A leather jacket is not one garment. The word covers a dozen different cuts, and the difference between them is not decoration. It changes how the jacket sits on you, what it will go with, and whether it suits your build at all.
This guide sets out the cuts you will actually meet, what separates one from another, and how to tell them apart at a glance. It leans on the jackets that come through our hands rather than pretending to be exhaustive, and where we do not stock something, it says so.
The front tells you what it is
Almost any leather jacket can be identified from the front alone. Three things do the work: where the zip runs, what the collar does, and how the hem finishes.
- The zip. Straight up the centre, offset on a diagonal, or hidden behind a leather placket.
- The collar. A low band that stands up, a pointed shirt collar that folds down, or wide notched lapels.
- The hem. Knitted rib that gathers at the waist, a straight leather band, or a belt.
Learn those three and the names stop mattering. You will be able to look at any jacket and know roughly how it will hang.
Cafe racer
The most stripped back cut there is. A low band or mandarin collar, a straight zip up the centre, and after that almost nothing: no lapels, no belt, no ribbed hem. The body sits close through the chest and shoulders because the shape was drawn to sit close on a bike.
Because there is nothing to hide behind, the leather is the whole garment. A thin hide looks thin immediately in this cut, which is why a well worn older one usually reads better than a cheap new one. It is the easiest leather jacket to wear with a plain shirt and dark trousers, and the hardest to wear if you want room to layer.
Suits: straight and slim builds, anyone who wants the jacket to sit close.
Avoid if: you want to wear a jumper underneath.
Browse the vintage cafe racer jackets.
Biker
Defined by its front. The zip runs diagonally across the chest, or sits offset from the centre, so the closure crosses the body rather than splitting it down the middle. Above it sits a high fold-over collar with lapels that can be worn open or pinned back. Below it a belt gathers the hem at the waist.
It carries more panels, more hardware and more weight than any other cut. That is the appeal, and it is also the reason to buy one second hand: a jacket that has already carried that hardware for thirty years has proved the hide can take it.
Suits: anyone who wants the jacket to be the outfit.
Avoid if: you want something quiet, or something light.
Browse the vintage biker jackets.
Bomber
Knitted rib at the collar, the cuffs and the hem, and a straight centre zip between them. The rib is the whole point: it gathers the body above the hip and gives the jacket its rounded, slightly blousy shape.
It is the most forgiving cut on this list. The rib does the shaping, so a bomber that is generous through the chest still looks intentional, and there is room underneath for a jumper without the jacket straining. If you are buying your first leather jacket and you are not sure what suits you, this is the safest place to start.
Suits: almost everyone, and anyone buying leather for the first time.
Watch: old ribbed knit goes slack. Read the waist measurement rather than assuming it will grip.
Browse the vintage bomber jackets.
Harrington
A pointed shirt collar that folds flat, a straight centre zip, and a hem that finishes either in a short rib or an elasticated leather band. Slash or welt pockets sit at the hip. The silhouette is squarer and slightly longer than a bomber, and the collar is what separates the two at a glance.
It is the cut that works best under a coat, because the flat collar does not fight a lapel. It also reads more formal than anything else here, so it will carry a shirt and trousers in a way a biker jacket never will.
Suits: anyone who wants leather that does not shout.
Avoid if: you want the jacket to read rugged.
Browse the vintage harrington jackets.
Field
Four pockets, usually flapped and studded, on a longer body that finishes on or below the hip. A stand collar with a throat latch, and often buckle tabs at the waist or the cuffs. The lineage is military, and the design brief was carrying things.
It is the most practical cut here and the roomiest, which makes it the one to look at if you want to wear leather through winter over a jumper. The extra length changes the proportions, so check the length measurement against a coat rather than a jacket.
Suits: taller builds, anyone who wants pockets that hold something.
Avoid if: you want a short, close jacket.
Browse the vintage field jackets.
Flight
Close relative of the bomber, and often confused with it. Ribbed cuffs and hem again, but the collar is the tell: a flight jacket carries a fold-over leather collar, sometimes with a fur or shearling facing, where a bomber usually has a knitted band. Pockets sit lower and are frequently flapped rather than zipped.
The cut is generally boxier and shorter than a bomber, and the heavier collar gives it more presence at the neck. If you like the ease of a bomber but want something with more weight to it, this is the one.
Suits: anyone after a shorter, boxier shape.
Watch: shearling and fur collars add bulk. Check the shoulder measurement.
Browse the vintage flight jackets.
Trucker
The denim jacket shape rendered in leather. A pointed shirt collar, a button or stud front, two flapped chest pockets, and a squared hem with side tabs to draw it in. The seams run vertically down the front, which is what gives it its blocky, upright look.
It is the shortest cut here and the most casual. Because it is cut square rather than tapered, it sits well over a hoodie and badly under a coat.
Suits: casual wear, layering over knitwear.
Avoid if: you want length over the hip.
Browse the vintage trucker jackets.
Cuts you will meet elsewhere
Four more names come up constantly in searches. We do not currently hold stock in any of them, and it would be dishonest to write three hundred words on each and then send you to an empty page, so here they are briefly.
- Aviator. A heavy flight jacket with a full shearling lining and a shearling collar. Warm, bulky and expensive, and rarely found in good condition.
- Varsity. Leather sleeves on a wool body, with a ribbed collar and a stud front. More a sports jacket than a leather jacket.
- Blazer. A tailored jacket cut in leather, with notched lapels and a button front. Reads formal and is hard to wear casually.
- Suede. Not a cut at all but a finish. Suede is leather with the nap raised, and it stains and marks far more easily than a smooth hide.
The hide matters as much as the cut
Two jackets in the same cut can feel completely different depending on what they are made from. The hide decides the weight, the drape and how the jacket ages, and it is the one variable most buying guides skip.
- Cowhide. The heaviest and the toughest. It stands away from the body when new and takes years to break in, which is exactly why a broken-in vintage cowhide is worth having. Most bikers, truckers and field jackets are cut from it.
- Lambskin. Light, soft and closer to cloth in the hand. It drapes immediately and needs no breaking in, but it scuffs more easily and will not take the same punishment. Common on cafe racers and blousons.
- Goatskin. The middle ground. Lighter than cowhide, tougher than lambskin, and recognisable by a slightly pebbled grain that holds its texture as it wears.
- Sheepskin. Hide with the wool left on the reverse, used for aviator jackets. Very warm and very bulky.
Age is the honest test that cuts across all of them. Fold a panel back on itself: a hide that has dried but held will crease and recover, while one that has gone will show a white line along the fold that does not close. That is the check we run before anything is listed.
Our listings state real leather rather than naming the animal, because on an unlabelled vintage jacket the hide often cannot be established with certainty, and we would rather say less than guess. The photographs show the grain close up so you can judge it yourself.
Which cut should you buy
Work backwards from what you already wear rather than from the name of the jacket.
- If you want the jacket to sit close and disappear under nothing, take a cafe racer.
- If you want room for a jumper, take a bomber or a field jacket.
- If it needs to go under a coat, take a harrington, because the flat collar will lie down.
- If you want the jacket to be the loudest thing you own, take a biker.
Colour narrows it further and does more work than most people expect. Brown is the easiest to build outfits around, black is the sharpest and the plainest, and burgundy is the one you will rarely see on anyone else. Start from the brown, black or burgundy jackets if colour matters to you more than cut.
Buying any of these second hand
Whichever cut you land on, the same two things decide whether it works.
Fit is decided by the shoulder
Leather softens and moulds with wear across the shoulders and elbows, but it does not gain inches across the chest, and a shoulder seam sitting halfway down your upper arm will stay there. Never buy a jacket that does not close now on the assumption it will later.
Ignore the size sewn into a vintage jacket. Sizing standards have moved several times, and labels from different countries never agreed in the first place. Every jacket we list carries five flat measurements taken with a tape: chest pit to pit, shoulder, sleeve, length and waist. Lay a jacket you already wear flat, measure it the same way, and compare the numbers. Our guide to measuring a leather jacket sets out exactly how each one is taken.
Condition is worth reading, not guessing
An older hide will show creasing at the elbows and cuffs, shine at the high wear points, and light surface marks. None of that is damage, and it is most of the reason to buy an old jacket rather than a new one. What matters is what sits underneath: seams, hardware and lining. Our condition grade explains what we check and what we will not list.
Common questions
What is the difference between a bomber and a flight jacket?
The collar. A bomber usually finishes at the neck with a knitted rib band. A flight jacket carries a fold-over leather collar, often faced with fur or shearling. Both have ribbed cuffs and hem, which is why they get confused.
What is the difference between a biker and a cafe racer?
Everything at the front. A biker has a diagonal or offset zip, lapels and a belt. A cafe racer has a straight centre zip, a low band collar and no belt at all. A biker is the loud one, a cafe racer the quiet one.
Which leather jacket is the most versatile?
A bomber or a harrington in brown. Both are forgiving on fit, both work over a shirt or a jumper, and brown sits more easily with the rest of a wardrobe than black does.
Are vintage leather jackets worth buying?
A jacket that has already lasted decades has proved its hide. The panels have not split, the grain has settled into something no factory finish reproduces, and the creasing that a new jacket takes years to earn is already there. The trade is that you buy the one that exists rather than ordering your size.
Where to start
Every jacket on this site is a single garment in a single size, measured flat, graded and photographed. When one sells, the page closes and it does not come back. If you know the cut you want, the collections above will narrow it down. If you would rather see everything at once, start with the full rail.
Not sure which will fit? Send us the pit to pit measurement of a jacket that already fits you and we will tell you which ones work.