Some observations on the differences between jackets

Posted by Abner from user-2ive8f2.dialup.mindspring.com on May 22, 1999 at 11:10:47:

In Reply to: Re: Distressing the Jacket - info from Noel Howard posted by Brian on May 21, 1999 at 15:51:34:

: Abner,

: I asked Noel Howard if there was a guide or book on distressing clothing, he said no but advised of some of the things used on leather:

: sandpaper, vaseline, mink oil and dyes

: I think it would be a case of trial and error to see what effect each would have, so if you had another old leather jacket lying around, or get a second-hand one, you could practice on that.

: It would be great if you get the pics to see the difference, I'm getting closer to buying one, but my preference is non-distressed.

: Regards,
: Brian

Brian, I will try and get a picture up in the next two weeks if possible. If I had to briefly state my observations so far, I would say that the pre-distressed jacket looks a lot like the film jacket when you first get it, but the more you wear it the less it does so as it becomes more like suede. In contrast, the "new" finish looks way too "nice and new" when it arrives (like some preppy jcrew jacket) but I imagine after taking some sandpaper to it, wearing it a lot and beating it up a bit it would look great. My favorite finish it the one on the Crusade jacket in the movie with the reddish colored weathering around the seams. Despite the fact that I really like the feel of my pre-distressed jacket, after wearing it a few months the color is now really light and way off from the film jackets, which seem to be the dark brown of the "new" leather, but weathered "naturally". I wonder if the leather on the pre-distressed version is cowhide or something else. It's entirely different in thickness and weight from the non-distressed "new" dark brown lambskin.

It looks to me (and I am guessing) like the film jackets were originally the non-distressed dark brown lambskin (new finish) and then beat to hell by the costume department to achieve a broken-in look. This would also result in a more natural weathering as opposed to the pre-distressed leather which has somewhat of an "artificial" look upon close examination- I love the soft feel of it though! I will have to do more research on this. I'm not sure yet how I feel about the satin lining though. It doesn't seem to be in the films and I prefer the color of the cotton, even if it wrinkles a bit and isn't as "fancy". I may possibly put my new Raiders jacket up for sale and order another.

On a side note I wonder what happened to all the original jackets? Auctioned off to movie memorabilia collectors? We know one is in the Smithsonian but where are the rest? Wested says 48 jackets were made in total for all three films. Now an original jacket-- that would be an awesome collectable.

Cheers,
Abner

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: : Abner,

: : I asked Noel Howard if there was a guide or book on distressing clothing, he said no but advised of some of the things used on leather:

: : sandpaper, vaseline, mink oil and dyes

: : I think it would be a case of trial and error to see what effect each would have, so if you had another old leather jacket lying around, or get a second-hand one, you could practice on that.

: : It would be great if you get the pics to see the difference, I'm getting closer to buying one, but my preference is non-distressed.

: : Regards,
: : Brian

: Brian, I will try and get a picture up in the next two weeks if possible. If I had to briefly state my observations so far, I would say that the pre-distressed jacket looks a lot like the film jacket when you first get it, but the more you wear it the less it does so as it becomes more like suede.  In contrast, the "new" finish looks way too "nice and new" when it arrives (like some preppy jcrew jacket) but I imagine after taking some sandpaper to it, wearing it a lot and beating it up a bit it would look great.  My favorite finish it the one on the Crusade jacket in the movie with the reddish colored weathering around the seams.  Despite the fact that I really like the feel of my pre-distressed jacket, after wearing it a few months the color is now really light and way off from the film jackets, which seem to be the dark brown of the "new" leather, but weathered "naturally".  I wonder if the leather on the pre-distressed version is cowhide or something else. It's entirely different in thickness and weight from the non-distressed "new" dark brown lambskin.

: It looks to me (and I am guessing) like the film jackets were originally the non-distressed dark brown lambskin (new finish) and then beat to hell by the costume department to achieve a broken-in look.  This would also result in a more natural weathering as opposed to the pre-distressed leather which has somewhat of an "artificial" look upon close examination- I love the soft feel of it though!  I will have to do more research on this.  I'm not sure yet how I feel about the satin lining though. It doesn't seem to be in the films and I prefer the color of the cotton, even if it wrinkles a bit and isn't as "fancy". I may possibly put my new Raiders jacket up for sale and order another.

: On a side note I wonder what happened to all the original jackets?  Auctioned off to movie memorabilia collectors?  We know one is in the Smithsonian but where are the rest?  Wested says 48 jackets were made in total for all three films.  Now an original jacket-- that would be an awesome collectable.

: 
: Cheers,
: Abner

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