My new Aero Cheyenne in seal goat

[JanSolo]

Hi all,

a couple of weeks ago I received my newest Aero jacket. Initially I was a little put off by its weight and I also thought that the sizing wasn't correct. So I put it away for a while and carefully stored it in its original box. Some days ago I examined the jacket again and this time I was totally blown away by it. As usual the quality of workmanship and construction is outstanding and I have never seen goatskin as thick and grainy as this but there is even more to it...something beyond the sheer appraisal of perfect workmanship, details, and looks. ...Probably it's just springtime that led to this change of mind. Anyway, I'm in love!

These are the specs:

+ Size 38 Cheyenne (fits like size 40) in seal veg tanned goatskin. The goatskin used for this jacket is incredibly thick, stiff, and heavy. In fact it's as heavy as FQHH.
+ Cheyenne pattern shortened by 1 inch and slightly waisted. 1 inch added to the sleeves
+ Stockman patch pockets with scalloped pocket flaps.
+ No handwarmer pockets.
+ Cotton drill lining with a full rayon overlay for ease of wear. (A single layer of rayon wouldn't be durable enough for such a heavy jacket).
+ One vertical inside pocket in the facing.
+ Curved Highwayman yoke.
+ Two piece back instead of a three piece construction. The lower back panel is made from ONE piece of goat which I think is almost incredible.

The jacket is quite comfortable due to the smooth lining but the leather will take ages to break in. There are some nice grain and colour variation all over the jacket which I tried to capture in some detail shots.

The bare jacket, close-ups, details and grain comparison:

The jacket when worn:

What do you think?

 

[Creeping Past]

The grain is outstanding. The colour is deep and rich. It even looks good where worn!

That looks like a vintage 1930s work jacket. It looks nicely fitted, but that's probably because there's no side panel as on the Highwayman/long half-belt.

Just a couple of questions. Were you expecting a thinner hide? Would you specify a thinner, lighter grade if you were to have a similar length goatskin jacket made? How does it wear compared with heavy horse?

I'm working on a custom design, based on a 1959 RM Williams jacket posted here a while back. I think I need to reconsider completely and base it on the Cheyenne style. I'd probably ask for a two-piece sleeve with bi-swing arms, rather than the three-piece, though, as I'm looking for something quite fitted.

 

[JanSolo]

Thanks CP.
No, I wasn't expecting a much thinner hide. In fact when I ordered the jacket last year I asked Will for the thickest and stiffest goatskin available. The result is a jacket with a thicker outershell than a FQHH jacket would have. It's really that thick! Goatskin is a little more pliable than horse, so if you would compare my jacket to a standard FQHH Cheyenne they would be very similar in weight and flexibility, although the leather on my jacket is thicker.

Aero's veg tanned goat ages so nicely! The top spray finish appears to be only a couple of microns thick and after some wear the milk chocolate base colour of the leather shows through.

Don't get me wrong. I love the leather! But it's awfully thick and stiff and I don't think that pre-shaping with a spray can and hot water would lead to any result. It's just that you don't think that goatskin can be anything like that.

 

[feltfan]

Jan,

On Flickr, if you click on "All Sizes" and then
choose a size, you get a dialog box with a link
you can use to display your pictures within your
post. That way we wouldn't have to click all
those links, with a new window for each image.

Thanks!

Ah, I see the links you posted simply need to be put between IMG tags,
with the "?v=0" removed from the end.

BTW, I really like this jacket.

 

[bobjones]

Nice jacket, jansolo, VERY nice. The things that jump out immediately are:

- the color is wonderful, its a "truer" brown than their regular brown FQHH

- the fit is slim, much slimmer than the other highly modified cheyenne you had before. The fit now is almost like a leather sportscoat, trulu slim fitting but longer than the typical "short" Aero jackets like the HBs, Hwymn, etc.

I think this is really what you had in mind from before, your "re-interpretation" of the longer coats into a longer jacket, but not oversized - and overwhelming - like the car coat styles. The challenge is in working with Aero to get the sizing just right, of course.

Did you also take any pictures from the front and back of the jacket fully buttoned?

- the 2 piece back is quite appealing, and looks very nice, very clean, without the added panel and requisite lines.

One question, what drove you to go with such a heavy goat, rather than their regular heavy HH?

Overall, a really nice jacket that accomplishes, IMO, what you had described you were trying to construct from your earlier posts.

 

[JanSolo]

Thanks Feltfan, I'll try it next time I post pictures.

Bobjones, thanks for the kind words. Sorry, I forgot to take some pictures of the front and back when buttoned. The jacket is quite fitted but not overly tight or restrictive. There's more than enough room for a knitted sweater plus dress shirt. And this kind of layering might well be needed during colder days, because the bare jacket with it's thin cotton drill and even thinner rayon lining isn't warm at all...

The reason why I went for goat this time simply was that I love this kind of leather so much! I know that FQHH lends itself more to developing some patina but goatskin can age as beautifully...it only takes much more time

 

[Cooperson]

Hi Jan

That's a great looking coat, I like the design a lot. It's hard to imagine goat being heavier than HFQH, it must be one serious hide! Love the pebbly grain also. Congratulations, enjoy and wear it in good health.

Cheers.

 

[jack miranda]

Hi, Jan: Handsome jacket.

I did not know goat could be tanned in such thickness. Wow! The shape and drape of the jacket is very well done. I like the color, too; really rich. All in all, a well-designed project. It looks great on you, Jan. Another Aero winner for your collection :eusa_clap . Thanks for the pics.

 

[JanSolo]

Thanks for all the nice comments. A special thanks goes to Feltfan who solved the picture posting problem. Now that's solved I will repost the pics on my older threads as well.

 

[feltfan]

Thanks for all the nice comments. A special thanks goes to Feltfan who solved the picture posting problem. Now that's solved I will repost the pics on my older threads as well.

Wow, what a great reward. I look forward to all those photos.
You have a tremendous jacket collection.

This jacket in particular has probably convinced me to
get a goat jacket from Aero. Hadn't planned to before.
Someday.

 

[gfirob]

Great looking jacket!

I am surprised the goatskin is so heavy, but it looks fantastic. I think goatskin has a great look.

There have been so many posts here about breaking in leather jackets that I noticed that Westcoast Show Company (Wesco) which hand-makes great boots, had this comment on their website:

"If your new boots are a little snug at first, don’t worry. It takes time to break in that durable, full-grain leather — anywhere from two to four weeks. Although, we have heard some interesting methods for speeding up the process. Some folks take a stroll through a nearby creek, or fill their boots with warm water and hike a couple of miles. Others take a more gradual approach, wearing their new boots just a few hours a day.

Wesco’s tip for breaking in a new pair of boots: Wear Them."

 

[eClairvaux]

JanSolo,

this must be the best looking long Aero jacket I have ever seen.

Quit your day job and get into fashion. Whatever you do, you are wasting your time

a very impressed eClairvaux

 

[JanSolo]

Many thanks for the kind words.

Gfirob, I am not going to play around with the jacket and put it in the washing machine or tumble it. I could never do that to any of my leather jackets.
About a decade ago I took a cheap pre-owned Wested Indy jacket with me under the shower and the result was horrible. The leather shrunk, it got stiff, a couple of seams became loose and the cotton lining lost its brown colour...no good!!
As you suggested I will wear it.

Quit your day job and get into fashion. Whatever you do, you are wasting your time

eClairvaux, you tell that to my girlfriend! Ask her and she will gladly tell you what she thinks about taking pictures in the garden with a self-timer, hanging around on internet fora, and having too much interest in vintage clothing. BTW: That's her typical facial expression when she starts thinking about what I am doing in my leisure time...

But thanks for your kind words!!

 

[eClairvaux]

eClairvaux, you tell that to my girlfriend!
But thanks for your kind words!!

You are welcome!

As to domestic acceptance of the jacket obsession: I know exactly what you are talking about. Luckily my wife is a fashion addict herself, so she has a hard time to justify any finger pointing at my admitedly insane jacket collection.

A recent addition (dark navy "Harrington" G9) has accordingly been greeted with some disbelief and I admit to have said, that this should be the last one for a while.

But after seeing your great interpretation of the Cheyenne I am afraid my defenses already start to show some cracks

 

[Edward]

Recently another forumite - I think it was John Lever? - mentioned in another thread that Aero are apparently planning to do their version of an Indy jacket.... Looking at this one, if it was shortened a bit, taken in just a touch, and given a zip fastener in place of the buttons, there would be very little otherwise needed for that to work really well....