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The Best Leather Jackets Money Can Buy

From faraway Japanese grails to US-born bespoke brands.

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Liza Corsillo

By Liza Corsillo and Evan Malachosky

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Like a lot of the clothing guys wear today, the leather jacket got its start as a utilitarian object. There was no need for a bomber jacket, a motorcycle jacket or a racing jacket before the inventions of the airplane, the motorcycle or the automobile. But leather jackets didn’t make their widespread style debut until after World War II, when the idea of leather for style, instead of purely for function, started seeping into popular culture.

To help shorten your list of candidates, we compiled our favorite makers across the four major categories, motorcycle, bomber, racing, and shearling jackets. We also spoke with experts about style, fit, quality, and care to better inform your big spend.

Products in the Guide

  • Schott NYC ’50s Oil Tanned Cowhide Leather Moto Jacket

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  • The Real McCoy’s ’30s Leather Sports Jacket

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  • Vanson Leathers Dominator-2 Leather Jacket

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  • Freenote Cloth Locklin Black

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  • Simmons Bilt Heartbreaker Leather Jacket

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  • Y’2 Leather Kakishibu Persimmon Tanned Horsehide Type Jacket

    Best Natural Tan Leather Jacket

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Origins of the Leather Jacket

After skyrocketing in popularity by way of Marlon Brando in the film The Wild One, the motorcycle jacket became such a symbol of youth in revolt that it was banned in schools for an entire year in the mid-1950s. This helped place them on the backs of guys who wanted to telegraph “rebel cool,” gaining popularity throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

“[For] everybody from Elvis to The Beatles, to The Stones, every psychedelic band from the Jefferson Airplane to the Grateful Dead, it was like a rite of passage,” said Michael Paradise, a former employee of North Beach Leathers who now owns The Stronghold, a heritage clothing boutique in Los Angeles. “You signed a recording contract, you got your first paycheck, you went to North Beach Leather.”

How to Wear a Leather Jacket

They’re now an indispensable part of a man’s wardrobe — and guys who work in more casual settings can get away with swapping a minimal black, brown or navy leather jacket for a blazer. It’s more durable, water-repellent, and looks just as good over jeans as it does with a pair of tailored trousers. With so many options on the market, finding the perfect one for you can take a lot of time and research — but it’s well worth slowing down to do so.

How to Clean a Leather Jacket

Unlike other clothing, buying a leather jacket is like buying a piece of furniture. Pick the right version and you’ll have it forever. Go with the wrong thing, or neglect the one you already own, and you’ll end up making an expensive mistake.

“If you get a stain on it or a mark, you want to treat it right away before it penetrates into the pores of the skin and becomes permanent like a tattoo,” David Mesquita, co-owner and vice president of Leather Spa, says. “The best time for any type of care is when you get home just before putting it away in your closet. Look it over, and if you see a little spot or a blemish just rub it right off before it becomes permanent. Or use a little bit of a spot cleaner and then just rub it right off.”

HOW TO CARE FOR LEATHER

The Best Leather Jackets Brands for Men

There are lots of leather jackets out there. However, it’s best to buy yours from a trusted brand with a long-standing history of making fine leather goods. These are the ones you can trust — and a few to keep your eye on, even if they don’t have the same sort of established legacy.

Nearly a century after its inception, the OG motorcycle jacket is still in production. With a belted waist, epaulets, snap collar, map pocket, flap pocket at the waist and, of course, tough oil-tanned cowhide, it’s the moto jacket defined. You can be sure that this will last you another century when it’s still an icon.

While authenticity can be had with Schott, you can’t much closer than this legendary jacket from Japanese repro-obsessives The Real McCoy’s. That’s because this dates back to the ’30s. But, The Real McCoy’s has gone to extreme lengths to reproduce this classic jacket. Of course, this Japanese-made replica won’t come cheap.

Cut from competition weight Steerhide, Vanson’s Dominator-2 Jacket is designed to stand up to crashes and falls, but also concerts and raucous crowds. It’s a 60s-style English Rockers leather motorcycle jacket, they say, with reinforced side panels and chrome hardware.

Very few of these Locklin Jackets exist. On this jacket you’ll find a body made from Italian Steerhide, sleeves lined with satin, an interior adorned with a Southwestern pattern and Universal Zippers from Japan across the front.

This collaborative jacket from Standard & Strange and Simmons Bilt references “jackets worn by The Heartbreakers, a fictional gang in the 50’s from an unreleased screenplay written by Gen,” one of Standard & Strange’s sales associates.

This nylon lined Type Jacket was dyed with… persimmons. It’s a part of a traditional technique called Kakishibu — hence the name. To note: this dye is ultra photosensitive, meaning it’ll darken and age faster than most jackets, even with just usual exposure to the sun.

Derived from military jackets of the same name, Himel Bros.’ A-1 design spotlights “a deeply primitive early-1930s style, which demonstrates both the simplistic beauty of naïve tailoring.” It’s cut from Japanese leather and is made-to-measure.

This Shearling Jacket isn’t cheap. You know what, none of these options are. But, that’s because it’s leather. And, in the case of this here coat, lamb’s leather and shearling.

Each one of Fine Creek Leathers’ Lynchburg jackets are stitched by hand in a Tokyo studio. They reference a 1940’s Lee denim jacket, which ran short, kind of quasi-cropped. Finished with “tea core” tan, the jacket will reveal rich brown tones beneath the black as it breaks in.

Remember the Type A-1 Jacket from above? Well, this is the Type A-2. It stepped in for the A-1 in 1931 but ceased being standard issue by 1944. Since then it’s served as reference for other styles and, clearly, a source of inspiration for reproductions.

This is The Cast’s most popular style, ripe for customization of all kinds. Change the coin pocket color, the belt hue, the hardware or even the liner, all on an online portal. It’s fun to experiment with even if you can’t afford one…yet.

Taylor Stitch doesn’t dedicate itself to leather, but when the brand uses the material they do so well. The Hangar Jacket is an ode to earlier flight jackets without being too much of a copycat. It’s made from cowhide and has a viscose liner — plus a few functional pockets.

California-based brand Buck Mason makes a few classic leather jackets — a trucker (seen here), a bomber and a moto jacket. This one, the Bruiser PCH Jacket, is hand-cut from semi-vegetable tanned sheepskin, making it soft from the first wear. It’s a vintage-fit, though, which means it’s shorter than your usual moto jacket.

Todd Snyder isn’t known for edgy leather jackets — more like comfortable sweats, seersucker shirts, suede coats, and chinos. But when the venerable American designer entrusts himself with hide, the results are rich with texture and a dream to put on, especially when it’s a silhouette as famous as the Dylan Jacket, a staple for the Snyder brand that’s long been made in suede.

styleWilsons Leather

Wilsons Leather Finn Leather Rider Jacket

Wilsons claims to be a brand born in 1899, but really they only launched in the 1950’s. They merged with another label, Bermans, and their ascent began. Although inarguably not as popular as it used to be, Wilsons’s garments are still of high-quality. They’re even kind of a bargain compared to the other picks before it.

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