I vote Don's. Perfecto jackets are as cool as it gets.
I vote Don's. Perfecto jackets are as cool as it gets.
Thanks Sergio. There's a cool story behind my Schott Perfecto.
I had an old brown 1960s Perfecto One Star motorcycle jacket that was gifted to me almost 40 years ago. I had some fun times with that jacket! Almost lost it in clubs a couple of times. I hadn't worn it in years and I outgrew it. It was a size 36. Plus it smelled musty. It always did, but I outgrew that too!
About 15 years ago, I wanted to wear it again, realized it didn't fit, and went on a forum to learn more about them, to maybe buy another old one. A member of the Schott family saw my post and asked if I'd like to donate the jacket to their collection! They offered anything from their collection in exchange. I realized that the old jacket would never do me any good, so I ran it by the person who gifted it to me and took Schott up on their offer. I took style 118 Perfecto (42 regular) and a snap on fur collar. It was even nicer made than the old one and still made in USA!
I mostly use the jacket when I drive my convertible in 30-40 degree Fahrenheit weather. I have to get an old Triumph Tiger to go with it!
We purchased my wife’s Schott jacket back around 30 years ago and after being in 48 states, 7 Canadian Provinces, and a little bit of Mexico it still looks like new. A really well-made jacket! My jacket is a Langlitz that I got when I rode the bike to Portland to be measured for it.
Leather jackets are timeless and lifetime lasting. I got two identical ones, one brown, one black. They're about 15 years old, I've done a lot of travelling with them too, including international trips and they still look new.
I may have you beat in terms of age. I have a Schott down-filled bomber jacket I bought when I worked in men's clothing retail during and after my college years. That would have put it in the mid-1970s. The hand-warmer pockets no longer have any lining to them, but the down is still fluffy, the fake fur collar still soft, and the exterior still has a timeless look about it.
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
Hah! Interesting story on that avatar, Don. I never really looked closely....I always assumed it was a label from a Perfecto Cuban cigar!
Now, after making us so jealous, how about some pics?
Fred, you know I'm not making fun of you, but I giggled when I saw your KLOS avatar. You are impossible. I hate travel guitars that you have to take the neck off of, and you are so excited about it, and I really love that about you. I actually think it's cool that you're so into those guitars when you have so many, much better guitars. So while Don's is hipper, your avatar is my favorite.
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
Swap my face into these pics, LOL. The sad part is that, as your gut grows, you can't get away as wearing your jacket as tight as when you were younger. Just like not being able to hang my guitar as low due to a bad wrist. The cool pose is part of the distant past.
BTW, the pic of James Dean shows the jacket with the snap on collar attached. I always wondered what those snaps were for when I had my old Perfecto.
Now I'm itching to browse ebay for a Perfecto.
These are mine, I believe they're sort of bomber jackets.
God, I was young.
You know, I stuck with my original avatar for my first four years here (a trio of guitars: LP, Tele & Strat). And only recently did I change it, as KLŌS admitted me to their ambassadors program.
Given that until the coronavirus shutdowns I traveled a lot, having a carbon fiber guitar that I could pack away into my suitcase met my travel needs to a "T." My prior travel geet was a Pignose PGG-200 (with built-in amp and speaker), but it never stayed in tune, and the electric part of it never worked in a hotel room setting. The KLŌS stays in tune, is a delight to play, and actually sounds pretty good, if a little "tinny" at times. It truly is my "beater" guitar, in that I frequently grab it and knock it against something, or somehow mishandle it, but it forgives me and lets me delight in it still.
My avatar image was what is still my Profile images:
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
I have a ten minute routine to breaking down and packing my guitar:
- I place a capo on the 2nd fret and then detune the strings completely
- Remove the four screws that hold the neck on to the body
- Place the neck into the gig bag sleeve (see photo) and zip it up
- Place the body into the gig bag
I then fill up the body cavity with socks, t-shirts, and packable items -- I can actually pack my suitcase almost as well as I would without the guitar in it!
In the gig bag, I carry a spare set of strings, a string tool, the screwdriver and a cleaning cloth. Re-assembly is a simple ten-minute reverse process, including tuning.
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
You are correct, it is not a Langlitz jacket. Ross Langlitz created his own design for a motorcycle jacket that is now considered a classic. My wife and I rode the Harley to Portland in 1999 where we visited Langlitz Leathers and I was measured for my jacket. I just checked the inside pocket (there is a tag with my name and build date) and found the jacket was made for me in April of 2000.