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What Jacket Are You Wearing Today?

Observe

One Too Many
Messages
1,208
Desert robes such as thawbs perform a triple function in their specific dry environment: they allow air to circulate during the day while protecting the skin from the sun, but they also (to some extent) keep the body’s heat in at night when the desert gets cold. Try wearing a thawb in a jungle and by mid-morning it will cling to your upper body like a shower curtain and you’ll be dragging it around like a corpse all day. Your trousers and shirt are in no way analogous to a robe since you can remove the shirt and still keep the trousers. This is not a small difference.

Shorts, on the other hand, ARE analogous to numerous culture's short skirts for men (such as the Roman tunic) or loin cloths worn by men the world over throughout history (also in extreme desert environments, eg, the Navajo). They are also somewhat analogous to options like the sarong where the length is easily modified. Go to India or Indonesia today and you will see many many laborers with their sarongs tied up between their legs or rolled up high at the waste to bring the hem above their knees. Are these "shorts"? No, but they serve the same function and are much more analogous to shorts than linen trousers and shirts are to the robes worn by desert-dwellers.

This thread’s antagonism to short trousers is understandable since it’s mostly a leather jacket community. I get that. If you think shorts look silly, fine - but implying they don’t serve a practical function or don't have precedent throughout human culture and history is simply not accurate.
The long story of shorts.
 

bigmanbigtruck

A-List Customer
Messages
375
Just an update on the Appalachian. Been a little over a week since getting it.
The leather already started to soften up nicely. We had heavy rainfall in NY on Memorial Day, so took it out which jumpstarted the break in.

Really starting to dig it more. It's true, it only gets better as you wear it. Unfortunately, I've had to wear it mostly at home for the time-being :D

image_123650291.JPG
image_123650291 (1).JPG
image_123650291 (2).JPG
 

barnabus

One Too Many
Messages
1,526
Location
Britain's oldest recorded town
View attachment 618538

New to me Dobbs in a Ricard/Viscount/Monza type pattern

Cool!

I've never seen another one. I've got a Dobbs in that pattern, but mine was a custom job in special colours.

I exchanged a few emails with Rachel Dobbs (who took over the company from her father when he passed) after I got the jacket, and she confirmed that the style is circa 1982 and is called Double Diamond.

Mine is two tone blue. I keep meaning to put a picture in the colourful cafe racer thread.

Mine also came with leather jeans in matching blue, to make a riding suit.
 

Observe

One Too Many
Messages
1,208
Just an update on the Appalachian. Been a little over a week since getting it.
The leather already started to soften up nicely. We had heavy rainfall in NY on Memorial Day, so took it out which jumpstarted the break in.

Really starting to dig it more. It's true, it only gets better as you wear it. Unfortunately, I've had to wear it mostly at home for the time-being :D

View attachment 618653 View attachment 618654 View attachment 618656
I love this jacket!
 

NZJono

One of the Regulars
Messages
174
Location
New Zealand
Desert robes such as thawbs perform a triple function in their specific dry environment: they allow air to circulate during the day while protecting the skin from the sun, but they also (to some extent) keep the body’s heat in at night when the desert gets cold. Try wearing a thawb in a jungle and by mid-morning it will cling to your upper body like a shower curtain and you’ll be dragging it around like a corpse all day. Your trousers and shirt are in no way analogous to a robe since you can remove the shirt and still keep the trousers. This is not a small difference.

Shorts, on the other hand, ARE analogous to numerous culture's short skirts for men (such as the Roman tunic) or loin cloths worn by men the world over throughout history (also in extreme desert environments, eg, the Navajo). They are also somewhat analogous to options like the sarong where the length is easily modified. Go to India or Indonesia today and you will see many many laborers with their sarongs tied up between their legs or rolled up high at the waste to bring the hem above their knees. Are these "shorts"? No, but they serve the same function and are much more analogous to shorts than linen trousers and shirts are to the robes worn by desert-dwellers.

This thread’s antagonism to short trousers is understandable since it’s mostly a leather jacket community. I get that. If you think shorts look silly, fine - but implying they don’t serve a practical function or don't have precedent throughout human culture and history is simply not accurate.
Good points. Shorts are the go-to summer option down here in New Zealand ( and Australia). I agree that we should look at other options such light trousers or robes which probably make more sense given we have the worlds highest rates of melanoma down here.
 

The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,713
Location
Southeast Asia
Good points. Shorts are the go-to summer option down here in New Zealand ( and Australia). I agree that we should look at other options such light trousers or robes which probably make more sense given we have the worlds highest rates of melanoma down here.

Melanoma is one of the best arguments against shorts. Mosquito-born diseases might be better, though. I don’t worry about either where I am here in the US, but when I’m in Asia I actually wear long Thai trousers with cotton socks, shoes and a light long-sleeve cotton shirt. Dengue fever is no joke.
 
Last edited:

Mrfrown

One Too Many
Messages
1,673
Testing out new Sugar Cane pants, too hot for the RC Hercules but the pants are a winner in my book. Roomy enough to feel breezy but not super oversized either. Really dig how this all works together.

I’ll be posting more about it soon but Rainbow Country has agreed to let me be a vendor for them in the USA. Got confirmation today and learned simultaneously that I have to make the order by Friday so it’s crunch time lol.

That being said if you’ve been looking for a new Hercules hit me up! Especially if you need a smaller or larger size, otherwise I’ll be ordering near the center of the size curve. I may get other models but will have to see.

IMG_7348.jpeg
IMG_7349.jpeg
 

dudewuttheheck

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,496
Desert robes such as thawbs perform a triple function in their specific dry environment: they allow air to circulate during the day while protecting the skin from the sun, but they also (to some extent) keep the body’s heat in at night when the desert gets cold. Try wearing a thawb in a jungle and by mid-morning it will cling to your upper body like a shower curtain and you’ll be dragging it around like a corpse all day. Your trousers and shirt are in no way analogous to a robe since you can remove the shirt and still keep the trousers. This is not a small difference.

Shorts, on the other hand, ARE analogous to numerous culture's short skirts for men (such as the Roman tunic) or loin cloths worn by men the world over throughout history (also in extreme desert environments, eg, the Navajo). They are also somewhat analogous to options like the sarong where the length is easily modified. Go to India or Indonesia today and you will see many many laborers with their sarongs tied up between their legs or rolled up high at the waste to bring the hem above their knees. Are these "shorts"? No, but they serve the same function and are much more analogous to shorts than linen trousers and shirts are to the robes worn by desert-dwellers.

This thread’s antagonism to short trousers is understandable since it’s mostly a leather jacket community. I get that. If you think shorts look silly, fine - but implying they don’t serve a practical function or don't have precedent throughout human culture and history is simply not accurate.
Very informative. There's definitely historical precedent for shorts. I refuse to wear them outside of swimming or exercising because I hate how they look.
 

bigmanbigtruck

A-List Customer
Messages
375
Testing out new Sugar Cane pants, too hot for the RC Hercules but the pants are a winner in my book. Roomy enough to feel breezy but not super oversized either. Really dig how this all works together.

I’ll be posting more about it soon but Rainbow Country has agreed to let me be a vendor for them in the USA. Got confirmation today and learned simultaneously that I have to make the order by Friday so it’s crunch time lol.

That being said if you’ve been looking for a new Hercules hit me up! Especially if you need a smaller or larger size, otherwise I’ll be ordering near the center of the size curve. I may get other models but will have to see.

View attachment 618686 View attachment 618687
Congrats on becoming a US vendor for RC!
 

Fonzie

One Too Many
Messages
1,577
Location
Australia
Testing out new Sugar Cane pants, too hot for the RC Hercules but the pants are a winner in my book. Roomy enough to feel breezy but not super oversized either. Really dig how this all works together.

I’ll be posting more about it soon but Rainbow Country has agreed to let me be a vendor for them in the USA. Got confirmation today and learned simultaneously that I have to make the order by Friday so it’s crunch time lol.

That being said if you’ve been looking for a new Hercules hit me up! Especially if you need a smaller or larger size, otherwise I’ll be ordering near the center of the size curve. I may get other models but will have to see.

View attachment 618686 View attachment 618687
Great news! Congrats and good luck in your new venture.
 

Bennarion

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,284
Testing out new Sugar Cane pants, too hot for the RC Hercules but the pants are a winner in my book. Roomy enough to feel breezy but not super oversized either. Really dig how this all works together.

I’ll be posting more about it soon but Rainbow Country has agreed to let me be a vendor for them in the USA. Got confirmation today and learned simultaneously that I have to make the order by Friday so it’s crunch time lol.

That being said if you’ve been looking for a new Hercules hit me up! Especially if you need a smaller or larger size, otherwise I’ll be ordering near the center of the size curve. I may get other models but will have to see.

View attachment 618686 View attachment 618687
You have chosen the right path. These pants will go well with all your leather jackets.
 

Bennarion

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,284
Just an update on the Appalachian. Been a little over a week since getting it.
The leather already started to soften up nicely. We had heavy rainfall in NY on Memorial Day, so took it out which jumpstarted the break in.

Really starting to dig it more. It's true, it only gets better as you wear it. Unfortunately, I've had to wear it mostly at home for the time-being :D

View attachment 618653 View attachment 618654 View attachment 618656
The jacket is made for you. Keep wearing the jacket and it will be even cooler
 

unhatted

One of the Regulars
Messages
263
Location
UK
Cool!

I've never seen another one. I've got a Dobbs in that pattern, but mine was a custom job in special colours.

I exchanged a few emails with Rachel Dobbs (who took over the company from her father when he passed) after I got the jacket, and she confirmed that the style is circa 1982 and is called Double Diamond.

Mine is two tone blue. I keep meaning to put a picture in the colourful cafe racer thread.

Mine also came with leather jeans in matching blue, to make a riding suit.
Great jackets, though I’m finding this one quite unforgivingly athletic in cut! Along with Rivetts and Lewis, Kett also do a version of this pattern, though the Dobbs is the only one with the gap on the shoulder seam. I actually contacted Rachel a while ago to enquire about minor alterations to a non Dobbs jacket and she was very helpful and knows her stuff (she talked me out of the alterations, correctly)!
 

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