Aero Bootlegger - which leather?

[raul_pompeia]

Hi folks,
I have been lurking around for quite some time now and read a lot about leather jackets and Aero in particular. I have witnessed the madness that gets a hold of people when they order their first Aero and then the next and then the next and so on and so on until they are either divorced or broke or both;-) But I am an example of a different degree of Aero-fever: I am about to order the second Aero BEFORE THE FIRST ONE HAS EVEN ARRIVED. Yes, that is true. I have a Plainsman in production and did the mistake to continue reading here. Now I feel the urgent need for a Bootlegger. Lets not discuss the my medical case here, my question is: what leather would you choose for a Bootlegger?

My Plainsman will be in dark brown, so my first instinct would be to go black with the Bootlegger since it is also a motorcycle style. But Oil pulled brown or battered HH are also quite appealing...

Any advice on this?

 

[Sloan1874]

Tumbled cordovan.

 

[Fanch]

Brown FQHH.

 

[Peter Bowden]

Hi
Various options here....Tho' I really cant give you any advice

 

[El Marro]

The Bootlegger was my third Aero, all three purchased in less than one year (yes, I have Aero fever!). I opted for Cordovan CXL horsehide and it is by far my favorite jacket of the bunch. It is a beautiful leather and it seems especially suited to the Bootlegger for some reason.

 

[ton312]

CXL Steerhide Cordovan

And you'll be happy you did.
You might also give the midnight blue FQHH a look too.

 

[raul_pompeia]

Thanks for the recommendations and thanks for the pics. @ton312: it was exactly this fitting pic of yours that was the last nail to the coffin and sold me for the Bootlegger;-)))
@El Marro: it is some how comforting to see that there are other junkies as well;-)

How would steerhide compare to Horsehide? Is it softer? Actually I really liked the waxy feeling of the horse, dont know if steer has a similar surface.

 

[ton312]

They have a very similar hand. The difference really comes at break in. The steer breaks in so much faster. Good luck raul! Can't wait to see the finished jacket!

 

[ProteinNerd]

Tumbled cordovan.

This....but then again, I'm completely biased as I have one.

 

[handymike]

Vicenza Cordovan

 

[ton312]

Well we've decided in part for you. It's def Cordovan. I would second almost any hide choice b/c it's a bootlegger and per my egregious bias it's the single coolest design in the history of man becoming self conscious enough to require clothing.

 

[El Marro]

Another strong argument for Cordovan, which I've seen posted here before, is that it goes well with both brown and black shoes and boots.

 

[raul_pompeia]

Ok... there seems to be a slight tendency towards cordovan;-) I must admit that I somewhat hoped that most will say "definitely black" because I feel it is the right colour for such a motorbike style jacket. On the other hand (dont laugh) I think I will also need to order a Stockman in black soon, so I would have two black jackets which might not be the wise thing. I hardly ever wear black shoes though.

 

[ton312]

Ok... there seems to be a slight tendency towards cordovan;-) I must admit that I somewhat hoped that most will say "definitely black" because I feel it is the right colour for such a motorbike style jacket. On the other hand (dont laugh) I think I will also need to order a Stockman in black soon, so I would have two black jackets which might not be the wise thing. I hardly ever wear black shoes though.

It would be very cool in black too, with button cuffs, shoulder gussets and a single point western back. Brass hardware, OD cotton drill and a throat latch. Jesus. Now I want a second one.

 

[El Marro]

The Bootlegger will look great in any of the leathers that Aero has available, it is such a cool pattern. If you are leaning towards black then you should probably go for it, rather than second guess yourself. The jacket that Ton312 described above would definitely fit the bill.
At some point though, sooner or later, I predict that you will find yourself ordering something from Aero in Cordovan CXL!

 

[AeroFan_07]

So I'm working on a review of a bootlegger. Just let me add for now that Cordovan CXL Steer or FQHH will never steer you wrong!

 

[K-Pants]

Hi folks,
I have been lurking around for quite some time now and read a lot about leather jackets and Aero in particular. I have witnessed the madness that gets a hold of people when they order their first Aero and then the next and then the next and so on and so on until they are either divorced or broke or both;-) But I am an example of a different degree of Aero-fever: I am about to order the second Aero BEFORE THE FIRST ONE HAS EVEN ARRIVED. Yes, that is true. I have a Plainsman in production and did the mistake to continue reading here. Now I feel the urgent need for a Bootlegger. Lets not discuss the my medical case here, my question is: what leather would you choose for a Bootlegger?

My Plainsman will be in dark brown, so my first instinct would be to go black with the Bootlegger since it is also a motorcycle style. But Oil pulled brown or battered HH are also quite appealing...

Any advice on this?

 

[K-Pants]

I am learning a lot from this post thread and am contemplating a purchase from aero. In fact, I joined fedora specifically to learn more about leather outerwear.

My question is, what is horsehide jerky? How exactly is it made and what are its properties?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[devilish]

Ok, so first thing is, even though the general public would not know, the Bootlegger (at least to me) is more of an early Aviation jacket. Although it could be argued it's right at that kind of 'Waldo Pepper' crossover point. The point where motorcycles and planes intersected.
So, that being said, black may not be quite the right colour. My personal pick would be for a Cordovan Vicenza horsehide. It's a jacket in that leather that my finger has hung over the 'buy' button on many occasions.

 

[ProteinNerd]

The complexity of cordovan is hypnotising at times and suits the bootlegger style as a cross aviation/motorcycle jacket really well. Personally I feel a black bootlegger would skew the look a little too much like a generic Double Rider jacket, at least for what I was after.

I went for the tumbled cordovan HH which is great and I'm happy with but if the new Cordovan Vicenza was available at the time I would have definitely gone for that.