It’s no small secret that leather jackets are extremely cool. From the Ramones and James Dean to Indiana Jones and the Fonz, leather jackets have a track record of creating iconic looks both on screen and throughout history. But with all that coolness comes some risk, too – leather jackets are expensive, come in many styles weighted with cultural meaning, and are virtually guaranteed to make a statement, so if you don’t get it right it can become a costly mistake. For this reason I had avoided leather jackets for many years and had mostly appreciated them from afar. But as time wore on and I found myself working from home in a lifestyle that was becoming increasingly casual, I realized that it might be time to start searching for the right one.
When I set out on my search I knew that I was looking for something very specific. I wanted something cooler and more rugged than my Valstarino, which is nice but too sartorial for casual clothing. I wanted something with more character than a cafe racer, but not as busy as a Perfecto. Something with a big collar. Something not too modern, but not too repro-y either. And, perhaps most Goldilocks-y of all, I wanted something in a nice rich brown shade, not black. Black leather jackets are undeniably cool but I don’t like them as much on myself, as my pale skin and fair hair feels washed out against the stark contrast. So for better or worse, I set out to look for something that may or may not exist.
I spent endless hours on Styleforum, Reddit, Put This On, and The Fedora Lounge. I talked it through with known leather daddies like Derek and Dan. Months turned into years. Most of the roads I went down were dead ends, but I kept finding my way back to this jacket – a collaboration between The Real McCoys and The Armoury. Simon of Permanent Style generally dresses much more formally than I do, but this jacket had everything I wanted – interesting silhouette, big collar, amazing leather, great shade of brown. The only problem? It had been sold out for three years.
In a refusal to let this promising lead become another dead end, I began pestering the good people of the Armoury with some “exploratory emails” about a hypothetical return for this jacket. After a year or so of bothering their incredibly patient team, they put in another production run and it is now fully restocked. I purchased mine in October as soon as the shipment landed, and it’s been on my back constantly since then.
Background & Design
This jacket was first released in 2018, as a collaboration between the Real McCoys – an esteemed Japanese brand known for their uncompromising dedication to faithful reproductions – and the Armoury, which is probably the best retailer in the world for sartorial-leaning menswear. It sold out quickly after its release; by the time Simon published his review the jacket was already gone.
The design is based off a jacket from the Real McCoys archive and cleaned up with some design input from the Armoury team. It has some elements that you’ve probably seen in motorcycle jackets like an asymmetrical front, but is missing many of the doodads that are more common with that style (belts, epaulets, misc. zippers, etc). This pared-down-but-still-cool style was exactly what I was looking for. I don’t miss the extraneous moto details at all, even if that makes the jacket less historically accurate. For example, a classic moto would have zippers up the sides of the wrists; these zippers always made me nervous as they would knock against my metal watches and bracelets, so I was happy to have a simpler cuff. And while large jetted pockets aren’t really a moto detail either, they are a welcome addition to the front of this jacket and get used frequently.
The angled cuffs and western yoke give this jacket the slightest bit of yee-haw flavor, which is very much the direction I find myself going recently. This is further accentuated in the most subtle way possible with the side cinches, which feature a hammered design reminiscent of Native American jewelry. It’s a minuscule detail that I absolutely love.
Along with the asymmetrical front, I think the most striking element of the design is the collar. Its size is significant – a good 3.75″ tall – and radiates out toward the shoulders due to the angled closure. The collar design is really stupendous, and the pliable leather makes it feel as though it were made out of clay – I can basically mold it to whatever shape I want, and it will stay that way long after I walk out the door (perhaps the purest form of spezzatura that I have ever participated in).
The interior is lined in cotton and has a generous internal pocket (a feature that I truly appreciate, as it’s not a guarantee with this sort of jacket). The cotton lining isn’t as smooth as a rayon-type fabric would be, so wearing a wool knit underneath may cause some friction. The front has a brass zipper, which really sets off the deep brown of the leather. And best of all, the zipper works well – not always the case in these heavy-duty jackets (I once had a Self Edge employee tell me that “yeah, these zippers are really temperamental” when I fumbled to close a $2,000 horsehide jacket in their store).
Materials & Construction
The jacket is made from front quarter horsehide, which is the quintessential material for exceedingly tough leather jackets. “Front quarter” refers to where the leather is cut from on the hide, and is generally considered to be the most hard-wearing portion of an already durable material. It is incredibly stiff and unforgiving, but will reward tough use by lasting for decades and breaking in beautifully. If motorcyclists are comfortable going into a controlled slide while wearing FQHH, it should have no issues keeping up with my lifestyle – the only slides in my life are the Birkenstocks I wear when I go to the corner store to pick up some It’s-Its.
Horsehides can come in different thicknesses (depending on how the leather is prepared), and I would say that the thickness used for this jacket is moderate – probably around 1mm or so (an extra-heavy jacket might have a thickness of around 1.3mm or more, which makes a substantial difference). The leather is sourced from Shinki Hikaku, a tannery in Japan that specializes in equine leathers (they also make shell cordovan and are generally considered the penultimate source after Horween). Shinki is generally the de-facto tannery for top-of-the-line Japanese horsehide jackets like this one.
Unlike Fine Creek Leathers from Japan, who have a more “wabi sabi” approach to their leather jackets (they use contrasting grain in the leather panels), the Real McCoys seem to have a more “unrelenting pursuit of perfection” methodology. Upon delivery the jacket was flawless – all the leather panels were perfectly matching in grain texture and direction, and each stitch was secure. This is no small feat, given how challenging the material is to work with and how expensive it is to use in production.
To me, the best way to get a feel for Real McCoy’s level of craftsmanship and attention to detail is to look at the stitching. As I mentioned when I discussed the Valstarino, adding any stitch to leather is a permanent decision as it creates a hole in the hide. Not only is every stitch on this jacket flawless – despite the significant toughness of the hide – but the placement is also spot on. This is best seen on the front pockets, where there are many layers of leather stacked on top of each other. These stitches have to go through a ton of horsehide, and yet each one is perfectly aligned. This is especially true where there is backstitching or overlapped stitching, because these stitches reuse the holes made by the previous pass. As a result, the number of holes in the hide stays at a minimum.
Sizing & Fit
Sizing is yet another challenge with leather jackets, as it can vary wildly by brand and style (and there isn’t much wiggle room due to the material). Even within some brands I will wear multiple sizes, depending on the model. As such, I can end up being an 34 in some Schott pieces and a 42 in some Fine Creek Leather jackets. I strongly recommend you try leather jackets out in person and/or with a store that has an excellent return policy – they’re just too expensive and un-alterable to wing it.
For this particular piece, I ordered a size 38 – pretty standard for me and the same size as my Valstarino, but much smaller than the 40-42 I wear with Fine Creek Leather, a brand that is often compared to the Real McCoys. The main thing to note about the fit with this jacket is that there is not much taper through the waist. The side cinches will help a bit, but don’t expect a slimming waist unless you size down. Simon mentions the same thing, as his size 40 was on the roomy side in the waist as well. I don’t have any problem with this for a few reasons: first, I don’t like super tight clothing in general (even though this is a bit more acceptable with leather jackets). Second, I wanted to future proof this purchase a bit – good leather jackets last forever, but one only needs to visit Grailed or a buy-and-sell forum to see that the main reason jackets like this get sold is because the owner grew out of them. Lastly, I wanted to be able to layer under it, and the fit of this jacket allows me to do so. I can wear just a t-shirt or I can add a wool knit or heavy flannel and still be able to zip it up.
Ultimately, I think this jacket runs true-to-size but note that it isn’t that tapered much through the waist. If you are in-between sizes or want the “second skin” jacket look, you may want to size down. I could have probably squeezed into a size 36 but I am happy with the way the 38 fits.
Breaking It In
As if buying a leather jacket wasn’t complicated enough, the real challenge comes once it arrives – breaking it in. Horsehide is incredibly stiff and it only takes a few cursory google searches to learn about the wild things men have done to break these jackets in (wearing the jacket to bed, running it through the washer/dryer, running over it with your car, and other frightening ways to damage a $2,000 jacket). I was committed to breaking this jacket in the old fashioned way – by wearing it – but that also happens to be the most difficult and time-consuming.
When I first got this jacket, I will admit that it felt like the jacket was wearing me – not just in the philosophical sense of me thinking “can I pull this off?” (although that was also true) but because it was so stiff that it felt as if it was floating over my body instead of wrapping around it. Even when I took the jacket off, it stood there where I left it, fully upright as if my ghost still wore it. This has lessened over the past few months, but the stiffness is still very much there. Signs of wear have emerged, though; deep rolls have developed in areas of bending (like the sleeves) and the outer finish has begun to wear off in areas of friction. This can be seen around the sleeve cuffs, which often rub against the zipper. Some will call this an effect of tea-core leather – as far as I can tell, this is mostly a marketing term and not used by actual tanneries, but it basically refers to the outer finish of the leather flaking off and revealing a lighter color underneath. It’s considered a desirable trait and are subtle signs that the leather is breaking in.
The jacket was also a bit noisy upon first arrival. The squeaking of leather is a well-documented phenomenon, and while it has dissipated some I expect it will always be there to some degree. This is pretty normal and not something that I was concerned about.
Pricing & Availability
$2,300 is an insane amount of money to spend on a jacket. That’s like multiple months of rent money. A trip to Europe money. It’s more than most reasonable people would spend on clothing in a year. BUT – and I say this with a very earnest expression on my face – it’s well within the expected price range for this sort of product. Finding good leather jackets for under ~$800 is pretty tough. $800-$1,500 gives you some great options. But for this sort of jacket – horsehide, made in Japan, grail-tier construction and design – the average is gonna be around two grand (and trust me, it only keeps going up from there). There’s no way around the price unless you’re hunting the used market (which is a great option given the longevity of these pieces – but getting the right size is riskier).
So is it a lot? Absolutely. Out of range for the majority of people? For sure. But it’s also about what you should expect to spend in this category of jackets. And when it sells out – which could happen at any time – there’s no saying if or when it will ever come back.
Conclusion
It took me four years to get this jacket. It will probably take another four to really break it in. But one of my favorite things about menswear is how the same pieces can be relevant for a long time; I’m optimistic that I will be able to wear this for many years and still feel like a badass. I’m also thankful that brands and retailers like the Real McCoys and the Armoury that are able to keep products around for more than a season, which makes shopping for top-tier products like this more viable. This is a statement piece and a big investment, and I’m glad I didn’t have to rush the decision.
In a way, buying a leather jacket is a rite of passage. It involves taking a hard look at oneself and evaluating what you are looking for. It involves dropping a bunch of cash. And it involves committing to a lot of work in the future. So in some ways, it’s like a relationship. And in our own personal search for “The One,” we’ll all end up in different places. But the good news is that your “the one” can be the same as mine, in this case. Until it sells out, that is.
