How do you know when a jacket is broken in?

[Plumbline]

apologies for the USAAF and ANJ conflict ... but I like the B-2 hat with the ANJ and all my other sheepskins as well

 

[Sloan1874]

Great looking jacket - far more flattering of it than the pic on Aero's website.

 

[Capesofwrath]

I reckon that by the time an Aero FQHH jacket is truly broken in the lining is likely to be broken down and in need of replacement; and maybe the zip too.

But leather varies so much from batch to batch it seems to me, even from the same tannery, and an Aero mid weight oil pull HWM I have was thicker and stiffer for longer than a FQ one I bought a couple of years later. The HWM stood up on its own for well over a year with the wear I was able to give it. It is very nice now with a true patina, not scuffs, but just a deep colour you can look into, and almost soft. But the lining is getting creased up a bit and doesn't look as good as it did once.

A good few years ago now I owned a forties/fifties German long HH coat that was a soft as the proverbial baby's. But a US HH coat of the same age that I owned along with it was as stiff as a board still after thirty years, and I could not soften it.

Has anyone got any experience of the Horween 4oz steer that Aero is offering now? I have a jacket on order and I'm thinking of this instead of FQ. I love the brown FQ to look at but not necessarily to wear anymore.

 

[Peacoat]

For me break in comes in two stages. The first is when the jacket is comfortable to wear. As an earlier poster said, when I am no longer fighting the jacket. The second stage is reached when the jacket no longer stands on its own. That indicates the leather has softened to the point it feels as comfortable as a well worn slipper, as HD noted. At that point I am more likely to wear jacket because I want to, rather then for the purpose of breaking it in.

I don't pay much attention to the patina when considering break in. For me it is about how the jacket feels while I am wearing it.

 

[Dr H]

Stuart might say you're just "not manly enough" or his jackets. lol

'It's mainly the patina. I recommend going out wearing it on new year's eve in a wintry country, then waking up in the snow, definitely having poured beer on it and ideally having got into a minor scrap. Bit of vomit probably doesn't go astray, either (scraped off).'

Yup...sounds likely... .;-)

 

[Sloan1874]

'It's mainly the patina. I recommend going out wearing it on new year's eve in a wintry country, then waking up in the snow, definitely having poured beer on it and ideally having got into a minor scrap. Bit of vomit probably doesn't go astray, either (scraped off).'

Yup...sounds likely... .;-)

*takes note* Ok-ay, 'bit of vomit', yesss, these are all good tips. This, I have to say, is the very opposite of the hot water treatment, but y'know, all things are possible...

Is there a point where anyone has felt that the breaking in has become uneven and wanted to use pecards or something to try to even up the wear?

 

[Fanch]

Sloan, this has been a great thread but really thought that the LHB that you picked up at Aero just before the first of the year would be completely broken in by now. lol

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Is there a point where anyone has felt that the breaking in has become uneven and wanted to use pecards or something to try to even up the wear?

Not me. My Highwayman FQHH was purchased in 2001. Any slight scratches could be blended with my fingers and a little water. I did rub in little of Aero's Lexol (that came with the jacket) around the inside edge of the collar after a few years..since it had become a little dry and that took care of the situation. However..since this HH remains waxy I felt like any overall treatment might be goopy overkill.

 

[Sloan1874]

Sloan, this has been a great thread but really thought that the LHB that you picked up at Aero just before the first of the year would be completely broken in by now. lol

Ha ha! I know what you mean, I didn't for a second think that it was anywhere near broken in - as my old teacher would say 'I may be daft, but I'm not crazy', but I'm curious as to what people actually mean by broken-in! I think I've seen footage of just one guy who broke his in using a tumble dryer and a couple of damp towels.
What interests me, though, is the process. The arms and the bottom of the jacket have already softened up and developed grain and patina, while the shoulders have taken a pummeling from carrying a rucksack. The thing is that a jacket changes at an 'uneven' rate, on account of difference in movement, and I wonder if people found this unsettling - watching your cuffs age more quickly than their body.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

Interestingly, my fqhh half-belt breaking in process has been pretty encouraging. I've worn it more often than not over the past couple of weeks and can tell a noticeable difference both in the look and the feel of the jacket. As an example, driving a vehicle while wearing the jacket is far easier now than the first time I attempted such a task. Certainly some areas have begun to wear in earlier than others, but that seems natural to me and simply contributes to the organic look.

 

[Sloan1874]

As I managed to virtually total my car today while wearing my jacket - won't go into it - driving is contact sport for breaking a jacket in. :eeek:

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

Sorry Sloan, certainly hope you're okay.

 

[Sloan1874]

Och, I'm fine - have a new-found respect for VWs though, and an even deeper contempt for Glaswegian taxi drivers. Jacket, which I was wearing at the time, was absolutely fine. Nothing that a bottle of wine and a couple of Beatles docs can't relieve Have been reading book about the Apollo project, and I bow down to what they went through on purpose!

 

[Worf]

Interestingly, my fqhh half-belt breaking in process has been pretty encouraging. I've worn it more often than not over the past couple of weeks and can tell a noticeable difference both in the look and the feel of the jacket. As an example, driving a vehicle while wearing the jacket is far easier now than the first time I attempted such a task. Certainly some areas have begun to wear in earlier than others, but that seems natural to me and simply contributes to the organic look.

I've found that driving wears in leather quicker than anything else with me. Particularly the left arm that squooshed between me and the door (Left hand drive you know). Might have to travel down under to even out the wear.

Worf

 

[Fanch]

As I managed to virtually total my car today while wearing my jacket - won't go into it - driving is contact sport for breaking a jacket in. :eeek:

Craig, sorry to hear about your auto wreck. All kidding aside, that can definitely ruin your day. Glad you're OK though.

 

[alsendk]

Sloan, good to read that you`re ok.
Having a car accident isn`t the best way to break in a jacket, but I must say, that driving the car daily, wearing ...in my case my Irvin sheep skin flying jacket, slowly has become more supple in just ½ a year. A heavy rainfall now and then also helps a lot. Spitfire knows all about this, and Worf`s jacket should prove it allright.
But still it is a long on going process. I know that the ALC Irvin is not regarded as a true copy of the original, but still it is very well made, and I have become very fond of it during this exeptionally Cold Winther here in Denmark this year.
My only worry is to hang on to a spike or something, I don`t know how strong a shearling jacket really are in these matters.
Allan

 

[Sloan1874]

Thank you for the concern, a bit sore but fine. But, taking us back to the thread, since I got my jacket I've been wearing it while driving, wdw recommended this, and found it to be a very good way of loosening up the sleeves. The natural actions of steering, changing gear etc let you do all the kinds of movement that are great for getting those creases, but without looking crazy while doing them. But I also tend to stick the seat heating on and that really helps to soften the leather a la Aero's radiator recommendation.

 

[apba1166]

The other aspect of broken-in is what sort of mobility do you expect and compromises to get it? Some jackets, I want total (midweight highwayman; Langlitz cascade, North Beach shearling, LW goat Downtown, any goat or lighter hh A2); some I accept limited mobility (LW Suburban shearling, fghh hwymn, VDR) because they get me warmth, or style, or as someone mentioned they are just fun or cool to wear. I thought the VDR (heavy steer in my case) would eventually move into the former (all-mobile) category w/enough wear, break-in, but after some years have accepted that it is more limiting no matter what, and so am glad to read that 12 years doesn't even do it.

 

[Selous]

It will start to look like this, zips green with verdigris, leather creased and stitching stretched, but comfy like an old favourite.

 

[Sloan1874]

Nice!