One Jacket To Rule Them All

[JumpBoot]

So since I moved to Eastern Europe, I had to gut my wardrobe. I'm now at a point where I want to keep a more minimalist setup, and I'd like some input. I've historically had many jackets, since Alaska stays cold. Here, though, we get four full seasons. So I'm looking at getting a jacket that can be sort of a jack of all trades. Dressed up to wear out for drinks or down with a pair of jeans and a T shirt.
I've been considering something these:

Aero Highwayman (in goat)
Kelso's Relic Hunter
The Peacoat from Private White.

Any other suggestions or input?

 

[TartuWolf]

Will use this opportunity to put this idea out there:
If your waist/stomach is narrower than your hips/belt - half belt designs work better.
If your waist/stomach is wider than your hips/belt - bottom hem cinch designs (like the mentioned Highwayman) work better.
By work better I mean form fits the body type better.
Thoughts?

 

[JumpBoot]

Will use this opportunity to put this idea out there:
If your waist/stomach is narrower than your hips/belt - half belt designs work better.
If your waist/stomach is wider than your hips/belt - bottom hem cinch designs (like the mentioned Highwayman) work better.
By work better I mean form fits the body type better.
Thoughts?

I hadn't thought of that, but that makes sense. I'm still pretty flat across the stomach. I'll have to look into the half belts. I appreciate your input, thank you very much.

 

[Will Zach]

In Eastern Europe the weather is rather poor November - April. As in cold and often rainy. Not Alaska-cold, but anywhere between about -5 to +5 C, damp and miserable. For that period I would suggest something with a warmer lining, like quilted or wool. The rest of the year can be quite lovely, so something with a lighter lining is better. So I think two jackets to rule them all instead of one...
PS - I am not a huge fan of removable liners, but it could potentially be a solution if it must be only one jacket.

 

[mumpy]

A peacoat is a very good option.

Off the top of my head:

* Buzz Rickson’s US Navy Deck Zip Jacket
* A wool halfbelt
* A combo of flannel + leather halfbelt depending on temperature

 

[TartuWolf]

There's quite a few similar threads where people are asking for their "forever" jacket or "if you only had to have 1 jacket"..
Look around, lots of reading material there.

Aero and Kelso are leather jackets, which is very different from a wool pea coat.

If you really only want one jacket then it would have to be a rather roomy (as opposed to form fitting) lighter/medium leather rather short jacket with non-warm lining which would allow for layering.
That would allow you to wear it around -10c to +20c with various layering configurations.
For me above +20c in eastern Europe means bye bye to any leather jacket (unless it's very windy, near the shore for example).
And below -5c is also already pushing it, unless you really stack up the layering.

The jacket basically becomes a windbreaker, varsity,

So I would pick my favorite style (aviator, mc, half belt, highwayman, car coat, etc...), get the fit right for layering, color/leather you like, rather thin lining. That's your best bet if you really only want one jacket.

 

[navetsea]

definitely something with buttons is much easier to dress up or down. the color probably olive or sage or cordovan perhaps so you can wear it with everything

 

[TartuWolf]

A cordovan Maxwell/Moonshiner would be awesome, but the CXL leather might be a bit too thick for really warm or really cold weather. Movement restricting too. And buttons don't go too well with windy conditions. But they do look very classy especially in cordovan!

 

[zebedee]

This is a tough question. I'd second the approach of getting one zipped jacket and one buttoned one. The two most useful I've had have been an Aero Maxwell in tumbled cordovan and an Aero Highwayman in brown fqhh.

These were before I'd had a Vicenza jacket: it's an all-round hide I'd definitely consider if I had to narrow things down to one or two jackets. It looks new for a long time, is lighter than fqhh and grains very nicely. I've had no problems with water resistance (I live in typhoon weather reasonably regularly) and don't see Vicenza as having a drawback, overall. A blackened brown Vicenza Maxwell or 1920s Work Coat might fit the bill if you were more on the 'smarter' side.

 

[Psant25]

I love my aero zip sleeve highwaymans. My black vic one is near perfect in my book. Size 38 with taper body/hem to size 36 makes a world of difference.

 

[Will Zach]

I love my aero zip sleeve highwaymans. My black vic one is near perfect in my book. Size 38 with taper body/hem to size 36 makes a world of difference. View attachment 530448

I think that taper is key with Aero HWM. Otherwise it is a blousy balloon. But with that taper it is actually a jacket.

 

[Bfd70]

For me if there were only going to be one jacket it definitely wouldn’t be leather. Sorry tfl

 

[Aloysius]

For me if there were only going to be one jacket it definitely wouldn’t be leather. Sorry tfl

My one jacket years were with a much loved (and still worn) Barbour Border.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

One jacket is pretty difficult to get through the whole year especially somewhere with large temperature swings.

In this case, I'd say a peacoat is probably the best choice. Buzz Ricksons is a great option for that.

 

[barnabus]

My one jacket years were with a much loved (and still worn) Barbour Border.

Similarly, my one-jacket-to-rule-them-all is a Barbour. Mine is an International in olive.

I just can't find anything to replace it that's anywhere near as versatile.

 

[JumpBoot]

One jacket is pretty difficult to get through the whole year especially somewhere with large temperature swings.

In this case, I'd say a peacoat is probably the best choice. Buzz Ricksons is a great option for that.

I've heard really good things about their products!

 

[sweetfights]

For me if there were only going to be one jacket it definitely wouldn’t be leather. Sorry tfl

Sacrilege!!!!

 

[sweetfights]

I love my aero zip sleeve highwaymans. My black vic one is near perfect in my book. Size 38 with taper body/hem to size 36 makes a world of difference. View attachment 530448

This is a perfect example of "The One". Let's see the back, please.

 

[Psant25]

This is a perfect example of "The One". Let's see the back, please.

Nothing fancy just the standard back

 

[sweetfights]

Nothing fancy just the standard back View attachment 531837

Superb-looking "everything" jacket. Applicable in this thread. Thank you.