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What I’ve Learned Over The Years About This Hobby.

B-Man22

New in Town
Messages
47
I first posted this on the Vintage Leather Jacket Forum as I collect A2 Jackets, but I think that most of the ideas apply to any of us, so I thought I would share this with all of you here on this forum .

I just turned 73 a few months ago, and I started thinking about all the jackets I’ve collected over the last 25 years and more importantly ..., Why the hell I did that!

So here are some of my thoughts on this ....... uhh....hobby .

1. No matter how many jackets you might own, you can only wear one at a time.
2. Today’s latest and greatest jacket that you paid hundreds of dollars for.... will be tomorrow’s closet queen that you tossed over for that new latest and greatest jacket, that you paid hundreds of dollars for.
3. If you want your new repro to look like a worn beat up original..., then you have to wear it and beat the piss out of it, like they did to worn beat up originals.
4. If you want your jacket to look like an original, remember that original owners only had one jacket and refer back to statement #3.
5. Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.
6. Try as I might.... I still can’t figure out how to take all these damn jackets with me when I go.... The best I’ve been able to manage is, taking the one that I’ll be wearing when they close the lid!
7. If you are buying jackets with the idea that these are collectors items that will be worth more money when you go to sell them.... remember that the world is full of “cheap bastards” and that we have our fair share here on VLJ as well.
8. I’ve made some friends on this forum. I’ve pissed off some people on this forum. Once people read this posting , I’m not sure what side of that statement they will come down on.
9. Ive come to realize that over the years, I’ve spent thousands of dollars and owned several Original A2’s, GWs , ELCs , Aeros, along with many other jackets, but when it came down to wearing them, I always picked one or two favorites and all of the rest were wasted money.
10. When I had to choose between buying a new jacket or buying a new item for the house of lesser value, I swallowed elephants and choked on fleas , and bought the new jacket while complaining about the cost of the cheaper household item.
11. Regardless of how we view these jackets i.e. “GWs are the greatest, ELCs are the bomb, Aeros are the coolest” etc, etc, etc, . Remember that they are really just articles of used clothing , nothing more.
12. Regardless of which jackets I wear, my wife thinks that they all look alike, and at this point of my life is suggesting I get tested for dementia!
13. Because of this hobby and this forum, I have friends who I’ve never met, and probably never will, but I still consider them as friends.
14. I’ve promised myself that I would never buy another jacket, but that was 8 years and 11 jackets ago.
15. I live in Florida where the average year around temperature is about 79 degrees F. Why do I have or need 5 Shearling jackets , but more importantly why am I so excited about the new D1s being posted on the forum. Have I lost my mind??
16. Lastly....... I promised myself that if the COVID 19 doesn’t take me down , I’m going to sell some of these jackets and take the money and put it to better use by traveling to different places and meeting some of my friends, who I just haven’t met yet.
Cheers
 
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GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,279
Location
New Forest
That's a great post B-Man22, one that will appeal to all, whether they are a leather aficionado or not. Anything that becomes something of a compulsion can take on an entity of it's own, blame it on your genes. Now if you had spent your childhood vacation on the Hawaiian Islands you may have acquired a penchant for Aloha shirts, perfect for the Florida climate, far less expensive than leather jackets, you can wear a different one every day and although the style will look the same the fabric will be totally different.

So next time you look through your wardrobe with your auditor's head on and do a cost check, blame your parents for not taking you to Hawaii.
 

deswaaf

One of the Regulars
Messages
105
That's a great post B-Man22, one that will appeal to all, whether they are a leather aficionado or not. Anything that becomes something of a compulsion can take on an entity of it's own, blame it on your genes. Now if you had spent your childhood vacation on the Hawaiian Islands you may have acquired a penchant for Aloha shirts, perfect for the Florida climate, far less expensive than leather jackets, you can wear a different one every day and although the style will look the same the fabric will be totally different.

So next time you look through your wardrobe with your auditor's head on and do a cost check, blame your parents for not taking you to Hawaii.

It's funny, this made me think of some very early memories of my mother. She drove a motorcycle and would wear a leather jacket. I would be home alone a lot (I was a latch-key kid) and I remember the smell of her leather jacket while I hugged her when she would come home at the end of a day.
 

TREEMAN

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,429
Location
USA
He's been practicing on the Vintage Leather Jackets Forum for 20 years.. b-man is a solid guy who knows his stuff.. Happy to see him here on TFL
That's great. I'm sure he's a great guy and knows his stuff. All I said was he's on this forum for two weeks.That's nothing to get upset about...is it ?
 

B-Man22

New in Town
Messages
47
That's great. I'm sure he's a great guy and knows his stuff. All I said was he's on this forum for two weeks.That's nothing to get upset about...is it ?
I pretty sure Boyo’ wasn’t upset. He was simply trying to explain that I’m not new to the world of collecting Vintage Original and repro jackets, and that Ive been around for quite sometime, although not on this forum. I think that he was simply trying to vouch for me here, since most here don’t know me.
 

TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,273
I first posted this on the Vintage Leather Jacket Forum as I collect A2 Jackets, but I think that most of the ideas apply to any of us, so I thought I would share this with all of you here on this forum .

I just turned 73 a few months ago, and I started thinking about all the jackets I’ve collected over the last 25 years and more importantly ..., Why the hell I did that!

So here are some of my thoughts on this ....... uhh....hobby .

1. No matter how many jackets you might own, you can only wear one at a time.
2. Today’s latest and greatest jacket that you paid hundreds of dollars for.... will be tomorrow’s closet queen that you tossed over for that new latest and greatest jacket, that you paid hundreds of dollars for.
3. If you want your new repro to look like a worn beat up original..., then you have to wear it and beat the piss out of it, like they did to worn beat up originals.
4. If you want your jacket to look like an original, remember that original owners only had one jacket and refer back to statement #3.
5. Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.
6. Try as I might.... I still can’t figure out how to take all these damn jackets with me when I go.... The best I’ve been able to manage is, taking the one that I’ll be wearing when they close the lid!
7. If you are buying jackets with the idea that these are collectors items that will be worth more money when you go to sell them.... remember that the world is full of “cheap bastards” and that we have our fair share here on VLJ as well.
8. I’ve made some friends on this forum. I’ve pissed off some people on this forum. Once people read this posting , I’m not sure what side of that statement they will come down on.
9. Ive come to realize that over the years, I’ve spent thousands of dollars and owned several Original A2’s, GWs , ELCs , Aeros, along with many other jackets, but when it came down to wearing them, I always picked one or two favorites and all of the rest were wasted money.
10. When I had to choose between buying a new jacket or buying a new item for the house of lesser value, I swallowed elephants and choked on fleas , and bought the new jacket while complaining about the cost of the cheaper household item.
11. Regardless of how we view these jackets i.e. “GWs are the greatest, ELCs are the bomb, Aeros are the coolest” etc, etc, etc, . Remember that they are really just articles of used clothing , nothing more.
12. Regardless of which jackets I wear, my wife thinks that they all look alike, and at this point of my life is suggesting I get tested for dementia!
13. Because of this hobby and this forum, I have friends who I’ve never met, and probably never will, but I still consider them as friends.
14. I’ve promised myself that I would never buy another jacket, but that was 8 years and 11 jackets ago.
15. I live in Florida where the average year around temperature is about 79 degrees F. Why do I have or need 5 Shearling jackets , but more importantly why am I so excited about the new D1s being posted on the forum. Have I lost my mind??
16. Lastly....... I promised myself that if the COVID 19 doesn’t take me down , I’m going to sell some of these jackets and take the money and put it to better use by traveling to different places and meeting some of my friends, who I just haven’t met yet.
Cheers
So spot on. My wife thinks I'm absolutely bonkers as I proudly wore the Aero B3 that arrived in the mail yesterday while it was 102 degrees in Los Angeles. It's the little things in life that's for sure.

The only thing I would add for the noobs to save them a lot of money and pain, and btw, I still consider myself to be one, is to really look at the details. I can't tell you how many jackets I've given away or tried to sell because after a couple weeks I realized I didn't want a biswing back on that particular style or the contrast stitching was too much contrast or that extra pocket is really starting to stand out like an eye sore, or didn't bother to ask a simple measurement question, or swore up and down I would lose ten pounds to make sure I could fit in a certain jacket, or thought to myself the jacket will fit "way" better once it drapes or breaks in or loosens up or tightens up. If you're not 95% there when you first try it on, it ain't never going to be there.
 

B-Man22

New in Town
Messages
47
So spot on. My wife thinks I'm absolutely bonkers as I proudly wore the Aero B3 that arrived in the mail yesterday while it was 102 degrees in Los Angeles. It's the little things in life that's for sure.

The only thing I would add for the noobs to save them a lot of money and pain, and btw, I still consider myself to be one, is to really look at the details. I can't tell you how many jackets I've given away or tried to sell because after a couple weeks I realized I didn't want a biswing back on that particular style or the contrast stitching was too much contrast or that extra pocket is really starting to stand out like an eye sore, or didn't bother to ask a simple measurement question, or swore up and down I would lose ten pounds to make sure I could fit in a certain jacket, or thought to myself the jacket will fit "way" better once it drapes or breaks in or loosens up or tightens up. If you're not 95% there when you first try it on, it ain't never going to be there.
That’s an outstanding point. If at first it doesn’t work for you ..... It probably ain’t gonna !o_O
BTW ..... I live in Florida and on several occasions have cracked up the air conditioning to 60 degrees and sat watching The Battle of Britain or some other military documentary or movie, while wearing a new A2 jacket trying to break it in. And my wife also thought that I’d lost my mind. ;)
 
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breezer

Practically Family
Messages
799
Location
Scotland
but when it came down to wearing them, I always picked one or two favorites and all of the rest were wasted money.

sort of agree............too many jackets means you cant wear the hell out of any of them....
 

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