Fedora Lounge Features - Report from Aero Leather Trade Week - By Craig Brown

[Smithy]

Thanks for taking the time to put this report together.

For me it just has to be a Shackleton in that battered brown HH, amazing looking thing.

(My wife likes waistcoats so I might just be able to get away with this!)

 

[pauleway]

And I always thought that your FL picture was just photo you posted of David Bowie!

 

[Deleted member 16736]

I checked the Original Hercules against an actual original Hercules and the yoke on the back is wrong. The real Hercules has a more scalloped yoke. The Aero original hercules appears to use the exact same yoke as its 30s halfbelt. That's a shame. The jacket was a dead ringer for the original, but the yoke is all wrong. Oh well. Maybe they'll go back to the drawing board on the yoke. I'm guessing they re-used the same pattern to save time/money. Now I don't want it. Darn.

 

[Sloan1874]

I'm not sure, Joel. They have a vintage OH in the show room and the new version is a replica of that.

 

[Sloan1874]

Nice one!

A shame Ken hasn't got much more shinki. There are ALOT of folks who would fall over themselves to buy it!!

I agree. It's really subtle colouring.

 

[pauleway]

Hell's bells. I have no idea why it's adding the thumbnail. It's a bit of a rubbish pic. I'll get a decent set done when I'm back in Glasgow - the tartan's really nice, as are the details: triple brown top stitching, tartan-lined cuffs etc. Will need some advice on setting the collar though. It's a 38, I'm usually a 36, but this is obviously a slim style. the shoulders are on the nail, the length's perfect for me and with the new-style straps cinched, its got a great shape - there's enough room to wear a light sweater under it. The cuffs are perhaps a little long at the moment, but I'll be interested to see how the softer horse wrinkles up and if there's any shortening, before getting them adjusted. Ishmael might be able to help with that.

Ground control to Major Tom - Didn't know Bowie was invited!

 

[ButteMT61]

Chchchchchanges!

 

[Deleted member 16736]

I'm not sure, Joel. They have a vintage OH in the show room and the new version is a replica of that.

I'd be interested to see the original. I've seen at least one online that had the deeper yoke. Did you snap a picture of the original? Would be interesting to compare them.

Here's an original. Notice how deep the yoke points are. The Aero yoke looks much shallower (and less dynamic IMO). Also, notice how the original seams line up perfectly between the yoke and arm seam. On the Aero version, they're way off.

http://rivet-head.blogspot.com/2010/11/1930s-hercules-horsehide-half-belt.html

There are other small differences I noticed such as the positioning of the side buckles (towards the front on the Aero and towards the back on the original) and also the stitching detail around the grommets in front. But they may be slightly different models to begin with. Won't know without examining both.

 

[Sloan1874]

Apologies, Joel, I didn't get the opportunity - it took ages just to snap all the other jackets, and even then I managed to miss the Pioneer:eusa_doh:. But the original OH and the Thunder Bay were 'in the room' so to speak.

 

[Jeff M]

Too many choices.
The more I look at the Speedway..the more I like it.
Any more info on the "Battered Brown"HH? Is it the same weight as the standard brown FQHH?
And....what does the "blue/black" goatskin look like as it ages?

 

[majormajor]

Too many choices.
The more I look at the Speedway..the more I like it.
Any more info on the "Battered Brown"HH? Is it the same weight as the standard brown FQHH?
And....what does the "blue/black" goatskin look like as it ages?

Hi Jeff

I tried on the Aeromarine in the Battered Brown HH. It was the same midweight FQHH as the Brown Aeromarine that I bought. Think A2 weight plus just a little.

It was a nice look, but I prefer to "batter" my own jackets, rather than buy them pre-battered!

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Apologies, Joel, I didn't get the opportunity - it took ages just to snap all the other jackets, and even then I managed to miss the Pioneer:eusa_doh:. But the original OH and the Thunder Bay were 'in the room' so to speak.

No apologies, please! You did a bang-up job. First rate. Thank you.

 

[Sloan1874]

Hi Jeff

I tried on the Aeromarine in the Battered Brown HH. It was the same midweight FQHH as the Brown Aeromarine that I bought. Think A2 weight plus just a little.

It was a nice look, but I prefer to "batter" my own jackets, rather than buy them pre-battered!

I'd agree, it's definitely lighter than the FQHH. It's more flexible out of the box as well - the colour variation is something you have to see in sample form to appreciate, though.

 

[Sloan1874]

Okay, here's some pics of my pre-production Dustbowl. It's a size 38, as opposed to my size 36, but with side straps pulled in it's still a pretty close fit, with a about an inch over the belt and still reasonably high armholes. I can get a medium gauge jumper under it, which fills it out, but I wouldn't fancy anything much heavier than that.
As has been discussed elsewhere, the hide's one-off medium shinki horse and in the lining is a really nice Ettrick Forest tartan. The sleeves, which are admittedly, a little long at the moment (and I think distort the back slightly) are cotton lined, with the inside of the cuffs finished in the tartan (lovely touch). No inside pockets, and the handwarmers are lined in moleskin. It's very flexible - closer in weight at texture, I would say, to goat than Aero's full-fat FQHH, but still robust. Hopefully, the pics catch the colour, a deep, deep seal. I've included a close up of the grommet 'hookless' zipper, which is a really nice detail. Going to wear it a bit and let the sleeves wrinkle up a bit before getting them adjusted.
Anyway, here you go, have at it...

 

[bretron]

OMG- that is exactly what I want (tho would love an angled chest pocket). Congrats on an amazing piece!

 

[Highwaymanman]

what's your height and weight Sloan, if that's not too cheeky a question?

 

[simonc]

Nice one bro.

 

[Sloan1874]

I'm 5ft 9in and 10 stone (140 lbs). I'm a T-shape - though not massively broad across the shoulders. Thanks, Simon, much appreciated! Shows you what happens when you find yourself in the showroom. To quote Oscar Wilde: "I can resist everything but temptation", which is what I will be telling the bank manager next time I meet him...

*I'm reliably informed that in the bottom pic, the zip pin was not properly pulled into the holder, and now I look I see that is utterly the case. I'm off to practice...

 

[Fanch]

Fantastic looking jacket and photos. :thumb: Aero would sell even more Dustbowls if those photos were on their website. Sloan, that zipper appears to have a very strong attachment at the base, but looks like the zipper would need to be carefully engaged before zipping. I also suspect these zippers are significantly more expensive for Aero to source than say a high quality Talon or YKK.

 

[Sloan1874]

Thank you! I think you're right, Fanch. I'll get the hang of it with a bit of practice - it took me long enough to get used to the US zips, this is merely the next step in the learning process