Staff changes at Aero Leather

[cloudylemonade]

CloudyLemonade, you've still got the Aero / Ironheart jeans listed as being in stock.

Yes, I am keeping an eye on them.

Ha, so they are! Thanks for the reminder, and do keep an eye, I'll be marking these down to half price too as soon as I get a chance, hopefully tomorrow.

 

[cloudylemonade]

I noticed that. If you type 'iron heart Aero leather' in Google images, there are still plenty of photos hanging around of that really nice slim fit cafe racer design with a collar, but they don't link back to the Iron Heart website anymore. Wonder is that was one of Will's collaborations and why there have been issues?

That was, and one that we were never particularly keen on to be quite honest. Iron Heart's products don't sit comfortably with the Aero ethos of providing classic designs that are timeless. Most of the collaboration jackets were just Aero designs with very slight modifications and oversized chunky zips.

 

[cloudylemonade]

does this mean Arado jackets will be back?

They were never an Aero design, and can only be bought from Vintage Flight Jackets in Germany. They've never been directly available from us, but you can still order it through them, who as always will remain a vital Aero stockist.

 

[cloudylemonade]

Looking at the not infrequent Insurrection posts, they seem to be upping their Aero presence quite substantially. So, what with the apparent dropping of the Iron Heart link, this could be the start of the new management strategy.

I'm still waiting to see the 1st October price rises, so am curious why that hasn't happened. Not that I want them, mind.

Interesting times in Aero-land.

Insurrection will continue to be a very important stockist to us at Aero, and we're delighted to be able to supply them with jackets more regularly.

As for the price rises, thanks to our government changing the rules re: their pension scheme slightly a company of our size will not be liable to make additional payments until, hopefully, 2015. This combined with the change in management ruling out some, lets say, uneconomical habits, and doing a lot of waste saving, we are no longer forced to raise our prices as indicated in recent weeks.

There will be some price rises on some products this autumn, but they will be very small, and not on every product.

 

[ButteMT61]

Holly - does this mean Aero may begin to limit customizations on jackets in the future? I don't mean sizing and color, more like the changes folks have been making like pockets, zippers, cuffs, etc?

 

[wdw]

we are no longer forced to raise our prices as indicated in recent weeks.

Very fair play, Holly. People were expecting the rises, so you could easily have gone ahead with them, but you've chosen to pass the savings on. That's not the sort of behaviour we expect from Corporate UK, so good for you for bucking the trend.

If only Tesco, BP, and the corner sweetie shop had the same approach...

 

[cloudylemonade]

Holly - does this mean Aero may begin to limit customizations on jackets in the future? I don't mean sizing and color, more like the changes folks have been making like pockets, zippers, cuffs, etc?

For a wee while now our design team have been unhappy about some of the un-necessary extras offered to customers, some, to Aero's shame, at very fancy prices too. I'm talking about things like leather lined cuffs on jackets without a proper cuff with stud or button closure, for instance. This can really spoil the way the sleeve sits and essentially spoil the line of the sleeve and therefore the jacket. These are a bad idea on a Highwayman or Half Belt and can seriously detract from the comfort and appearance of a zip sleeve jacket.

Another unneccesary extra is the leather strip along the hem, which has no useful purpose whatsoever on any jacket where the side buckles are set above the leather strip. These are no longer available at any price except possibly on the Highwayman or one of the few other jackets with side adjusters low on the jacket. Anyone wanting a strip to protect the lining will be offered a traditional 1930’s/50’s style 6” corduroy strip for no extra charge. This does everything a leather strip does without costing us or the customer a single penny extra and will not spoil the lines of any style.

Double side buckles and oversized zippers are 60s or 70s features and both are discontinued immediately (with the exception of on the 6 Pocket Hippy jacket).

Detachable fur collars are something which also sits a bit uncomfortably with the designers, the problem with these is the way that they are attached, and the way they sit. This is a priority for us to sort out, and try and come up with a more satisfactory way of fitting these, but if it was a simple fix it would have been done years ago! We'll get there tho

 

[cloudylemonade]

Very fair play, Holly. People were expecting the rises, so you could easily have gone ahead with them, but you've chosen to pass the savings on. That's not the sort of behaviour we expect from Corporate UK, so good for you for bucking the trend.

If only Tesco, BP, and the corner sweetie shop had the same approach...

We're far from corporate UK

 

[Rudie]

A 6" corduroy strip? Is that a typo? If not, why not make the whole lining in corduroy?

 

[cloudylemonade]

A 6" corduroy strip? Is that a typo? If not, why not make the whole lining in corduroy?

No typo! And actually, we have recently done a lining in cord. It hasn't been readily used as a lining since the 20s, but it's something we'll perhaps be trying in our new 20s style in a sample once we get the correct zippers in stock for it.

 

[Rudie]

Wow. Why 6"? The leather strips were usually about 2". I thought they were just meant to prevent the liner from sagging?

 

[ButteMT61]

Damn, my 50's HBD is a collector's item then! I broke all the rules lol
Thanks for the reply and info!

 

[cloudylemonade]

Damn, my 50's HBD is a collector's item then! I broke all the rules lol
Thanks for the reply and info!

Ha! Well as long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters. We're just very concious of not offering anything which could spoil a jacket's line, and certainly don't want to be encouraging customers to pay for extras that will do this/are unnecessary!

 

[cloudylemonade]

Wow. Why 6"? The leather strips were usually about 2". I thought they were just meant to prevent the liner from sagging?

Well, 6" is standard size for a longer coat for this type of thing, which is usually where we fit them. Could be done smaller for short jackets.

 

[cloudylemonade]

Oh, and Butte, send me a reminder tomorrow. Got some info on that Buffalo we talked about!

 

[Rudie]

Now you've got me confused. A little while ago I read that the Barnstormer liner is not attached to the bottom hem. Your explanation was that it would be in danger of tearing when sitting down with the longer jackets. The way I understood it all of your longer models had this kind of liner set-up. What kind of jackets would have the 6" strip?

 

[cloudylemonade]

Now you've got me confused. A little while ago I read that the Barnstormer liner is not attached to the bottom hem. Your explanation was that it would be in danger of tearing when sitting down with the longer jackets. The way I understood it all of your longer models had this kind of liner set-up. What kind of jackets would have the 6" strip?

Sorry, think I've got myself confused here! I'll check this and get back to you tomorrow. This is probably why I shouldn't be answering questions at 10.45pm after a hectic day

 

[tonypaj]

A 6" corduroy strip? Is that a typo? If not, why not make the whole lining in corduroy?

Possibly the whole lining a different fabric feels different? Or possibly a different fabric in some parts of the lining provides roughly the same effect and durability as leather? Then again, I do not know about the leather strips, never had them, but what I do know is that the regular linings from Aero are good for me. Without reinforcements. At times here it seems the Nirvana fallacy rules

 

[Rudie]

I agree, Holly. It's a good idea to knock off after leaving the factory. You don't have to be available around the clock just because modern communication makes it possible. Looking forward to your explanation tomorrow.

 

[Cooperson]

I don't think the double side buckles, leather lined cuffs and oversize zips will be missed, but I think it's a shame to loose the 1 to 2" leather strip along the inside hem. You see many vintage jackets with the lining along the hem completely worn through in a line and I know corduroy would do the job, but it just doesn't look as nice imo. I wish I had added a strip to my Highwayman, because after a few months the lining was sagging down below the hem of the jacket and looked unsightly from the back - had to get my wife to sew a pleat in it to hold it up. Just my opinion.