket, that's why my mannequin idea... I work by sitting behind a desk drawing, can't wear the jacket while doing it because the cuff zipper might scratch paper or monitor screen... and also room lighting don't do anything to fade the leather, so I guess while I'm doing my activity indoor the jacket might be outside, and later I will bring it in to inspect and wear, I won't leave it out days and night.

 

[Big J]

@zebedee, that sounds like an awesome class! I wish I could sit at the back and listen in on what your students think!
Ubik is really clever! I read it twice in my teens and I'm still undecided about what 'really happened' in the book! The guy who made A Scanner Darkly as a movie had the movie option for Ubik too, last I heard, I hope he makes it!
I blame Dick for turning me on to it, but especially now with the hipster movement's desire for 'authenticity' I really find these ideas of 'genuine', 'authentic' and 'accuracy' in clothes to be fascinating!

 

[Flightengineer]

I like when the jacket aging naturally.
I have several leather flight jackets, there are old ones among them and they came to me from the previous owners and there is wear - scratchs and tears. I look at them and imagine how, for example, this scratch appeared from contact with the plane cockpit , or from the parachute straps. These are interesting stories that could tell these jackets if they could talk.
There are new ones, but I like to wear them myself. And this is already only my story. It seems to me that the aging is a forgery of history, although I can understand people who do not want to wait and want to have a "thing with a history" right now.
But I do not want to age my new jackets artificially, let everything go its course and naturally.

 

[ai00344]

This is after 6-8 months. Aero FQHH

It was bathed in and worn. Then I got it and did HWT to the whole thing again, and took a steamer to it.
Now it is 1 year old.

That’s a beautiful Seven Mike. What are your observations from using the steamer? I hadn’t considered this before

 

[Edward]

Personally i didnt spend a ton of money on a new jacket so it could look worn out before i got it. I bought it to wear it out. I just dont feel like i get my moneys worth out of pre distressed clothing. I want to be the one to put it in distress.

Quite. I remember being twenty and looking at new jeans, turning my punk rock nose up at spending £45 on 501s that bore a label making clear that they had been artificially aged and so may not last as long as those pairs not so.... (One think I always had that bucked thed stereotype was a dislike of ripped denim).

This is after 6-8 months. Aero FQHH

It was bathed in and worn. Then I got it and did HWT to the whole thing again, and took a steamer to it.
Now it is 1 year old.

Lovely jacket - what model is it?

I blame Dick for turning me on to it, but especially now with the hipster movement's desire for 'authenticity' I really find these ideas of 'genuine', 'authentic' and 'accuracy' in clothes to be fascinating!

Clothes become particularly interesting once they cease being purely utilitarian and make a statement - whether style, political, tribal.... Most of my own interst in military clothing comes from an interest in repurposing it born, originally, from punk rock but later discovering it was a much, much older concept, such as Native Americans repurposing capture US Army bits and such.

 

[handymike]

That’s a beautiful Seven Mike. What are your observations from using the steamer? I hadn’t considered this before

I actually prefer the steamer to general HWT. I still use water for collars, but beyond that I find the steamer much more precise. I always steam out the insides of used/ vintage jackets to get rid of smells, etc.
So then I started using it on the outside as well. I've found that I can get rid of shipping creases pretty easily without soaking the whole jacket. Sleeves can be done with the jacket worn, and since the water doesn't go all the way through the hide it dries faster. I also find the results a bit more subtle and (to my eye) more natural.
This is with Horween FQHH and vintage heavier jackets- they can handle it.
I have allowed my GW shinki jacket to get wrinkles on its own (by wearing it).
My Thedi is also aging naturally

 

[handymike]

@Edward It's a Seven

 

[Butch_Coolidge]

Hey everyone!

So I know there are definitely two camps on here when it comes to jacket treatment; one camp (and probably the bigger camp based on my reading) would never even consider aiding in the ageing of a leather jacket or deliberately advancing its worn and torn appearance. The other camp MAY have some ideas and info.

Now I want to be very clear because a google search usually brings up results on how to make your jacket a post-apocalyptic costume - that is NOT what I'm asking about. I'm asking about how a mere consumer/jacket enthusiast who likes to buy custom-made jackets from the best makers, can potentially get their jackets looking amazingly distressed like a RRL or an LVC jacket might do. I had this jacket (which I've just given to my dad because it didn't fit me well enough in the way that I like) from RRL and it's distressing is gorgeous!


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And it's a brand new jacket! The few times I wore it I got compliments every time. I don't want to wait 30 years for it to look that amazing. And brands like RRL prove you technically don't have to. But how the hell do they do it?! How come there's no info about the processes that these brands use to age their garments? I know a bit about sandblasting. But surely there are workers out there who are responsible for distressing these jackets that would be willing to divulge the secrets.

Obviously I've done the usual things that get recommended for accelerating the breaking in like wearing it wet, dabbling with different leather balms and moisturising treatments adn even testing out small areas with fine sandpaper. These things can definitely help soften up a jacket and help it shape to you, but there's not much reliable info out there on how to get it looking like the above jacket - with areas of lightness and darkness etc. in a realistic way.

Just thought I'd ask TFL about this as there are likely more learned people than me on here who have experimented and researched.

I have no actual knowledge about this. I would think [emoji848] that they do the distressing of the leather before they assemble the jacket?


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[DrMacabre]

Just curious: what kind of leather is the Cooper? I've seen goatskin decades-old that barely look aged at all. Sometimes it doesn't seem to fade so much as get a worn-down, smooth look, which is kind of cool in its own right.

Goatskin it is.

 

[Sheepdog149]

Here it is post-crash:

View attachment 96810

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DarkKnight, she's got character [emoji41][emoji482]

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[Fonzie]

I actually prefer the steamer to general HWT. I still use water for collars, but beyond that I find the steamer much more precise. I always steam out the insides of used/ vintage jackets to get rid of smells, etc.
So then I started using it on the outside as well. I've found that I can get rid of shipping creases pretty easily without soaking the whole jacket. Sleeves can be done with the jacket worn, and since the water doesn't go all the way through the hide it dries faster. I also find the results a bit more subtle and (to my eye) more natural.
This is with Horween FQHH and vintage heavier jackets- they can handle it.
I have allowed my GW shinki jacket to get wrinkles on its own (by wearing it).
My Thedi is also aging naturally

Would you please be kind enough to describe the steam process? How do you do it?
I have a CXFQHH that needs intervention.


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[DrMacabre]

Hi,

I have this NOS sears jacket which looks like painted leather that looks rather unnatural, too shiny, almost like plastic. What would you use to remove the coat of paint on the leather ?