AERO STYLE REVIEW THE OUTERWEAR EDITION 100 Years of Gentleman’s Clothing What the Brits Wore Aero Leather; In the Beginning The Story of The Highwayman Hard Times meant Great Jackets in USA From the Bookshelf The Label Archives ISSUE THREE A SMALL SELECTION OF AERO LABELS Page by Page: THE CONTENTS 2 100 Years of British Clothing: Saville Row to Scappa Flow No Century brought so many changes to men’s clothing as the nation went through the Class Divide, two World Wars, The General Strike, Rock’n’Roll, Psychedelia, Punk Rock and the re Birth of proper leather jackets in 1981. 6 Aero Leather Clothing: A Series of “Firsts” Classic Leather Jackets, how a small Scottish company led the revolution, bringing back lost tailoring techniques while resurrecting Horsehide as the leather of choice. 8 The Story of The Highwayman: Battersea To Greenbank Mill Perhaps the best known jacket of the last 40 years, how it went from its 1950s inception all the way to the 21st Century and back again, this time to the 1930s. 10 Hard Times but Great Jackets in USA: The Depression Years While the country suffered The Great Depression, Prohibition and The Dust Storms necessity saw the birth of some of the most outstanding jackets of the Century. 12 From the Bookcase: Essential companions for a rainy afternoon A selection of reference books recommended for collectors of vintage clothing covering Vintage Leather Jackets, The USAAF, The CC41 Scheme and Aero Leather Clothing. Cover: Luke Evans wears an Aero “Hudson”. Photo by Gavin Bond. Contents Page: Aero founder Ken Calder. Photo by Oliver Breitwieser. Aero Product Photos: Dominick O’Donnell and Neil Davidson. Printing: Footeprint, Jedburgh. 1 100 YEARS OF BRITISH CLOTHING: SAVILLE ROW TO SCAPPA FLOW hile researching “What application of shoe dye to disguise Hampden” after the spiritual home of The Brits Wore” during the origin of the boots. Scottish Football. the last 100 years we W For those who could afford a new discovered that many of the most pair of boots, the first choice would be iconic garments have either been in a seven eyelet ankle boot, as favoured constant production or have been “Old sports boots by everyone from the likes of Charlie revived and lovingly recreated by were often Chaplin or Ramsey MacDonald to the a handful of specialist companies. local Milkman. A boot very similar The further the subject is researched converted to to Aero’s Jarrow Boot or the slightly the more obvious it becomes is dressier Town Boot. that Aero, possibly more than any everyday footwear” other manufacturer, have played the Although there had been many leading role in ensuring that the very One of the more difficult promises made about the new order, best of 20th Century British design conversions was turning a pair of old Britain in the 1930’s was still very is not merely destined for a place football boots into a daily wearer; divided by perceived class and in The V&A but that most pieces but the results when done well were wealth distribution, or rather, the remain relevant to this very day. quite spectacular. The studs were lack of it. Despite this imbalance all men basically dressed in a very British tailoring, design and removed, obviously, and a heel was similar style, a three piece suit, shirt manufacturing had for long been fitted in the place of the back studs. and tie for office work while the highly regarded across the World The recycled boots looked great, manual worker would also wear a from Savile Row suits, Scottish often the envy of many, especially three piece suit and shirt with the Tweeds and Knitwear to footwear kids who loved the idea of being able concession of a scarf or perhaps a made in Northampton, but in 1919 to play football in the street or in the pair of Corduroy Trousers and a Fair for the soldiers returning from what playground wearing a “proper pair” Isle sweater, either way worn with a was known at the time as “The of football boots. Newsboy’s Cap to keep the rain off Great War”, most would have just his head and face. been glad of a waterproof coat and a decent pair of second hand boots. To some extent Sport and Leisure activities provided a more level The huge demand for boots for playing field and sports clothing the military during WW1 meant became more available, the period that factories all over The UK, but illustration from Esquire Magazine especially in Northampton, had set up in 1931 shows a golfer dressed in a large scale production facilities and. without the military contracts, these factories turned to mass producing civilian footwear. Before long a proper pair of boots were available within the range of most folk’s Hampden Boots and Cloth Caps! budget but even so, many kids still Fast forward nearly a 100 years and wore wooden clogs, others relied on what at first glance appears to be a pair boots bought in jumble sales or hand- 1920’s Scotch Grain football boots me-downs, while the conversion of with the classic tarsal strap, rounded sporting footwear into everyday wear toe cap, lacing pattern and the early was relatively common. type ankle strap turns out to be a pair Some conversions were relatively of leather lined everyday boots made simple; Skating Boots with the by Aero and fitted with a Goodyear metal hardware removed resulted Welted Danite Sole, chosen, not only in a serviceable pair of everyday for its wear qualities, but also to give boots. Old Cricket Boots were the feel of a studded boot. As a final similarly given a new lease of life, nod to the inspiration of the originals again by removing the studs, and the the boot has been named “The Golfer Circa 1931 Esquire Magazine 2 well cut pair of Tweed trousers worn sweaters with Fair Isle being the under a typical sporting suede jacket, most popular design. the type available from the likes “Clothing rations of Gamages or Waring & Gillow, were introduced finished off with a spotted scarf. without warning” point values. Items of clothing were assigned point values, each person was allowed sixty-six points a year, which was supposed to equate to one complete outfit of clothing for the average adult. Certain anomalies occurred, one being that Corduroy trousers which were designated work wear status and therefore needed only five coupons as Nobody was excused knitting duty opposed to eight coupons needed for trousers made of most other fabrics. Detachable collars on men’s shirts This lead to cord trousers being very were also encouraged for longevity. popular during the 1940s, worn for An artisan in those days probably The Royale – work and leisure these traditional had two of these so there would a typical British Sports Jacket "Utility" corduroy trousers were hard always be clean shirt ready to wear wearing and comfortably cut. for Church on a Sunday, with a collar The same outfit is available to this attached and a tie of course. day at Aero, there’s a range of Harris Tweed trousers, Spotted Silk scarves and The Royale, a recreation typical of the British sporting leather or suede jackets available in the 1930s, not an exact copy of any particular one but with the best features borrowed from several archive examples and very similar to the jacket in the famous St Andrews railway poster. Clothing rationing began in June 1st 1941 with no warning; it was announced out of the blue on the news at 9.00am mainly to prevent a Original 1940s Fair Isle Pattern rush of panic buying. Due to the war Six Month’s Worth of Coupons He'd remove the collar on Monday, effort there was a shortage of fabric To ensure that such clothing that which invariably would be wash so clothing rations were controlled was available was of a serviceable day, and put in his six days labour on a points system and books were quality, the CC41 scheme was wearing that same shirt. On the issued containing coupons of various introduced setting not only quality following Sunday he'd put on a clean regulations but a book of approved one, whether he needed one or not, clothing designs, trousers, for and the cycle would continue. example, were required to have a button fly, pleat fronts, high waist Scarves and Tweed Caps were line with fishtail back complete with worn most of the year round, in the cinch strap and buckle, buttons for cities nobody knew whether or not braces and turn-ups. they’d be spending another night in an Air Raid shelter, and a scarf and Hand knitting became more cap no matter how humble, were an popular than ever, in addition to excellent way of keeping warm. avoiding using up clothing coupons, new garments could be made using Silk scarves of the other hand, Typical 1940s Clothing Advert wool unravelled old unwearable old were a staple piece of clothing in 3 These stylish jackets, popularly known as "Irvins", were originally made by The Irvin Parachute Co, but “Coffee Bars, by the late 1930s were outsourced to Rock and Roll several contractors as the Irvin factory concentrated on making parachutes. and Teenagers, Despite the influence of the it’s 1954” American GIs “over here” with their Hollywood inspired manner of dress, men’s clothing in Britain the everyday British vocabulary even immediately after WW2 had though the term had been first coined changed little from the 1930s, by Life Magazine in 1944.