@Autorotate right on, brother. Congrats. The weather is slowly changing here and this shirt will get heavy rotation probably Apr - May. I keep waiting for it to soften up, but I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. The Pecards helped a lot with the touch feel, but the leather doesn't drape much. But color evo has been spectacular. Here's my IG stuff on it from a few weeks back:
@Autorotate I wouldn't apply pecards and then get wet. Pecards is pretty much vaseline with some extra oils. So that will repel water. Not totally waterproof, but definitely make it harder to fully absorb. Which brings me to my next point. If you get it wet, make sure it is fully wet and soaked all over. Don't try spot treatment and that kind of thing. Whatever evolution is going to happen, you want it all over to make it look more natural and even.
You probably read some of my posts on TFL. I go by "Toomanyhatsonlyonehead" over there. I've washed many, many leather jackets, put in dryer full blast, etc. I haven't had a "ruin" yet, but I definitely can see ways it could go wrong. The biggest issue with doing with jackets is the zipper. It will cause waves since the zipper doesn't shrink with the leather.
Also, I wouldn't try the wet and dry method with the pale rider unless it's at least a size too big. I don't think this shirt will wear comfortable skin tight. The shirt pocket, placket, etc. adds a lot of thickness, and some of the edges almost feel sharp if that makes sense. I'd be curious to know more about the kind of tanning they did to the leather. It doesn't feel like veg tan to me. It has more CXL type qualities, so maybe it's a combo, or maybe it's veg tan, but there's some sort of top coat, pigment finish, etc. Anyway, I'm really curious to see the journey over the next couple years with lots of wears. I think those wearing on motorcycles are going to speed up that process with the exposure to elements, all that motion, etc. vs someone just wearing around the house like me.
If not here, I give up lol
I had to give it a wash after this beat down. Got a lot more sweaty than I thought LOL. I'm starting to think this leather is indestructible.
@louisbosco you looking for darker color or don't like the fit of yours? The color will come with time. hang in the sun once we get to warmer temps and it literally will change overnight. A good 4-5 hours on each side is enough to get it going.
the fit is tricky, I won't lie. We'll see how it turns out after a couple good wearing seasons. If it softens up to what I'm used to with most veg tan leathers, I think it'll be top 10 things ever LOL. But right now, it's very turtle shell like. There's very little room for margin between too tight, just right, and too big. Compared to some of my UHF where the ptp can vary by a full inch and I'm good, this has got like maybe .5 inch max range to fit right.
@Autorotate dedication right here. Did you take before measurements? Curious to see if you get any opening up in actual numbers or if it just "feels" better. I'd take either tbh as I'm on the edge of it being too tight, but it's more of a comfort issue for me.
I'm in same boat as you. Going to try assuming there's no shrinkage. I literally cannot afford .1 inch anywhere or shirt will be destined to wear open only and I'll end up like one of those "after I lose 5-10 lbs, I'll be good" LOL.
Fellow Pale Riders, I tried a coat of Pecards. Highly, highly, strongly, strongly recommend it. Shirt instantly turned supple. It does add about a shade or two of color and some shininess. The latter will dull out in a few days from my other experiences applying to various jackets.
Besides the aesthetics, I don't know how to describe it, but it just made wearing the shirt a lot more comfortable. I know it didn't "stretch" the leather, but it gave it some give. I mentioned before, the main note is about the areas of the shirt where the leather is doubled up (placket, pockets, etc.), I can now feel and see it easing better in those areas.
Big thumbs up.
