A good leather jacker is timeless purchase. Buy the right one, and it’s the kind of thing you can hand down to your son. Chances are you are going to drop some serious cash on it, so you better make sure you take your time (and some advise) when choosing your ‘skin’.
If you’re thinking of buying a leather jacket, consider your image. If you have kids, ask them first.
The rules are simple: black is biker, Goth, Punk, rocker, bad guy etc. Brown is pilot, Indiana Jones, good guy.
Big, butch biker jackets don’t like wimpy slip-ons shoes like Bill Wyman wears. Pull on a pair of big, butch biker boots and you should have a better chance of getting laid, though I’m not saying by whom…
All new leather jackets look creepy. Either buy vintage (don’t be put off by crap linings, broken zips or tears – these are all easily fixed by Jeeves etc) or bash up a new one as quickly as possible. Some people ask a chavvy friend who digs the box-fresh appearance to do this for them. The best look is achieved by sleeping in the jacket overnight – the more nights the merrier. Never buy a brand-new jacket that has been distressed (Ralph Lauren does this and it is a shocking cop-out that will say all the wrong things about you).
It is now acceptable to wear a thin, eg, lamb nappa jacket to restaurants, clubs etc. Do not try this with a heavier-weight jacket; you will sweat to death and people will pester you all night to check your jacket in.
If you buy a brand-new steerhide jacket off Aero Leather, you can wear it as long as you like and they will buy it back at full-market price.
Avoid big hair with your leather jacket (à la Jeremy Clarkson) unless you can really pull it off (à la Jimi Hendrix).
The best creams and stuff to revive a dry old jacket can be purchased from a saddler.
The best iconic biker jackets are by: Bates Leathers; Langlitz Leathers; Schott NYC; Lewis Leathers; Vanson Leathers and Aero Leather.
The cream of casual biker jackets are to be found at: Dunhill; Levi’s; J Simons of Covent Garden; The Real McCoy’s New Zealand and Eastman Leather Clothing in Devon.
Brilliant bespoke racing leathers come courtesy of BKS, Kushitani and Dainese.
Venerable vintage leather is at: What Comes Around Goes Around, NYC; Heller’s Café, Seattle; Worn Out West, LA; Sign of The Times, London.
Most excellent extinct labels include: Aviakit (introduced by D Lewis in 1930); Buco; Bronco; Leathertogs; Pride and Clarke; Levi Strauss; Rivetts of Leytonstone; Mascot and the Aero Leather Highwayman.
If you want to replicate the movie-star look, it’s worth remembering that although Steve McQueen and James Dean associated themselves with the leather jacket in a big way, they preferred the clean-cut image of the cotton Harrington jacket (now relaunched by Baracuta). It was Marlon Brando who kicked the whole thing off with his Schott Perfecto in The Wild One (1953). Harrison Ford wears an A2 flight jacket by Willis & Geiger amongst others (try The Real McCoy’s New Zealand). As for Stallone, he just seems to wear cheap high-street shit.
The leather jacket is a powerful symbol of rebellion, so shrug one on and live life by your own rules.
