technovox
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,241
- Location
- San Francisco
Recently, I've had some inquiries about my new Johnson Half-Belt in the overdyed black, and I promised some pics.
To start, I took a half-belt (Levis- Blue Black - aka Speedway) to Alan at Johnson Leathers. I like the 30's design, but the dimensions of the Levis original were all wrong for me (a serious drop front, and an unwieldly short 22 inch back.) So I had Alan add some length (to the body and arms,) nix the drop front, but otherwise stay as close as possible.
Admittedly, this style is well suited to traditional goatskin. But I wanted to give the Horween Overdyed Black another chance because of its beautiful aging qualities. (However, this time I requested the beastly 4.5 oz thickness skinned down to a manageable 3 oz.)
Also, Alan suggested a brown thread to highlight the emerging brown overtones and give the jacket some depth. Talon nickel zips, nickel buckles, real horn buttons, longer collar, satin lining, vertical back seam and curved yoke, all were based on the original jacket.
I’ve only had it about a month now, but already the jacket is developing an amazing character. It’s very comfortable, seems to hit that sweet spot of supple yet thick enough… and crisp looking with the contrast brown thread and black leather. A very easy jacket to wear.
Note:
I’ve started to notice two distinct curves in the overall life of a new acquisition. There are some jackets that I’ve liked straight out of the box, but over time grew bored with them… or got to the point where I finally acknowledged they just don’t work for me and I never wear them.
And then there is that rare jacket, like this one, that seems to just get better with age and wear. The more wear time, the more I notice the subtleties, the emerging patina, the accumulation of scars and the marks, the comfort, and the easy way it molds to my body. After a while I realized it’s become my singular favorite…like an old friend. The proverbial “go to” jacket that makes all the trials and errors worth while. (If I could just figure out all this before I spend the money on all the others. Part of the learning curve, I suppose. And why I keep coming back to Fedora.)
Enough blabber- here are the promised pics. Enjoy!
To start, I took a half-belt (Levis- Blue Black - aka Speedway) to Alan at Johnson Leathers. I like the 30's design, but the dimensions of the Levis original were all wrong for me (a serious drop front, and an unwieldly short 22 inch back.) So I had Alan add some length (to the body and arms,) nix the drop front, but otherwise stay as close as possible.
Admittedly, this style is well suited to traditional goatskin. But I wanted to give the Horween Overdyed Black another chance because of its beautiful aging qualities. (However, this time I requested the beastly 4.5 oz thickness skinned down to a manageable 3 oz.)
Also, Alan suggested a brown thread to highlight the emerging brown overtones and give the jacket some depth. Talon nickel zips, nickel buckles, real horn buttons, longer collar, satin lining, vertical back seam and curved yoke, all were based on the original jacket.
I’ve only had it about a month now, but already the jacket is developing an amazing character. It’s very comfortable, seems to hit that sweet spot of supple yet thick enough… and crisp looking with the contrast brown thread and black leather. A very easy jacket to wear.
Note:
I’ve started to notice two distinct curves in the overall life of a new acquisition. There are some jackets that I’ve liked straight out of the box, but over time grew bored with them… or got to the point where I finally acknowledged they just don’t work for me and I never wear them.
And then there is that rare jacket, like this one, that seems to just get better with age and wear. The more wear time, the more I notice the subtleties, the emerging patina, the accumulation of scars and the marks, the comfort, and the easy way it molds to my body. After a while I realized it’s become my singular favorite…like an old friend. The proverbial “go to” jacket that makes all the trials and errors worth while. (If I could just figure out all this before I spend the money on all the others. Part of the learning curve, I suppose. And why I keep coming back to Fedora.)
Enough blabber- here are the promised pics. Enjoy!
Last edited:
