Severe Wrinkling or Other Damage?

[A_Pizzle]

Hi all,

Just obtained my first vintage leather jacket from an online seller and the flaws were a bit more extensive than I expected.

First: the jacket. This is a vintage cafe racer style with no obvious branding. The only identifying mark are two tags identifying the size, a lot (199), and a blue-stamped number of 4167. The missing liner and style of the tag has me posit that it's a Lesco, probably from the 60s or 70s.

Overall, the leather is surprisingly soft and sho s good movement. There is some sporadic cracking, but mainly along the wear lines especially in the shoulders. Some discoloration, but mainly along the edges and hems where you would expect to see wear damage.

However, the most noticable negative feature is the extensive puckering on the front of the jacket. I'd almost describe them as air bubbles, as they disappear when stretching the fabric out a bit. They're only present on the front of the jacket, while the back is completely straight - which makes me think it might only be wrinkles as opposed to some extensive stretching, chemical damage, or water damage.

Based on your collective experience and expertise:
- Does this look solely like wrinkling to you? Or would you diagnose the problem as something else?
- Is this "fixable" in anyway, or is this now a permanent characteristic of the jacket?

Thank you for taking a look. I've really learned a lot from this forum by looking through your archives and I hope to continue furthering my knowledge.

 

[Guppy]

I've never seen wrinkles quite like that before. It almost looks like it was stretched out after being thoroughly soaked, as though there was an attempt to make it fit someone too big for it that went horribly wrong. I don't know if that's it or if it's just a terrible choice in the hides selected when they cut the jacket. But I don't think there's any salvaging that piece, it's just pretty hideous to begin with, best to return it if you can and start over.

 

[Bennarion]

@A_Pizzle
Does the jacket fit you? The texture on the front of the jacket is similar to sheep leather.

If the jacket fits you, you can wear it as a vintage piece. It will look cool.

 

[BloodEagle]

I wouldnt overthink it - looks cool to me, if it fits you and is comfortable wear it.

 

[A_Pizzle]

It almost looks like it was stretched out after being thoroughly soaked, as though there was an attempt to make it fit someone too big for it that went horribly wrong.

I'm beginning to lean in this direction as well. After about 48 hours of letting gravity do it's work, it's easier to see that the hide is looser on some areas than others. One side also appears to be more stretched than the other - which makes me think it was a manual effort rather than a natural one.

@A_Pizzle
Does the jacket fit you? The texture on the front of the jacket is similar to sheep leather.

If the jacket fits you, you can wear it as a vintage piece. It will look cool.

I wouldnt overthink it - looks cool to me, if it fits you and is comfortable wear it.

I'm certainly considering this! It actually looks way better on the body than on the hanger - the deformation looks more like a modified grain than damage.

Does it fit is the big question. I think it works because it's a bit tight on me - but that is coming with some restricted motion in the shoulders. I'm going to recondition it again and see if it loosens up a bit to get a bit more range of motion.

 

[l0fielectronic]

@A_Pizzle
Does the jacket fit you? The texture on the front of the jacket is similar to sheep leather.

Yes, I have a newish 'grained lambskin' Type 1 jacket and the leather looks a lot like this in places.