Vintage or secondhand boxy leather jackets <$400, any brands to look out for?
I've been drawn to boxy black leather jackets lately, but for various reasons (financial, unwillingness to commit fully to the idea of my first leather jacket, coolness factor of a vintage piece) I want to buy secondhand or vintage. I see nice boxy vintage ones from the 90s come up often for under $100, but can't tell if these no name brands are okay or will feel terrible.
Vintage near me is largely cooked so I'm opening up to online as well.
What I want to know is - are there any decent brands to look out for that would fit the style reasonably well and are decent quality? Or any other advice in sifting through vintage leather jackets online?
I have never actually owned a leather jacket so appreciate any help you all might be able to offer!
7 Replies
My giant leather is from winlit, it’s pretty heavy and hard wearing
I only paid 25, idk what it’s like online
mine is from structure, which is fairly prolific on ebay
it's thick and durable and is aging well
Schott and Avirex are good brands and widely avail secondhand
By far the best way I've found to buy leather jackets is to find them in flea markets. In certain cities like Amsterdam or Berlin you can find incredible selections of even more incredible jackets at even more incredible prices - no wonder everyone wears them there. But there's some to be found at any large flea market in any city (at least in Europe).
But you know the buying situation in your area, and I dunno what it's like in America.
There's loads of unknown brands that once upon a time made great leather jackets, so I wouldn't get too hung up on brand. Material is a good signal - 'full grain leather' is the most high-end, 'top grain' is mid, 'genuine leather' is the cheapest. I'd buy any depending on application (genuine leather can even be better for rougher applications or certain aesthetics), EXCEPT synthetic leather. Cowhide is the toughest (often used for biker jackets), lamb I think is the softest.
Otherwise it's just the usual criteria: look for damage, elaborate details, texture of the material - particularly how well it seems to drape.
That leather definition isn't actually very useful for finding nice leather
Maybe, but I still think it's a better guide for this category on the second hand market than brand.
if you're going vintage, instead of brands you can check the jacket model you like and look out for that type
if you're looking for cropped boxy bomber style jackets I can recommend the A2 leather jacket