So you’re a handsome devil. We all know it. But what do you need to frame your steel-cut jaw and straight-edge browline? A leather jacket, that’s what.
It’s hard to pull off the leather jacket look. Leather jackets have long been the realm of rock stars, sexually-frustrated fans of WWII bombers, and people who ride mopeds. That’s why I was initially wary of the ScottEVest XAE Leather Jacket, a special 10th anniversary garment made to celebrate a decade of jackets with lots of pockets.
And pockets this thing does have. This $450 jacket is made of delicate lambskin burnished a rich brown and it has enough slots to smuggle a family of Smurfs out of an evil wizard convention.
First, a bit of disclosure. I’ve been wearing SEV gear for years. I love their hoodies and some of their shirts. The pants I could go either way on and I always wear their jackets. Of late I’ve found that some of the zippers on the jackets and hoodies have been breaking, a problem I’ll chalk up to rough treatment on my part and the statistical significance of having 20+ zippers on a jacket. SeV has been kind enough to replace these when they break. I wasn’t able to break any YKK zippers on this $450 leather number, but that’s not to say you won’t be the unlucky soul who does. Caveat jacket wearer.
With that out of the way, I’m pleased to report that this jacket is quite handsome and quite useful. It runs a bit small, so if you’re a hunk of beef like me, you may want to grab a bigger size. However, a large fit my husky frame just right and an XL would have been a bit to bulbous, I fear.
The jacket has 20 pockets, including a large iPad slot, as well as a cabling system that runs your headphone wires through little velcro stays that SeV calls a Personal Area Network. All of the pockets have either a magnetic or zipper closure and when fully packed you can carry a water bottle, a portable camera, phone, and even an iPad and a few magazines. The hidden pockets near the neck hold phones and sunglasses.
Will you ever wear something like this? If you travel, SeV is a godsend. Before I go through security I put all my stuff into my SeV jacket or hoodie and blow it through the X-Ray machine. The zipped pockets keep my wallet, watch, and 1-ounce vial of clown tears safe. I also stick my passport and other important gear in my SeV pockets on the plane so I can grab my iPods, pens, and ephemera while I’m seated.
If you’re not a big traveler, however, the only other folks who really need this are photographers and maybe artists. Otherwise, it’s a jacket with a lot of nice pockets.
At $450, I’m worried this jacket is a bit much for many. However, as the apex of SeV art, it’s an impressive piece of clothing and it will definitely, when fully loaded, make you feel like a SWAT team member on vacation.