Hooked on jackets? Why?

[Carlos840]

Come to think of it, I have begun keeping a list of things I hyper fixate on, and about how long the phase lasts.

There was about a year and a half long period I was buying vintage Vietnam jungle boots. I wanted to have a never ending ending supply of them because they are the perfect boot for me. So I bought about a dozen pair of them. I then started researching the history of them and started collecting one from every year, and every pattern variation. Which turned into my buying all the repros available to compare. I ended up doing a review comparison video on YouTube that got a lot of views. Fast forward, I stated selling some of my jungle boots and don’t feel the need to keep buying them….but I still look sometimes on eBay.

The next hyper fixation was A-1 jackets. I was relentlessly shopping around for the “perfect one”. What I wanted was a Bill Kelso custom but I didn’t have the money so about 10 months of fighting with myself I settled on the less expensive Headwinds MFG….which later turned out to be a bit of a scam. (The jacket never showed up months past due, and they stopped answering my all emails and calls. So I assumed it was a scam and filed a credit card claim on the very last day of the window to do so.)
Anyway I was so pissed about it that I went and ordered the Bill Kelso A-1 and put my name on the list for a Goodwear. I should have just done that in the first place. But anyway my A-1 fixation is over a year and counting at this point.

Then began collecting silver coins, because I felt I was spending too much on jackets and I ought to at least salt away something worthwhile, Morgan Silver Dollars became a fixation.

The 1930s Zippers, and 1930s Woolrich, back to flight jackets, back to silver…and so on.
It seems to go in cycles.

I did notice that when I quit drinking, just about 8 years ago, my spending on other thing like jackets went up a lot!

What do they call that when you quit one addiction and move into another? Sublimation?

The whole "completing sets" thing is weird and interresting, i do it too and i am not sure why.
I had a time where i was literally collecting vintage spanners cause the hunting of missing sizes and completion of sets was so satisfying to me. Needing to have an item i like in every single colour available is also a big thing for me.
I have not been able to establish if it is part of the OCPD thing my dad and I both had or if it is just a safety seeking behaviour. I did it when i was less than 10 years old, still do it to this day.
It's pretty much how i ended up with every MC jacket made by LW, i HAD to complete the set...

 

[Aloysius]

As a fellow LW and Vanson traveler, I best be invited to your pre-sale party! Partly because I’ll try to talk you out of some sales. Shedding jackets is great, but also some jackets are a part of us and the journey. Those should stay imo.

I agree with this. On the one hand I think Carlos has the same LW sizing as me... on the other hand I will talk someone out of selling a jacket I want if I think it's a bad idea. Like KBlake and that perfect Monarch.

 

[mumpy]

Let’s not disregard the endless search for perfection.
Not quite sure if this is a guy thing or just a compulsion.
I’ve purchased many jackets trying to get “just the right fit” or “just the right details.” Cafe Racers were the ultimate challenge for me. I convinced myself I needed one, and then I went hunting…It took a number of years before I found “the one” which now hangs in my closet unworn. I’ve sworn off new purchases, but a recent post in Finds and Deals has me bidding on another green one (even though I never wore mine and sold it).

I still have yours, should post some pics!

 

[mumpy]

The whole "completing sets" thing is weird and interresting, i do it too and i am not sure why.
I had a time where i was literally collecting vintage spanners cause the hunting of missing sizes and completion of sets was so satisfying to me. Needing to have an item i like in every single colour available is also a big thing for me.
I have not been able to establish if it is part of the OCPD thing my dad and I both had or if it is just a safety seeking behaviour. I did it when i was less than 10 years old, still do it to this day.
It's pretty much how i ended up with every MC jacket made by LW, i HAD to complete the set...

For me it is about one jacket from each category so I guess I am completing the set of categories here haha

 

[Nykwil]

I see this on r/goodyearwelt with whatever trending boot is at the time. You never see anyone posting their boots a year or 2 into their journey of ownership which really didn't sit well with me. Wear your gear, let it age, and show it off.

But you will rarely see many people come back and post progress pics after they purchased whatever "trendy" "grail" item on Instagram.

 

[mumpy]

I see this on r/goodyearwelt with whatever trending boot is at the time. You never see anyone posting their boots a year or 2 into their journey of ownership which really didn't sit well with me. Wear your gear, let it age, and show it off.

But you will rarely see many people come back and post progress pics after they purchased whatever "trendy" "grail" item on Instagram.

Yeah it is also common here. Either brand new jacket or 70 years old vintage (I am also guilty of this)

 

[mumpy]

Another common thing is the grail of today becomes a sale on classifieds a few months later

 

[KBlake]

I wish that I could articulate my thoughts as well of some of you have posted here. My reasons for obsessing, wanting, needing jackets, shoes and boots of all types are deeply personal. And that I will keep as my own. What I can say is what I have posted on this forum in previous years, the journey to me is as important or more so than the destination. Fill in the blanks with what I have sought after In my life. In 2005 that one Panerai I traveled many miles and spent many hours to obtain. Or the Hunter green Range Rover with the reverse Luxe interior that very few made it to the US. The HK USP tactical that was no longer in production and was told could not be found. And so many other “things” that I believed would bring me happiness. And in a lot of ways did give me satisfaction but the journey was always the best part.

In the case of leather jackets, I like them always have always will. Truth is , other than my wife and children I don’t run in circles of people that can truly appreciate what a great leather jacket is or what it took to acquire it. The group of people in this forum have the unique understanding of what that means. Is it addiction? I don’t know. I smoked 40 cigarettes a day for awhile and by definition was a Nicotine addiction. I quit that 24 years ago. Does finding a cool, hard to find leather jacket that fits me give a Dopamine dump? Hell yes. Am I going to stop that? Hell no. Obsession, addiction…..or appreciation . To each his or her own.

You articulated that very well

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

I think a lot of this has to do with nostalgia for the mythos we create for ourselves. Items like this become powerful markers in our lives. I have a short list of items that caught my eye in the past, some going back to childhood, that I think about A LOT. Some of them I know I wouldn't even use. I know some of them have far superior alternatives for less money. I'd buy them. I'd marvel at them for a few days (if that long), and then I'd find a safe, out of the way spot to put them. What I'd ultimately be purchasing is freedom from no longer thinking about that particular thing. "I got that out of the way. What a relief!" I like the things. I like them a lot. I like my personal, indirect story with them. But when it gets down to the brutal truth, I want to shed the tethers. Check that off the list (finally) and move on.

 

[Viking752]

You articulated that very well

Thank you

 

[Aloysius]

For me it is about one jacket from each category so I guess I am completing the set of categories here haha

You see a version of this in the watch world and people who think someone is 'supposed' to have one watch in every category. A side effect of this is that they treat what genuinely are daily wear watches as though they are extra formal, because someone has to have a watch in every category. Meanwhile the average 'Golden Age' tough guy even probably did not wear a diving watch or racing chronograph or any other specialized sporting style associated with a given profession.

The equivalent would be thinking a half-belt is formalwear, because daily wear requires a Perfecto or Filson Mackinaw or something lol.

 

[TartuWolf]

As a freshman in these parts I'll also add my thoughts.
In my mind I differentiate two types of purchases: a proper purchase and a deal.

A proper purchase is buying something new and full price.
That I do very rarely. Has to be very special or very special occasion.
My Aero was an example of this.
Maybe I'd do this max once a year. 1 proper purchase per year maybe, because it's costly.
The next one that I'm aiming at is a pair of Nicks boots in their Thurman last.
Easier to justify that one for my wife because of the wide toe last - she's a fan of barefoot shoes due the anatomy friendly concept..

A deal is something heavily discounted or more often something used at good value, as in good price to condition ratio.
This one is much more dangerous I'd say.
We know the idea that as soon as you open the box / remove the label / try something on then the price drops ~50%.
Then you wear it a bit and the price drops a bit more..
So if I spot an item that I genuinely believe to be objectively high quality at ~30% of it's original price..
It almost feels like a sin not to go for it if it seems that it would fit me and if I've wanted it for a while anyway.

But overall I do have a minimalist side as well, which comes from the stress and fear that I get from being overwhelmed by chaos and complexity.
I'm down to 3 jackets (one for sale). One more is coming in though. Would like to keep it at 3-4.
I'm at 5 pairs of denim, would like to get it down to 4. One coming in though.
I'm at 7 pairs of boots, would like to get it down to something like 4-5. 2 are for sale.
I'd say it's under control haha.

 

[Marc mndt]

I had to think about this for a bit. For me it's all about finding the nices or most interesting piece of some item. The nicest vintage halfbelt, the nicest vintage motorcycle jacket, the nicest repro aviator. This doesn't stop at leather jackets, I also want the nicest cowboy boots, the nicest belts and buckles, the nicest luggage, nicest dresshirts, what have you. This quests for the nicest doesn't stop at clothing, it's a tendency I have in general. For some time I was really into handmade designer interior lighting from makers like Foscarini, Floss, Greypants etc.

Finding the nicest of something is always a journey as I need to learn what to look for in terms of design or quality. Once I've found what I consider to be the pinnacle of some catagory I usually sell off all the lesser ones that were accumulated throughout the journey.

 

[JMax]

I had to think about this for a bit. For me it's all about finding the nices or most interesting piece of some item. The nicest vintage halfbelt, the nicest vintage motorcycle jacket, the nicest repro aviator. This doesn't stop at leather jackets, I also want the nicest cowboy boots, the nicest belts and buckles, the nicest luggage, nicest dresshirts, what have you. This quests for the nicest doesn't stop at clothing, it's a tendency I have in general. For some time I was really into handmade designer interior lighting from makers like Foscarini, Floss, Greypants etc.

Finding the nicest of something is always a journey as I need to learn what to look for in terms of design or quality. Once I've found what I consider to be the pinnacle of some catagory I usually sell off all the lesser ones that were accumulated throughout the journey.

The nicest hanging racks for your jackets.

 

[Marc mndt]

The nicest hanging racks for your jackets.

Exactly! The Hay Loopstand Wardrobe

 

[JMax]

Exactly! The Hay Loopstand Wardrobe

It’s on my list of future purchases.

 

[Al 916]

I feel a thread upon us..

Jackets hooked on..