Many men believe that wearing a leather jacket will make them look great. In reality, however, it doesn’t make them look so good.
This doesn’t have to be the case at all. In fact, I’ll explain how to properly style a leather jacket for you in this article.
To look good in a leather jacket, follow these five basic rules.
5 Rules to Looking Good
Quality Matters
You want to buy the best leather jacket you can afford, even if it means saving up for it, because you don’t want to buy a cheap leather jacket.
How to identify quality?
The leather is something you should pay attention to. There are various types of leather. You should be able to identify those that are inferior to other types.
Later, I’ll go through all the different types and what you should look for.
The construction comes next. That’s how well it was built. That describes the amount of stitches per inch, the kind of fabric used for the stitching, and the construction method used.
This is critical since you might not see it a month later. But you don’t want your jacket to start coming apart in 5 years.
Next, let’s talk the hardware. The zippers and buttons fall under this category. Make sure the source of these is a respectable business. They are frequently labeled.
You can rapidly examine something to see whether they spent a lot of money on it. You can be sure they didn’t skimp elsewhere if they spent a lot of money on the hardware.
Aesthetics come next. We’re discussing the general style and feel. If you want a special jacket or one that was made by a designer in a certain way, you will have to pay more.
The history is the next step. You’ll find that some businesses have been in operation for a while. Other ones are just coming out. I prefer a business with some history.
It’s not necessary for them to have a hundred years, but what I like to see is that they will stick behind the jackets they make.
The Right Style For Your Body Type
The second fundamental rule for styling a leather jacket is to make sure that you wear a style that is appropriate for your body type.
There are numerous styles of jackets available. You should wear one that enhances your physique.
If you’re 5 feet 9 and weigh 170 pounds, you have a lot of choices. However, whether you’re 6 foot 4 and 300 pounds with a lot of weight around your middle, or if you’re 5 foot 2 and 120 pounds, you’ll want to lean toward certain styles that are just going to work with your frame better.
Fit is King
Fit is king, which is the third styling guideline for a leather jacket. In comparison to a sports jacket or a suit, it is even more important.
Why?
Because those can be brought in and brought out. Most leather jackets are impossible to adjust. And it frequently takes a particular kind of sewing machine as well as expertise to bring them in and adjust the leather jacket.
It’s considerably more difficult to find someone who can work and adjust a leather jacket.
Make sure the leather jacket fits you properly before you buy it off the shelf.
Know How to Coordinate With Other Clothing
Understanding how your leather jacket will fit in your wardrobe is the fourth styling rule for a leather jacket.
By their very nature, leather jackets are casual. However, you must ensure that you have wardrobe that will go with them because it will be difficult to make a leather jacket into your rotation if your wardrobe is too formal or excessively ultracasual.
Later on, I’ll discuss some simple outfit combinations and essential things that always look great with a leather jacket.
Emotional Bonding
Let’s talk the emotional attachment last, but certainly not least.
You want this jacket to make you feel like a million dollars when you put it on. You want this to be a suit of armor that shields you from the elements while also making you feel great every time you put it on.
Types of Leather
If you’re going to get a leather jacket, make sure it is real leather. You’ll be able to see the genuine leather. You will see top grain. You will observe full grain.
What is the difference?
To a large extent, it is determined by which layer we pull from. Each type has benefits and drawbacks.
Genuine Leather
Even though this type of jacket won’t be the most durable, it will be one of the softest. Because they’re going to perform a lot of machining on this, it will be pretty free of blemishes.
This part of the skin is where a suede jacket will originate. It is incredibly light. It can withstand some elements if properly treated. However, since suede might stain, you shouldn’t wear it in snow or rain.
Even though they are leather jackets, these tend to be lighter models.
Top Grain Leather
This will come up frequently because it’s reasonably priced, especially with lower quality manufacturers. That hide might have blemishes. They will simply remove the top layer. Although the blemishes have vanished, they are losing the top layer, which will be the most weather-resistant.
However, all that’s left is incredibly malleable leather. It will readily accept dyes. They can be treated with additives and put other treatments to make them more weather-resistant.
Full Grain Leather
This will be the highest grade of leather. This will be the most resilient. The most water-resistant will be this.
Make sure it is made from full grain leather if you want a leather jacket to last for 50 years. The stitching will last a long time in terms of structure.
Grades of Leather
It all depends on which part of the hide they can use. First grade, second grade, third grade, and fourth grade leathers are available.
The further you go down, the less appealing the leather will become. It will become more permeable. There will be more cuts, scrapes, and unevenness. The thickness won’t be as good.
First grade is typically reserved for shoes that are sold at higher price points. First grade leather is truly the way to go if you want an immaculate, flawless product with all the qualities that an artisan expects from leather.
With second grade, you have a lot of great possibilities. Simply because you need a bigger cut, you’ll discover that many of the more expensive jackets are made with this grade.
Really, the first and second grades need to be used for the more expensive jackets.
There are times when lower-quality jackets use the third grade. It’s not the best kind of material. But it will be simpler to obtain. On occasion, they’ll apply it on the sleeve or other random locations.
You should obviously steer clear of leather made in the fourth grade. When creating the soles for shoes, this is what will be used in bonded leathers. Although it is leather, it lacks the desired qualities that we want to see in leather.
Fit
Let’s now talk about fit. Remember that I said that fit is king. The significance of wearing a jacket that fits you properly cannot be overstated.
Each person has a personal preference. I’m aware that some of you prefer a really snug fit in your jackets. Some people want them to fit somewhat looser. Find out what works for you.
However, in general, your arms should be completely free to move when you put on the jacket. This is about having a high arm hole, at least for me. In general, quality jackets will feature higher arm openings that are made to fit fewer people. You don’t have as much mobility with lower arm holes.
Additionally, they must fit your shoulders. You have an inch to give here. You should not, however, keep that jacket if the gap is 2 inches, and if the shoulder points are going down onto your arms. Simply put, it will never fit properly and cannot be adjusted.
The sleeve length comes next. If a jacket’s sleeves are excessively lengthy, I don’t like it. When riding a motorcycle with your arms raised, you want to go a little longer. It ultimately comes down to the jacket’s purpose. What are your plans for it?
Depending on the style, if it’s a motor jacket made in a more athletic type of build, then the chest area is going to have more room than the stomach area. There will be a slight drop. The result will be a masculine silhouette.
However, a bomber jacket, a flying jacket, or a fatigue utility jacket will typically have a drop that is a little bit more straight. Nevertheless, some will come more closely in the middle. However, they frequently come with straps that go around so you may tighten it if you choose.
The first thing you can do to ensure a proper fit is to be aware of your own measurements. You should be aware of your chest measurement, your stomach measurement, your shoulder measurement, and your full sleeve measurement.
Go check out the company’s website after that if you want to buy the jacket there. You should strive to achieve results that are as close to perfect as you can.
I prefer to wear jackets that are roomy enough to fit a thick sweater underneath as an insulating layer.
How to Style Leather Jacket
What should you wear with it? Your choice of shoes is one of the things that I think is most important.
It depends on the style and type of the jacket, but boots go well with a casual leather jacket.
Dress shoes will look acceptable if you want to wear a delicately made suede jacket that simply drapes on and is quite light.
However, you should wear boots if you want to wear a thicker jacket made to be worn with a motorcycle. On your feet, you want something that is constructed in the same style.
Simply put, a heavier-weight jacket goes with a heavier-weight pair of shoes. More delicate shoes should be worn with a more delicate jacket.
With a delicate jacket, you may wear heavier-weight boots to mix things up. However, I prefer to keep them balanced in general.
There is no requirement to match leathers when it comes to matching. It’s not necessary to match your boots to your jacket. They might be roughly close. Do you have to wear on red shoes if you’re wearing a red jacket? Obviously not. You might wear in black or a deep brown. Ox blood, which is sort of red, is something you could also wear.
But I could still wear black boots with a brown jacket and be just fine.
How about your choice of pants? What about the shirt you chose?
I don’t want to make things too complicated, but keep in mind that a leather jacket is going to be casual by definition.
Wearing a motorcycle jacket is probably not going to work if you’re wearing a decently dressed-up outfit, such as a quality dress shirt, dress pants, and dress shoes. However, a suede in a really dark shade would look better with that outfit.
It really depends on the kind of jacket you have. A casual button-down shirt and dark denim look great with a casual jacket.
Alternatively, I could bring in some dark-colored chinos and choose from a range of various styles there. Would I bring gray flannels into the style? No, it will be too formal.
T-shirts in a solid hue with a V-neck will look great when it comes to shirts. It doesn’t really matter if the Henley you bring in has long or short sleeves. It could even be possible to get by with a polo.
