What Jacket Are You Wearing Today?

[Jon Crow]

Well, it's finally that time of year again in Madrid, cool enough for jackets boots etc, today wearing my old Horsehide Hercules jacket, Jeep cap, boots and selvedge jeans, not been in for a while, hope your all good

 

[ton312]

Pendleton T-bird today

Looked like this Monday:

Mid 60’s for Friday and Saturday. I guess Chicago is now New East Denver.

 

[lina]

LW Roadhouse
View attachment 746896

Love the Roadhouse. I briefly had one, but just a little too tight for me at the time. Now, of course I wish I had it back.

 

[Rakusak]

Today's jacket. Relearned why i got it in the first place. Such a nice Aero to wear.

View attachment IMG_3255.jpg

 

[Egalter]

Not the best possible picture of my Aero Half Belt.

 

[Tom71]

Went to the NYC Schott store looking like this…

Checked out the new tan OD brown Perfecto/Cop jacket. Thick, stiff horsehide. Looks and feels really impressive IRL. Hefty price tag though.

Overall nice people, but it’s not like you’re treated with unconditional enthusiasm when you walk in kitted out in suit and tie…

 

[raf]

Posted on VFJ forum:
Currently working indoor/outdoor projects, so not sporting any jacket except always-worn fleece jackets.

"Indoor" Project is to continue to remediate loose and frayed edges of Nomex (Used, e-bay) CWU-45-P (winter) Jacket. Yes, it is possible to properly melt/sear edges of Nomex fabric (often improperly done at the factory) but requires trimming of excess fabric with damn-sharp scissors to no more than 1/16" of frayed fabric. A constant flame, such as from a decent bic lighter will do the trick and prevent future problems. On this style of jacket, the front lower chest pockets and the sleeve pocket can successfully be seared/remediated. Once the loose/frayed edges are remediated, off to dry-cleaners it goes--that's the suggested laundering treatment as per the attached tag. It's used, and kinda grubby.

"Outdoor" project is subjecting the 48L A-2 jacket's cloth innards to effects of an Ozone generator all inside my daily driver 1996 Honda Accord.

Turned it inside-out, spread it out as much as possible, and gave it an initial 1 Hr exposure to the Ozone. Mildew was present on the insides of the sleeves, initially, and previous common chem remedies reduced the smell to a small fraction (10%) of what it was--but still annoyingly "sniff-able". Re-arranged it to expose additional surfaces of the liner and sleeves and giving it another hour. Will hang outside to remove the (not unpleasant to me) Ozone smell.

If this does not work to my (olfactory) satisfaction, then either washing it or sending it to decent Pro leather cleaner are the next steps. I'm "almost" certain that the common chems applied to the inner lining (White vinegar and 91% alcohol have killed any mildew.

Ozone penetrated into the trunk, so I guess there's enough to do the job. Will report.

 

[tmitchell59]

Another beautiful fall day, another beautiful wool half-belt

 

[Sagar85]

This week so far

FW Mulholland
Rainbow Country Hercules
Rainbow Country Santa Clara

 

[lina]

This week so far

FW Mulholland
Rainbow Country Hercules
Rainbow Country Santa Clara


View attachment 747043 View attachment 747044 View attachment 747045 View attachment 747046 View attachment 747047 View attachment 747048

Quite a lineup! All the same size?

 

[Sagar85]

Quite a lineup! All the same size?

Yes, all size 44. Can go 46 on Santa Clara as it runs a bit snug waist down compared to Hercules.

 

[leatherbikescarsnwatches]

Just checked,

got email from Schott my 568 exchange is waiting for me at home! Meanwhile.....613 breaking in nice

 

[Bfd70]

Went to the NYC Schott store looking like this…

Checked out the new tan OD brown Perfecto/Cop jacket. Thick, stiff horsehide. Looks and feels really impressive IRL. Hefty price tag though.

Overall nice people, but it’s not like you’re treated with unconditional enthusiasm when you walk in kitted out in suit and tie…


View attachment 747002

Lookin good but where is the schott fit pic?

 

[leatherbikescarsnwatches]

Sorry for two posts in a row but I got home and had to show you guys the Schott Vandals 568 that just came in.

Just for some background I originally spoke to Jerri at the company who I've had a good relationship with and we decided on a large for me, bad mistake. One of the few mistakes and poor fits over the years with the company.

Called back spoke to Denise as Jerri had the day off we came up with a plan to get me the medium with a little arranging and finagling before my weekend plans kick in.

I'm 6 ft tall about 175 lb probably about a 41, 42-in chest these days and a 36 waist.

Loved the movie Bikeriders so much had to get the Tom Hardy special lol

Hope you guys enjoy and again I would not have posted my 613 earlier today if I knew I would instantly fall in love with this thing instantly and want to share it with y'all. Hope you enjoy.

(PS I will say this jacket is all about proper fit as the large being loose made the leather feel kind of weird/ unsubstantial although I'm also much more used to steerhide these days. With the proper fit this thing hugs me like my old 519 used to, the pebbled cowhide feels perfect,

and I love the variation in my collection)
Also please note the shot from behind I have the zipper open in the front was too excited to even realize.
Current stable in my current size: Schotts have come and gone, 568 pebbled cowhide, 613 steerhide, 118 naked cowhide. I've got a 613s in the closet that's a little big on me now.

 

[Tom71]

Lookin good but where is the schott fit pic?

I know! I actually forgot to take one…

Shame, really, as I’d really like to see a picture of me in the new Perfecto variant myself.

 

[Edward]

Thedi deerskin.
View attachment 746693 View attachment 746694 View attachment 746695 View attachment 746696

Nice design. I've really taken a notion for this sort of mid-length work-coat leather in the last couple of years. Might have to scratch that itch in 2026.

 

[Edward]

Well, it's finally that time of year again in Madrid, cool enough for jackets boots etc, today wearing my old Horsehide Hercules jacket, Jeep cap, boots and selvedge jeans, not been in for a while, hope your all good View attachment 746936

Great look. It's a funny thing.... when I first got into flight jackets of the 30s-50s I sort of moved away from this civilian style, perceiving them as "wrong" on details. Twenty odd years later, I've come full circle, and while I still love the milspec stuff, I also have a stronger appreciation for these civilian jackets that riff on that style but adapt it for day to day wear (as opposed to uniform for an aircraft on mission or whatever). Whole different vibe - and more historically accurate for those of us interested in the post-war decade vintage civilian look, imo. I'm back to keeping an idle eye on eBay for a silly deal on a Schott 184SM, maybe even in black....

Enjoy!

Sorry for two posts in a row but I got home and had to show you guys the Schott Vandals 568 that just came in.

Just for some background I originally spoke to Jerri at the company who I've had a good relationship with and we decided on a large for me, bad mistake. One of the few mistakes and poor fits over the years with the company.

Called back spoke to Denise as Jerri had the day off we came up with a plan to get me the medium with a little arranging and finagling before my weekend plans kick in.

I'm 6 ft tall about 175 lb probably about a 41, 42-in chest these days and a 36 waist.

Loved the movie Bikeriders so much had to get the Tom Hardy special lol

Hope you guys enjoy and again I would not have posted my 613 earlier today if I knew I would instantly fall in love with this thing instantly and want to share it with y'all. Hope you enjoy.

(PS I will say this jacket is all about proper fit as the large being loose made the leather feel kind of weird/ unsubstantial although I'm also much more used to steerhide these days. With the proper fit this thing hugs me like my old 519 used to, the pebbled cowhide feels perfect, View attachment 747119 View attachment 747120 View attachment 747121 View attachment 747122 View attachment 747123 and I love the variation in my collection)
Also please note the shot from behind I have the zipper open in the front was too excited to even realize.
Current stable in my current size: Schotts have come and gone, 568 pebbled cowhide, 613 steerhide, 118 naked cowhide. I've got a 613s in the closet that's a little big on me now.

Ha, never apologise for posting two nice jackets in a row, especially not when the second one is a new model as much talked about with curiosity as that one was when it first launched. Schott have gotten to be very expensive over here in recent years, but if I make it to the US in a couple of years' time, this is one of the things potentially on my shopping list.

This is the first photo of the donkey jacket I bought last weekend. I'd call it the 'real deal', with just one caveat. This one was made in England and is sold by Ben Nevis in Camden Town under their own "Combat Clothing" label. It's made to the classic pattern.... the one tweak this particular model has is that the shoulders and cuffs & pocket trim are nubuck leather rather than the PVC which was much more common than leather by the time Ben Nevis started producing their own donkey jackets to this same pattern in 1962. PVC / leatherette took over from the original actual leather that had been the norm when patches were first applied to these jackets as a utilitarian / price thing. These were working men's jackets, not fashion items. The patching helped keep wear and tear at bay, and also helped somewhat with rain on the shoulders if working outside. They were commonly worn socially by miners and working men if they were not in a position to afford a second coat for going out. Later, they developed something of a cachet as a fashion item among some youth culture subsets. Quite often revivalists from the 80s on, but as early as the late 50s, I'm led to believe. Often worn by "student radicals" alongside duffle coats, as cheap and affordable. Not dissimilar to the white collar adoption of blue collar styles in today's workwear market (to which I plead guilty as charged). I remember the guys that delivered coal to our house around 79/80 still wearing these. I even have a vague memory of around 1981/2 when our local street sweeper, whom we always spoke to on our way to school, first appeared in a new one with bright orange vinyl over the shoulders. The original hi vis adaptation. By 1984, they were on the news every night, worn by pickets during the long and bitter miners' strike. This version also became something of an alternative fashion item, as seen on Daniel Day Lewis in My Beautiful Launderette:

By 1990 they were largely gone, replaced by modern synthetic textiles. Still see them on the odd building site, though, and of course various subcultures have since, in their inceptions and revivalist stages, seen them crop up here and there. I've seen them on punks, skinheads and rockabillies in recent years.

Pretty sure I remember a brief scene of Colin Campbell wearing one in The Leather Boys, though inevitably all I can find online now are shots of the Lewis leathers.

Quite a few of the big (and some of the also-ran) leather makers now are selling their versions. Patterns vary, as they always did. They all have the same, basic, boxy outline. Some will have pocket flaps, some not, inside pockets vary, some have elbow patches, and the shape and size of the yoke varies. The Lewis Leathers version (I think now only available in Japan, but always at an eye-watering price) has a leather back panel covering the entire back of the jacket body. For me, the big money versions lack the same sense of authenticity given that you can buy something as good as the BN for a fraction of the price (the nubuck one is £130 new; if you go with the more authentic to the jacket as original, late 50s / early 60s period workwear, pvc, it's £115, or £110 without either. I was original going to go for the plain version, but compromised the sleek look of that with the nubuck. More subtle than the PVC, but still giving that extra bit of durability, especially to sleeve ends and over the shoulders where I carry a bag a lot.

The other guy in the photo is Derry legend, Michael "Mickey" Bradley, bass player with the Undertones for their entirety of both their original, ten-year, four album run, and their (so -far) twenty-year, two-album reformation. Photo taken last night at the Walthamstow Rock and Roll Book Club (though this event was held at the legendary Red Lion Hotel in Leytonstone), where Mickey was doing an interview marking the release of a new edition of his Undertones- themed autobiography. Great night, lovely guy. Cracking jacket, too; didn't catch the brand, but he did say he bought it in Derry (where he still lives).

 

[Tom71]

Great look. It's a funny thing.... when I first got into flight jackets of the 30s-50s I sort of moved away from this civilian style, perceiving them as "wrong" on details. Twenty odd years later, I've come full circle, and while I still love the milspec stuff, I also have a stronger appreciation for these civilian jackets that riff on that style but adapt it for day to day wear (as opposed to uniform for an aircraft on mission or whatever). Whole different vibe - and more historically accurate for those of us interested in the post-war decade vintage civilian look, imo. I'm back to keeping an idle eye on eBay for a silly deal on a Schott 184SM, maybe even in black....

Enjoy!



Ha, never apologise for posting two nice jackets in a row, especially not when the second one is a new model as much talked about with curiosity as that one was when it first launched. Schott have gotten to be very expensive over here in recent years, but if I make it to the US in a couple of years' time, this is one of the things potentially on my shopping list.

View attachment 747146

This is the first photo of the donkey jacket I bought last weekend. I'd call it the 'real deal', with just one caveat. This one was made in England and is sold by Ben Nevis in Camden Town under their own "Combat Clothing" label. It's made to the classic pattern.... the one tweak this particular model has is that the shoulders and cuffs & pocket trim are nubuck leather rather than the PVC which was much more common than leather by the time Ben Nevis started producing their own donkey jackets to this same pattern in 1962. PVC / leatherette took over from the original actual leather that had been the norm when patches were first applied to these jackets as a utilitarian / price thing. These were working men's jackets, not fashion items. The patching helped keep wear and tear at bay, and also helped somewhat with rain on the shoulders if working outside. They were commonly worn socially by miners and working men if they were not in a position to afford a second coat for going out. Later, they developed something of a cachet as a fashion item among some youth culture subsets. Quite often revivalists from the 80s on, but as early as the late 50s, I'm led to believe. Often worn by "student radicals" alongside duffle coats, as cheap and affordable. Not dissimilar to the white collar adoption of blue collar styles in today's workwear market (to which I plead guilty as charged). I remember the guys that delivered coal to our house around 79/80 still wearing these. I even have a vague memory of around 1981/2 when our local street sweeper, whom we always spoke to on our way to school, first appeared in a new one with bright orange vinyl over the shoulders. The original hi vis adaptation. By 1984, they were on the news every night, worn by pickets during the long and bitter miners' strike. This version also became something of an alternative fashion item, as seen on Daniel Day Lewis in My Beautiful Launderette:

View attachment 747150

By 1990 they were largely gone, replaced by modern synthetic textiles. Still see them on the odd building site, though, and of course various subcultures have since, in their inceptions and revivalist stages, seen them crop up here and there. I've seen them on punks, skinheads and rockabillies in recent years.

Pretty sure I remember a brief scene of Colin Campbell wearing one in The Leather Boys, though inevitably all I can find online now are shots of the Lewis leathers.

Quite a few of the big (and some of the also-ran) leather makers now are selling their versions. Patterns vary, as they always did. They all have the same, basic, boxy outline. Some will have pocket flaps, some not, inside pockets vary, some have elbow patches, and the shape and size of the yoke varies. The Lewis Leathers version (I think now only available in Japan, but always at an eye-watering price) has a leather back panel covering the entire back of the jacket body. For me, the big money versions lack the same sense of authenticity given that you can buy something as good as the BN for a fraction of the price (the nubuck one is £130 new; if you go with the more authentic to the jacket as original, late 50s / early 60s period workwear, pvc, it's £115, or £110 without either. I was original going to go for the plain version, but compromised the sleek look of that with the nubuck. More subtle than the PVC, but still giving that extra bit of durability, especially to sleeve ends and over the shoulders where I carry a bag a lot.

The other guy in the photo is Derry legend, Michael "Mickey" Bradley, bass player with the Undertones for their entirety of both their original, ten-year, four album run, and their (so -far) twenty-year, two-album reformation. Photo taken last night at the Walthamstow Rock and Roll Book Club (though this event was held at the legendary Red Lion Hotel in Leytonstone), where Mickey was doing an interview marking the release of a new edition of his Undertones- themed autobiography. Great night, lovely guy. Cracking jacket, too; didn't catch the brand, but he did say he bought it in Derry (where he still lives).

Wow, thanks for the photo and more than that for the great post. Unfortunately, it further fuels my desire for a Donkey Coat, and equally unfortunately, I am stgill biased towards the Navy Blue/Brown Horsehide version from Simmons Bilt.
Fortunately tholugh, I am so shocked at my recent jacket spree, that I am sure I am done for the next months for sure.

Really cool photo of the two of you as well. My sister used to live in Derry for fice years, so I recommended the bio to her just now.

 

[Tom71]

Worn on a very early, very cold NYC morning. Schott 618 HH.

This jacket was the reason to make the trip from Midtown to the flagship store, and I was so focussed on it, that I forgot to produce photographic evidence of how great the new horsehide Perfecto/Cop Jacket is in the flesh.

Very happy with the jacket after the first two hours with it. Wears totally, absolutely different than the 613SH, although I am still undecided as to why. Both are size 44, and I was swimming in the 46 I tried on just to see how it behaves.
The jacket uses the same, gorgeous horsehide as the 613SH, and that alone elevates it from the other “classic” models, IMO.

Will also do a comparison to the 613SH for the 618HH thread when I get back home.

 

[Edward]

Wow, thanks for the photo and more than that for the great post. Unfortunately, it further fuels my desire for a Donkey Coat, and equally unfortunately, I am stgill biased towards the Navy Blue/Brown Horsehide version from Simmons Bilt.
Fortunately tholugh, I am so shocked at my recent jacket spree, that I am sure I am done for the next months for sure.

Really cool photo of the two of you as well. My sister used to live in Derry for fice years, so I recommended the bio to her just now.

Small world. Was she at the University there? UU have a campus in Derry, as I recall.

Ben Nevis do do one in navy that looks really sharp - same options for no yokes, or PVC, or (black) nubuck, same price.