Key to be a happy jacket owner

[Jonanah]

Key to be a happy jacket owner is deleting your account here and never look back in again. Delete your eBay, FromJapan, Etsy etc accounts. Delete your Instagram.
My obsession comes in waves and are always followed by a sense of repulsion. My collection expands to the point where I'm disgusted by the amount of jackets that I own, the last couple of times the repulsion has set in somewhere around 20-25 jackets. I then purge and downsize to a "reasonable" number (which in my case is maybe 12-14 jacket... a few years ago it was 6). I am then happy for a few months and then the obsession starts again and the cycle continues like that.
I am for sure an obsessive addiction personality and I have sometimes have trouble controlling my impulses. The jacket hoarding/collecting/obsession is 100 % an expression of that side of me. I sometimes wish I could be free of it. On the other hand, there are much more sinister things that someone like me could engage with. I've never done drugs and I quit drinking alcohol several years ago.

For everyone that's a size 40, I can feel the repulsion starting to kick in. Check the classifieds in the next couple of weeks!

@torfjord you have some jackets I would love to be repulsed by haha

But in all seriousness, it’s good to at least have a lucid understanding of the elements of that relationship with consumption/fixation that are unhealthy. Much better than being in denial.

For me, I think the hobby began out of an admiration of craft and desire to bring durability and dignity back to clothing — a way to get pieces that can last a lifetime or more. However, while those roots are still there, it has also become a form of escapism. It’s more enjoyable to think about and admire beautiful and well-crafted garments than stressful parts of life.

 

[zebedee]

If you only had three, most normal folks would still think that was far too many.

I have 12 (3 SBs and 9 Aeros) and a Thedi incoming. I have decided that 13 is where I stop. I’ve been buying these jackets for 16 years and I reckon it’s time to stop. If I could, I’d just own 5, but I keep finding a reason to keep the others. The most striking ones are a Cordovan Maxwell, a Battered Seal CR, a Tan CR, a Blattwerk Mahogany SBV2 and my brown FQHH Highwayman. The most practical one is a black Jerky Plainsman (if I could only keep one, it might well be that one or a Blackened Brown Vicenza CR, due to the fading).

 

[Herrvallmo]

Key to be a happy jacket owner is deleting your account here and never look back in again. Delete your eBay, FromJapan, Etsy etc accounts. Delete your Instagram.
My obsession comes in waves and are always followed by a sense of repulsion. My collection expands to the point where I'm disgusted by the amount of jackets that I own, the last couple of times the repulsion has set in somewhere around 20-25 jackets. I then purge and downsize to a "reasonable" number (which in my case is maybe 12-14 jacket... a few years ago it was 6). I am then happy for a few months and then the obsession starts again and the cycle continues like that.
I am for sure an obsessive addiction personality and I have sometimes have trouble controlling my impulses. The jacket hoarding/collecting/obsession is 100 % an expression of that side of me. I sometimes wish I could be free of it. On the other hand, there are much more sinister things that someone like me could engage with. I've never done drugs and I quit drinking alcohol several years ago.

For everyone that's a size 40, I can feel the repulsion starting to kick in. Check the classifieds in the next couple of weeks!

^ This! so much this haha, you really took the words out of my mouth Torfjord(and put them down perfectly!)

When I find a new hobby I always go into it 110% and often find myself with more stuff than I'll ever need... right now it's fishing and I'm already 3 new fishing rods/spools in the red this summer and still eyeing more stuff lol.

But as long as I understand that this is how I work and it doesn't become a problem financially or starts ruin my relationships(or the addiction becomes drugs or similar harmful stuff, learnt this the hard way sadly...)I see no harm in it really

Cheers amigos!

 

[Bawheid]

Happy ? I ought to be !
Finished ? I ought to be !
Rear 2 rooms in the house, both doorways hung permanently with jackets
VERY understanding wife....
And there are 4 "off camera", 2 Vansons and 2 Eastman Luftwaffe
I do manage to cycle thru them , so some it's MONTHS between wears

 

[Mister Rivets]

Happiness is an inside job.

 

[jchance]

The "seasonal hobbies" resonates with me, although perhaps not in the same way. I often find something I like, something I use often or something I think would make my life more enjoyable and I delve into it, looking to get something that I think will keep me served for life (or at least for many, many years).

Leather jackets are the same, now I've got 4, perhaps I get new ones or "upgrades", but I might also be served and have found my "endgames", prompting me to somewhat "drop the hobby" cause of satisfaction rather than boredom. For example, I haven't bought audio equipment in years and I won't unless I delve into speakers. Same with coffee unless I delve into espresso. Same with pans unless I convince my girlfriend to fully ditch nonstick. The only PC component I've bought in the last 10 years has been a newer GPU a few months ago (won't serve me for life but should serve me for 5 years easily). And so on.

I do buy things in a gamble of just to try and build up my own expertise. A good example would be my Chinese leather jacket or somewhat cheap headphones I ended up selling. Headphones that were great, but didn't satisfy me and I sold them once I got my hands on a pair that I truly enjoyed. I didn't even sell them cause I had to, I just wanted someone else to, hopefully, enjoy them as I knew otherwise they would just collect dust in my possession.

I may not always use my "endgames" regularly or not all of them, but when I do, I always feel like the first time as it brings me joy, feeling exactly like I did the first time I used it, being reminded of what made me buy it and keep it. A good example is when I bring out my parkas in Winter, they make me happy I've bought them in the first place and excited to wear them one more year.

I'm aware of this being a huge materialistic POV and an absolute first world privilege, but I don't know, I guess I cannot help it.

To live is to experience. Lately, I’ve moved to the mindset that getting a custom/bespoke leather jacket is like paying for an experience, much like paying to go to a concert. For me personally, the custom jacket would prob fit the same, or slightly better, than an OTR jacket (I fit OTR jackets fairly well), but it is the experience of going through the custom process that’s interesting and worth paying for. Some may see the wait and having to provide measurements and trying on test jackets as a chore, but others (including me) may see it as being pampered, not unlike going to get your nails done at a salon.

 

[jeepTj98]

You nailed my personality perfectly. I don’t have 60 jackets but I hover around 6-8 at any point in time. it wasn’t until recently when I looked at my eBay history as a buyer and seller that I realized I have bought and sold over 40 jackets in just 2 years. Rookie numbers by some but that sums up my obsession with things I find of interest. If one is good then 6 is better.

I come here just to feel better about all my addictions lol..

 

[jeepTj98]

The key to being a happy jacket owner is to own as many jackets as makes you feel happy. For some that might be just one, whereas for others it could be somewhere well into double figures.
Over the past couple of years I managed to acquire a total of 14 Aero Leather jackets (mainly from online auction and classifieds sites, not forums), although I never had more than five at any one time.
Most were initially bought to be ‘wearers’, however a few were just to flip. I started off with a Highwayman, and then bought and sold various other Aero jackets to not only trade up but also try the different styles and leathers.
To try and make sure my leather jackets got some very regular wear I introduced a self-imposed jacket limit or ‘one in, one out’ type policy. Until a few weeks ago this was only two, however I then found an Aero Leather Half Belt I couldn’t pass over due to condition and a really attractive price.
I’m happy with the Teamster, Highwayman & HB I now have and could possibly try to reduce it back to two but wouldn’t know which one to give up as I really like them all equally.
I’m not actively looking to buy or sell any more jackets, although I thought that was the case until I came across the Half Belt. Never say never !

I thought I would be happy with the few aero jackets I have but I really want a rainbow country a2..

 

[jchance]

I thought I would be happy with the few aero jackets I have but I really want a rainbow country a2..

What’s stopping you? I’d sell the few aero’s to fund an RC a2.

 

[jeepTj98]

What’s stopping you? I’d sell the few aero’s to fund an RC a2.

Oh heck no, I love the aero jackets I have!

 

[Sockeye]

You nailed my personality perfectly. I don’t have 60 jackets but I hover around 6-8 at any point in time. it wasn’t until recently when I looked at my eBay history as a buyer and seller that I realized I have bought and sold over 40 jackets in just 2 years. Rookie numbers by some but that sums up my obsession with things I find of interest. If one is good then 6 is better.

I see myself in this thread too. Jackets, boots, whatever. It feels like a “guy” thing. I can only imagine some great distant relative of mine living in a cave getting yelled at by his wife for collecting too many mastodon teeth….

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

And for some….the key to a happy jacket owner is limited only by the size of their abode.
When they speak to you, as you navigate the pathways around and through, saying “Remember me? How happy i’ve made you feel”, and you smile.
I’d say you are a happy jacket owner.
When they stop speaking…you’re not.
B

 

[NamoAmituofo]

And for some….the key to a happy jacket owner is limited only by the size of their abode.
When they speak to you, as you navigate the pathways around and through, saying “Remember me? How happy i’ve made you feel”, and you smile.
I’d say you are a happy jacket owner.
When they stop speaking…you’re not.
B

This is so well said!!

When I open my waldrobe I can hear every jacket saying ‘me me me pick me’

Only 2 jackets I wear in each season though - so very limited competition!

 

[Rakusak]

Remember that feeling when you bought your first ever proper leather jacket? Mine was an aero HWM. I was ecstatically over the moon - sooo happy that I wore it anytime the weather /dress code permitted.

Then came jacket #2, and #3, and so on. Even I force myself to adhere to a 3 jackets policy - I often fall victim to not cherishing what I have already, but keep wanting what I don’t have.

That, I think is the trap we ‘experienced’ jacket owners sometimes fall into.

To me the key to be a happy jacket owner is not wanting what I don’t have - but enjoying what I do have.

I ordered an aero KotR around this time last year and took delivery in August. Wore it every weekend till too cold, and wore it again every weekend when not so cold in late spring. Wore it to all places - from Tesco to Disneyland!

I also bought an old Vanson Enfield last winter - washed it, greased it and wore over a thick fleece for the whole winter - kept me dry and fairly warm - till one day I got tired of having to wear a scarf and had a mouton collar made for it (spent an absolute fortune on labor and materials). Yet when I saw someone else’s jacket my lust for what I don’t have made this jacket feel less desirable…

It’s fun to keep trying new stuff - but the key to happiness is to look inward and love what one has today, and keep loving them unwaveringly.

Of course many won’t agree with me but this is just me documenting an enlightenment moment of happiness which I hope will last.

Namo Amituofo

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My wallet wishes I read this years ago. My interest in leather (all uses) says otherwise. In Texas, we dont' need many jackets, let alone leather ones. That said, I like to say that if you're gonna do it, do it right and there is just something about a quality leather jacket that just makes it worth wearing, even if only a couple months out of the year.

 

[TLW '90]

For me the key to being a happy jacket owner has been finding joy in affordably priced Ebay scores, and being kind of picky in my preferences.
I'm not often looking for stuff everybody else is looking for and stuff I am looking for within my budget doesn't come up as often, so it helps me stretch my limited hobby budget across traditional knives, hand tools, vintage airguns, vintage fishing reels, and jackets without frequent disappointment in items I want presenting themselves at the wrong time.
I can also afford to learn about try and discover more jackets than I could if I were chasing jackets I had to save for.

I feel I have gotten some good quality pieces, and some stuff that was too affordable not to enjoy.
Of course I've purchased some real failures, but nothing over $100.