Leather jackets have been around for over a century. Although they have gone through various improvisations over the period of time, but the fundamental material remains the same, i.e. the leather. Of course the leather could either be genuine leather or synthetic.
Genuine leather is derived from the hide of an animal. It implies that any leather product, a woman or men leather jacket is manufactured from the real hide. There are various type of hides that could either be from a sheep, cow, goat, horses or deer. This is the reason why genuine leather jackets cost a fortune.
The hide goes through a rigorous process to achieve its final state. Though there are various techniques and processes to so do, chrome tanning is the most popular method. This manufacturing technique produces high-end leather that doesn’t get discolored or lose its form and neither does it get loosely stretchy.
Meanwhile, artificial leather is made of plastic. It is also known as synthetic leather or faux leather. The appearance of it is similar to genuine leather but in reality it is not. The only advantage with a faux leather is that you can easily find it in the market at an affordable price. Imagine getting yourself a biker jacket which looks like real leather but is half the price!
This brings us to the different types of leather jackets:
Types of leather jackets:
There are a lot of types of leather jackets but the popular ones are:
Aviator or bomber jackets:
This is one of the trendy and accomplished styles. It was incepted in the 1920s century to keep the pilots warm due to high altitude flying. The most distinct attribute is an elastic waist and cuffs. Earlier known for only men, but later this style was famous among women leather jackets as well.
Biker or motorcycle jackets:
This was the first commercially introduced leather jacket by Schott NYC for Harley Davidson in 1928. The whole idea behind this is to provide safety by introducing padding to avoid serious injuries as a result of road offs. Usually cow hide is used in such type to provide safeguard against higher abrasion.
Barn coats:
These were initially meant for farmers but later progressed into a more metropolitan style. It is loose fitted, a bit longer length when compared to aviator jackets, nothing fancy in the front and has either buttons of zip in the front. It usually has two wide pockets on the outer layer and provides ample storage space.
Things to consider before buying a leather jacket:
Although it is a detailed topic and there are numerous things one must consider before buying a leather jacket, but we have briefly summarized it as follows:
- What do you want – you should know what style of type of jacket you wish to buy? For instance do you want a biker jacket that provides you safety or you want to enhance style with an aviator jacket look.
- Type of leather – If you are buying a jacket made of genuine leather, it is always a good idea to know the types of hide and what hide serves what purpose. For instance, full grain leather is durable but is heavier while top grain leather is lighter and cheaper.
- Understanding the details – It is always advisable, especially in online shopping, to know the details. For instance, always check for description of a jacket has an YKK zipper or metal buttons etc. Always go for reliable online retailers such as Wearostrich.
