A Tale of Two Coyle’s
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:42 pm
(Three, if you count both my Bantu Winds...)
Todd’s 2008 Standard
This is a 2008 that scot2525 listed in the Bazaar last year at a great price. Because I was looking for an XL to replace my large, I grabbed it. The leather is a little thicker and much more natural-looking than the large that I used to own, which seemed like pleather and caused me to refer to it as “fashion leather.” Unfortunately, it was too snug. I put it through a cold wash cycle and then laid it flat, surrounded by (and stuffed with) towels, to dry (per the video on the Leather Therapy website). As it dried, I continually stretched it out. When it was finally dry, it fit me quite a bit better, although it was still slightly too snug to be a proper Indy jacket. (It does look great with a T-shirt, though, or at least did until I ate all that holiday food.) I treated it with Lexol and wore it as much as possible; unfortunately I was a little too ambitious about getting the yoke to stretch out, and popped a seam in the liner. The stitching on one of the adjustment tabs had come undone so I had that professionally repaired, but they wanted too much to fix the liner so I spent some time with a needle and thread and fixed it myself. It’s not pretty, but it’s not glaringly obvious, and it will probably hold up better than the original hidden stitching. There were also some tears at stress points, which I glued and hand-stitched. (It never occurred to me that super glue would work so well on leather, but of course it works great. Bonds skin on contact!)
It’s a a beautiful jacket and the lambskin is amazingly supple, but because of the size I will be divesting myself of it in the near future.
Todd’s Bantu Wind GAF
I liked my first BW so much that when another came up for auction, I grabbed it. There was so much visible grain, and it was so pronounced, that I named the jacket “GAF” (which stands for “grainy as, um, heck”) and upgraded it to preferred status. I gave it the machine wash/flat dry treatment and then lovingly and generously coated it with Lexol. This was to be my “airplane fight” jacket so it would get a lot of distressing; however, when I scratched the surface, the underlying leather was a dark gray. So much for that idea.
"Look at the grain on that thing!"
Until I got my Wested, this was my everyday jacket. It’s gorgeous and the fit is absolutely perfect, but the gray undertones are a deal breaker for me. This will probably go on the block to help fund a new Todd’s Standard.
"One day, my son, all this will be yours. —Except the Garrison, I mean. I'll be buried in that."
I have been very happy with the fit, finish and quality of Todd Coyle jackets—aside from the underlying color, that is. I’m hopeful that a new Todd’s Standard and a Wested Hero will finally satisfy me. Time will tell.
Todd’s 2008 Standard
This is a 2008 that scot2525 listed in the Bazaar last year at a great price. Because I was looking for an XL to replace my large, I grabbed it. The leather is a little thicker and much more natural-looking than the large that I used to own, which seemed like pleather and caused me to refer to it as “fashion leather.” Unfortunately, it was too snug. I put it through a cold wash cycle and then laid it flat, surrounded by (and stuffed with) towels, to dry (per the video on the Leather Therapy website). As it dried, I continually stretched it out. When it was finally dry, it fit me quite a bit better, although it was still slightly too snug to be a proper Indy jacket. (It does look great with a T-shirt, though, or at least did until I ate all that holiday food.) I treated it with Lexol and wore it as much as possible; unfortunately I was a little too ambitious about getting the yoke to stretch out, and popped a seam in the liner. The stitching on one of the adjustment tabs had come undone so I had that professionally repaired, but they wanted too much to fix the liner so I spent some time with a needle and thread and fixed it myself. It’s not pretty, but it’s not glaringly obvious, and it will probably hold up better than the original hidden stitching. There were also some tears at stress points, which I glued and hand-stitched. (It never occurred to me that super glue would work so well on leather, but of course it works great. Bonds skin on contact!)
It’s a a beautiful jacket and the lambskin is amazingly supple, but because of the size I will be divesting myself of it in the near future.
Todd’s Bantu Wind GAF
I liked my first BW so much that when another came up for auction, I grabbed it. There was so much visible grain, and it was so pronounced, that I named the jacket “GAF” (which stands for “grainy as, um, heck”) and upgraded it to preferred status. I gave it the machine wash/flat dry treatment and then lovingly and generously coated it with Lexol. This was to be my “airplane fight” jacket so it would get a lot of distressing; however, when I scratched the surface, the underlying leather was a dark gray. So much for that idea.
"Look at the grain on that thing!"
Until I got my Wested, this was my everyday jacket. It’s gorgeous and the fit is absolutely perfect, but the gray undertones are a deal breaker for me. This will probably go on the block to help fund a new Todd’s Standard.
"One day, my son, all this will be yours. —Except the Garrison, I mean. I'll be buried in that."
I have been very happy with the fit, finish and quality of Todd Coyle jackets—aside from the underlying color, that is. I’m hopeful that a new Todd’s Standard and a Wested Hero will finally satisfy me. Time will tell.
