Willis and Geiger A1 Leather Jacket

[Matt Deckard]

One of the lesser seen aviator jackets. Well lesser seen in the vein of being called an army air corps jacket, the A-1 heavily caught on as more of a civilian staple with the knit collar, while the military went to a leather pointed collar and a zipper that

became a look synonymous with WWII. With the invention of the motorbike and airplanes having cockpits, I feel as though the necessity for a jacket that didn’t have a skirt that could fray in the wind or catch on controls became paramount. I can just imagine the pocket of a regular jacket getting caught on some lever or knob as a crew of a bomber is trying to navigate past each other at 10,000 feet. Seeing it on the heroes of the late 1920s and early 1930s, I believe made it a staple for anyone wanting to have that action wear look even if they didn’t have that action wear life.

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[Lance Sterling]

Good stuff, can you recommend resource material for study

 

[JDarwin52]

Great post! Just stumbled across it on an A1 jacket search. Yes, I think this did become a popular civilian style, maybe even up to the 1950s? Your photos made me vaguely recall seeing it in old movies, worn by a country/suburban gentleman at week’s end when a full dress suit wasn’t required.