Expensive Repros: From "Gem" to "Jacket"

[Xopher]

I have had my ELC B-6 for about 3 or 4 years now. I remember for the first year or two...it was my baby. I was ever cautious of how I moved and strayed from leaning on brick walls and the like to preserve it for as long as possible. I was fussy and protective of my B-6 beauty.

Something clicked this year. By B-6 no longer seemed fragile in my mind. I started moving fire wood in it. Today I replaced the axle in my car wearing it, the grease on the cuff make me love it more. The cracks and scuffs in the seal brown surface reveal the raw leather underneath....and my heart bubbles with joy. The more beat up it gets, the more I love it. Its a size 44, fit like a glove when I bought it, I lost about 50lbs since then, I am probably closer to a 40 now, and yet I love it still. I can wear sweaters and my old Sears shearling vest.

My B-6 has become just "My Jacket". The threat of it developing bald spots or a hole in the hide no longer scares me. I would not say I am careless with it now, but I certainly dont treat it like the $1350 jacket it was when I bought it. It is now a tool, the perfect tool and I love it.

Does this happen to anyone else? When do you stop babying your high end repros and treat them like the military work horses they originally were? Id love to link photos now but that da*n photo bucket wont let me.

 

[bn1966]

Started wearing my Hartmann up the pub & not worrying about grease marks or the odd beer stain....enjoying the ownership more moved on a nylon Buzz a while back because I worried too much about marking it...

 

[bn1966]

The D-1 doesn't get babied anymore either but I wouldnt do work on the car in it...I have an old Schott nylon for the dirty jobs (on its last legs)....

 

[MeachamLake]

I keep my B6 in a glass case. In about three or four years, I may have an epiphany like you and touch it. Who knows, five years after that, I may even put it on!

 

[TREEMAN]

For me wearing my jackets more and trying not to be OCD about them is as far as I will go. Beating them up or getting grease on them is going too far imo. I would sell the jacket to a new home before letting that happen..........That's what old sweatshirts are for...............

 

[Benny Holiday]

I've worked with a few people over the years who've been perfect tools . . . but I digress . . .

I suppose a lot of it has to do with the monetary value. You pay that much for a jacket, you really don't want it getting wrecked! I've always treated my leathers as practical workwear items, I guess you would say I walk the line between wearing them as everyday items of clothing while still being conscious of them not getting damaged, like I would any other worthy garment like a suit or good trousers. I figure if anything can handle being dragged around Europe on a band tour it'd be an Aero FQHH leather jacket!

 

[Xopher]

I am certainly not looking to trash my B-6, but since its my daily wearer it inevitably gets some distressing. After it hit a certain amount of distressing I figured I dont have to be afraid to wear it now for other mild work. I wouldnt change the oil in it or anything but an axle job is pretty clean so I took the risk, which I would never have done 2 years ago.

When Im cutting trees down or other work that is really rough on jackets (Changing Oil), out comes the $100 beater Tanker Jacket
Carrying 3 or more arm loads of fire wood into the house is Pike Brothers N-1 territory
Carrying 1 or 2 loads of wood if the wood has no sharp branches or changing a tire, thats ELC B-6 worth
Now my ELC RW B3.....I wouldnt even drink coffee wearing that.

 

[BobJ]

I bet most of us went down that same road, I know I did. I tried to keep up that new look with little dabs of shoe polish here and there, but finally gave up and let the jacket record the life I was living in it.

And, like you, I love it all the more for it. If I could snap my fingers and magically make it brand new again.... I wouldn't.

 

[El Marro]

I'm an electrical contractor and I wear one of my leather jackets to work every day. I do this because I like to wear them, and also because I believe in treating them like the rough and tough pieces of gear they were built to be. This elicits some funny reactions from clients and coworkers from time to time. When I showed up to begin work wiring up a commercial kitchen wearing my Cordovan Bootlegger, the owner of the building said "Hey, we're here to work right?" My reply to him was "No sh*t, let's get to it!"
Oddly enough, the only jacket that I still baby and have not worn to work once is my Eastman B-6...

 

[Benny Holiday]

IIf I could snap my fingers and magically make it brand new again.... I wouldn't.

Well said Bob! Hear, hear!

 

[Worf]

Interesting thread. I still baby all my Redskin jackets but others have picked up a few scars along the road. My used steer Highwayman, my current "go to" black leather jacket gets no babying but that's probably because I got her used. My Aero Thunderbay is my other black leather choice when it's freezing and she gets worked over whenever the temps really drop. She has developed some serious creasing as a result. Use em or lose em I say!

Worf

 

[Seb Lucas]

I've avoided this question by not paying $1300 for any jacket and I won't. But this is not really about bow much things cost. It's about how much you value them. I have a $20 calfskin jacket I got in a thrift shop. Probably my favourite jacket. And I baby it. And, having had jackets stolen from cafes and bars, I won't take it anywhere where I might have to hang it up. Reason? I'm very unlikely to find another great jacket like that for $20. It was hand made by a local artisan and retails for around $1000 if I had to pay for it new.

 

[kowalski]

I have method ; i buy two favorite jacket ; one jacket is to work, one is to show /glas case

 

[ton312]

Interesting thread. I think I fall along the lines of Benny...I don't baby my jackets but I'm not totally carefree with them either. Seb makes a great point too. I've had some less expensive vintage leathers that were in fact pretty fragile and I certainly babied them. A new jacket is easy enough (albeit costly) to repair whereas some of the vintage stuff will likely never be seen again.
One strange thing I found myself doing this summer is traveling with my leather jackets, even if I knew I couldn't wear them. I just wanted them with me in case the house burned down, blew up or was robbed. Even by my own liberal standards for strange behavior....this was an odd move.

 

[GregGale]

This thread brigs up a very interesting question. My 3 days old ELC Star A-2 is definitely in the "gem" phase now, and will remain there for long, because it cost a month's salary (yeah, Eastern Europe...)

This being said, I would probably try to find a healthy balance. After all, 70 years ago people climbed in to tight, greasy cockpits in these, being shot at, then went to the pub and leaned on their elbows in pools of spilled ale. I'll be happy to see my jacket develop character, but I won't expose it to unnecessarily adverse circumstances. I have an old beat up jacket for just that.

 

[Xopher]

Im really hoping that some day my B-6 will develop that heavily distress look of the originals, where there is almost more natural hide color showing through than the seal brown coating. Im a purist and refuse to fake it, or buy a .50 cal predistressed. The only way I think it will ever get that way is if I wear the ever living hell out of it. I dont think Ive touched the heater in my car at all this year so I can wear it while driving. I wear it around the house. I do almost everything within reason in this thing. another 10 years and it might be there lol

 

[nick123]

It has been a little cooler here in SoCal, so I have been wearing my jackets every day. As much as I thought my lack of wearing jackets was attributed to babying, I actually think it's more due to the warm weather we have here. If every day was as cool as its been like last week here, they'd get worn. I managed to get sawdust all over my new Highwayman the other day. Wiped off with towel; good to go.

 

[Doctor Damage]

One strange thing I found myself doing this summer is traveling with my leather jackets, even if I knew I couldn't wear them. I just wanted them with me in case the house burned down, blew up or was robbed. Even by my own liberal standards for strange behavior....this was an odd move.

That's an uncommon thing to do I suspect, but it makes sense!

 

[ton312]

That's an uncommon thing to do I suspect, but it makes sense!

I swear I don't wear tin foil hats, smoke cigarettes and coat myself in peanut butter. Usually

 

[Thebuzzard]

Interesting thread. I think I fall along the lines of Benny...I don't baby my jackets but I'm not totally carefree with them either. Seb makes a great point too. I've had some less expensive vintage leathers that were in fact pretty fragile and I certainly babied them. A new jacket is easy enough (albeit costly) to repair whereas some of the vintage stuff will likely never be seen again.
One strange thing I found myself doing this summer is traveling with my leather jackets, even if I knew I couldn't wear them. I just wanted them with me in case the house burned down, blew up or was robbed. Even by my own liberal standards for strange behavior....this was an odd move.

Hah I totally get it! I just traveled to the arctic with my new cafe racer! My company requires winter wear to get on the chartered flight... So i layered. My wife said she had planned to stage the jacket in scenes around the house to tease me, thinking of course I wouldn't be weird and bring it [emoji16]

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