Life with ONE great Leather Jacket vs. Life with MANY Leather Jackets

[Sloan1874]

Yikes. I think at that point, I'd rather go without.
The thing is, though, I lived for years with one just leather jacket - a Barnstormer type made of heavy, heavy steer and oversized. Having done that, I can say I prefer the option of looking out at the weather, then reaching into a cupboard and picking the jacket that is best suited to it. This is of course a uniquely Scottish position, where you can pretty much wear a leather jacket all-year-round, with only a few days where you might swap the roll-neck sweater for a turtle neck.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Some of these comments are certainly over the top... Don't think I've ever had that high of a fever to 'must have' the latest and greatest leather jacket offering. The jacket manufactures must love it. A continual buy and sell (at a loss), and now even admitted loans to feed that desire. Well beyond just trying to acquire a few well fitting jackets of nice hide and design. It is getting deeper into weird territory, don't you think? [huh]
HD

 

[mendelboaz]

Well, Loco, you can argue that about any thing really: the perfect car, the perfect home, the perfect wife... many people spend their lives chasing these things and are never satisfied. In relation to jackets, I'm sure that if I was only allowed one I'd pretty soon work out the keeper and learn to live with that choice.

You are right on the spot, there, Seb. We can spend our entire lives chasing 'perfect' things, always discovering that the thing we picked isn't perfect and moving on to the next. But only when we make a choice, stick by it and be happy with what we've got can we truly be satisfied.

It's what makes a man, and it's what makes a happy man.

Remember, folks: there ain't no such thing as perfection, just satisfaction that we make for ourselves.

 

[Monitor]

True, but it's amazing how you can somehow find the cash when you need to scratch that itch...

Spot on. I often wonder why is it that I can't do whatever I do to make jacket money for important stuff such as getting the bathtub re-glazed. Or having the car fixed. But there's never enough money for that. At the same time, some jacket turns up on classified and I'm instantly capable of coming up with just the right amount.

There's just no escaping this...

HD, sadly, it's exactly like that.

 

[nick123]

Some of these comments are certainly over the top... Don't think I've ever had that high of a fever to 'must have' the latest and greatest leather jacket offering. The jacket manufactures must love it. A continual buy and sell (at a loss), and now even admitted loans to feed that desire. Well beyond just trying to acquire a few well fitting jackets of nice hide and design. It is getting deeper into weird territory, don't you think? [huh]
HD

Extremely weird territory. lol

 

[Grayland]

Some of these comments are certainly over the top... Don't think I've ever had that high of a fever to 'must have' the latest and greatest leather jacket offering. The jacket manufactures must love it. A continual buy and sell (at a loss), and now even admitted loans to feed that desire. Well beyond just trying to acquire a few well fitting jackets of nice hide and design. It is getting deeper into weird territory, don't you think? [huh]
HD

Great point, HD. While I have concerns about how many leather jackets anyone would "need" and how much $ is spent, I also think that having too many leather jackets mean none of them ever really get beat to hell and look like a well-worn leather jacket. That is one thing that is sorely lacking on TFL: pics of great looking patina, beat-up/oddly creased, stained/scarred Aero's, LW's, and GW's.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I still like this re-lined old black Highwayman example...

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Hell, there's a leather jacket you could wear with black or brown boots. If the fit is right, who would need anything more?
HD

 

[Grayland]

HD - that is exactly the jacket I had in mind when I wrote my comment, but I didn't think I could find the thread. I almost bought that and regret that I didn't. That is an f-ing leather jacket!

 

[Sloan1874]

It's a great looking HWM. My russet repro A-2 from the 80s has a lot of lived-in character, but it's drum-dyed all the way through, and it's attractions don't translate so well in pictures: it's more about graining, subtle colour changes and a heavily broken-in drape than loss of colour.

 

[kampkatz]

The conversations about jackets are so diverse, yet when we realize that there is no perfect world, there can be no perfect jacket. Therefore, we can never fault anyone for endlessly searching for the "holy grail" of jackets and collecting until they drop dead of exhaustion (but hopefully not frustration).

 

[Windstorm81]

Great point, HD. While I have concerns about how many leather jackets anyone would "need" and how much $ is spent, I also think that having too many leather jackets mean none of them ever really get beat to hell and look like a well-worn leather jacket. That is one thing that is sorely lacking on TFL: pics of great looking patina, beat-up/oddly creased, stained/scarred Aero's, LW's, and GW's.

That's exactly bang on !!! Those were the thoughts exactly in my mind when I first started this thread. Its great to see newly acquired jackets here but there is not a whole lot of "this is what my 6-10 year old jacket" looks like now with its aged patina and character. While we enjoy the excitement of unboxing that brand new leather jacket, we miss out on the loyal bond and relationship with that one "go-to jacket" that becomes your regular companion and friend who's always there and who's aged through all your experiences and collected those memories through the journey. I mean that's what seperates a leather jacket from a fabric jacket. Its real skin that (like good wine) becomes better with age and wear. The higher the volume, the more limited that age/wear experience becomes.

 

[Superfluous]

That's exactly bang on !!! Those were the thoughts exactly in my mind when I first started this thread. Its great to see newly acquired jackets here but there is not a whole lot of "this is what my 6-10 year old jacket" looks like now with its aged patina and character. While we enjoy the excitement of unboxing that brand new leather jacket, we miss out on the loyal bond and relationship with that one "go-to jacket" that becomes your regular companion and friend who's always there and who's aged through all your experiences and collected those memories through the journey. I mean that's what seperates a leather jacket from a fabric jacket. Its real skin that (like good wine) becomes better with age and wear. The higher the volume, the more limited that age/wear experience becomes.

^ Good point WS! The notion of a "perfect" leather jacket, or one leather jacket that is right for all occasions, is not realistic, nor the point. One can have a particular "go-to" leather jacket that is suitable for a broad variety of uses, absorbs the majority of the owner's experiences, and with which the owner develops a special bond. Owning such a "go-to" leather jacket does not preclude one from also owning other leather jackets that enable the owner to simultaneously have some variety and accommodate uses/occasions for which the "go-to" jacket might not be well suited. In other words, a "go-to" jacket and variety are not mutually exclusive.

I personally enjoy variety. On the other hand, I certainly do not wear my leather jackets equally. Rather, certain jackets are worn considerably more often than others. I don't have one "go-to" jacket of the kind described by WS. Instead, I have a few "go-to" jackets, and other less worn jackets. This approach suits my preferences, but I miss out on the bond with one particular jacket described by WS.

 

[Jägernaut]

Superfluous, I like all of your jackets. I especially like your Himel Canuck. I'm curious to know which of your jackets is your favorite.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I think you are all missing the point of a perfect jacket.

The perfect jacket knows it doesn't cover every situation, doesn't try too and is happy for you to have multiple jackets, it's not a jealous wife!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

^ Good point WS! The notion of a "perfect" leather jacket, or one leather jacket that is right for all occasions, is not realistic, nor the point. One can have a particular "go-to" leather jacket that is suitable for a broad variety of uses, absorbs the majority of the owner's experiences, and with which the owner develops a special bond. Owning such a "go-to" leather jacket does not preclude one from also owning other leather jackets that enable the owner to simultaneously have some variety and accommodate uses/occasions for which the "go-to" jacket might not be well suited. In other words, a "go-to" jacket and variety are not mutually exclusive.

I personally enjoy variety. On the other hand, I certainly do not wear my leather jackets equally. Rather, certain jackets are worn considerably more often than others. I don't have one "go-to" jacket of the kind described by WS. Instead, I have a few "go-to" jackets, and other less worn jackets. This approach suits my preferences, but I miss out on the bond with one particular jacket described by WS.

This is very true. However, as of right now, I only have one leather jacket and am not planning on getting more right now. If I need things for other situations, I have a couple of other jackets. In addition, I live in Orange County, CA and therefore do not need a jacket too often. Most importantly, however, I just love my jacket and want to wear it as much as possible, therefore I do not have the desire for a new one. However, I do agree that having a go to jacket and variety are NOT mutually exclusive at all. I do have a really nice japanese-made indigo cardigan and a burgundy peacoat for other situations, but I do wear the leather jacket the most.

I also agree that the "perfect" leather jacket is a bit of a myth. I LOVE my jacket and am perfectly happy with it as of now, but I am perfectly aware that thiswill likely not be my only leather jacket for the rest of my life. I know the need for new jackets will come and I will welcome that when in comes

 

[zebedee]

It'd be good to just have three- a cafe racer, a highwayman and an LHB (mine are aeros). I also have a longer slim double-breasted one and a stockman that I very rarely wear. Longer leather jackets- button ones- I now think look odd on me, and I'll only put one on if it's tipping it down. Then I take it off an wear the LHB. I have a theory that the ideal jacket for me would always be highwayman length. The need for a longer item I'd meet with a wool overcoat (I have some, but seldom wear them because I have 5 Aeros). It's a weird addiction.

 

[Monitor]

I need to have at least one Perfecto.

 

[Sloan1874]

And how many shearling actions are considered acceptable? (Asking for a friend)

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Just one, unless you're a real sissy...