What was that first jacket that started it all?

[Fletch]

Schott "1987 contract" A-2. Heavily chromed cow?goat? Super-thick acrylic knit. Huge neck opening. Short waist. Looong sleeves.

 

[jack miranda]

My first leather jacket was

a Black Panther leather coat. Huey Newton and those cats looked so cool in them, I had to have one. I loved that thing. Hitch-hiked back and forth across the country in it in '67, had it taken from me by wannabe skinheads at knife point in Berkeley (of all places!), and returned by some real bad guy friends a week later. Like a lot of stuff, it went away somewhere.

My second jacket, though, is the one that really got me going on leather jackets. It was an already old, and beat up 40's-50's halfbelt, a lot like an Aero Bootlegger, horsehide. First time in my life I actually felt like ME in a jacket. I know you know what I mean. It too, went the way of all things more than thirty years ago. A lot of jackets since then...Superior Leather out of Minneapolis made a HH half-belt for me this last summer. That one is another very special jacket, maybe my last. There are pics somewher around here of it.

 

[gtdean48]

My girlfriend, now wife, bought me a distressed civilian A-2 for a gift 25 years ago, either Christmas or birthday, after seeing the movie The Sure Thing by Rob Riener with John Cusack. She & my sister said his character reminded them so much of me. Still have it but it is a bit snug. When I was a kid, we were into Army surplus field jackets & jean jackets. A few A-2's & more motorcycle jackets later, I'm not into the knitted cuffs & waist much anymore...

 

[kampkatz]

A Schott motorcycle jacket(as close as my father could come to a leather flight jacket) for Christmas 1970.

 

[thor]

It was 1982 and my favorite TV show was "Tales of the Gold Monkey". I was about 14 and fell in love with the lead character's Flying Tiger A-2 with the AVG Blood Chit on the back. I scrounged up enough money to buy a Schott A-2 and lovingly constructed my own blood chit (hand painted on a piece of cotton canvas) which I sewed on the jacket by hand. I think I broke 2 or 3 sewing needles on that tough-as-nails Schott leather! I wore that jacket every day, rain or shine, all through high school. Since then I have owned many, many, many A-2's and quite afew G-1's. But there's nothing like that first jacket, the one that started it all! Thanks for posting!

 

[Bonneville]

I'm afraid I don't have near the pedigree as you fellows. I only became interested in leather jackets a year or two ago after buying a motorcycle.

I bought a $100 made in Pakistan cowhide moto jacket figuring that would be more than sufficient based on the sales pitch. While the leather was of good weight the surface finish was poor, the jacket was made from multiple panels, really poor stitching and almost all the plastic zippers broke within a month. :eusa_doh:

I started investigating jackets and leather more thoroughly within a month of getting the Pakistan jacket and found this wonderful forum as well.
It was only then that I became educated as to what a quality leather jacket really is. (Thank you all).

To-date I haven't actually handled a quality leather jacket so am really looking forward to my Enfield arriving soon(ish).

 

[Gee]

A Wolf leather motorbike jacket 30 years ago, ostensibly to save my skin in the event of a spill. Unfortunately I never managed to drop the bike whilst wearing the jacket, I did crash on a semi regular basis (the foolishness of youth) but always seemed to ensure I was sensibly dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. Result - One pristine vintage piece of my past that will never be sold despite being extremely snug these days!