New Member Intro & seeking advice for Aero Winter jacket

[Otter]

Seen a few darker ones, they look realy nice, now all we need is someone to repro a Costal Command one with dark chocolate fleece and we are there! Was outbid last week on a very nice ELC '42 with the same colour.

 

[Worf]

"Curly" 'Ironed" "Teddy Bear" "Straight" "Fleecey" "Soft".... I must admit, I'm lost. I now own Spitty's old Pre-War Areo Irvin and I STILL don't know what you're attempting to describe. Rather than clutter this thread will one of you fellows kindly PM me and tell me what you're on about?

Thanks in advance...

Worf

 

[Otter]

Yours is "curly" I suspect that in normal use , with sweat, British weather, condensation and panic many straight fleeces woud have ended uo this way. My old Irvin started out the same way but 15 odd years of wear and open top motoring turned the fleece curly.

 

[ButteMT61]

All this talk reminds me if that stupid fabric softener bear lol

 

[Stand By]

Not for nothing but travelling on the g train on a cold winter day in NYC you will see more black leather car coats than you've ever seen in one place before in your life. It's almost a uniform.

Well there you have it, you see; lots of locals all wearing a similar weight and style of jacket - because everyone has learned from bitter (forgive the pun!) experience ...
I know I mentioned the B-6 earlier, Darrin, and I think it's a great design and has a great look too; but thinking more about it, I do find that I appreciate it so much because I have a variety of jackets: My ANJ-3 is great for milder temperatures and my ELC RW B3 has aged well over the years and the 3/4" fleece has packed down to more like 1/4" in many areas so isn't quite as warm as it once was. In my experience, my ELC Irvin has a clear edge on my B3 for warmth.
And my B-6? I've found that its prime use was to be found between +5C to -5C and that's quite a narrow window if you think about it. The other jackets could close that themselves by adjusting layers, but I've just bought another (although I didn't actually need it. But since when has that stopped any of us?!?!) because I really wanted one (in a better size) and I love the look and the weight of it. But the B-6 has a distinctly casual look it IMO.
So my recommendation to you would be an ELC Luftwaffe (or something very similar by whichever company you may prefer): I invariably opt for mine for the Winter commutes on the cattle cars and can vouch for its warmth (and utilitarian design) - but it's not too warm for a subway or bus. The horse hide is stronger than sheepskin. It can be dressed up for the office -or down for a bar. If it's raining/sleeting/snowing, it's better because it doesn't have a fur collar, so you won't feel like you've got a dead cat around your neck - wear it with a rollneck wool sweater and you're all sealed up nice and toasty. It's black, so it goes with anything and has 3 more pockets than a B-6. Just make sure you get one of the right size so that you're able to layer if you need to.
Just my 2 cents (worth marginally less than US).

 

[bn1966]

The Luftwaffe really is multi-purpose & can be dressed up or down as Stand By says. I find mine gets a lot of wear (apart from summer) and the number of pockets is a bonus. For a freezing day it looks great IMO with an RAF wool sweater underneath

 

[Stand By]

That combo works for me too !

 

[Xenophon]

BN1966, I already said in another thread but that's one lovely looking jacket and I can see it working very well with that sweater. Have to restrain myself from visiting the Original Flightjackets site and hitting the order button. Congratulations!

 

[EmergencyIan]

I don't know if I have much to add to this thread, at this point, but I have lived in NYC for 12 years, and a couple of years back I bought a vintage Shearling "Marlboro man" coat. I wore it during a snowy day... no layering: just a t-shirt and a button-down cotton dress shirt. It was way too warm. Those things are sub-zero coats. If you're anything like me, you should avoid any shearling. in my opinion, you'll be too warm in it to get much use out of it.

I have a N-1 deck jacket lined in alpaca (with storm cuffs) and it's just right for temps in the 40s on down through the 20s.

- Ian

PS. I have not worn that shearling coat since that snowy day.

 

[hipcheck]

I really want to thank you all for all the input and hope everyone had a great Labor day weekend!