Show us your mall fit A-2 or flight jackets.

[Matt Deckard]

I used to have a good ol' mall fit A-2 in the late 90s. One that I won at a computer convention. Yes I coveted wearing it but over time I learned better what looked good on me and what good fit was.

I recently saw this online and it reminded me of that old jacket.

Amazingly big armholes.

http://www.desertrat.se/us-air-forc...x-skinnjacka-a-2-nose-art-hollywood-at-war-m/

With luck we will see a return of the giant shouldered baggy body jackets.

 

[Tsongkhapa]

Ah yes, the infamous mall leather A-2! That one looks better than the one I had in the mid to late 1980s. When I think back about that jacket, it was so blousy that I could probably have fit another person or two in it!

 

[Matt Deckard]

It's hard to understand the logic of the look other than fashion demanded big blousy chests. The armholes of the era just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

 

[mendelboaz]

My very first leather jacket, got it when I was 12 years old. Almost 6 years later and I've got 10 leather jackets, among which are 2 Aeros, a Vanson, 2 Schotts and a Langlitz. Bang. The jacket still fits, even though it's a kid's size.

 

[Edward]

Jinkies, MB - you're a lot younger than I realised! Not a bad looking jacket, in the abstract (how's it look on?). Reminds me of the civilian jackets of the fifties that had a generic "bomber" style to them, often based on the A2 or B15, but only loosely so... Seems to me that the eighties fashion for this sort of thing was part of a wider revival of a lot of fifties styles. A lot of the eighties-does-fifties stuff was remarkably well made, and remains cheap when you find it (despite the eighties revivial). A lot of it was rather exaggerated in cut, though, so sizing remains an issue. For years I didn't care for A2s because I didn't realise they weren't meant to be cut like a tent...

 

[Stand By]

This is all that remains of my first A2 - by Aviation Leathercraft from 1987.
I painted the back panel - copying the front cover of Roman Holliday's "Stand By" 12" single - and this was my first attempt at jacket art.
And when it was time to retire the jacket after 18 years of wear, I cut out the art and framed it in a nice Italian wood frame and it now hangs in my bathroom !



P.S. And I don't miss the rest of it.

 

[Matt Deckard]

My very first leather jacket, got it when I was 12 years old. Almost 6 years later and I've got 10 leather jackets, among which are 2 Aeros, a Vanson, 2 Schotts and a Langlitz. Bang. The jacket still fits, even though it's a kid's size.

That really doesn't look that bad

 

[Edward]

This is all that remains of my first A2 - by Aviation Leathercraft from 1987.
I painted the back panel - copying the front cover of Roman Holliday's "Stand By" 12" single - and this was my first attempt at jacket art.
And when it was time to retire the jacket after 18 years of wear, I cut out the art and framed it in a nice Italian wood frame and it now hangs in my bathroom !

View attachment 18614 View attachment 18615

P.S. And I don't miss the rest of it.

"Retire"? Surely this was an execution.... a flaying, at the very least!

 

[Stand By]

Ha!Ha! A hack-job, for sure.

 

[mendelboaz]

Thank you, gents! Yes, I am a very young chap. In a mere 10 days, I enter what's known as 'adulthood'.

Here is a fit pic of the jacket:

The leather is very thin, though. The entire jacket, except for the collar, almost feels like suede. Nontheless, this jacket kickstarted my obsession. I hope to own a 38-1711-p someday, hopefully it will fit me as well as Cole's fits him!

 

[rocketeer]

I remember going into an Avirex store in London wanting a B3 Like General Patton wore in their(Avirex's) large ad. The store owner didn't know who Patton was and thought a jacket by Perry Sports Wear was actually named after Fred Perry the tennis player. They also sold lots of baggy, back seamed A2 esq. jackets with painting like China Doll on them, there was also a catalogue masquerading as a history of leather jackets titled Cowboys in the Sky.

 

[mendelboaz]

^ this made me laugh and cry.

 

[nick123]

Thank you, gents! Yes, I am a very young chap. In a mere 10 days, I enter what's known as 'adulthood'.

Here is a fit pic of the jacket:

The leather is very thin, though. The entire jacket, except for the collar, almost feels like suede. Nontheless, this jacket kickstarted my obsession. I hope to own a 38-1711-p someday, hopefully it will fit me as well as Cole's fits him!

Happy early birthday. Be safe.

 

[mendelboaz]

Happy early birthday. Be safe.

Thank you, my friend.

 

[Edward]

I remember going into an Avirex store in London wanting a B3 Like General Patton wore in their(Avirex's) large ad. The store owner didn't know who Patton was and thought a jacket by Perry Sports Wear was actually named after Fred Perry the tennis player. They also sold lots of baggy, back seamed A2 esq. jackets with painting like China Doll on them, there was also a catalogue masquerading as a history of leather jackets titled Cowboys in the Sky.

Mn, I remember (vaguely) that sort of thing being around. It's amazing just how muh tings have changed in the last twenty years.

Thank you, gents! Yes, I am a very young chap. In a mere 10 days, I enter what's known as 'adulthood'.

Jinkies. I just about remember eighteen.... have fun.

Here is a fit pic of the jacket:

The leather is very thin, though. The entire jacket, except for the collar, almost feels like suede. Nontheless, this jacket kickstarted my obsession. I hope to own a 38-1711-p someday, hopefully it will fit me as well as Cole's fits him!

Doesn't look bad at all. I would wait a few years before spendig the big bucks on a jacket, in your case... likely you'll find your own shape by your mid-twenties. Of course, if you score the right second-hand piece in between times...

 

[mendelboaz]

Mn, I remember (vaguely) that sort of thing being around. It's amazing just how muh tings have changed in the last twenty years.



Jinkies. I just about remember eighteen.... have fun.



Doesn't look bad at all. I would wait a few years before spendig the big bucks on a jacket, in your case... likely you'll find your own shape by your mid-twenties. Of course, if you score the right second-hand piece in between times...

I'll be sure to make sure I won't remember mine thank you, I will.

Well, I've already spent about €4500 on leather jackets so far so giving up now would be a waste. I am buying all of my current jackets with a few inches of growth in mind (especially in the chest area). I work out every week, as much as I can. Crossfit, it's very intense and fun. Since I'm planning on joining the army, I'm bound to stay in shape! So I'll most likely still be okay with the jackets I've got now in 10 years. At least, let's hope so.

 

[bn1966]

Crossfit is in the 'Box' Take a look at the 'SPEAR'...useful if you're looking at an Army Career