How many new jackets do you have coming (and how many potential ones)?

[Carlos840]

When Ken made the first Aero Highwayman in 1983, it was by request from a customer who had an original 50s jacket made by Rivett's of Leytonstone who sold jackets under the Highwayman brand (in the same was as D Lewis Ltd originally sold it's jackets as Aviakit, later 'Aviakit by Lewis Leathers', and all sorts of variations over time). The customer asked Ken to copy the jacket, but with certain tweaks as he wanted a mored american look, the UK fifties revival scene of the time (and, in truth, always, Teds aside) being much more 'American' than British. This meant that what became the first (standard) Aero Highwayman as we know it was a boxier jacket than the original, with wider sleeves, American 'engineer' cuffs, and so on. Fast forward to more recent years, and Ken decided to expand the HWM range (by this point comprised of the standard HWM, the occasional zip-sleeve version, and the Premier HWM, a sort of 'what if' version that takes it cues from the 1930s) by adding a faithful reproduction of the original Rivett's of Leytonstone jacket. This is what we now know as the Aero 59er Highwayman.

There's likely a good reason that the 59er looks os much like a Lewis. Rivett's were Lewis' great rival (they even had rival followings for some time, according to a friend who wore a Rivett's suit back in his Speedway racing days in the 70s and early 80s). Rivetts, notably, were also first to market with this straight zip / shirt-collar style of jacket which became ubiquitous in the rocker / ton-up scene. I've never been able to find out exactly when they started with these, but when I talked to Ken for the Chap piece I did on Aero a couple of years ago, he reckoned they were using the design, if memory serves, from about the mid-fifties. Lewis' Dominator and Corsair models, by comparison, were not released until 1962. At some point Aero bought out Rivett's, and either immediately or later (I've not been able to find this out, so far...) let the Rivett's and Highwayman marks fall out of use, which is why, after that first jacket in 1983, Ken was able to claim ownership of the Highwayman mark (Lewis tried to contest it in the 90s when Derek bought over what by then was long past its glory days and took on a Herculean task, which at time must have seemed positively Sisyphean, in tracking down classic designs and remaking all the patterns from scratch, rebuilding Lewis as a heritage brand, but by that point Aero had a long and legitimate record of usage and now own 'Highwayman' as a TM). In any case, whether it was during or before their ownership, Lewis had by 1962 observed the popularity of the straight zip / shirt-collar design on the British motorcycle scene, and got in there. I suspect that Aviakit ran both brands against each other at some pointg in the sixties, given just how similar the two ranges were; Lerwis copied Highwayman on these jacket, but I've also seen plenty of Highwayman branded jackets that were a dead ringer for iconic Lewis styles like the Lewis Lightning (debuted in 1958).



Very nice. What is the "rough n ready"? Is it a new Aero I missed, or one of the Insurrection/Thurston exclusives?



AFAIK the deal Aero did with Levis was that once the contracted runs were done, Aero would assume ownership of the design... This is definitely the case with the Speedster, so it would make sense if that was the deal with the others.... which makes it more likely they could be revived...



I'll be interested to see that...which model did you go for? I have a goat Raiders, but I've got a hankering for one in maybe one of the other hides, *possibly*, for practical purposes, the Last Crusade model with the bigger pockets (they enlarged them on the jackets Ford wore in the third film so that the Grail Diary could fit).



Be interested to see what you make of this one. Mine is definitely boxier than more 'period correct' jackets, though that does help with layering and it's a nice jacket all the same. I very much like the shorter body-length than many versions of this style - imo, it's a design that an extra three inches can totally kill the proportions on.



I've seen these in person, looked okay for current-issue based design...

https://www.silvermans.co.uk/collec...leather-flight-jkt-mk2?variant=19083900715062

Not tried one on, though. Bound to be well cheap if you're buying in US dollars...



Very nice. I'd have guessed Cal Leathers - didn't know Schott ewver did one like this. One of the Japanese market limited editions?



Very nice.





This isa very typical of the sort of jackets I remember bikers wearing in the UK and Ireland, from the late 70sish (1978 was when Lewis introduced the Super Monza) really right up until the early-mid nineties when something much mored padded started to take over.

The big, chunky zips definitely put it in the late-seventies / turn of the eighties and onwards camp to my eye. Could be one of many different brands from that period - Wolf, TT Leathers, there was an almost endless list, most of them pretty decent too. Sadly, the British leather bike jacket industry largely died out about fifteen years after the demise of the British motorcycle industry itself.... The perfect jacket to wear with a 1970-mid eighties Japanese Honda or Suzuki, bikes that paid tribute to the style of the British bikes they helped kill off...



I blow hot and cold over cafe racers, but I rather like that black denim one.

Not japanese market, just not made for very long or in high numbers and a little bit rare.

The model started as the 620 and was made from 78 to 84 with a nylon lining.
It was then renamed 621 and made in 85 with a poplin lining for a single year.
It was made again in 87 for a single year with a poly lining.
Last year of production was 94 when it was made with a fur collar, which leads me to believe this is a 94 version.

So really this jacket was only produced during 9 years, in 4 production runs, which is pretty small for a company like Schott.

 

[steve u]

"The model started as the 620 and was made from 78 to 84 with a nylon lining."
I had one of those...
steve

 

[Edward]

Not japanese market, just not made for very long on in high numbers and a little bit rare.

The model started as the 620 and was made from 78 to 84 with a nylon lining.
It was then renamed 621 and made in 85 with a poplin lining for a single year.
It was made again in 87 for a single year with a poly lining.
Last year of production was 94 when it was made with a fur collar, which leads me to believe this is a 94 version.

So really this jacket was only produced during 9 years, in 4 production runs, which is pretty small for a company like Schott.

Very small - comp-letely different beast from their stock model.

 

[Edward]

I didn't know the story behind the Highwayman brand. Interesting! Always wondered how come Aero's allowed to used the label & the logo. Figured they were allowed to do so by default once the company disappeared but hadn't a clue Aero acquired it. Cool stuff.

That's pretty much it - if a mark goes unused long enough, anyone else can take itg and establish it. It's common in a lot of vintage-type practices, even moreso in Japan where I believe the ruels are less strict (e.g. 'Mosrite of California' has absolutely zip to do with Semi Moseley's original Mosrite guitar company, and the former got started in the nineties while Semi was still alive).

But yeah, it is unreal what Derek did with Lewis Leathers. Raising the company from the dead is one thing but making it equally revered by heritage clothing enthusiasts, bikers and people who are into high fashion is absolutely amazing.

Having ownership of what was a legendary brand was a definite head start, plus not only were they iconic in the 'ton up' scene around the Ace Cafe which was seeing a revival from 1994, the cafe itself reopening in 1997, so a good timeframe for the re-established brand, but there was also the retro-punk interest, Lewis having been what all the big Brit punk bands wore as soon as they could afford them, so there was interest there too. What I fidn incredible is how they rebuilt all the classic line from nothing - the company hadn't kept any of the original patterns, n or, so far as I'm aware, had they even kept an archive of original jackets. Had to rebuy loads of stuff first.

Interesting jacket this one is. For a sz. 42 - which I would have guessed would have been too large for me, judging by my experience with just about every Schott Perfecto so far - it fits surprisingly slim and very, very short in the body. It's exactly like the 613 that I've briefly had. Very Rock'n'Roll in every way.
Leather is light-ish weight but it's very nice. Lots of character, grain, that sorta thing and uncharacteristically for a newer Schott, it's overdyed. The leather is actually brown under the top coat. I'm hoping the finish will gradually start fading, showing the variance in tones we all want on our jackets.
In any case, I really, really like this one. Feels good to have a Perfecto again. I think I'm gonna keep it.

Does sound unusual for a 618 sizing; I've always found them, unlike most jackets, to be labelled as to the actual pit to pit of the jacket. I'd normally have needed a 48 then, but the boxiness of their cut means I was able to get away with a 46. Interesting yours is a 'teacore' effect, I've not seen that on a standard Schott before, though I did have a cheaper Schottalike years ago which did. I wonder did they choose to do it that way, or was it just the batch of leather that was availabled at the time? Any ideas what year it is? Should be identifiable by the leather. If memory serves, like mine, because you have the embossed Schott stufds on it thast puts it some time after the early 80s.

 

[Carlos840]

Well, just when i thought i was done for a while, a seller accepted what i thought was a low offer on one of my dream jackets:

Measurements are basically what i would have asked for had i gone custom:

Pit to pit = 23”
Shoulder to shoulder = 19”
Shoulder to wrist = 26”
Bottom of collar to hem = 26”
Bottom hem width = 20”

It even has the red lining, and doesn't have the chequered collar, which is what i would have wanted. It is from 2015 and is made from Horsehide.
Can't wait!

 

[sweetfights]

More 21oz Denim en route

This is a great jacket Ton---You will love it. For some reason I thought you already had it.

The subtle red lining of the chest pocket is pure class.

 

[ton312]

This is a great jacket Ton---You will love it. For some reason I thought you already had it.

The subtle red lining of the chest pocket is pure class.

Wore it all weekend. Probably the best piece IH offers IMHO!

 

[sweetfights]

It is a tad big in the shoulders and upper arm hole but otherwise darn near perfect.

View attachment 194221

Not too wide at the shoulders- looks perfect!!

 

[sweetfights]

Wore it all weekend. Probably the best piece IH offers IMHO!

Fell in love with mine and realized it was probably a keeper.

 

[regius]

Lewis Bronx twin track one cowhide


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[willyto]

Well, just when i thought i was done for a while, a seller accepted what i thought was a low offer on one of my dream jackets:

Measurements are basically what i would have asked for had i gone custom:

Pit to pit = 23”
Shoulder to shoulder = 19”
Shoulder to wrist = 26”
Bottom of collar to hem = 26”
Bottom hem width = 20”

It even has the red lining, and doesn't have the chequered collar, which is what i would have wanted. It is from 2015 and is made from Horsehide.
Can't wait!

Jelaous! I missed my chance at one made in 2012 that Second Sunrise in Stockholm were selling.

I still have the green one on my wish list after I tried it at LL back in the London meet up... is has probably sold though.

 

[Gamma68]

Fresh out of the box. A 1950s Belstaff Trialmaster racing suit. Focusing on the jacket here.

 

[Goel]

My Iron Heart N1 finally came to the post office, hoping this one will fit. I sized down this time and going by the measurement chart it looks to be perfect.

I hate winter, but I do like the jackets it allows.

 

[Psant25]

Grabbed a stock vanson chp. Aero chips being made i cant wait that long lol. Might make a couple tweeks to the chp vanson.

-standard zipper pull on pockets not chain pulls
-brass zipper bottom not plastic
-delete collar snaps
-hidden lapel snaps
-delete belt loops maybe

Vanson replied to my email said these changes are no problem

 

[Gamma68]

My first Cal Leathers is on the way.

 

[Kalmer]

My first Cal Leathers is on the way.

View attachment 195595

Looks sweet! If I may ask, which site did you find it?

 

[JMax]

Looks sweet! If I may ask, which site did you find it?

Etsy.

 

[regius]

Twin track Bronx just arrived. Cowhide, quite stretchy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ton312]

I very much want to buy this but can’t seem to get the folks at Superdenim/RMC London to answer a simple question and I’ve tried to ask it three times. Is it a BS site?

 

[regius]

Oh I love this jacket too. Can’t afford it...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk