If I could recommend just one item every girl should own this fall, it's definitely a little leather jacket. The more distressed and lived-in it looks, the better...and lucky for you, I've got an amazing style secret that will help yours look completely authentic, without spending a penny.I used to assist a brilliant stylist on catalog shoots a few years ago, and he once came in wearing a fabulous leather jacket that looked like it had been worn by James Dean himself--beautiful cracks in the elbows and where the shoulders met the sleeves, a dull, crinkled-looking finish in all of the right places, and a patina that I can only describe as well-worn. "Where did you get that jacket?!" "It was a crappy thrift store find that was way too shiny and stiff," he told me, "so I threw it in the washer and dryer and it came out like this." In the washer and dryer?! It produced the perfectly lived-in look that you're about to see everywhere on the best dressed girls this fall. If you've got an old leather jacket laying around that was once pretty cute but now just looks dated, this is a genius way to give it an instant update.

And please remember--this will ONLY work on genuine leather, not pleather or plastic or any synthetics! If you're not sure, check the label before you get started.Here's what you do: Toss the jacket in the washing machine alone (the colors shouldn't run, but just in case they do) with your regular detergent on a cold cycle. When it's done, give it a very good wringing out (the leather will absorb tons of water that the dryer won't be able to get out--plus the wringing motion will create cool wrinkles that the heat of the dryer will help seal in). Then transfer it to the dryer and give it a full spin on medium heat, making sure it's dried all the way through when you take it out. For especially new or shiny finishes, you may have to repeat the entire process again to get the desired effect. Then roll your sleeves up for an even more fitted look, toss it over some of your prettiest slinky summer tops, and enjoy a free new jacket that everyone will be adoring!Have any of you ever tried DIY distressing at home in your washer and dryer?

How did it turn out? Do you have a leather jacket you're dying to give a facelift to? And don't forget...if you try this little style secret out, send us some photos! GET MORE STYLE SECRETS NOW! The insider trick to never hemming again An easy tip for femming up your French cuffs [Want a brand new coat for less than $10? to your Google homepageFollow Slaves to Fashion on Twitter!Visit 7 stores in New York City! World Famous ( apparently we are everybody's best kept secret ) for the most affordable vintage clothing in New York City! motorcycle helmet hullOnline we do the selecting - in store you do the hunting!bobber motorcycle for sale in mn The People Have Spoken! motorcycle tyres hobart

Yelp, New York Times, and Nylon Mag love us, you will too! No Relation Vintage - Gowanus, Brooklyn  Get DirectionsD N R Union St. and 2 more stationsHours: 12- 8pm Everyday L Train Vintage - Bed Stuy Get DirectionsM Central Ave. and 2 more stations No Relation Vintage - East Village, Manhattan Get DirectionsL 1 Ave. and 2 more stations Urban Jungle - Bushwick, Brooklyn Get DirectionsL Morgan Ave. and 1 more station Vice Versa Vintage - Park Slope, Brooklyn Get DirectionsD N R Prospect Ave. and 2 more stationsHours: 12pm - 8pm Everyday L Train Vintage - Williamsburg, NY 11211 L Lorimer St. and 2 more stationsSince 1922, Dickies has been producing the toughest workwear on the planet. It comes as no surprise that they've always had a close affinity to the motorcycle scene. Today, Dickies have closed the gap by creating Dickies Motorcycles Outfitters. Their collection ticks all the boxes of what we as Urban Rider are looking for in protective garments: they're built to last, devised to protect you on the bike and designed to look the part.

Have a look at their range of riding jeans and motorcycle jackets, perfect for your daily commute or that leisurely weekend ride. Fueled by a heritage that cannot be manufactured. DICKIES WAX MOTORCYCLE JACKET - TARMAC DICKIES CANVAS MOTORCYCLE JACKET - SAND DICKIES FD KEVLAR LINED RELAXED FIT JEAN - BLUE DICKIES CANVAS MOTORCYCLE VEST - SAND DICKIES SF KEVLAR LINED RELAXED FIT JEAN - BLUE DICKIES AD KEVLAR LINED SLIM FIT JEAN - BLUE FORCEFIELD JACKET BODY ARMOUR KIT - DICKIESjacket kit DICKIES CHECK SHIRT - RED / CHARCOALAuthentic style cotton yarn dyed shirt FORCEFIELD PANTS BODY ARMOUR KIT - DICKIESjacket kit DICKIES CHECK SHIRT - BLUE / CHARCOALAuthentic style cotton yarn dyed shirt FORCEFIELD BACK PROTECTORback protector DICKIES EAGLE LAKE LEATHER BELT - BLACKThe Dickies Eagle Lake belt is 100% leather, featuring an embossed Dickies logo on the belt loop and belt tail. Car engine wax thermostatic element The wax thermostatic element was invented in 1936 by Sergius Vernet (1899-1968).

[1] Its principal application is in automotive thermostats used in the engine cooling system. The first applications in the plumbing and heating industries were in Sweden (1970) and in Switzerland (1971). Wax thermostatic elements transform heat energy into mechanical energy using the thermal expansion of waxes when they melt. This wax motor principle also finds applications besides engine cooling systems, including heating system thermostatic radiator valves, plumbing, industrial, and agriculture. The internal combustion engine cooling thermostat maintains the temperature of the engine near its optimum operating temperature by regulating the flow of coolant to an air cooled radiator. This regulation is now carried out by an internal thermostat. Conveniently, both the sensing element of the thermostat and its control valve may be placed at the same location, allowing the use of a simple self-contained non-powered thermostat as the primary device for the precise control of engine temperature.

[2] Although most vehicles now have a temperature-controlled electric cooling fan, "the unassisted air stream can provide sufficient cooling up to 95% of the time"[3] and so such a fan is not the mechanism for primary control of the internal temperature. Research in the 1920s showed that cylinder wear was aggravated by condensation of fuel when it contacted a cool cylinder wall which removed the oil film. The development of the automatic thermostat in the 1930s solved this problem by ensuring fast engine warm-up. The first thermostats used a sealed capsule of an organic liquid with a boiling point just below the desired opening temperature. These capsules were made in the form of a cylindrical bellows. As the liquid boiled inside the capsule, the capsule bellows expanded, opening a sheet brass plug valve within the thermostat.[6] As these thermostats could fail in service, they were designed for easy replacement during servicing, usually by being mounted under the water outlet fitting at the top of the cylinder block.

Conveniently this was also the hottest accessible part of the cooling circuit, giving a fast response when warming up. Cooling circuits have a small bypass path even when the thermostat is closed, usually by a small hole in the thermostat. This allows enough flow of cooling water to heat the thermostat when warming up. It also provided an escape route for trapped air when first filling the system. A larger bypass is often provided, through the cylinder block and water pump, so as to keep the rising temperature distribution even. Work on cooling high-performance aircraft engines in the 1930s led to the adoption of pressurised cooling systems, which became common on cars post-war. As the boiling point of water increases with increasing pressure, these pressurised systems could run at a higher temperature without boiling. This increased both the working temperature of the engine, thus its efficiency, and also the heat capacity of the coolant by volume, allowing smaller cooling systems that required less pump power.

[6] A drawback to the bellows thermostat was that it was also sensitive to pressure changes, thus could sometimes be forced shut again by pressure, leading to overheating.[6] The later wax pellet type has a negligible change in its external volume, thus is insensitive to pressure changes.[6] It is otherwise identical in operation to the earlier type. Many cars of the 1950s, or earlier, that were originally built with bellows thermostats were later serviced with replacement wax capsule thermostats, without requiring any change or adaption. This most common modern form of thermostat now uses a wax pellet inside a sealed chamber.[6] Rather than a liquid-vapour transition, these use a solid-liquid transition, which for waxes is accompanied by a large increase in volume. The wax is solid at low temperatures, and as the engine heats up, the wax melts and expands. The sealed chamber operates a rod which opens a valve when the operating temperature is exceeded. The operating temperature is fixed, but is determined by the specific composition of the wax, so thermostats of this type are available to maintain different temperatures, typically in the range of 70 to 90°C (160 to 200°F).

[7] Modern engines run hot, that is, over 80 °C (180 °F), in order to run more efficiently and to reduce the emission of pollutants. While the thermostat is closed, there is no flow of coolant in the radiator loop, and coolant water is instead redirected through the engine, allowing it to warm up rapidly while also avoiding hot spots. The thermostat stays closed until the coolant temperature reaches the nominal thermostat opening temperature. The thermostat then progressively opens as the coolant temperature increases to the optimum operating temperature, increasing the coolant flow to the radiator. Once the optimum operating temperature is reached, the thermostat progressively increases or decreases its opening in response to temperature changes, dynamically balancing the coolant recirculation flow and coolant flow to the radiator to maintain the engine temperature in the optimum range as engine heat output, vehicle speed, and outside ambient temperature change. Under normal operating conditions the thermostat is open to about half of its stroke travel, so that it can open further or reduce its opening to react to changes in operating conditions.

A correctly designed thermostat will never be fully open or fully closed while the engine is operating normally, or overheating or overcooling would occur. Engines which require a tighter control of temperature, as they are sensitive to "Thermal shock" caused by surges of coolant, may use a "constant inlet temperature" system. In this arrangement the inlet cooling to the engine is controlled by double-valve thermostat which mixes a re-circulating sensing flow with the radiator cooling flow. These employ a single capsule, but have two valve discs. Thus a very compact, and simple but effective, control function is achieved. The wax used within the thermostat is specially manufactured for the purpose. Unlike a standard paraffin wax, which has a relatively wide range of carbon chain lengths, a wax used in the thermostat application has a very narrow range of carbon molecule chains. The extent of the chains is usually determined by the melting characteristics demanded by the specific end application.

To manufacture a product in this manner requires very precise levels of distillation. The temperature sensing material contained in the cup transfers pressure to the piston by means of the diaphragm and the plug, held tightly in position by the guide. On cooling, the initial position of the piston is obtained by means of a return spring. Flat diaphragm elements are particularly noted for their high level of accuracy, and therefore mainly used in sanitary installations and heating. Squeeze-Push elements contain a synthetic rubber sleeve-like component shaped like the 'finger of a glove' which surrounds the piston. As the temperature increases, pressure from the expansion of the thermostatic material moves the piston with a lateral squeeze and a vertical push. As with the flat diaphragm element, the piston returns to its initial position by means of a return spring. These elements are slightly less accurate but provide a longer stroke. The stroke is the movement of the piston in relation to its starting point.