Men's Bomber Leather Jackets

A leather bomber jacket is the easiest leather jacket to wear. Ribbed collar, ribbed cuffs, ribbed hem, and a body cut straight rather than fitted. There are no lapels to sit open and no belt to fasten, so it goes over a hoodie or a thick jumper without pulling anywhere.

Where the shape came from

Military flight jackets, specifically the A2 and the MA1. The knitted collar and cuffs existed to seal the draught out of a cockpit, and the short body existed so the jacket did not bunch up when a pilot was sitting down. Both of those details still do something useful on the ground, which is why the shape survived.

Bomber, flight jacket or varsity?

All three share the ribbed collar and hem. A leather flight bomber jacket is the closest to the original military cut. It usually has patch pockets and a slightly longer body. A varsity jacket puts leather sleeves on a wool body and adds a button front. A B3 bomber is a different animal entirely, sheepskin rather than leather, and built for serious cold.

Brown, tan and black

A brown leather bomber jacket is the one people ask for most now, and brown has been climbing every year for the last five. Tan is lighter and reads more vintage, which suits the flight jacket versions. Black is sharper and the safer first buy. A suede bomber jacket mens shoppers pick is the softest option of the lot and the right one for early autumn.

How a leather bomber should fit

This is the one shape where a bit of room is correct. The body is meant to be boxy and the ribbed hem is meant to sit on your hip, not below it. What matters is the shoulder, which should end at the corner of your shoulder, and the sleeve, which should finish at your wrist bone with the rib taking up the last inch.

Measure round the fullest part of your chest over a shirt and check the table on the product page. The cut is roomier to begin with. Going a size up makes a bomber look oversized rather than comfortable, so only do it if that is what you want.

Looking after the ribbing

The leather will outlast the knit. Ribbed collars and cuffs stretch over time and there is not much to be done once they have. Avoid hanging the jacket by the collar and do not tug the cuffs over your hands. Leather conditioner twice a year on the body, wide hanger, away from radiators.

Made to order, and how long it takes

Bomber jacket or bomber coat

A leather bomber coat means a longer version, finishing below the hip rather than on it. Mens leather bomber coats are closer to a car coat than a true bomber. A mens leather flight jacket is the military cut, with patch pockets and a slightly longer body.

A faux leather bomber jacket, the kind sold elsewhere, is polyurethane. Everything on this page is real leather, and where anything is faux we write faux on the product page.

Every jacket is cut and stitched in your size after you order. The delivery date on the product page is a real date, UK delivery is free and returns stay open for 14 days. If you want the same clean neckline without the ribbing, look at the high collar jackets. The women’s leather bomber jackets are cut separately, and the rest is on the men’s leather jackets page.