Good Wear-Ponch Barnes Aviator Jacket

[tmitchell59]

I've been wearing this jacket since it arrived, just feels like an old friend. The tightness in the mid is a reminder to go no further and to back off. It also acts as a back support of sorts! John Chapman is pictured in the Pancho Barnes. You should have kept this John. The Jacket looks to be made for you, by you. The pictures of Poncho Barnes are taken from a google search.

This first Video is the Jacket alone. I do give some back story on the Jacket. John saw the Jacket in a thread here and wrote me. Here are his comments on the Jacket:

,,, and that's a copy I made back in 2010 of a jacket that Pancho Barnes used to wear. A customer of mine who is a pilot,,,,,,,,,,,,,,asked if I'd make as close a copy as I could from vintage photos.

I've only made one, so it's a one-off that I don't plan in making any more of, but it was fun!

The Pancho Barnes

This is a Try on of three other Aviator Style Jackets-Alexander, Bill Kelso, Vintage

 

[tmitchell59]

Well, I mis-spelled Poncho. Don't know how to edit.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Very unique Terry! Nice video as well, I like the Back Support built in

 

[willyto]

The fit on John is spot on. He should have kept it!

I really like the jacket. I'll watch the videos when I get home.

 

[Cocker]

That is one amazing jacket. He should offer it on a regular basis!

 

[Brettafett]

Interesting... Something different.

 

[handymike]

If I remember correctly, the original owner wore it on a cross-country bi-plane trip. Then he sold it on eBay around 2012ish...
Great score, Terry!
I'm glad it landed in good hands, it's really nice.

 

[nick123]

What a cool style. So jealous.

 

[thor]

Nice! Very nice. Pancho Barnes was a famous aviatrix in her day (a rival of Amelia Earhart) and she ran a bar (The Happy Bottom Riding Club) in the Mojave desert that catered to test pilots including Chuck Yeager (she's even fictionalized in the movie "The Right Stuff"). Anyway, great score Terry. Wear it in good health.

 

[tmitchell59]

With Jacket weather where I live this One has gotten a lot of wear, just so comfortable to wear. I even see in the pictures a few nicks in the finish. It isn't one I will hang in the closet.

That is one amazing jacket. He should offer it on a regular basis!

I can understand. You should feel it in hand. It is so easy too reach for. I feel John just put a lot of work in this one and it's it.

Interesting... Something different.

I know John is as authentic with his Civilian Jackets as his Military Jackets. I have his original template for the Messenger/Arcadia. In an email he spoke of his respect for past makers, the workers who Cut and Sewed the garments. and he has inspected many. Here are John's words from that email:

I'm doing nothing new, but just carefully re-crafting what great designers did then. They deserve all the credit, as it's their work. When I take apart a jacket to copy the pattern, I think of the original pattern maker, and how they would be proud to see their stuff still being made, but 70 years later. They knew what they were doing!

I have never met John, but I know him. I think he is in those words and in his work. When it comes to leather Jackets his name is always going to be spoken.

If I remember correctly, the original owner wore it on a cross-country bi-plane trip. Then he sold it on eBay around 2012ish...
Great score, Terry!
I'm glad it landed in good hands, it's really nice.

thanks, that is a great story to go with he Poncho Barnes. Yes, it is in good hands and strong hands. have to pry this one away. this one won't come again.

Nice! Very nice. Pancho Barnes was a famous aviatrix in her day (a rival of Amelia Earhart) and she ran a bar (The Happy Bottom Riding Club) in the Mojave desert that catered to test pilots including Chuck Yeager (she's even fictionalized in the movie "The Right Stuff"). Anyway, great score Terry. Wear it in good health.

I'll have to watch that movie. It all makes this Jacket something special.

I like the Back Support built in

Yes, like a corset!

 

[navetsea]

the original picture shows more aggressive diagonal front zip and shorter epaulette and also a throat latch. so maybe inspired by more than a copy... very unique nonetheless

 

[tmitchell59]

the original picture shows more aggressive diagonal front zip and shorter epaulette and also a throat latch. so maybe inspired by more than a copy... very unique nonetheless

Poncho's jacket is a Beauty! Looks to have been tailored for her. I like the lightness in the leather. I don't think John was going for a stitch by stitch copy like an A2. He was making his own Jacket for a different Pilot.

 

[navetsea]

I wonder how the original looks when worn open, how its left and right front panels look, must be wildly asymmetrical

 

[frussell]

Pancho, which is a common nickname for Frank in Spanish. You wear a "poncho." Sorry, as someone who has had that nickname stuck on him for 52 years, I couldn't help it. Wikipedia says she started using the name and disguising herself as a man during some exciting times hanging out with Mexican revolutionaries. Killer jacket, sorry for the nitpicking. Frank (Pancho)

 

[tmitchell59]

I wonder how the original looks when worn open, how its left and right front panels look, must be wildly asymmetrical

yes, I understand what you are saying. I would like to know who made it. It looks like a perfect fit when fully zipped.

Pancho, which is a common nickname for Frank in Spanish. You wear a "poncho." Sorry, as someone who has had that nickname stuck on him for 52 years, I couldn't help it. Wikipedia says she started using the name and disguising herself as a man during some exciting times hanging out with Mexican revolutionaries. Killer jacket, sorry for the nitpicking. Frank (Pancho)

sorry I spelled your name incorrectly in the thread title!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

That is a very unique jacket. Not my cup of tea, but beautiful.
What is the leather specifically or did I miss that information?

 

[frussell]

No problem. I greatly enjoy your reviews and photos of your acquisitions. If I could find stuff like you've got in my fat boy size, I'd be a happy camper. Guess I share some physical traits with the other famous Pancho. Keep the great jackets coming.

 

[tmitchell59]

Keep the great jackets coming.

I have another GW coming up.

 

[fiftyforfifty]

I have another GW coming up.

Waiting anxiously

 

[Cocker]

The more I look to it, the more I like it. It's somewhat looking like a mix between a flight jacket and a bike jacket. The high pocket, the collar and the diagonal zip are hitting some soft point here. I think I found my dream jacket!