A philosophical inquiry about pre-aged Aero horse hide

[Hammer Down]

Did this Route 66 miss a turn, and end up on a "lumpy" back road somewheres--all in a failed attempt to look vintage?

Whatever happened, the jacket in the above picture is not typical of Aero vintage horsehide that ages naturally from wear. It certainly does not look vintage to me, unless the wearer sat on it for months and months. Rather, it looks lumpy, like it's been damaged to the point of never looking right again.

I guess Aero puts brand spankin' new jackets in a special tumble drier to get this look? Not sure if Aero's techniques for creating a vintage look have changed since this jacket was "vintagized." As with all great vintage leather jackets, time seems to be a factor. You can't rush perfection. Then again, misting up the sleeves and collar to break them in like Jan Solo does seem to be quite a good idea, at least the way Jan does it.

I'm debating ordering a vintage Aero jacket but if they all look like this one, I will just break it in myself. I'm on the fence between a Route 66 and an HG-5 right now.

Are we on a quest for something which cannot be found in the material universe? As with the Da Vinci Code, this grail seems to reside in Scotland--in our case, at Aero HQ.

Whether the knight on a quest is James Bond, Robert Langdon, or an alleged descendant of Nimrod, his wardrobe would certainly benefit from at least one FQHH jacket. But what of "pre-aged" vintagized Aeros? Daniel Craig can be seen above, sporting a Highwayman. It is starting to show a few hints of use and wear, especially in the arms, although it still has a ways to go, at least in my estimation. Sharp looking jacket and the fit is good.

Note: Please see "My New Route 66" thread for more pictures and comments on this topic. I revived the "pre aging" debate because I still think it is worth addressing. This thread is not about sandpapering seams, etc. Rather, it's about manhandling horsehide to give it a "broken in" look, and a softer more pliable feel, whether that be achieved with a tumble dry or some other less mechanical method.

Some people may be timid to say how they really feel about pictures such as the Route 66 above. I certainly like the button pockets. A very smart touch, indeed, even if the pre-aging turned out "lumpy" in this particular case, at least in my opinion, which is just that . . . merely an opinion and the observation of one man who still has plenty of room left to learn about the magic of horsehide and how to break it in. Hence, this thread.

 

[zaman fu]

Hammer Down,
The "lumpiness" is not a characteristic of the "vintage" browns and cordovans. For example, vintage brown (which I have) is darker than the standard brown shade and is sprayed over a lighter russety brown. As the jacket wears and scuffs up in areas, the lighter shade shows through, a very attractive effect common to lots of Horween-sourced leathers, such as their chromexcels.
ZF

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

I can't help but imagine a marketing person somewhere just finishing up reading the original post, sporting a grin much like the cheshire cat's.

Pre-aged or not, if you like the jackets then that's cool as they are beautiful creations. Not sure where the need for the elaborate justification comes from however.

 

[Jeff M]

I own Aero jacket's made from their "vintage" black HH and their "standard" black HH.
The only differences I am aware of is that the "Vintage" black HH was a bit softer and duller from the get go.
No "lumpiness".
A bit of a moot point though, as all my Aero HH's, whether "non-vintage" or "vintage", softened up, "dulled up" and developed "lumps" (ridges, creases, folds) as soon as they started to get some wear....the rate of development increasing when worn in a nice rain (my method of "breaking in" a leather jacket.)

 

[Hammer Down]

Yes, of course, Jeff. Good comments. I was merely noticing that in the above jacket, the owner had asked Aero to run it through their drier. I saw that in a previous post. The end result, to me, at least, looks different from normal wear and normal "lumps."

 

[JanSolo]

These creases and folds can be achieved on ANY Aero (FQHH vintage/new, goatskin) within 5 minutes with a spraybottle filled with hot water. Just evenly mist the jacket and sit down with your arms bent. Those creases are semi-permanent and can be (sort of) removed by wetting the jacket again while wiping down the sleeves and body with a towel.

Honestly the jacket pictured above can be brought back to almost unworn condition in no time....

Brand new jacket, spray bottle + 5 minutes sitting with arms bent picking my nose:

 

[GriffDeLaGriff]

I also think that first picture may not be accurate in terms of color, levels and contrast.
I'm not even sure if its brown or cordovan.

But one thing about the Aero FQHH that doesnt show in the pictures and that surprised me when I got my first jacket
is that the hide is waxy. If you bend the end of the jacket it stays that way!
You can mold the jacket almost like clay....

I have noticed on some spots on my jacket that the waxy feel has disaperaed and instead there is an incredible soft
and cosy feeling, and the claylike feature is gone. I think after a couple of years the FQHH jackets will look and feel amazing.

So I often have my hands in my jeanspockets, and if I sit down, thats gonna make waves in the bottom line of my jacket.
I have to manually straighten this out when I stand up or else its gonna stay that way until something else nudges the area.
So basically if you wrap your jacket into a ball and knead it, its not gonna look flat and "pretty" anymore.
As Jan says this can easily be straightened out.

It takes many bends to make "memory creases" in the leather that wont come out. Just kneading the jacket to make it
look scuffed wont break the jacket in any faster. (unless your really getting in there, time and time again)
However playing with the kids on the grass and stuff might make the jacket look abit like the one in the above picture
and I think this is what you have to deal with on the way to getting the jacket really broken in.

After lots of use its gonna be memorycreases and scuffs where you usually handle the jacket much like jeans.
This will take time but in the end its gonna look beautiful and the jacket will hopefully be soft but still with all
the character. If you don't like the looks in the meantime just pull down on the jacket after sitting and it
will look straighter.

 

[ButteMT61]

Jan is correct (not sure about the nose thing )
Not sure why anyone would want to get rid fo the wrinkles, but you can even put in a clothes-dryer for ~10 mins and it will soften and straighten right out.
I used the dryer to get it warm so I could "scratch" my nose to get the sleeves wrinkled
I agree with Griff on the pics. Completely.

 

[dr.velociraptor]

You guys overthink this stuff, it's just a jacket, wear the thing.