Sunday

Men's Air Force A-2 Flight Leather Bomber Jacket

Material: a very soft, evenly-dyed glove leather (goatskin). Perfect for casual to "dressy" wear in spring, summer, and fall. Too soft for construction sites (unless you're the boss and don't plan on rubbing up against a nail). Collar and flap-pocket snaps are black-anodized (I bought the jacket in black). Vent grommets are brass. Zipper is YKK metal - not plastic - and very smooth (I added a leather zipper pull). Woven cuffs and waistband are the soft kind and tend to fuzz a little. Lining is uninsulated khaki material with American flag stencil and nylon sleeve linings. Nice leather-backed "Air Force" label.
Fit: Perfect for my size (L) and the 1940's fighter-pilot "blousing" around the waist is exactly right as is the lay of the snap collar and the curve of the epaulets. A whole bunch more comfortable than my old, heavy, $300 one. More authentic too!
Construction: Seems to be CAD-designed and made. Obviously modeled from an excellent original . . . maybe an Eastman. Extremely straight seams with turned edges. Evenly stitched everywhere. Feels like double-layer leather throughout, but not heavy at about 4 pounds. The back is three-piece leather rather than one-piece . . . a detail disliked by pilots for reasons of comfort on long flights in steel seats. Not important to me and even the L.L. Bean "Flying Tiger" version is three-piece at $289 or so.
Bottom line: While nobody is going to confuse this A2 with one of Neil Cooper's thick-leather masterpieces, they're not going to believe you paid a hundred bucks for it either. After a week of wear, it was my favorite jacket. After a month it's starting to take on some character and I am very, very surprised at the number of compliments I get.