Leather Jacket Styles
A Brief History of Jackets and Their Styles
From the armour-padding doublet and leather jerkin to the trench, A-2, Perfecto and M-65: a dated timeline of how today's jacket styles began.
The jacket grew out of padded clothing worn under armour. The 14th-century pourpoint led to the doublet, a snug jacket shaped to the body. Leather jerkins were worn over it.
In the mid-17th century the long coat took over, the ancestor of the suit.
Many jacket styles worn today were born between about 1860 and 1965, as work, sport and military gear: the blazer, denim jacket, trench coat, flight jacket, biker jacket and field jacket. Fashion then took them up.
This page is part of our guide to leather jacket styles and their history.
Jacket history at a glance
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 14th century | The pourpoint, a padded garment worn under armour, gives rise to the doublet |
| 16th–17th centuries | Men wear short leather jerkins over the doublet |
| Mid-17th century | Louis XIV and Charles II set the long coat, waistcoat and breeches, the ancestor of the suit |
| 18th century | Overcoats begin to replace capes and cloaks; Native Americans make buckskin jackets in colonial military style |
| 1840s | The velvet-collared Chesterfield overcoat appears in the UK |
| 1860s | The blazer starts as a boating and cricket jacket; Harvard baseball players get the first letter sweaters (1865) |
| About 1880 | Levi Strauss makes the first recorded U.S. denim jacket |
| Early 1900s | Long "motoring dress" coats, often fur, protect drivers of open cars |
| WWI era | The trench coat is developed for British officers; the U.S. issues heavy leather flight jackets from 1917 |
| 1927 | The A-1 flight jacket becomes U.S. standard issue |
| 1928 | Schott introduces the Perfecto motorcycle jacket |
| 1931 | The zip-front A-2 replaces the A-1 |
| 1930s | The Harrington-style golf jacket appears in England |
| 1936 | Eddie Bauer creates his down jacket, patented in 1939 |
| WWII | Shorter field jackets take over from long coats; insulated flight jackets become known as bomber jackets |
| 1953 | The Wild One helps spread the biker jacket among American youth |
| Mid-1960s | The Nehru jacket is marketed in Europe and America |
| 1965 | The M-65 field jacket enters U.S. service |
| 1970s–1980s | Punks cover leather jackets in studs, paint and safety pins |
| 1986–1987 | Top Gun features leather flight jackets; the Air Force reissues the A-2 in 1987 |
| 1990s | Eight-ball leather jackets and the Harrington have revivals |
| 1999 onward | The Matrix helps make leather trench coats popular |
From armour to the doublet and jerkin
The earliest jackets were practical layers for soldiers. The doublet came from the pourpoint, a padded garment worn under armour. It gave the body its fashionable shape, padded it under armour and kept it warm.
Over it went the jerkin: a short, close-fitting jacket, usually of light-colored leather and often sleeveless. The doublet went out of fashion in the mid-17th century, when the long coat, waistcoat and breeches became court dress.
Why is it called a jacket?
The word comes from the French jaquette, from the Middle French jaquet, a small or lightweight tunic. "Coat" is older in English. The Oxford English Dictionary traces it to about 1300.
By the mid-20th century the two words had blurred for newer styles. For how they differ today, see jacket vs coat.
The coat era
From the 18th century, overcoats began to replace capes and cloaks. In the 19th century the sewing machine made ready-to-wear clothing cheaper, so more people could wear coats and jackets.
Named overcoats followed. The Chesterfield, a dark knee-length coat with a velvet collar, dates to around the 1840s. The blazer arrived in the 1860s as a scarlet jacket for boating or cricket.
Work and sport jackets
Many casual styles began as work or sports wear. Levi Strauss made the first recorded U.S. denim jacket around 1880, about ten years after he began selling riveted jeans to miners, cowboys and railroad workers. His Type I jacket of 1905 had a boxy fit and a rear buckle cinch.
The letter jacket grew out of Harvard's 1865 baseball letter sweaters. The Harrington began as a light golf jacket in 1930s England, though Baracuta and Grenfell each claim to have made it first. See when varsity jackets became popular and what is a Harrington jacket.
War and the leather jacket
The two world wars shaped many of today's jacket styles. The trench coat was developed for British Army officers before WWI as an alternative to the heavy serge greatcoat. Burberry and Aquascutum both claim to have invented it, with competing dates.
In the air, pilots of open cockpits needed warm clothing. The A-1 flight jacket became U.S. standard issue in 1927, and the A-2 swapped its buttons for a zip in 1931. During WWII, insulated designs for high-altitude crews became known as bomber jackets.
On the ground, the British Army issued brown leather jerkins in both world wars. Shorter field jackets also replaced long coats because they let soldiers move more freely. The bomber's own story is in our history of the bomber jacket.
The biker jacket and the rebels
Schott, a motorcycle clothing maker since 1913, introduced the Perfecto in 1928. It is said to be the first such jacket with zippers.
The Wild One (1953) put Marlon Brando in a biker jacket and tied leather to rebellious youth. Sources disagree on the jacket itself: one Wikipedia article calls it a Perfecto, while another notes debate over whether it was a Schott original or a replica by Durable. James Dean, Elvis Presley and The Beatles also wore leather jackets.
Later decades brought new tribes. Punks added studs, paint and safety pins, and heavy metal fans followed. Explore the eras in the 1970s biker jacket and biker jacket style in the 1980s.
Postwar fashion to today
Military styles kept reaching civilians through surplus stores. The M-65 field jacket entered U.S. service in 1965 and has been made for civilians since at least the early 1970s. The Nehru jacket, with its mandarin collar, was briefly popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Film kept leather in view. Top Gun (1986) is credited as a factor in the Air Force reissuing the leather A-2 in 1987. The Matrix (1999) helped make leather trench coats popular in the 2000s.
Why do pilots wear leather jackets?
They needed warmth and protection from wind. Most WWI planes had open cockpits, so pilots needed warm clothing. Some WWII bombing raids flew at 25,000 ft (7,600 m) or higher, in air as cold as -58 °F (-50 °C), in uninsulated cabins.
Leather later gave way to nylon in jet cockpits, because fleece-lined leather that got wet could freeze at jet altitudes.
Bring a classic back
If you love a jacket from history or a film, Leather Collection's custom leather jackets service offers an option for a jacket inspired by a film or famous look: you send a reference image and the design is built from it. Each jacket is made to order and stitched by hand.
FAQ
Why is the jacket named jacket?
It comes from the French jaquette, from Middle French jaquet, meaning a small or lightweight tunic.
When were down jackets invented?
George Finch is credited with wearing an early down jacket in 1922. Eddie Bauer created his down jacket in 1936 and patented it in 1939.
Which brands made the first famous jackets?
Several styles trace to a maker. Schott made the first Perfecto, Levi Strauss the early denim jacket, and Baracuta and Grenfell both claim the Harrington. Burberry and Aquascutum both claim the trench coat.
Why do pilots wear leather jackets?
Early cockpits were open and high-altitude air was very cold, so pilots needed warm, windproof jackets.
Related guides
Sources
- Wikipedia: [Doublet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublet_(clothing)), [Jerkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerkin_(garment)), [Coat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_(clothing)), Jacket, Leather jacket, Trench coat, Jean jacket, Down jacket, M-1965 field jacket, Perfecto motorcycle jacket
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Type A-2 flying jacket
All read 2026-10-10.
leatheride Editorial Team
leatheride articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.