The Jacket

18 March 2009

The Jacket

There are many types of jackets, but the main concern here is leather; potentially, a flight or even a bomber jacket from WWII. These tend to be the most well designed and hard wearing garments of all time. Initially designed for mild and extreme temperatures at multiple altitudes for the US and allied force pilots, the flight jacket design has stood the test of time. The German Defense Forces (Wehrmacht) of WWII also had some pretty cool and sleek flieger (pilot) jackets worth looking into. For a life long companion, that improves its looks and character from use and age, a quality leather flight jacket is really hard to beat.

The lining can be made of polyester, cotton, nylon, silk, or the actual wool from the animal. Some of the lighter and cooler materials are used in the summer flight jackets. The lighter jackets of course are used in mild climates. These go well with almost all types of informal wear, and are ready for any travel adventure.

Heavy bomber jackets, that utilize wool from the animal for the lining, are for extremely cold weather climates. The bulk associated with the bomber jacket is not for casual wear. Its purpose is to trap as much warm air from the body, and keep it from escaping as possible. Wool is one of the most efficient insulators known, and even insulates when damp or wet.

Choosing a Jacket

The main concerns in purchasing a leather jacket is the type of leather used in its construction, its construction method or design, and the actual types of weather it will be worn in; its intended purpose. Truth be known, leather is leather. Differences really lay in the thickness or weight of the leather, and its external texture, finish, and grain, and all of these vary even amongst the same leather source. There is cowhide, pigskin, and the most popular; sheep skin. How do you find the specific leather you want in your jacket? The safest bet is to grab a hand full, and if you think you’ve found the perfect leather, don’t expect to find it again; carpe deum with urgency! Understanding how to treat and care for the jacket leather after purchase is crucial to performance and longevity. You don’t have to neglect your jacket to get the cool worn look. It gets the cool worn look from wear, not neglect. The leather can dry out and crack if neglected for too long in dry climates rendering the jacket unserviceable.

Personal choices abound when it comes to looks including color, specific style, and fit. Finding a quality jacket that has your look can be a frustrating quest. There are companies that can custom fit a jacket of your chosen design, and would be the best way to go, but these services cost upwards in the $1000 range and often times more. If you’re on a budget like most of us are, a store bought pre-sized garment will serve its purpose just as well.

Fit is a personal and functional choice, not a fashion choice. Form follows function, not fashion. If you want fashion, ask your girlfriend, not me. Do you plan on wearing bulky clothing underneath? Then a somewhat loose fit may be a better choice. If you just need to take the chill off and look cool doing it, then a closer fit should win the looks and seize the chill. My personal flaw is finding one of anything to do everything, so it’s not a crime to have more than one, to do two or three times as much!

Gentry Lee Tipton

www.thewatcherglt.blogspot.com

The Watch

17March2009

The measure of time has been through a myriad of advancements over the centuries from the beginning of Horology in Babylonian times with the Sun dial, to more modern advancements in technology approaching the extreme such as the precision of the atomic clock accurate to billionths of a second. The atomic clock in Denver, Colorado is used by the US Government as a time standard.

A wrist watch is a more practical tool for every day use and is viewed differently of course based upon perspective and its intended purpose. The paradigm shift from the pocket watch to a wrist watch took place in the early 1900’s when it became acceptable in society to wear a watch on your wrist; just like the aircraft pilots. This did add to the cool factor, not to mention convenience of literally having time close at hand. To some, it’s just a device to occasionally tell time and keep a schedule. To others, it’s a crucially indispensable tool depended on to monitor and measure how much time has pass, and to many, many others, it’s just about a whole lot of bling! Some just want it all and expect their time piece to function regardless of what it is used for. Collectors are in a special class of watch enthusiasts where price is normally associated with quality, rarity, and oftentimes both, but despite what a watch is used for, it’s resting on your wrist for the whole world to see. A choice of watch will reflect a certain type of personality in an environmental genre, from the wearer, to the observer.

How different can a watch face be from another? Well, how different can a person’s face be from another? Aesthetics matter almost as much as function and in many ways they’re inseparable. How much use is there in a watch that has perfect timing, but the hands or display is hard or almost impossible to make out under expected usage conditions? Your watch face reflects your character or setting; petite and minimal at a restaurant/Tux time; or maybe bold, straight forward and obvious for outdoor activities.

Most watches designed for social purposes are very limited in use during other activities and durability. Not to say there isn’t high-end watches that are guaranteed to perform through all, and these watches may lean towards showing an upper social status, but the price of these watches are out of most enthusiasts’ and the average consumer’s price range. As with most things in life, a compromise is normally struck. With the choice of a watch, the compromise is between affordability and needed reliable function.

I am guilty of leaning towards mechanical time pieces; those watches that wind themselves with a pendulum or are wound manually by the user. I will admit that the majority may be better off with a battery powered watch. Only due to the fact that most watch users aren’t really dependent upon their watches except for special circumstances as in the past. Mechanical watches tend to be a bit more pricy, but you tend to get what you pay for. Cell phones commonly display the time accurately; the majority does have a cell phone.

So, why would anyone want or need a watch to begin with? Cell phones haven’t been around hardly a fraction of the time compared to time pieces. It’s hard to let a good thing die. Cell phones and battery powered watches are dependent upon a power source, which can fail. The delicate nature of electronics is notorious for failure and frustration. It’s nice to purchase a watch, place it on your wrist, and forget about it until you need it, and it’s easy to find to boot!

Gentry Lee Tipton

www.thewatcherglt.blogspot.com