My 3 year old Highwayman in black CXL Horsehide

[Lucas4922]

This is my first post but definitely not my first day in the lounge. Every time before I make a purchasing decision, I always wanna see how the leather will develop. So I always find myself here searching for pictures of ‘broken-in’ jackets. That’s why I’ve decided to share some of my own ‘broken-in’ jacket pictures and hopefully it’ll be helpful.

Below are some pics of her enjoying tea in the afternoon There are some serious grains and creases developed on the arms. The color on the right arm is fading slightly and showing a copper tone. (Not sure why it fades so quickly but I like it)

This is the only CXL jacket I own, comparing with my Vicenza jackets:

• Appearance: My CXL has a wilder appearance with large marbling grain, more creases and fades while the Vic feels more luxurious with a more even color, better drape and finer grain.
• Comfort: The Vic definitely wins. My CXL feels like a cardboard when it’s not warmed up. It can stand up on its own and when it's laid down, the sleeves will remain its 3-D tubular shape However, it does soften up A LOT after warming up. And when it does, it wears more like a heavy-duty denim jacket. While the vic is as soft and pliable as goat all the way.

 

[Riu]

This is my first post but definitely not my first day in the lounge. Every time before I make a purchasing decision, I always wanna see how the leather will develop. So I always find myself here searching for pictures of ‘broken-in’ jackets. That’s why I’ve decided to share some of my own ‘broken-in’ jacket pictures and hopefully it’ll be helpful.

Below are some pics of her enjoying tea in the afternoon There are some serious grains and creases developed on the arms. The color on the right arm is fading slightly and showing a copper tone. (Not sure why it fades so quickly but I like it)

This is the only CXL jacket I own, comparing with my Vicenza jackets:

• Appearance: My CXL has a wilder appearance with large marbling grain, more creases and fades while the Vic feels more luxurious with a more even color, better drape and finer grain.
• Comfort: The Vic definitely wins. My CXL feels like a cardboard when it’s not warmed up. It can stand up on its own and when it's laid down, the sleeves will remain its 3-D tubular shape However, it does soften up A LOT after warming up. And when it does, it wears more like a heavy-duty denim jacket. While the vic is as soft and pliable as goat all the way.

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Great jacket and beautiful patina. Nice creases on the sleeves!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

It has aged very nicely. Grain looks awesome.

 

[jonbuilder]

Your HWM has broken in nicely exactly what I like about CXL

 

[JMax]

Beautiful. I like how you described CXL as wilder than Vic.

 

[Robbie79]

Really nice jacket and grain. Fit pics please

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

thanks for the post. I agree, helpful info for reference. I'm curious how my Blue CXL will break in as I've heard it will start to feature some brown, but no signs of that yet.

I think you mentioned this was your only CXL, but you didn't mention how many jackets you have in total. I guess more directly, I'm trying to figure out how often you wear this? Knowing it's been 3 years is nice, but it's only one part of the equation. Any sense of how many hours you got in the jacket?

I was actually quite surprised how "fast" my brown FQHH CXL broke in. It's got some more to go, but look at difference between new, maybe 2 months with roughly 50 hours of wear and 6 months with like 200 hours of wear. Also to note, I was pretty aggressive with the jacket, doing extra movements while wearing and while not wearing, rolling it up, sitting on it, flipping it over and repeating a few times a day.

Out of the Box:

Couple Months Old:

About 6 months old:

 

[JMax]

thanks for the post. I agree, helpful info for reference. I'm curious how my Blue CXL will break in as I've heard it will start to feature some brown, but no signs of that yet.

I think you mentioned this was your only CXL, but you didn't mention how many jackets you have in total. I guess more directly, I'm trying to figure out how often you wear this? Knowing it's been 3 years is nice, but it's only one part of the equation. Any sense of how many hours you got in the jacket?

I was actually quite surprised how "fast" my brown FQHH CXL broke in. It's got some more to go, but look at difference between new, maybe 2 months with roughly 50 hours of wear and 6 months with like 200 hours of wear. Also to note, I was pretty aggressive with the jacket, doing extra movements while wearing and while not wearing, rolling it up, sitting on it, flipping it over and repeating a few times a day.

Out of the Box:

Couple Months Old:

About 6 months old:

My blue CXL definitely is showing brown. Second batch of it and it looks like they’ve moved off its bluer initial tone to a sea-green type blue. Newer batches seem more like the first batch. When did you get your blue CXL? Mine was mid to fall 2019 and it was the last of the batch, per TB.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

My blue CXL definitely is showing brown. Second batch of it and it looks like they’ve moved off its bluer initial tone to a sea-green type blue. Newer batches seem more like the first batch. When did you get your blue CXL? Mine was mid to fall 2019 and it was the last of the batch, per TB.

I bought it second hand from TFL member over the summer, but I think he only had it short while. So was probably very late 2019 or early 2020, also from TB. It's definitely not the blue/greenish tone for sure. But I really like mine, no issues at all with the color. Well that's good to know. I'm getting some gray down the welt by the main zipper. So I'm guessing that fades off to brown?

 

[JMax]

I bought it second hand from TFL member over the summer, but I think he only had it short while. So was probably very late 2019 or early 2020, also from TB. It's definitely not the blue/greenish tone for sure. But I really like mine, no issues at all with the color. Well that's good to know. I'm getting some gray down the welt by the main zipper. So I'm guessing that fades off to brown?

Yes. I prefer the truer blue. Mine does not have gray popping through or in high wear areas. Just brown. The jacket is in my storage unit, but I am due for a visit and will confirm. There are pics of it peppered throughout TFL.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

Yes. I prefer the truer blue. Mine does not have gray popping through or in high wear areas. Just brown. The jacket is in my storage unit, but I am due for a visit and will confirm. There are pics of it peppered throughout TFL.

I looked at it again. I think it's more of a lighter/dulled blue than turning to gray. So yeah, I can see that going brown. It's getting close on some of the stress points. Probably need another good 10 wears to start getting it to peep through. Try and get it done before the hot weather sets in

 

[TheDonEffect]

Nice, I like how you said it's having tea, lol.

 

[Tom71]

My blue CXL definitely is showing brown. Second batch of it and it looks like they’ve moved off its bluer initial tone to a sea-green type blue. Newer batches seem more like the first batch. When did you get your blue CXL? Mine was mid to fall 2019 and it was the last of the batch, per TB.

I believe, mine is from the same batch as JMax´. Got it in August 2019. Started off as a dark, "deep" blue and has turned into blue-grey with some brown undertones. Attached photo shows the "true" color quite good (never mind the zipper; endless story with the original Hookless; gets a brand new zipper at the moment - again.).

Have a sample of the current batch here. Color is really hard to capture/describe but it´s definitely more of a petrol/green variety.

 

[Brandrea33]

This is my first post but definitely not my first day in the lounge. Every time before I make a purchasing decision, I always wanna see how the leather will develop. So I always find myself here searching for pictures of ‘broken-in’ jackets. That’s why I’ve decided to share some of my own ‘broken-in’ jacket pictures and hopefully it’ll be helpful.

Below are some pics of her enjoying tea in the afternoon There are some serious grains and creases developed on the arms. The color on the right arm is fading slightly and showing a copper tone. (Not sure why it fades so quickly but I like it)

This is the only CXL jacket I own, comparing with my Vicenza jackets:

• Appearance: My CXL has a wilder appearance with large marbling grain, more creases and fades while the Vic feels more luxurious with a more even color, better drape and finer grain.
• Comfort: The Vic definitely wins. My CXL feels like a cardboard when it’s not warmed up. It can stand up on its own and when it's laid down, the sleeves will remain its 3-D tubular shape However, it does soften up A LOT after warming up. And when it does, it wears more like a heavy-duty denim jacket. While the vic is as soft and pliable as goat all the way.

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That’s beautiful.
Do you have pictures you can post of both, side by side?

 

[Edward]

Interesting how - at least on my monitor - some shots suggest a brown undertone on the arms, while others look straight black. Nice depth to the colour as a result. I've not yet had black CXL fqhh (only brown) but this looks great.

 

[AeroFan_07]

This is my first post but definitely not my first day in the lounge. Every time before I make a purchasing decision, I always wanna see how the leather will develop. So I always find myself here searching for pictures of ‘broken-in’ jackets. That’s why I’ve decided to share some of my own ‘broken-in’ jacket pictures and hopefully it’ll be helpful.

Below are some pics of her enjoying tea in the afternoon There are some serious grains and creases developed on the arms. The color on the right arm is fading slightly and showing a copper tone. (Not sure why it fades so quickly but I like it)

This is the only CXL jacket I own, comparing with my Vicenza jackets:

• Appearance: My CXL has a wilder appearance with large marbling grain, more creases and fades while the Vic feels more luxurious with a more even color, better drape and finer grain.
• Comfort: The Vic definitely wins. My CXL feels like a cardboard when it’s not warmed up. It can stand up on its own and when it's laid down, the sleeves will remain its 3-D tubular shape However, it does soften up A LOT after warming up. And when it does, it wears more like a heavy-duty denim jacket. While the vic is as soft and pliable as goat all the way.

Lucas - thanks for sharing these photos. It's breaking in very nicely and showing a "warm black" Tea core effect. Nice that it also likes tea.

As I read this I am wearing a ~ 1.5 year old PMHWM with cordovan FQHH that is not yet showing tea core at all yet. I believe this jacket has been worn rather little prior to my ownership, the primary "break in" showed in surface scratches in the sleeves. However it is creasing nicely in the sleeves and lower body areas.