What inspired you to purchase your first jacket?

[johnwayne]

Like most I was into aviation stuff 'handed down' by my Dad - he was always drawing Spitfires! As I got older I recall my first airshow at Biggin Hill - my first sight of a an all red P51 and the was it, the day ended chucking it down with rain with me shelering under the wing of a Lancaster nevertheless all things vintage aircraft got me buzzing then one day I was in a pub (under age I might add) and I saw two guys in these leather jackets - they were a few years older than me but boy did they look cool - both wearing A2's -of course I didn't know then thats what they were and this was long before repros but that was it, I had to have one of those, what ever they were!

The search ensued but at that time those I found were always on the small side and the equivalent of 5-6 weeks wages!! Many of the older UK based VLJ guys will recall Exchange and Mart - a magazine of sorts with ads for anything and everything with a militaria section and there was an ad from the makers of props for a TV series called 'Well Meet Again' - essentially a WWII pice about a B17 squadron (featured the UK's Sally B -the only UK based B17 and still flying today) anyway, they were selling A2's and it was the early 80's I think, sp off I went amd got myself one. By todays high quality repros it was rubbish but that was it until Gary Eastman came on the scene in the late 80's.

The rest is history and here I am 9 flight jackets and counting


Cheers
Wayne

 

[deeb7]

So what inspired you Deeb to purchase your first jacket? Please tell us.

I don't know really ... I've told the story of the evil Ralph Lauren salesman, and the AN-J-3 that didn't fit. That's how I came to the forum. and found the Real McCoy's.

Through the 70's I always wore a short leather jacket, but even as a kid at primary school, I was wearing Air Force surplus battle dress jackets. I remember hunting through the racks to find one still with patches. Then I pestered my mother for a leather version ... eventually she made a short zippered jacket in cotton suede, not what I had in mind, but I wore it until it disintegrated.

I guess having a father working in air traffic control, and being ex RAF didn't help.

 

[grommet]

I mentioned previously that my dad was an Army Air Corps cadet. My earliest memories are wearing his service cap and Class A tunic. I loved the TV show 12 O'clock High back in the 1960's. I would go to the Mountain View Surplus store to find patches, which I still have. Although I always wore leather jackets, I didn't think much about it until several years ago, when I wandered into a store named Wings America in Carmel-by-the-Sea and made an impulse purchase of something called a Wildcat jacket by Cooper. This was a green cloth number with a goatskin collar and epaulettes. When I checked out the company website, I first learned what an A-2 was. I picked one up cheap on eBay and was thrilled with it until I stumbled upon the Good Wear website and saw the light.

 

[CBI]

I have been interested in military aviation since I can remember. I came from a Marine Corps family but ground forces, not aviation. The "Art" of aviation was front and center, what everything looked like - aircraft, nose art, insignias, uniforms, etc.. I was attempting painting Pin Up Art as a 10 year old. I became an accomplished aviation commercial artist and established collector of photos. patches and jackets by the time I was in high school. I grew up in Southern California so there were always air shows, surplus stores, bases, etc to visit and buy things. My first jackets were size 36 WW2 original A-2's that could be bought for $100, maybe $300 with paint jobs on them! I earned my pilots license before my drivers license. Went through a skydiving phase, etc. All the while collecting military aviation items. Worked essentially as a government contractor/artist while still in high school being given a flight line pass to Miramar Naval Air Station (when it was Navy, its now a Marine Corps base). Had so many cool art opportunities that if I told you, you wouldn't believe me anyway (for example, for my work, I was made an honorary member of the Naval Fighter Weapons School "Top Gun" - before the movie - and VF-126 "Pacific Fleet Adversaries") but as a result of being so busy, essentially burned myself out within a few years. Had to let it all go, sell everything to focus on/pay for college. Spent the next 20 years not really being involved but interestingly got back into jackets and limited edition aviation art prints about 5-6 years ago. My first jackets after coming back were Aero Leather A-2 repros but then things quickly spread to all repro companies, original A-2's and lots of aviation art. I really just focus on WW2 era things now.

 

[Anonymous]

The image of the A-2 was always in my mind, for as long as I can remember. (don't know how it got there)
I was like 10-11 years old and hanging out with a frien whose older brother was a pilot and had a G-1. Really cant tell if it was a repro Avirex or an issued jacket he got somehow.
In the late 80s Avirex with painted back were really fashionable here. I didn't like the painted back and always wanted to get an issued jacket from a real contractor. Later in the early 90s found a Cooper ad in a US mag showing their A-2. Then I got the Indiana Jones jacket bug. Actually had that since the first movie, but the inet helped in finding the vendors. My first A-2 was a Cockpit which sold on ebay.
After the internet days and vlj dats I always admired Eastman RMJP and GW in chronological order. Now have some originals in not wearble condition and 1 secondhand GW. Hope to get one brand new one day.

 

[Ian C]

It's always been a bit of a mish mash for me. I've been fascinated by all things military since I was a kid, but then again I've always like the rockabilly and fifties thing. Flying jackets seem to fit into both interests equally well. Factor in the fact that they just look bloody good and you're onto a winner. How many other eighty year old designs can you wear without getting pointed at and laughed at? I suppose you could add 501's, Chuck Taylor baseball boots and Baracuta Harringtons but the points still the same. Good design doesn't age and you only have to look at the disasters when some fashion house attempts to update them to realise this.
Jacket wise, I bought a B3 copy from a woman who worked from a basement in Norwich who did a pretty good job but I can't remember her name. I loved the jacket but I was a lot skinnier then plus you could hardly ever wear it as it was so bloody warm. I used to ride Lambrettas in the eighties and an Alpha Ma1 was pretty much par for the course until I could afford an A2 or G1 as I like both for different reasons.
First was an Avirex, followed by a Cooper after working on Lakenheath USAAF base and being told they were Air Force issue, but it never looked right. I'd heard of Eastman years back but was blinded by the fact that they were copies and Coopers were Government issue until I saw the light. Now I've got a 352nd and a 22775 but I'm like everyone else and want a GW. Problem is I'm an impatient sod and there's other stuff I want in the meantime.

Ian

 

[JOHNO]

I was raised as an Air Force brat, we seemed to move from post to post every three years. Our last post, before my Dad retired, was Shepard AFB. We lived in base housing and I could ride my bike through the main gate and over to the airfield where my Dad was an Instructor. This was the late 60s-71, most of the flight jackets I saw were nylon but occasionally an odd G-1 type would appear. Nightly episodes of "Hogans Heros" also sparked my interest as well as WWII movies. In High School I took an Aviation class and we were each scheduled 3 flight lessons at the local airport,...........the hook was set! Later that year I bought my first G1, I don't remember the mfg but it did have a dynal collar.

 

[Peter Graham]

That's a good question. Even as a kid I was into collecting WW2 military equipment which was cheap and plentiful back then. I remember wearing a British army battledress jacket when I was about ten. I've always been into punk rock and motorcycle which leather jackets go hand in hand with. My interest in WW2, which was dormant for a long time, surfaced again about fifteen years ago, strangely through scuba diving. I was researching wrecks that I'd been diving, many of which were wartime and came across photos of Coastal Command crews wearing Irvins which I thought looked fantastic, which led me to the Eastman golden book. It took me a long time to own an Eastman, via Avirex and various originals. That spark led me to collect military jackets of all kinds and eras but mainly US. I've developed a real love of nylon. Leather, I can take it or leave it.

 

[Andrew]

Leather, I can take it or leave it.

Better update your avatar then Pete

Same as everyone else I guess, child in the 60's, Uncles in WWII, Airfix, Moon landings, Vietnam, Classic Movies (Battle of Britain, The Great Escape etc etc), cheap and plentiful army disposals with racks of patched battledress, Air Force Cadets every Friday late 70's and watching Pappy Boyington in Baa Baa afterwards (our uniforms were basically the same aside from the ubiquitous WWII surplus blue side cap), Airshows with Dad.

Then a 20 year break until I started mixing it back with the Military when I worked at Lavarack Baracks designing their major redevelopment and around the same time I bought a '69 MG and got interested in old cars which then came back to old planes and it all started again. Joined Ebay in 2001 and went in search of a suitable sheepskin jacket to use with the roof off and ended up with a beaten up old Irvin. Around the same time picked up a GB A-2 which didn't last long and replaced it with an RMNZ and since JC started I only wear GW or orig.

I guess like many others it's part of your life you leave behind while you get your real life going and eventually fall back into it.

 

[bobbyball]

My first jacket was an A-2 from Aero in Scotland in the late 1980s. I had always loved war films and documentaries and remembered seeing Catch 22 and admiring the jackets in that.

Over the years I have had dozens of jackets and it is only in the last few years I have ventured into originals as I never had the funds prior to this.

I wear repros most of the time and originals only at shows and meets as these are obviously more prone to damage. never forget wearing an original RW A-2 to the pub a few years ago and breaking the zip in my haste (and drunkeness!) to leave for the last train.

 

[johnwayne]

'Chuck Taylor' or Converse, Ian my fellow VLJ'er are actually basketball boots - never sure why but I must admit as a kid we always called them 'baseball boots' and even the mags today refer to them as such, however, just to throw this in, my first pair in 1970 cost me a £5 from the one shop in London you could get them! And yep, I've got 2 'Harringtons' too or G9 Barracutta's to be precise again!!

And, if you worked at Lakenheath you would have almost certainly walked on the runways - my Grandad was responsible for the upkeep of them in the latter war years and into the 50's!!!

Back to jackets though, as other VLJers have mentioned in previous posts, Ken Calder the man behind Aero in Scotland used to own/run the Thrift Shop in London's Clapham back in the 70's and I used to go there regulalry even just to peer in the window but just couldnt justify the £100+ when I only ever earned £25/week - a months money on an old jacket - if only I had known then.... etc etc etc. Many were painted and patched and somehow I didn't think I could wear one let alone find one that fitted as they were nearly all small. Happy Days!!!
Cheers
Wayne

 

[Ian C]

Glad you said that about the Chuck Taylors, I initially thought they were basketball boots but over the years I've been conditioned into the baseball bit and assumed I must have been wrong.

Both Harringtons are Baracuta G9's and I always laugh when someone says they would rather have a genuine Harrington. I've had a few over the years but like most things they ain't cheap anymore. I noticed Michael Barrymore was wearing one the same as mine while the wife was watching Coach Trip yesterday so hopefully this will be reflected in a price drop. If the price goes up when Liam Bloody Gallagher wears one, it can go down if Barrymore endorses the product.

As for Lakenheath, I never walked the runway but we were building an extension on a WWII era (I guess) building and modernising it in 2000-01. I loved working there and two highlights were watching the F15's doing maximum take offs every so often and once standing next to the runway in the rain when we couldn't work watching pairs line up to take off. I was standing with an equally awe-struck mate in ratty old work clothes, dripping wet as a pair of Strike Eagles taxied past and both crews saluted as they passed which was brilliant. If anyone ever asked one thing I would love to do above pretty much anything else it would be to sit in the back seat of a Strike Eagle when it goes straight up. My favourite plane by far.

Ian

 

[Cobblers161]

Jacket wise, I bought a B3 copy from a woman who worked from a basement in Norwich who did a pretty good job but I can't remember her name. I loved the jacket but I was a lot skinnier then plus you could hardly ever wear it as it was so bloody warm. I used to ride Lambrettas in the eighties and an Alpha Ma1 was pretty much par for the course until I could afford an A2 or G1 as I like both for

Ian

Excellent choice of transportation Ian, used to rides Lambies and Vespas with Northallerton Zulus and York SC '84 to about '88. IoW and Tan Hill LCGB do were firm favourites.

 

[Ian C]

Jacket wise, I bought a B3 copy from a woman who worked from a basement in Norwich who did a pretty good job but I can't remember her name. I loved the jacket but I was a lot skinnier then plus you could hardly ever wear it as it was so bloody warm. I used to ride Lambrettas in the eighties and an Alpha Ma1 was pretty much par for the course until I could afford an A2 or G1 as I like both for

Ian

Excellent choice of transportation Ian, used to rides Lambies and Vespas with Northallerton Zulus and York SC '84 to about '88. IoW and Tan Hill LCGB do were firm favourites.

My mate (Hippy Dave) used to do a few of the LCGB do's and tried to get me to Tan Hill but I never got round to it. He used to knock around with Dave Batty, Mossy and Kinnock amongst others but they are the only names I can remember. I do recall going to an LCGB do at AF Rayspeeds in East Heslerton(?) which was bloody cold. I always rode Lambrettas, mainly GP200s and my best and last was an Electronic. I think they only made 500 before they sold out to BMC to make Mini Coopers.

 

[Peter Graham]

Leather, I can take it or leave it.

Better update your avatar then Pete

Ignore me. It's just a phase I'm going through. I'll say something different in a few weeks.

 

[asiamiles]

And yep, I've got 2 'Harringtons' too or G9 Barracutta's to be precise again!!

Was wearing one of my two Barracuta cord Harrigntons just yesterday. Great jackets. Want a non-cord one. Won a nice Barracuta x Beams exclusive (with striped cuffs and waistband...like the Stussy ones but without the logo) recently only to have the seller cancel because the final price was too low...grrr!

Back to the original question. My interest in style originates from my love of films and music. It was through watching old films noir on TV that I got into 40's and 50's clothing - also bands I was into at the time we wearing it, and it was cheap to buy from jumble sales and charity shops - though with my favourite film being THE GREAT ESCAPE and loving 50's sci-fi films (in which the hero always seemed to wear an A-2) having an A-2 was a high priority in my teens, and in the late 70's I did get a so-so repro along with an Avirex B-15C...at the time I didn't know what a B-15 was, though when I saw THE HUNTERS I realised it was some sort of post-WWII jacket. I then got a G-1 from the pages of E&M but was never really in love with it and was a bit self-conscious about the TOP GUN connection, though as it it didn't have any patches I wonder if anyone really noticed it. I did then get an original A-2 (from the same seller as the G-1, I think) but after wearing it once I realised it was too small so I returned it...it had an amazing leather patch on it and if I'd kept it, it would now probably be worth 10x what it cost back then! I finally did get an original A-2 but oddly I never wore it that much; perhaps the awkward Rough Wear collar had something to do with it? I didn't realise then that there were different makers and variants of the A-2. I've now fallen out of love with the A-2; I've had a few high end repro's pass through my hands but all I have left is my Buzz Security Aviation A-2 which is a civi jacket. I do still have a number of other Buzz jackets and retain a love for vintage style from the 60's and earlier.

 

[herk115]

Wow. Good question. Just how did I become interested in A-2s?

In the 1960s as a kid I was enthralled by "Twelve O'clock High" TV shows, movies like "633 Squadron" and "The War Lover," but never paid any attention to clothing. It was the airplanes that caught my eye. But my predominant interest in the 1960s (and still today) was the Apollo program and then Shuttle, and they don't wear leather jackets (though some of the astronauts are seen in G-1s). In 1977 I was lucky enough to be standing beside the runway at Edwards AFB for the first glide flights of the shuttle, and that was when I noticed that pilots and aircrew dressed different than everybody else. I was particularly struck by the blue flight suits the astronauts wore. So one day not long thereafter in Houston I contacted the contractor who made the flight suits for the astronauts and had one made for myself. What a trip it was picking it up! The "contractor" was two old ladies in a garage in the bayou not too far from the space center. They said, "Your suit is in that pile over there; the names are stapled to the collar." I rifled through the suits and after passing names like "Young," "Crippen," "Mattingly," "Engle," etc., I came to mine. What an honor! But at that point I was into flight suits, not jackets. I think the bug first hit after I'd joined Civil Air Patrol in 1978. I was trying on my "wheel hat" (the modern equivalent of the crusher), and was wearing a horrible vinyl "sort of" flight jacket I'd gotten at the local five and dime. I thought, "Hmm, I look rather dashing if I must say so myself." So I bought another department store repro that was a little more authentic, but not much. However, if got me looking at pictures of the real thing and if kind of grew on me. My father's war album was another inspiration, as it contained plenty of pictures of him in his A-2, but again, I was more interested in the airplanes and not the clothing. Not long thereafter, I joined the USAF, and was thrilled to learn that A-2s would soon be issued again after a 40-year hiatus. I flipped through the Time-Life book "America in the Air War" which has some pretty good A-2 pics, and the hook was set. I couldn't wait for the AF to issue my jacket, so I contacted Cooper directly and bought a couple. I was king of the hill and ascended another few notches when I was finally issued my own A-2 by the United States Air Force! I drove 200 miles that same day in my flight suit to show the jacket to my father. Over the next year or so, I began to notice the difference between the Cooper A-2s and the "real" A-2s, and became very disappointed with my Cooper (though I still own it with pride. Even though it doesn't look like the WWII A-2s, it is nonetheless an honest USAF issue A-2 that I earned and it is my most prized possession. If my house ever burned down and I could save one material thing, it would be my issue Cooper). Finally, somehow, I became acquainted with Lost Worlds, Eastman, and a retail store in Long Beach, California called "The Quartermaster" and started to work my way up. Most likely it was from ads in Air Classics and Smithsonian Air & Space. I bought a Cockpit repro at their retail outlet in Beverly Hills but quickly saw the flaws in it. In 1992 I purchased a generic A-2 from ELC-USA (or HPA, whatever), and the repro bug had bit for good, and I was on my way. Right now I have three Eastmans, two Aeros, a few Coopers, and two beautiful Perrone 1756 "No-Names." When I hit the lottery I will have a few GWs.
A word about originals: I've owned my share but have never been comfortable with them. I know it's bad luck to be superstitious, but every time I've worn an original, I've felt this odd nagging feeling that the original owner, now floating out there in the ether, is displeased. I feel the guy is telling me, "You've got a history of your own, so get your own damned jacket." It's a feeling I've never been able to shake, so I've stopped collecting originals. Maybe I'm nuts, but that's what I feel. It is really an unshakeable feeling every time I put on an original.

 

[Dr H]

A word about originals: I've owned my share but have never been comfortable with them. I know it's bad luck to be superstitious, but every time I've worn an original, I've felt this odd nagging feeling that the original owner, now floating out there in the ether, is displeased. I feel the guy is telling me, "You've got a history of your own, so get your own damned jacket." It's a feeling I've never been able to shake, so I've stopped collecting originals. Maybe I'm nuts, but that's what I feel. It is really an unshakeable feeling every time I put on an original.

Very succinctly put - I began to view my wartime issued A-2s in a similar way and sold them recently. My vintage (non service) A-2 now gives me less cause for concern...

 

[omarco]

A word about originals: I've owned my share but have never been comfortable with them. I know it's bad luck to be superstitious, but every time I've worn an original, I've felt this odd nagging feeling that the original owner, now floating out there in the ether, is displeased. I feel the guy is telling me, "You've got a history of your own, so get your own damned jacket." It's a feeling I've never been able to shake, so I've stopped collecting originals. Maybe I'm nuts, but that's what I feel. It is really an unshakeable feeling every time I put on an original.

Very succinctly put - I began to view my wartime issued A-2s in a similar way and sold them recently. My vintage (non service) A-2 now gives me less cause for concern...

+1. I wouldn't be comfortable in originals for the same reasons. The nature of these jackets is that given the chance they become YOURS, i.e. they shape to our bodies and develop all the patina and scars from being worn, it just doesn't sit comfortably with me to take another mans jacket as my own... especially if it was issued or has obviously had a lot of wear.

 

[Andrew]

A word about originals: I've owned my share but have never been comfortable with them. I know it's bad luck to be superstitious, but every time I've worn an original, I've felt this odd nagging feeling that the original owner, now floating out there in the ether, is displeased. I feel the guy is telling me, "You've got a history of your own, so get your own damned jacket." It's a feeling I've never been able to shake, so I've stopped collecting originals. Maybe I'm nuts, but that's what I feel. It is really an unshakeable feeling every time I put on an original.

Very succinctly put - I began to view my wartime issued A-2s in a similar way and sold them recently. My vintage (non service) A-2 now gives me less cause for concern...

You're not alone there. I'm not superstitious about anything but I do have similar thoughts and feelings about all the original gear I have. I certainly don't feel like its "mine" rather that I'm it's latest curator. I have 4 original Irvin's only one of which I wear and don't get that feeling and 4 orig A-2's none of which I comfortably wear (despite their good fit). They were some other guys who did a seriously important job and I'm not worthy Not sure what the future plans will hold for the gear I have. I'm letting my thoughts mature but as with the others my well beaten up 4 yr old GW has almost an entire wartime period of service so it's good enough for me.