What does this mean

[Worf]

Interesting thread. To the OP I understand how you feel and what you feel. I went through the same stages of "the sickness" that you have except I tend to hold on to my mistakes far longer than I should. I've bought some amazingly bad stuff over the years and some true masterpieces as well. Are men collectors by "nature"? Once I got a home, with a basement and garage, it truly started.

First it was boutique or orphan speakers... Ohm, Epicure, ADS, EPI, AR Logik and numerous other brands. When that fever died down it was Bass Guitars, Fenders, Gibson, Yamaha's, Ibanez, Smith... etc. But at least I make money with my instruments (not this year I'm afraid). And last but not least, leather jackets. I've gone from Wilson (don't ask) to Aero to Langlitz to Orvis to Good Wear to "no name" you name it I've had it except LW (something I was told I wasn't man enough to own). Why do we do it? When will it end? I know not. I do know I'm slowing down though... Bought only 1 jacket in 2 years... perhaps there's hope for me yet.

Worf

 

[AeroFan_07]

Claybertrand - excellent story there! And you got an incredible stroy to refect upon with Old #1.

I was in my sophome year of High School in 1987, so I feel a lot of this too. Bomber jackets were all the rage. Yes, my family also shopped Kmart, Sears, Pennies and the local Farm supply stores. That was about it for us. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Marc mndt]

This is so on point!!! I had the same experience with my parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Thrifting i.e. going to Thrift Stores and SCORING cool stuff REALLLLLY ain't what it used to be. Its mostly all picked over crap these days IMO.

SO, first off, I grew up going to Catholic School where we of course, were required to wear uniforms . I recall being in 6th grade when I hit the first of the many CLASSIC MOTHER LEATHER JACKET BLOCKS (nod to A Christmas Story ). Mom throws the, "You don't need a leather jacket!!! You have your school jacket!!" As if a bright red nylon jacket with my school name on it was gonna fill the need here! CMON MAN!!!!! Then came the, "You grew out of your Levi's jacket already. I'm not buying a leather jacket for you to grow out of in a year!!" Next, "Your Dad doesn't have a leather jacket." Dad chimed in with, "Shit-- how many times a year do ya even NEED a regular jacket??? I never wear one!!!! It doesn't even get cold outside!!! You have sweatshirts!!! I don't even know ONE GUY who wears a damn leather jacket!!!!"

Finally a couple of years later the perfect storm was forming--- I was in 8th Grade and we had a neighbor who worked at Nordstrom and got a decent discount there. Now my family would NEVER set foot a Nordstrom department store. Not if our lives depended on it. We were SEARS/PENNYS and dare I say KMART people TO THE BONE. It was around Christmas time though and my family was at the local mall. Me and my younger brother were allowed to stray off on our own for an hour or so and we wandered into Nordstrom. It wasn't long before I happened upon a bomber style jacket that to my young eyes, was exactly what I had seen in movies. Hero gear. The dude who gets the chicks attire. What I always dreamed of wearing........

So I hatched a plan to convince the parents to buy this jacket for me. My two pronged approach was that one, the jacket was an XL (and I was in 8th grade) so I reasoned that this was a great Selling point because I could "GROW INTO IT".... This would assuage the parents' lamenting buying an expensive item for a growing yute (or YOUTH if you will---nod to My Cousin Vinny). Secondly, this jacket was ON SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mother had long trained us to understand that if something was NOT "on sale" we would not be purchasing that item. ON SALE meant something could actually, mayyybe, possibly, potentially be purchased in my family. This was an absolute prerequisite for most purchases even food items.

After the initial gawking---to preserve the possibility of my being able to own this garment, I did what I thought was prudent: I whisked it away from the outerwear racks and over to a corner of the store I figured saw less traffic. There, I buried it in a rack of Old Man Nautica "jogging suits" hoping to retrieve it for purchase once I had convinced the folks. (You may recall George Costanza years later performed this same little trick on Seinfeld in order to purchase an on sale suit--size 40 SHORT---I think we all know this "trick"......)

After several rehearsals in the bathroom mirror, I hit up my mother ONLY. My Dad would have barely looked up from the TV to say, "I don't think so son." So I start with my Mom and spell out that the size being XL is something I can grow into AND that this jacket is on sale ANNNNNNDDDDDD maybe Barbara the neighbor can even get a discount on it!!!!! The notion wasn't immediately dismissed and my foot was in the door baby!!!!!

Long story short, Barbara the neighbor got us a discount but it was still $225---and for a KMART family----in 1987---this was a significant amount of money (it actually still is a fair amount for a jacket--but I digress). Being that my birthday is very close to Christmas time, I was able to play the angle that this jacket would represent a Christmas AND BIRTHDAY Gift!!! So the cost should be considered a 2 gift price!!!! Brilliant (I thought)--I was pulling out ALL the stops on this jacket. And somehow, for some reason I have never fully understood--it worked. My mother bought it for me and told me to make sure it didn't get ruined because it was the most expensive gift she had bought for anyone etc. And when my Dad saw it or anyone else saw it, before they could comment, my mother would say, "That's a birthday AND Christmas gift combined!" She clearly didn't want to start a precedent of purchasing high end clothing at the begging behest of her kids.

I STILL own this jacket today. I STILL have not grown into this jacket and considering its been 33 years--it's looking like I am never gonna. It's still got the cuffs folded up because the sleeves were/are too long. I've worn it about 5-6 times IN MY ENTIRE LIFE (so far). Its a TOTAL MALL JACKET----a distressed Luis Alvear Bomber STYLE lambskin jacket. Like a MORON (or a typical idiot teenager) I actually put fighter wing pins in the collar thus immediately rendering an overpriced mall jacket even less desirable.

Alas, I would be remiss to regale the Lounge in my lame story of (what seemed at the time to be) jacket glory without including a couple of pics of THE INFAMOUS MALL JACKET THAT STARTED IT ALL (for me, anyway). So here it is.........

View attachment 258589 View attachment 258590 View attachment 258591

Note--Disturbingly, while digging out My First Leather Jacket for this unique photo opp, I found 7 more jackets that I had forgotten about and neglected to count so this brings my overall count back to 81 including this Mall Jacket Gem---my Patient Zero.

Why are they NOT working on a vaccine for Leather Jacket addiction!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the long post. I really only feel normal in the Fedora Lounge.

Although it was a pretty expensive jacket, it's a great story and a priceless memory. Thank for sharing it.

 

[jonesy86]

TFL helps keep me out of the bars.

 

[handymike]

I’m grateful that there is somewhere that we like-minded folks can share our experiences and jackets in a fun and positive manner. This thread makes me appreciate TFL even more. - cuz in “real life” my family thinks I’m nuts.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

I’m grateful that there is somewhere that we like-minded folks can share our experiences and jackets in a fun and positive manner. This thread makes me appreciate TFL even more. - cuz in “real life” my family thinks I’m nuts.

Agreed, my family shakes their heads, my wife accuses me of loving those da## jackets an because of it she hates them, but she is the first one to compliment how one looks on me. Even those close to us develop a love/hate relationship with our frivolous jacket frenzy. I also find comfort an a place of refuge here at tfl to discuss jackets an life an how each affect, influence,an enrich our lives.

 

[Superfluous]

Our journeys through the broad spectrum of outerwear addiction are as similar as they are varied. Those who may have evolved from repros to vintage retain an enduring knowledge and appreciation for repros, and vice-versa. Most oscillate in bandwidth that is not exclusively vintage or repro, but rather, somewhere in between. Moreover, few of us are stagnant. Rather, we ebb and flow on the spectrum as our focus/emphasis continues to evolve and take us down new paths. As each of us pursue our unique journey, our paths inevitably intersect. The resulting commonality and mutual appreciation is the cornerstone of TFL Outerwear.

 

[El Marro]

This is so on point!!! I had the same experience with my parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Thrifting i.e. going to Thrift Stores and SCORING cool stuff REALLLLLY ain't what it used to be. Its mostly all picked over crap these days IMO.

SO, first off, I grew up going to Catholic School where we of course, were required to wear uniforms . I recall being in 6th grade when I hit the first of the many CLASSIC MOTHER LEATHER JACKET BLOCKS (nod to A Christmas Story ). Mom throws the, "You don't need a leather jacket!!! You have your school jacket!!" As if a bright red nylon jacket with my school name on it was gonna fill the need here! CMON MAN!!!!! Then came the, "You grew out of your Levi's jacket already. I'm not buying a leather jacket for you to grow out of in a year!!" Next, "Your Dad doesn't have a leather jacket." Dad chimed in with, "Shit-- how many times a year do ya even NEED a regular jacket??? I never wear one!!!! It doesn't even get cold outside!!! You have sweatshirts!!! I don't even know ONE GUY who wears a damn leather jacket!!!!"

Finally a couple of years later the perfect storm was forming--- I was in 8th Grade and we had a neighbor who worked at Nordstrom and got a decent discount there. Now my family would NEVER set foot a Nordstrom department store. Not if our lives depended on it. We were SEARS/PENNYS and dare I say KMART people TO THE BONE. It was around Christmas time though and my family was at the local mall. Me and my younger brother were allowed to stray off on our own for an hour or so and we wandered into Nordstrom. It wasn't long before I happened upon a bomber style jacket that to my young eyes, was exactly what I had seen in movies. Hero gear. The dude who gets the chicks attire. What I always dreamed of wearing........

So I hatched a plan to convince the parents to buy this jacket for me. My two pronged approach was that one, the jacket was an XL (and I was in 8th grade) so I reasoned that this was a great Selling point because I could "GROW INTO IT".... This would assuage the parents' lamenting buying an expensive item for a growing yute (or YOUTH if you will---nod to My Cousin Vinny). Secondly, this jacket was ON SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mother had long trained us to understand that if something was NOT "on sale" we would not be purchasing that item. ON SALE meant something could actually, mayyybe, possibly, potentially be purchased in my family. This was an absolute prerequisite for most purchases even food items.

After the initial gawking---to preserve the possibility of my being able to own this garment, I did what I thought was prudent: I whisked it away from the outerwear racks and over to a corner of the store I figured saw less traffic. There, I buried it in a rack of Old Man Nautica "jogging suits" hoping to retrieve it for purchase once I had convinced the folks. (You may recall George Costanza years later performed this same little trick on Seinfeld in order to purchase an on sale suit--size 40 SHORT---I think we all know this "trick"......)

After several rehearsals in the bathroom mirror, I hit up my mother ONLY. My Dad would have barely looked up from the TV to say, "I don't think so son." So I start with my Mom and spell out that the size being XL is something I can grow into AND that this jacket is on sale ANNNNNNDDDDDD maybe Barbara the neighbor can even get a discount on it!!!!! The notion wasn't immediately dismissed and my foot was in the door baby!!!!!

Long story short, Barbara the neighbor got us a discount but it was still $225---and for a KMART family----in 1987---this was a significant amount of money (it actually still is a fair amount for a jacket--but I digress). Being that my birthday is very close to Christmas time, I was able to play the angle that this jacket would represent a Christmas AND BIRTHDAY Gift!!! So the cost should be considered a 2 gift price!!!! Brilliant (I thought)--I was pulling out ALL the stops on this jacket. And somehow, for some reason I have never fully understood--it worked. My mother bought it for me and told me to make sure it didn't get ruined because it was the most expensive gift she had bought for anyone etc. And when my Dad saw it or anyone else saw it, before they could comment, my mother would say, "That's a birthday AND Christmas gift combined!" She clearly didn't want to start a precedent of purchasing high end clothing at the begging behest of her kids.

I STILL own this jacket today. I STILL have not grown into this jacket and considering its been 33 years--it's looking like I am never gonna. It's still got the cuffs folded up because the sleeves were/are too long. I've worn it about 5-6 times IN MY ENTIRE LIFE (so far). Its a TOTAL MALL JACKET----a distressed Luis Alvear Bomber STYLE lambskin jacket. Like a MORON (or a typical idiot teenager) I actually put fighter wing pins in the collar thus immediately rendering an overpriced mall jacket even less desirable.

Alas, I would be remiss to regale the Lounge in my lame story of (what seemed at the time to be) jacket glory without including a couple of pics of THE INFAMOUS MALL JACKET THAT STARTED IT ALL (for me, anyway). So here it is.........

View attachment 258589 View attachment 258590 View attachment 258591

Note--Disturbingly, while digging out My First Leather Jacket for this unique photo opp, I found 7 more jackets that I had forgotten about and neglected to count so this brings my overall count back to 81 including this Mall Jacket Gem---my Patient Zero.

Why are they NOT working on a vaccine for Leather Jacket addiction!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the long post. I really only feel normal in the Fedora Lounge.

What a cool story Clay, and even better you still have the jacket!

 

[handymike]

Our journeys through the broad spectrum of outerwear addiction are as similar as they are varied. Those who may have evolved from repros to vintage retain an enduring knowledge and appreciation for repros, and vice-versa. Most oscillate in bandwidth that is not exclusively vintage or repro, but rather, somewhere in between. Moreover, few of us are stagnant. Rather, we ebb and flow on the spectrum as our focus/emphasis continues to evolve and take us down new paths. As each of us pursue our unique journey, our paths inevitably intersect. The resulting commonality and mutual appreciation is the cornerstone of TFL Outerwear.

It’s a little strange to hear you wax poetic this way SF.

 

[red devil]

We need to have some In Person Swap Meet Ups!!! At least perhaps---regionally. We can bring our TRADABLES and geek out with like minded jacket addicts. We can even have guest speakers who give full speeches on topics such as Zippers, and where a hem is supposed to fall in relation to one's waistline!!! This would attract tons of hot chicks too!!!!!!...........

OK, perhaps a bit too optimistic on the Hot Chicks part

Still sounds like good time to me tho

That would be fun, we already have different subjects and specialists to do the lectures here

This is so on point!!! I had the same experience with my parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Thrifting i.e. going to Thrift Stores and SCORING cool stuff REALLLLLY ain't what it used to be. Its mostly all picked over crap these days IMO.

SO, first off, I grew up going to Catholic School where we of course, were required to wear uniforms . I recall being in 6th grade when I hit the first of the many CLASSIC MOTHER LEATHER JACKET BLOCKS (nod to A Christmas Story ). Mom throws the, "You don't need a leather jacket!!! You have your school jacket!!" As if a bright red nylon jacket with my school name on it was gonna fill the need here! CMON MAN!!!!! Then came the, "You grew out of your Levi's jacket already. I'm not buying a leather jacket for you to grow out of in a year!!" Next, "Your Dad doesn't have a leather jacket." Dad chimed in with, "Shit-- how many times a year do ya even NEED a regular jacket??? I never wear one!!!! It doesn't even get cold outside!!! You have sweatshirts!!! I don't even know ONE GUY who wears a damn leather jacket!!!!"

Finally a couple of years later the perfect storm was forming--- I was in 8th Grade and we had a neighbor who worked at Nordstrom and got a decent discount there. Now my family would NEVER set foot a Nordstrom department store. Not if our lives depended on it. We were SEARS/PENNYS and dare I say KMART people TO THE BONE. It was around Christmas time though and my family was at the local mall. Me and my younger brother were allowed to stray off on our own for an hour or so and we wandered into Nordstrom. It wasn't long before I happened upon a bomber style jacket that to my young eyes, was exactly what I had seen in movies. Hero gear. The dude who gets the chicks attire. What I always dreamed of wearing........

So I hatched a plan to convince the parents to buy this jacket for me. My two pronged approach was that one, the jacket was an XL (and I was in 8th grade) so I reasoned that this was a great Selling point because I could "GROW INTO IT".... This would assuage the parents' lamenting buying an expensive item for a growing yute (or YOUTH if you will---nod to My Cousin Vinny). Secondly, this jacket was ON SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mother had long trained us to understand that if something was NOT "on sale" we would not be purchasing that item. ON SALE meant something could actually, mayyybe, possibly, potentially be purchased in my family. This was an absolute prerequisite for most purchases even food items.

After the initial gawking---to preserve the possibility of my being able to own this garment, I did what I thought was prudent: I whisked it away from the outerwear racks and over to a corner of the store I figured saw less traffic. There, I buried it in a rack of Old Man Nautica "jogging suits" hoping to retrieve it for purchase once I had convinced the folks. (You may recall George Costanza years later performed this same little trick on Seinfeld in order to purchase an on sale suit--size 40 SHORT---I think we all know this "trick"......)

After several rehearsals in the bathroom mirror, I hit up my mother ONLY. My Dad would have barely looked up from the TV to say, "I don't think so son." So I start with my Mom and spell out that the size being XL is something I can grow into AND that this jacket is on sale ANNNNNNDDDDDD maybe Barbara the neighbor can even get a discount on it!!!!! The notion wasn't immediately dismissed and my foot was in the door baby!!!!!

Long story short, Barbara the neighbor got us a discount but it was still $225---and for a KMART family----in 1987---this was a significant amount of money (it actually still is a fair amount for a jacket--but I digress). Being that my birthday is very close to Christmas time, I was able to play the angle that this jacket would represent a Christmas AND BIRTHDAY Gift!!! So the cost should be considered a 2 gift price!!!! Brilliant (I thought)--I was pulling out ALL the stops on this jacket. And somehow, for some reason I have never fully understood--it worked. My mother bought it for me and told me to make sure it didn't get ruined because it was the most expensive gift she had bought for anyone etc. And when my Dad saw it or anyone else saw it, before they could comment, my mother would say, "That's a birthday AND Christmas gift combined!" She clearly didn't want to start a precedent of purchasing high end clothing at the begging behest of her kids.

I STILL own this jacket today. I STILL have not grown into this jacket and considering its been 33 years--it's looking like I am never gonna. It's still got the cuffs folded up because the sleeves were/are too long. I've worn it about 5-6 times IN MY ENTIRE LIFE (so far). Its a TOTAL MALL JACKET----a distressed Luis Alvear Bomber STYLE lambskin jacket. Like a MORON (or a typical idiot teenager) I actually put fighter wing pins in the collar thus immediately rendering an overpriced mall jacket even less desirable.

Alas, I would be remiss to regale the Lounge in my lame story of (what seemed at the time to be) jacket glory without including a couple of pics of THE INFAMOUS MALL JACKET THAT STARTED IT ALL (for me, anyway). So here it is.........

View attachment 258589 View attachment 258590 View attachment 258591

Note--Disturbingly, while digging out My First Leather Jacket for this unique photo opp, I found 7 more jackets that I had forgotten about and neglected to count so this brings my overall count back to 81 including this Mall Jacket Gem---my Patient Zero.

Why are they NOT working on a vaccine for Leather Jacket addiction!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the long post. I really only feel normal in the Fedora Lounge.

That is such a great story, even better that you still have the jacket!