Sheep in Wolf's Clothing: a shearling lined, 4.5oz cordovan HWM

I'm really sorry to hear that Guppy!

nick123 said:

You may have dodged a bullet here. Even if it fit, it may have looked awkward with 2” of extra pit measurement.

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If it had, for the price I'm pretty confident I could have flipped it without losing much money. Oh well

That is too bad. The jacket needed a much heavier zipper. I have the ThunderBay, which is similar but only a lighter shell—3 oz. FQHH, and it definitely needs a heavier zipper.

I wonder how our friend @Seb Lucas would feel about wearing this beast of a jacket?

Peacoat said:

That is too bad. The jacket needed a much heavier zipper. I have the ThunderBay, which is similar but only a lighter shell—3 oz. FQHH, and it definitely needs a heavier zipper.

I wonder how our friend @Seb Lucas would feel about wearing this beast of a jacket?

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I think he'd love it, so long as he had a super heavy, thick wool sweater underneath it.

Sucks to hear that Guppy...that jacket wouldn't have been all that huge. Shearling like that eats up a ton of room. My 42" BL that was shearling lined fit like a 38"

Such a pity Guppy. However a heavier zip is needed - I know from experience. I have a black FQHH long half belt, shearling lined. I (foolishly) had asked for a heavy batch of hide and a lining as thick as possible. Looks killer but it's heavy as f*ck, not good for my hernia. Feels literally bulletproof.
If you ever go for a shearling lined aero do ask a lighter hide, I think the jerky horsehide or goat would be perfect.

What a shame....I cant help but wonder why they don't fit bigger zippers to beasts like that in the first place?

Guppy said:

Sadly, I've learned today that I won't be taking delivery. When Aero tried to replace the main zipper, the jacket was ruined. I was so looking forward to having it, and now it won't happen. Really bummed out at the news.

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Greetings Guppy et al:
That sucks!! They gotta be lying to you...they loved that beast so much they kept it for themselves. Talk about a total bummer!
Be well. Bowen

Harris HTM said:

Such a pity Guppy. However a heavier zip is needed - I know from experience. I have a black FQHH long half belt, shearling lined. I (foolishly) had asked for a heavy batch of hide and a lining as thick as possible. Looks killer but it's heavy as f*ck, not good for my hernia. Feels literally bulletproof.
If you ever go for a shearling lined aero do ask a lighter hide, I think the jerky horsehide or goat would be perfect.

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That's what they were doing for me, putting in a heavier zipper. But the patient didn't make it out of the O. R.

AbbaDatDeHat said:

Greetings Guppy et al:
That sucks!! They gotta be lying to you...they loved that beast so much they kept it for themselves. Talk about a total bummer!
Be well. Bowen

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I honestly hope that's the case. It's a shame if it's truly been ruined. But that's what they told me.

Fortunately I'm sure that they will be able to make amends in one way or another. Hopefully that means you'll have a new Aero heading your way soon!

El Marro said:

Fortunately I'm sure that they will be able to make amends in one way or another. Hopefully that means you'll have a new Aero heading your way soon!

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They told me they'd give me free shipping on whatever I happen to order next with them, which is nice, but man, there's never going to be another one like this one, and I only ordered it because of that, and its sale price. I really don't need anything more at this point...

I hear you. A few years ago I did some electrical work for a neighbor of mine who was a glassblower. He did not have much money, but he offered to make me a bowl or a vase in his glass studio to cover part of the payment for my services. I asked him to make me a vase because I had seen some beautiful vases come out of his shop and I knew that it was something he was really good at. On one of my last days working there he blew the vase, and before I left at the end of the day I got to admire it sitting there on the cooling rack with the other fresh glass. When I came in the next morning though, the vase was no more. It had shattered while cooling and nothing was left of it but pieces of broken glass.
This is my long-winded way of saying I understand what you're feeling. There will be other jackets, that is for sure, but you will always remember this one.

El Marro said:

I hear you. A few years ago I did some electrical work for a neighbor of mine who was a glassblower. He did not have much money, but he offered to make me a bowl or a vase in his glass studio to cover part of the payment for my services. I asked him to make me a vase because I had seen some beautiful vases come out of his shop and I knew that it was something he was really good at. On one of my last days working there he blew the vase, and before I left at the end of the day I got to admire it sitting there on the cooling rack with the other fresh glass. When I came in the next morning though, the vase was no more. It had shattered while cooling and nothing was left of it but pieces of broken glass.
This is my long-winded way of saying I understand what you're feeling. There will be other jackets, that is for sure, but you will always remember this one.

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Did he remake the vase???

Even if he made another vase, it wouldn't be the one that broke. That's how it is with things like that.

I woke up this morning to see an email from Denny Calder at Aero, and there may be some hope yet to rescue and resurrect the jacket. So perhaps this will work out in the end for me, but it will be a while longer, yet. They really do such good service!

Guppy said:

Even if he made another vase, it wouldn't be the one that broke. That's how it is with things like that.

I woke up this morning to see an email from Denny Calder at Aero, and there may be some hope yet to rescue and resurrect the jacket. So perhaps this will work out in the end for me, but it will be a while longer, yet. They really do such good service!

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Crossing fingers!

ProteinNerd said:

Did he remake the vase???

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Guppy said:

Even if he made another vase, it wouldn't be the one that broke. That's how it is with things like that.

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We decided against another vase and he made me some amazing Christmas tree ornaments instead.

Guppy, I'm glad to hear the good news from Aero, i've got my fingers crossed as well!

What was wrong with the original zipper anyway? I'm of the opinion that if something works...don't ever touch it.

willyto said:

What was wrong with the original zipper anyway? I'm of the opinion that if something works...don't ever touch it.

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I haven't said much about this on the lounge, because I feel that often too much is made out of tiny issues, and Aero has been exemplary in standing by their products and in their customer service.

But here's the story:

My Wayfarer purchased last spring developed an issue with the zipper shortly after I took ownership. The pin side of the zipper pulled out of the seam on the bottom, making it a pain to get started.

Upon close examination, it appeared that there were no stitches in the bottom inch or so of the zipper tape on the pin side.

I sent it back to Aero for repair, which they did at no cost to me. My shipping notification happened the day of their break-in last year, so I felt very lucky that my Wayfarer wasn't among the stolen jackets.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago, I bought my Modified Cafe Racer ("Sheene") from the sale page, and after wearing it a few weeks, it developed the same problem, although not as bad. I sent it back for repair, again at no cost to me.

So when I ordered this Highwayman last month, I asked them to inspect the zipper before shipping it out, to avoid the cost and hassle of a return. (I imagine it must get expensive for them to do shipping overseas for free both ways each time this happens, and wanted to help them avoid that.)

They looked at it, and told me that they recommended replacing the zipper entirely, with a heavier zipper. To which I agreed, for 4.5oz steer you really need a good, heavy duty zipper. Oh, and they offered to do it for no additional cost, either.

They said it would take a few weeks to get it done. Unfortunately, working with such heavy steerhide is extremely difficult, and Julie deemed her first attempt not good enough, and decided to have another go at it, but on the third zipper, after getting it installed they deemed the facing panel had too many visible stitch holes to be acceptable for sale.

I was sad at the news, but understood that sometimes things happen beyond your control, and that it was too bad that such a beautiful jacket was ruined.

But Denny said they're going to try to replace the facing panels, using a slightly thinner hide, and re-evaluate once it's done. If they decide it passes their quality standards, then they'll decide on a price, and offer me right of first refusal.

I didn't ask them to do that for me -- they offered, after reading of my disappointment. Which, let me be clear, was ever only with learning that such a beautiful jacket was ruined, never at Aero or how they've treated me.

I really don't think you can ask for anything more than that. I get dewy eyed just thinking about how good such service is.

I really hope that it works out, and that they can find a good match for the replacement panels. But if not, I sure can't fault Aero for trying, and going above and beyond to making me satisfied. Apart from not choosing a proper #10 zipper to begin with, I can't fault them at all, and they've certainly made every effort to make it work, and then some.

I might not see it until June at this rate (who knows), but when and if it comes to me, I'll be looking forward to posting some fit pics with the biggest smile on my face.

Guppy said:

If it had, for the price I'm pretty confident I could have flipped it without losing much money. Oh well

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Was just trying to lift your spirits.