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Pocket flap creasing on G-1 jacket

Chevalier

Member
I picked up this nice E series G-1 at a vintage clothing store on a recent trip to San Diego. I will try to post more soon about my “restoration” efforts. I am wondering if people have advice about the pocket flaps. They are creased at the edges, possibly from the jacket being stored folded up. Is this part of the “character” of the jacket? It seems to detract from the squared away look I associate with flight jackets. Will the flaps flatten out on their own as the jacket hangs?
19314
 

Technonut2112

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't go quite as far as 'character', but going by period photographic evidence out there (as well as recent pics of surviving originals), it seems that the distortion / creasing of pocket flaps is VERY common on leather jackets. Quite normal for something constantly grabbed when buttoning-snapping / unbuttoning-unsnapping, arms brushing against the flap corners, etc. IMO.

I've run into jackets with distorted pocket flaps over the years, and in most cases satisfactory results 'fixing' them were achieved by soaking the flaps in warm water. After soaking, I reshaped the flaps and placed a book or other smooth, flat weight over them until dry.
 

Chevalier

Member
Thanks for the advice about restoring the flaps to flat. I’ll give the jacket some time on a hanger to see what happens. I’ll try soaking them and weighting them down flat if I need to flatten the pocket flaps more. I have to say that I have a new respect for goatskin after seeing how this jacket cleaned up. It was pretty grungy and dry when I bought it. Some saddle soap (used sparingly) and some Pecards Antique dressing made the leather look good. It doesn’t look brand new, but I wanted to preserve the original character of the jacket.
 
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