Help with Aero Jacket ID

[KeganThunder]

Hello,
I need some help Identifying the age, model and value of this Aero horsehide jacket. The gentleman who is offering to sell it to me asked me to throw a number at him and I want to be fair and not insult him but also getting a deal on it would be nice I don’t know enough about Aero to know the value so any help would be appreciated. Also I unfortunately only have this one blurry pic for now. I’m going to try and have him send me some better ones asap. Thanks again!

 

[Guppy]

Bootlegger. Or possibly the Hooch Hauler if it's newer. Check the back.

 

[Tom71]

Not a good resolution, so hard to tell.

As @Guppy suggests, it might be a Bootlegger, but I wasn’t aware that Aero ever made these with sleeve zippers. It’s not meant as a biker style jacket, so I would have thought Ken would be hesitant to “Frankenstein” a style like that.

May be worth checking directly with Aero.

As for value and condition, it’s certainly quite beaten up. Leather looks functional, but I’d surely ask about the main zipper. Seems to be CXL horsehide, so although visually aged, it should still be good to go for the future.
If you like it and it fits, could be a nice score. I would probably go in the region of GBP 300 or a bit more.

 

[Guppy]

Not a good resolution, so hard to tell.

As @Guppy suggests, it might be a Bootlegger, but I wasn’t aware that Aero ever made these with sleeve zippers. It’s not meant as a biker style jacket, so I would have thought Ken would be hesitant to “Frankenstein” a style like that.

May be worth checking directly with Aero.

As for value and condition, it’s certainly quite beaten up. Leather looks functional, but I’d surely ask about the main zipper. Seems to be CXL horsehide, so although visually aged, it should still be good to go for the future.
If you like it and it fits, could be a nice score. I would probably go in the region of GBP 300 or a bit more.

They would make a bootlegger with zip sleeves on request if you wanted, or at least they did. The example OP is considering looks old enough to be of that era. And if they don't still do it, that's a shame. It's a great option for the Bootlegger to have zippered sleeves.

 

[Tom71]

They would make a bootlegger with zip sleeves on request if you wanted, or at least they did. The example OP is considering looks old enough to be of that era. And if they don't still do it, that's a shame. It's a great option for the Bootlegger to have zippered sleeves.

Yes, that may well be. Aero have been somewhat inconsistent about which changes they allow and which not. Zippered sleeves seem to have been a problematic issue in the past on some styles, but I was just assuming here.

 

[RDS]

They would make a bootlegger with zip sleeves on request if you wanted, or at least they did. The example OP is considering looks old enough to be of that era. And if they don't still do it, that's a shame. It's a great option for the Bootlegger to have zippered sleeves.

Assuming it is a Bootlegger it does look to be a custom order jacket as there are also zips on both the handwarmer pockets

 

[Edward]

My best guess also is a Bootlegger with the zip sleeves and zip handwarmers as a mod - and most probably made during the Will Lauder era, c.2004-2011.

 

[3.14nche]

Assuming it is a Bootlegger it does look to be a custom order jacket as there are also zips on both the handwarmer pockets

And epaulets, which look a bit out of place. At least to me.

 

[Edward]

And epaulets, which look a bit out of place. At least to me.

Epaulettes are standard on the Bootlegger. They're generally not all that obvious, though - sewn down at both ends, A2 style.

 

[Tom71]

Epaulettes are standard on the Bootlegger. They're generally not all that obvious, though - sewn down at both ends, A2 style.

True. Also true that for reasons unknown mine doesn´t have them. I had to check Aero´s webpage to learn that the Bootlegger "should" come with them.

 

[Edward]

True. Also true that for reasons unknown mine doesn´t have them. I had to check Aero´s webpage to learn that the Bootlegger "should" come with them.

Did you buy used or direct? I think a few folks used to delete them.

 

[3.14nche]

Epaulettes are standard on the Bootlegger. They're generally not all that obvious, though - sewn down at both ends, A2 style.

whoops
mine came without them and I never noticed them when seeing other pictures so I assumed, and as they say...

 

[3.14nche]

True. Also true that for reasons unknown mine doesn´t have them. I had to check Aero´s webpage to learn that the Bootlegger "should" come with them.

same

 

[Tom71]

Did you buy used or direct? I think a few folks used to delete them.

I did buy as a custom model directly from Aero.

I didn´t ask about epaulettes as they never caught my eye, frankly.

I did ask for the "trim" fit they did for the Thusrston Bros. cooperation and also for a fixed mouton collar. Maybe they decided that epaulettes would be too busy in that combo, or the TB-models came without epaulettes by default.

 

[KeganThunder]

I appreciate all the insight from everyone, still waiting on more/better pictures

 

[Edward]

I did buy as a custom model directly from Aero.

I didn´t ask about epaulettes as they never caught my eye, frankly.

I did ask for the "trim" fit they did for the Thusrston Bros. cooperation and also for a fixed mouton collar. Maybe they decided that epaulettes would be too busy in that combo, or the TB-models came without epaulettes by default.

That's plausible. The standard version is based on the 50s Halfbelt pattern - I suspect the trim fit is closer the pre-war, 30s halfbelt. Sounds like there was a bit of an overall redesign for that model.

 

[Edward]

I appreciate all the insight from everyone, still waiting on more/better pictures

My third Aero (first was an AN6552, second a Waterfront) was a 2010-made Bootlegger. Cordovan FQHH. I did have a small number of modifications - two inside pockets, added a throat latch, and changed the cuffs from the standard 50s 'engineer' cuffs to 30s-style button cuffs. For the lining I went for Lochcarron tartan. The old boy is sadly now too small for me - middle aged spread has kicked in since my early 30s, and now at 50 my shoulders are markedly wider than they were. This means I'm now in the fundraising stage for a MkII.... My original was ordered back in the "anything goes" days, so I'm hoping I'll still be able to have the option of button cuffs. (Aero these days are a lot more selective about what they will and won't agree to - understandably so, as it's their name on the finished product.) I wouldn't bother with *two* inside pockets this time round, one is just fine. That big chest pocket on the Bootlegger is very useful indeed, fits a lot of stuff. The throat latch was a cute idea, but utterly superfluous. Most particularly, I'll be opting for a cotton drill lining. The tartan is nice, but I'm so over wool getting mothed, and the drill for me makes a jacket just that bit more wearable longer in the year. I didn't select the sleeve linings, those were house choice. Moleskin was used there. Wonderful for a jacket you want to use for colder weather (I'm considering something like a Teamster for that at a later stage), but limiting if you want something you can wear on a colder day in May (as we currently have in London).


Unfortunately the few photos I have to hand aren't great at showing all the deals of the jacket, but fwiw... This is my favourite photo of me in it:

Worn in that shot over the waistcoat and trews of a suit, in place of the jacket.

I've had a few halfbelts, couple of A2s, half a dozen cross-zip MCs over the years. If I could have just one leather jacket, it would be this. The colour is as close as you'll get to a universal leather colour, as it works equally well with blacks / greys /navies and earthtones. Design wise, it pairs well with collar and tie (how I wore it most often, really), and denim.