Minimum Annual Usage

dubpynchon · Aug 19, 2020

I have around 20 leather jackets and a few sheepskins, in Ireland I get to wear mine for around 10 months of the year (back in jacket weather now actually). I keep mine in strict rotation (apart from the few months after I get a new one, when that takes preference), this works well because it makes me wear jackets I might be less fond of, so I'm less inclined to sell it (and I realise that jacket is fine, and I probably didn't need another 19) and it also helps my resolution to not buy new ones, although that hasn't worked out so well. I can't stand selling any I've bought new because of the financial loss for what is basically an as new jacket, so I've painted myself into a corner that way. If I was starting again I think I'd just buy second hand, my favourite jackets are all pre owned anyway.

Downunder G Man · Aug 19, 2020

Yes , "selling the ones bought new", I hear you there mate. ALL the jackets I have sold/moved on were purchased "used", including "vintage" NOS sales with labels attached from US bargain buys. They were well priced ebay sales, most "private".

My 3 "Eastman" types (over a span of 30+ years !), my Schott 641HH and my 2 Simmons Bilt or 2 Vansons could not be sold as they were "bought new", even with each well priced at the time of purchase. They would incur a "loss", can't do it !

The used jackets I have sold thankfully I have always been able to cover my costs , and in a few be ahead just a little.

red devil · Aug 19, 2020

I haven't sold any jacket yet, if I wanted to, I might have one or two... I think.

Most of my jackets were planned for quite a while before being ordered, so I rarely feel like selling any. There are some I wear very little, some I couldn't wear because I had gained weight - I can now and am wearing them such as my Thedi CR.

I tend to focus on a few jackets for a while then move to others. What I wear on the bike tends to be different to what I wear in other occasions.

It is funny, as I tried on a really nice cashmere overcoat, fit was as good as it gets and at a good price to boot... I didn't get it. Simply because whenever I could wear it, I would chose one of my leather jackets instead. To me as well leather jackets are the only ones that count.

Edward · Aug 19, 2020

I think I have around eight at present. A couple of those are kept for sentimental reasons - my MC P-type with the BRMC logo on it (Strabler costume), a leather blazer that my mother bought my dad around 1973; I wore that a lot back in the 90s, not so much now.

Most of my jackets have a specific role or work best with a specific outfit, so it's not had to rotate. I colou match them in with outfits. Some are also bought with specific weather in mind (an Indy in goat is always great in warmer weather, for instance). I think if I boght every jaket I *really* want, I'd be up to about 24 of them - including shearlings.

58panheadfan · Aug 19, 2020

There was a time when I had as many leather jackets in stock as @ Carlos840 currently has. I sold a lot of them and bought more. In the last two years I have reduced my stock of leather jackets to four pieces (two of them are for motorbike riding). I'm only talking about the leather jackets, not to mention the other jackets.

In the last decade, if not longer, it has been noticed in Central Europe the classic four seasons are less and less. It is almost normal for the temperature to drop from 30 ° C to half within a week. Because of this, many of my jackets get stuck in the closet. I'm not the layering type either, so there would probably be more opportunities to wear jackets.

To answer OP's questions:
I wear most jackets between 5 and 10 times a year, some more. As I said, many of my jackets fall victim to the climate. Either too cold or too warm ... If I haven't worn a jacket in a year, then it's due for sale.

Monitor · Aug 19, 2020

58panheadfan said:
In the last decade, if not longer, it has been noticed in Central Europe the classic four seasons are less and less. It is almost normal for the temperature to drop from 30 ° C to half within a week. Because of this, many of my jackets get stuck in the closet. I'm not the layering type either, so there would probably be more opportunities to wear jackets.

Yeah, this. I don't recall when was it that I able to wear my lighter jackets for more than a few days, how fast the temperatures either rise or drop. I can get three, four days out of my lightly lined jackets and that's about it, it's either t-shirt or shearling time. Barely anything in between anymore...

jacketjunkie · Aug 19, 2020

I own something in the 30-40 range of jackets of different decades, quality and condition. Some I bought out of mere curiousity without any intention to wear them.

The ones I do plan to wear when I purchase them, usually see most wear right after the purchase. I will wear them at every occasion in the first few weeks, getting like 50 days of wear in after which they usually are in a state of lightly broken in and not looking new anymore. After that initial frequent wear, I'll hang them away and pick 2-3 jackets for a few months rotation. For example these currently are my Aero A-2, Johnson Leather mod. M-200 and my Hercules Co Admiral Byrd. In winter I'll switch to my other one size larger Johnson Leather, the Vanson Dakota and the Aero Bootlegger all of which allow for layering. In Spring it'll be the next three.. you get the idea.

That being said, it's hard to guess how much I wear each jacket because they usually see a lot of wear over a few months and then no wear at all for longer whiles. I wouldn't sell jackets that I don't wear as long as I still enjoy looking at them. I usually sell when jackets don't fit (anylonger) or my taste changed so drastically I don't see myself wearing them ever again.

Harris HTM · Aug 19, 2020

I own 10 leather jackets, all bought new direclt from the manufacturer. I also own 5 cotton/nylon flight jackets, 2 wool peacoats and 2 Harrington type Fred Perry's. The jacket that gets the least wear is the Aero B3, I get it out of the closet 2-3 times per year max. The rest get at least 10 wears per year, with my most favourite ones getting something like 30 wears per year. Although the past years the global warming effects are quite prominent in Western Europe.
Since March, and with the current pandemic, I work from home, I don't go out to bars, restaurants, cinemas... and the way I see it this is gonna be the norm for the following months. I'm afraid I'll have to start wearing my jackets and dress shoes and boots (owing more than 30 pairs of these...) at home.

ProteinNerd · Aug 19, 2020

Great question.

I have 13 leather jackets (not including actual armoured motorcycle jackets) at last count which is a ridiculous number for the climate here however, the way I'm looking at it is, they are already paid for, I like them all and I don't need the money back that I'd get for selling them so there is no reason at this stage to sell any of them, I'd just be losing money vs what I paid for them.

As long as I wear a jacket I currently have more than once a year, I'll keep it but I am on a strict, one in one out plan.

handymike · Aug 19, 2020

I have 8. 2 that I wear/ 3 that I have because they are incredibly cool but I can’t wear them/ and 3 I should sell as I just don’t grab them.

Grayland · Aug 19, 2020

I have 8 as well. 4 that I wear quite often, 2 that I wear occasionally, 2 that I should just sell.

Will Zach · Aug 19, 2020

Grayland said:
I have 8 as well. 4 that I wear quite often, 2 that I wear occasionally, 2 that I should just sell.

...which brings us to the magic number 6...

navetsea · Aug 19, 2020

I have folder in my phone with many photos of my own WJDYWT, to inspire myself, sometime I'm lucky to pair things up that works well, some other might be boring or too costumey, so by looking at hundreds of my own leather jacket outfit logs while it may sound very narcisistic

but also very instropective and informative, I pick several favs I put on different folder to self reference

Sloan1874 · Aug 19, 2020

I have, not a strict rotation, but I've subdivided my collection into rough seasons. At the moment, if it's very warm then I reach for my denims or canvas jackets, but given I'm in Scotland, where summer is more an abstract concept than a reality, I currently have an A-2, my Wayfarer and Board Racer to hand. I tend to toggle between the first two, because they match a lot of other stuff and are ideal for work etc. The Board Racer is a great jacket, one that I'd never sell as it was one of, if not the first of this design that, Aero produced commercially and I got to go through the skins and pick out the sort of grain I wanted for it, so I feel very invested. But it's slightly harder to wear, being a dark colour and having a synthetic lining, so it tends to be better for cooler evenings etc.
Either way, they all get a decent outing throughout May to September, after which the rest get pulled out and then it becomes a case of whatever I feel like on the day. The sheepskins tend to get rotated from November to March, while the LHB, Bootlegger, Dust Bowl and Barnstormer are pulled out depending on shoes and temperature. Everything gets a decent run-out, no matter what.
I've probably got space for another one, but I'm waiting to pull the trigger on my second Good Wear. My turn has come up in the queue but I'm holding off just now, partly because of lock down and partly because we're renovating our house, so I'm diverting funds into what feels like a very deep, dark hole...

AeroFan_07 · Aug 19, 2020

Well look at that, I have 6 right now (Leather jackets at least). Interestingly, 2 are up for sale, I have one eventually incoming, and 1 is shipping out to a friend today. So, only 3 will be in regular rotation at least for now.

I have 20+ textile items ranging from a denim jacket to full on wool parkas & a down parka. If you want to wear jackets, Iowa, Wisconsin & Minnesota are places to consider. Iowa is great for leather as there is plenty of wind here all the time. And we can easily wear jackets 9 months out of the year. 30 - 40 wears per leather jacket per year are pretty easy to achieve at the level I am at now. It is my textile collection that wishes they could see the light of the sun more often.

torfjord · Aug 19, 2020

Swedish climate allows for jackets 9-10 months of the year. I’m currently at 8 leather jackets, all of which currently get worn frequently over the year.

3 are colder weather jackets (-10 to 5 C)

and 5 are “warmer weather” jackets (5 to 15 C)

I’ve had seasons when I’ve worn a particular jacket less than 10 times. I always end up selling them when that happens. I’d estimate my jackets get around 30 days wear time per year.

Peter Bowden · Aug 19, 2020

torfjord said:
Swedish climate allows for jackets 9-10 months of the year. I’m currently at 8 leather jackets, all of which currently get worn frequently over the year.

3 are colder weather jackets (-10 to 5 C)

View attachment 254846

and 5 are “warmer weather” jackets (5 to 15 C)
View attachment 254847

I’ve had seasons when I’ve worn a particular jacket less than 10 times. I always end up selling them when that happens. I’d estimate my jackets get around 30 days wear time per year.

Great collection-Your Grizzly is looking good.

mihai · Aug 19, 2020

Interesting what others had to say, I am a bit in between.

I have around 30 leather jackets, 10 pea/over coats, some nylons, fabric, denim jackets. Mostly preowned/vintage but in good wearable condition. Most of them do not get worn even once per year, due to:
- lack of time. I'm always on the run to work, don't have time to mix and match.
- I prefer to fly under the radar at work. Prefer not to mix it with personal life.
- trying not to make others feel bad/uncomfortable by displaying expensive/high end stuff. I apply this also in general, when going out trying to adapt the attire.
- fear not to damage/sweat a vintage/expensive jacket. Therefore I have 1-2 beaters that I use daily and surprise: I feel the most comfortable in them, hands down.
- most jackets in the collection while are nice sometimes they do not feel that comfortable as the beater ones. I wear them only to dress up. Because I like them, utility matters less.

I thought about selling some, I'll wait a bit more to see how much I need them. Main reason I do not sell them is:
-quality stuff is getting scarcer and pricier(e.g. LW jacket was 1000, now 1500-2000 in 9 years, did salaries increased 50-100%?). Plus the mass production tendency that results in decreased quality. Thinner hides, lower quality raw materials. So letting them go now, might make it harder/demand more work to get them again in the future.
Not to mention fashion that becomes so strange. Obvious example: jeans. Most of the high end men's denim comes in those super-tapered(yoga pants like) cuts. Common! Looks so unbalanced, unless you have very skinny legs. It's getting harder to find a true straight leg jean(not tapered that is called straight). Also the trend of shirts/sweaters that have an ever increasing percentage of synthetics in the composition. And other countless examples.

ton312 · Aug 19, 2020

torfjord said:
Swedish climate allows for jackets 9-10 months of the year. I’m currently at 8 leather jackets, all of which currently get worn frequently over the year.

3 are colder weather jackets (-10 to 5 C)

View attachment 254846

and 5 are “warmer weather” jackets (5 to 15 C)
View attachment 254847

I’ve had seasons when I’ve worn a particular jacket less than 10 times. I always end up selling them when that happens. I’d estimate my jackets get around 30 days wear time per year.

ton312 · Aug 19, 2020

My problem is I tend to go overboard on one style/design etc and end up with a closet full of the same shit. Hard to strike a true balance. I do this with other “things” too but it doesn’t gnaw at me in the same way. I can accept 7 of the same t shirts, jeans and khakis. Jackets it becomes an issue. The outer layer must be diverse.

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