Hi all,
Just obtained my first vintage leather jacket from an online seller and the flaws were a bit more extensive than I expected.
First: the jacket. This is a vintage cafe racer style with no obvious branding. The only identifying mark are two tags identifying the size, a lot (199), and a blue-stamped number of 4167. The missing liner and style of the tag has me posit that it's a Lesco, probably from the 60s or 70s.
Overall, the leather is surprisingly soft and sho s good movement. There is some sporadic cracking, but mainly along the wear lines especially in the shoulders. Some discoloration, but mainly along the edges and hems where you would expect to see wear damage.
However, the most noticable negative feature is the extensive puckering on the front of the jacket. I'd almost describe them as air bubbles, as they disappear when stretching the fabric out a bit. They're only present on the front of the jacket, while the back is completely straight - which makes me think it might only be wrinkles as opposed to some extensive stretching, chemical damage, or water damage.
Based on your collective experience and expertise:
- Does this look solely like wrinkling to you? Or would you diagnose the problem as something else?
- Is this "fixable" in anyway, or is this now a permanent characteristic of the jacket?
Thank you for taking a look. I've really learned a lot from this forum by looking through your archives and I hope to continue furthering my knowledge.
Just obtained my first vintage leather jacket from an online seller and the flaws were a bit more extensive than I expected.
First: the jacket. This is a vintage cafe racer style with no obvious branding. The only identifying mark are two tags identifying the size, a lot (199), and a blue-stamped number of 4167. The missing liner and style of the tag has me posit that it's a Lesco, probably from the 60s or 70s.
Overall, the leather is surprisingly soft and sho s good movement. There is some sporadic cracking, but mainly along the wear lines especially in the shoulders. Some discoloration, but mainly along the edges and hems where you would expect to see wear damage.
However, the most noticable negative feature is the extensive puckering on the front of the jacket. I'd almost describe them as air bubbles, as they disappear when stretching the fabric out a bit. They're only present on the front of the jacket, while the back is completely straight - which makes me think it might only be wrinkles as opposed to some extensive stretching, chemical damage, or water damage.
Based on your collective experience and expertise:
- Does this look solely like wrinkling to you? Or would you diagnose the problem as something else?
- Is this "fixable" in anyway, or is this now a permanent characteristic of the jacket?
Thank you for taking a look. I've really learned a lot from this forum by looking through your archives and I hope to continue furthering my knowledge.
