How Long For A Leather Jacket To Start To Get Soft?

[user290389023]

I bought my Levi's Leather Trucker about half a year ago, And i know that's not long, and it hasn't gotten much softer if even anything. How many years does it take before it starts to soften a bit so it's a little more comfortable?

 

[jacketjunkie]

I bought my Levi's Leather Trucker about half a year ago, And i know that's not long, and it hasn't gotten much softer if even anything. How many years does it take before it starts to soften a bit so it's a little more comfortable?

What's your defiinition of soft? I have worn jackets made out of much thicker leather than a Levis Trucker and none of them took 6 months to break in. None of them is or will ever be as soft as 0.6mm lambskin though. Have you worn your jacket much?

RE: Stud Buttons; I'm happy with the studs on my Levis, think they work fine on a number of styles and are easier to work than real buttons. REplacing studs with real buttons is probably expensive regardless of who does the job, as holes would have to be cut and sewn on top of replacing studs with buttons. We are talking 100+ USD I guess. Wouldnt invest that kinda money on a Levis Trucker.

Overall I'm thinking, you don't seem very happy with the jacket, maybe pass it on.

 

[user290389023]

What's your defiinition of soft? I have worn jackets made out of much thicker leather than a Levis Trucker and none of them took 6 months to break in. None of them is or will ever be as soft as 0.6mm lambskin though. Have you worn your jacket much?

RE: Stud Buttons; I'm happy with the studs on my Levis, think they work fine on a number of styles and are easier to work than real buttons. REplacing studs with real buttons is probably expensive regardless of who does the job, as holes would have to be cut and sewn on top of replacing studs with buttons. We are talking 100+ USD I guess. Wouldnt invest that kinda money on a Levis Trucker.

Overall I'm thinking, you don't seem very happy with the jacket, maybe pass it on.

Oh no i'm actually very happy with it! Believe it or not
Its not that its uncomfortable, its just not as soft as some other leather jackets i've worn. But i guess i've only been wearing it daily for about 4 months.

 

[jacketjunkie]

Oh no i'm actually very happy with it! Believe it or not
Its not that its uncomfortable, its just not as soft as some other leather jackets i've worn. But i guess i've only been wearing it daily for about 4 months.

Maybe you are just not used to heavier leather then? I'm afraid it will never be as silky soft as the thin lambskin used on most fashion brand jackets, but it will continously become softer. If you want to speed it up, you can put it in the tumbler to artificially fast forward break in process. It's a common thing to do in japanese fashion from what I have seen on youtube.

 

[Sloan1874]

My Aero's all took at least a year to start soften up noticeably. It also depends on what you do with it. If you wear it in anger, it'll soften up in no time. But I think a lot of us wear ours fairly lightly and so it's always going to take that little bit longer to get going.

 

[user290389023]

Maybe you are just not used to heavier leather then? I'm afraid it will never be as silky soft as the thin lambskin used on most fashion brand jackets, but it will continously become softer. If you want to speed it up, you can put it in the tumbler to artificially fast forward break in process. It's a common thing to do in japanese fashion from what I have seen on youtube.

Maybe thats the case. The other jackets ive worn have been more, "spongy soft"? i guess? Even the ones with thick leather. Maybe thats unusual, i dont have much reference of leather jacket "feels".

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

^^^as a perspective think of jackets like gloves. Some, like driving and dress gloves are soft and pliable. Now think work gloves. Your Levis is probably in between. There are a lot of work gloves around here.

 

[Carlos840]

To me its not about time but about what you do in them.
I have managed to break in my Lost World in a few months, but i use water and i sometimes wear that jacket 8 or 9 hours at a time and literally live in it. If all you do is wear it 30 minutes every morning and evening on your way to and back from work then it is going to take much longer...

If you want to speed things up the best thing you can do is get it wet.
Use a spray bottle and every time you put the jacket on spray yourself all over front and back and rub it in.
If you live in an area with hard water it might be worth using RO water or something like that.
Do that for a couple months and your jacket will soften up in no time.

 

[Guppy]

I don't understand why anyone wants to accelerate the process, when they can savor it instead.

 

[Hh121]

Never

 

[Monitor]

Never

Seconded.

 

[ton312]

Seconded.

Hopefully

 

[morrison2951]

Patience is a virtue with horsehide.... and well worth the wait!

 

[Seb Lucas]

Some leather never softens up. I had a 10 year-old well worn FQHH jacket that was a ba***rd of unyielding hardness for ever.

I often throw jackets into a washing machine with cold water and detergent. Run through a cycle. That can soften them up too. Dry away from heat.

 

[navetsea]

I like having combination of soft on part with lots of movement like the inside of elbow and stiff elsewhere especially on the back & top of the shoulder, so better just use it normally, wash it once or twice to get lived in look, but don't make it into a thick limp sweater. Just my 2c

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Depends on the leather. My deerskin jacket was unbelievably comfortable out of the box, but my horsehide jackets (some of which I've owned for 4 years) have never gotten soft.

 

[dubpynchon]

This is why I prefer goatskin, it's soft and drapes well. It mightn't look as good as horse or steer as it's a bit pebbly but I think the trade-off is worth it. I'm not sure I'd want all my jackets in goat though.

 

[milandro]

I think that a certain amount of use will achieve a certain amount of softening but , future softening is one of the favorite lines used by salespersons when selling something which, probably, will never really soften much or at all. The degree of softness is built-in the tanning process and in the type and quality of leather used, and nothing you may do (or not), will soften leather that, by its own nature and by design, is born tough and will die tough. I have seen WWII long coats which are as tough now as they probablly were then even after been worn by generations of people.

 

[Grayland]

Most here have way too many jackets to put the necessary wear on any particular jacket to actually break it in well.

 

[Will Zach]

Most of here have way too many jackets to put the necessary wear on any particular jacket to actually break it in well.

Nah, they sleep in them.