Schott permanently closes Chicago location

[navetsea]

i wore black leather jacket in university by late 90's to early 00's but since without social media, internet, mobile phone camera, I practically had no reference of what other youngsters wore outside my area, I can see glimpse of that in movies or magazine, but they feel all too staged, not real people.
my black jacket however was probably 3 size too big by FDL standard, and probably 6 size too big by SF standard, when raining I wore my backpack under the jacket. I never condition or clean that jacket, after 5 6 years, the black pigment started to suede and turned grey, so one day my grandma gave it away.

thedi's mug is coin, postage stamp, and bill material.

 

[Downunder G Man]

Somebody should tell this guy that he is too old to wear a black leather jacket:

Em , you tell 'im....

 

[Downunder G Man]

Somebody should tell this guy that he is too old to wear a black leather jacket:

Em..You tell 'im... then lets us know how that worked out for ya !

 

[navetsea]

i think it was an ironic joke by Supe...
I only imagine a headbutt as and answer, that helmet looks weaponized.

 

[red devil]

I like black leather more than brown, despite brown being far more interesting to look at. I’m just more comfortable in black. Plus, it’s harder to hang a battle axe on a brown jacket.
View attachment 242475

Ohhhh... need to do something like that!

My first leather jacket was a black perfecto style jacket with an eagle painted on the back when I was 14. Kept it for quite a few years until it was unfortunately stolen. I suspect it was made of steerhide, and I think it was a HD jacket.

 

[Marc mndt]

Ohhhh... need to do something like that!

My first leather jacket was a black perfecto style jacket with an eagle painted on the back when I was 14. Kept it for quite a few years until it was unfortunately stolen. I suspect it was made of steerhide, and I think it was a HD jacket.

That sounds like a very cool first jacket. Do you have pictures of it? Because this thread is going all over the place, I just started a new one:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/what-was-your-very-first-leather-jacket.101019/

 

[Tom71]

I like black leather more than brown, despite brown being far more interesting to look at. I’m just more comfortable in black. Plus, it’s harder to hang a battle axe on a brown jacket.
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"It´s harder to hang a battle axe on a brown jacket…"

This is gonna be the title of my first novel/poem/autobiography, if I ever do one...

 

[Monitor]

I think you should wear what looks good on you. I thought (like you) at first that in my 40s that brown was the way to go. Now I'm 50, and my hair is grey rather than blonde. My wife says I look older than I am...so...WTF...I bought 2 black leather jackets. I like the options. I would get one of the Natural ones too, but I don't think the orange tones look right with my pasty complexion. It was this photo that made me realize you don't have to be young to wear a cool jacket:
View attachment 242385
The older I get, the less I care what others think. Somehow the freedom is very liberating.

I don't think it's the case of caring less what others think. You just learn to accept yourself and not take the opinions of others seriously. Of course we care when someone compliments us, no matter how old we are. Otherwise, we wouldn't be on this forum. Wanting to look good doesn't work if nobody sees it.

Everything looks good on young people because young people are beautiful and it is in that that nothing looks good on young people. I have found that nothing really looks outstanding on young people. They're expected to wear everything thus it doesn't matter.
But when you got an old guy with style, tha

Yeah Theodoros has the whole package - he's fit, makes and wears cool jackets, has the whole look down, and has ridiculously good hair. To me, he's the perfect example of an older guy wearing a leather jacket who looks cooler than younger dudes who wear them.

Christophe from Mister Freedom is another great example.

Then you have this gentleman, who I follow Instagram from Sweden. Great style.

Having money for all that gear helps if you wanna look good.

For the rest of us there's always thrifting. And hope.

 

[navetsea]

I think the older you are, the more experience and references you have gathered throughout your life, and so your taste should grow as well, unless you decide to just let go and doesn't care or stuck to a certain era where your youth were and failed to further refine your senses.

 

[Edward]

Ps: concerning age.
To a 20something year old, a 40 yr old IS an old guy already.
To a 60something, a 40 yr old isn’t a kid any more and should have mastered 20something thinking.
Welcome to the lounge, i look forward to seeing your jackets.
B

I have a stock gag re age that I've delivered once a year since 1999 when I started lecturing. Back then, students (including, especially, postgrads, some of whom were often markedly older than me) would laugh when I gave my bes Old Man - "The Clash, or Abba, or whatever it is you young people listen to nowadays". I've never felt so old as the first time nobody laughed at that!

I'm now going to be, as of October, teaching undergraduates some of whom were born in 2000.... less than half my age. So, so much younger than I felt at the age.... and yet I think they're probably more aware of the age gap than I am.

I think with the high end leathers, we should also remember in the mix that many of us were into our thirties and forties before we not only 'found' our aesthetic, but also before we could afford a clutch of high end leather jackets. I was once asked why only old men drove flash sports cars, and I said "Well, theyr'e the only ones who can affod to buy and insure 'em." I still think that's (mainly) true... though at 45, straing down the barrel of 46 next Summer, 50 doesn't seem anywhere near as old as I remember 30 seeming when I was an undergrad....

View attachment 242461

I am 48. I like myself in black leather. Middle age isn’t all upside, but the fading away of insecurity and the reliance of what others think about your jackets is a big step forward for sure...

Everybody should just wear what he or she likes best. Others will notice if you feel good about yourself, and in my experience will react positive to that.

TBH, at 45, the biggest differecne I feel from 25 (apart from self-acceptance!) is usually the next morning.... Somehow, the recovery arc is steeper than it used to be!

Some really nice post, so I am not going to try to be eloquent ... Skip the black go for red

Since I went vintage and moved on from being interested in the Fight Club cafe racer, I haven't been much for brightly coloured leathers, but seeing the Ice Hockey sample in Aero's sales pages currently, I'm leaning towards one of those 30s/40s 'sports' jackets. Maybe blue...

True, but young people DO wear 'leather' jackets. I guess they'll have to start somewhere, you don't start with a Freewheeler. The first leather jacket I bought was a Hugo Boss cafe racer. Back when I was 17. Still have it btw.

Financially, many kids just don't have the scratch for the high end...

I think the older you are, the more experience and references you have gathered throughout your life, and so your taste should grow as well, unless you decide to just let go and doesn't care or stuck to a certain era where your youth were and failed to further refine your senses.

Worst case scenario, if ever I am unsure how I'm aging in something I'm just going to look up photos of Dave Ruffy, drummer in The Ruts. HE's about fifteen years older than me, but I'm still regularly taken for him at gigs. Alas, the Nornie accent kinda gives the game away when people ask if I'm him!

Ruffy on the left in both shots....

 

[navetsea]

while its normal for older people to be surprised at this adult person who only been born in (fill in number 70s, 80s, 90s)

but to realize there are young adult population who truly belong to 21th century is something special. we are so lucky to live through the change of the century, and at the peak of changes, we experience both analog and digital world from phone with plate dial, to buttons dial, to touch screen pad.

 

[Superfluous]

The evolution of my wardrobe went in the opposition direction of my age and I now dress more youthful than I did when I was 35-40. For example, when I was 35-40, I wore leather jackets from Loro Piana, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, and Sulka. As I got older, I transitioned to more youthful styles. If anyone is interested in purchasing some stellar jackets from LP or RLPL, PM me.

 

[Monitor]

while its normal for older people to be surprised at this adult person who only been born in (fill in number 70s, 80s, 90s)

but to realize there are young adult population who truly belong to 21th century is something special. we are so lucky to live through the change of the century, and at the peak of changes, we experience both analog and digital world from phone with plate dial, to buttons dial, to touch screen pad.

Funny, just this morning while still in bed, I was thinking about how even my granddad lived the same as countless generations before him, without electricity, let alone anything else we consider modern, but he somehow magically got to see the era of this insane technology that is now considered to be essential. World really did just completely change one day.

 

[jonesy86]

More interesting thread than the title suggested.

As far as the increased price vs quality of Schott, we’ve seen a similar thing happen in Australia with RM Williams. As companies move to use their good reputation to increase sales and spread to be a more internationally recognized brand they often seem to have to cut corners or reduce quality of materials used to meet production demands. Meanwhile their brand desirability allows higher prices to be asked.

As for the discussion about wearing leather jackets as we get older I must admit I feel a bit self conscious at 40 years old wearing my black leather jacket and tend to wear my brown jacket more for this reason. Living in a smaller town on Easter Australia (Kiama) the main people I see wearing leather jackets are tourists visiting on the weekends. As someone above described it’s usually cheap looking, ill-fitting, leather jackets worn by older guys with convertible Porsches, Mercs or Audis. Hoping I don’t look like that wearing mine.

Anyone else tend to move away from black as they get older? Or is it all in my head?

Shoot, wish I had a convertible.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I think the older you are, the more experience and references you have gathered throughout your life, and so your taste should grow as well, unless you decide to just let go and doesn't care or stuck to a certain era where your youth were and failed to further refine your senses.

I'm not so sure. There are so many ways of being old and so many reasons for dressing in a particular way that I think it is almost useless to speculate on how age impacts on dress. I know a bunch of middle aged guys who dress according to what their wives choose and buy for them. As you may imagine, the wife's taste is important in the overall outcome of this project. If it's the second wife and she is 25 years younger... the results may be highly amusing.

I'm often curious that there are people my age (50's) who say they feel no different to when they were 21. I struggle to believe this. I feel less good today to how I felt at 40 and less good at 40 than at 30 and less good then than at 21.

 

[Superfluous]

I'm often curious that there are people my age (50's) who say they feel no different to when they were 21. I struggle to believe this. I feel less good today to how I felt at 40 and less good at 40 than at 30 and less good then than at 21.

I think you have to distinguish physical condition from mental condition. I definitely do not feel as physically fit as I was when I was 40, or 30, or 21. I am reminded of this physical decline every time I stand up from my desk chair and must slowly straighten my back. That said, I still feel remarkably young from a mental perspective -- not 21 years old, but also not nearly as "mature" as I perceived people my age when I was younger. I suspect I will "grow-up" some day, but I am not in a hurry to do so.

 

[zebedee]

Old is always 15 years older than you are

Age is just a 'problem' - spiritual if you are religious and mechanical if you're looking at the science. Let's hope the magic pill comes soon, as we're all our own avalanches without it. At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back into the same box - which is cool when you think about it.

 

[red devil]

Old is always 15 years older than you are

That feels really accurate

I always thought that your attitude helps keep you younger or not. I have seen people acting and thinking that "they are too old to... [do something, wear something, etc...]" and in the long run it really feels as if they are aging faster.

 

[zebedee]

That feels really accurate

I always thought that your attitude helps keep you younger or not. I have seen people acting and thinking that "they are too old to... [do something, wear something, etc...]" and in the long run it really feels as if they are aging faster.

That's because if you think that way, you actually are running yourself down. You lose muscle mass (eventually- it takes a lot longer if you exercise) and bone density (see parentheses before) but you don't have to lose flexibility very much at all - in fact, flexibility training, light weights and activity make a huge difference. It's really 'just' a mechanical flaw- and at some point, it will be overcome. If you strip your diet down to fish, vegetables and low carbs and look after your health, you're giving yourself a good chance at moving on comfortably - and, the way longevity science is moving, the longer you can live, the longer you will.

 

[red devil]

That's because if you think that way, you actually are running yourself down. You lose muscle mass (eventually- it takes a lot longer if you exercise) and bone density (see parentheses before) but you don't have to lose flexibility very much at all - in fact, flexibility training, light weights and activity make a huge difference. It's really 'just' a mechanical flaw- and at some point, it will be overcome. If you strip your diet down to fish, vegetables and low carbs and look after your health, you're giving yourself a good chance at moving on comfortably - and, the way longevity science is moving, the longer you can live, the longer you will.

Pretty much, if you keep moving your body, don't over-eat, and keep a fresh open attitude, you will get on much better