Leather Jacket Styles
When Varsity Jackets Became Popular
Varsity jackets first boomed in 1950s American schools, then came back in the 1980s and 2010s. The full timeline, from Harvard in 1865 to today.
Varsity jackets first became popular in the 1950s, when the wool-and-leather letter jacket spread through American high schools and came to be seen as quintessentially American. The jacket form itself dates to the 1930s, and it had a second wave of popularity in the 1980s through music videos, teen films and hip-hop, then again in the 2010s.
The roots go back further still, to a Harvard baseball team in 1865. Here is how a sports award became a fashion staple, decade by decade.
This page is part of our guide to leather jacket styles and their history.
Varsity jacket timeline
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1865 | Harvard's baseball team puts an Old English "H" on its gray flannel shirts |
| 1875 | Harvard's football team starts using the "H" |
| 1891 | Harvard's baseball team regularly wears a black letterman sweater with a small crimson "H" |
| 1890s-1930s | The letter lives on sweaters; the earliest known high-school example is in a 1911 yearbook |
| 1930s | The letter moves onto wool-bodied jackets with leather sleeves |
| 1950s | The jacket becomes widespread, tied to teen culture |
| 1974-1984 | Happy Days features letterman jackets |
| 1980s | Thriller, The Breakfast Club and Teen Wolf bring it back; hip-hop adopts it |
| 1987-1995 | Hip-hop videos carry it into streetwear |
| 2010s | A second hip-hop wave, with brands such as Avirex, Phat Farm and Rocawear |
| 2022-2023 | Luxury runways pick it up, and resale searches rise |
1865-1920s: from shirt to sweater
The varsity jacket began as a letter, not a jacket. In 1865 the Harvard baseball team added an Old English "H" to its shirts, and the football team followed in 1875.
Players who appeared in the big games against Yale or Princeton were allowed to keep their "H" jerseys, which may have been the birth of the letter as an award. By 1891 the baseball team regularly wore a black letterman sweater with a small crimson "H".
High schools picked up the idea. The earliest known high-school letter sweater appears in the 1911 yearbook of Phoenix Union High School in Arizona.
1930s: the jacket takes shape
In the 1930s the letter moved from the sweater to a jacket. By then the look had settled into a wool body with leather sleeves in a different color and chenille lettering.
That is still the classic build: a boiled-wool body, leather sleeves, and banded wrists, collar and waistband in school colors. Accounts differ on a later patent: Analog:Shift says a 1949 patent for the classic jacket went to Butwin Sportswear of Saint Paul, Minnesota, while Heddels ties the Butwin patent to reflective safety uses and gives no date.
1950s: the first big boom
The 1950s are when the varsity jacket became popular well beyond the team. After the postwar boom it became widespread and was seen as quintessentially American.
The rise is linked by Heddels to teenagers becoming a major cultural force, tied to rock and roll and hot-rodding. The satin ball jacket, a close cousin with knit cuffs, collar and waistband, was also popular in the 1950s.
The meaning stayed the same. A letter jacket shows school pride and the awards a student has earned, which is why it is rarely bought before the letter is won.
Did people wear varsity jackets in the 80s?
Yes. Analog:Shift says the jacket had "lost some of its mojo" by 1980, and that Michael Jackson's red-and-gold jacket with a chenille "M" in the 1950s-set scenes of the Thriller video helped revive it.
Teen film and TV kept it on screen. The Breakfast Club (1985), Teen Wolf and Happy Days (1974-1984) all featured letterman jackets.
Hip-hop made it street wear. Varsity jackets were adopted into hip-hop fashion in the 1980s, and Salt-N-Pepa wore Dapper Dan-designed versions in the 1987 "Push It" video. For the wider decade, see leather fashion in the 1980s.
1990s-2010s: streetwear and a second hip-hop wave
The jacket moved further into streetwear in the 1990s; Fat Joe wore one in LL Cool J's 1995 "I Shot Ya" (Remix) video. In the 2010s hip-hop fashion took it up again, with brands such as Avirex, Phat Farm and Rocawear making their own versions.
Are varsity jackets in style now?
The latest wave we found sourced is from 2022-2023. Louis Vuitton and Tommy Hilfiger showed varsity styles for Fall 2022, and Coach's Resort 2023 collection had leather patchwork versions. Depop said searches for "varsity jackets" rose 39% toward the end of 2022.
We did not find a reliable 2026 trend source, so we do not make a 2026 call here. For how to wear one today, see varsity jacket outfit ideas.
Why the varsity jacket keeps coming back
Three things recur in its history. First, it carries meaning, because the letter is earned.
Second, it suits nostalgia, as Thriller and Happy Days showed by looking back to the 1950s. And hip-hop has reinvented it more than once.
Its shape also sits close to the bomber; Frank And Oak calls the varsity an early non-military take on the bomber style. The two are compared in bomber jacket vs varsity jacket, and sleeve materials in vinyl letterman jacket vs leather jacket.
A leather take on the varsity
If you want the varsity shape in leather, Leather Collection custom bomber jackets include an Oversized Varsity Bomber with wide shoulders and a loose cut. You choose the collar style, pocket placement, snaps and leather color.
FAQ
When were varsity jackets most popular?
The first boom was the 1950s, when the jacket spread through American schools. It came back strongly in the 1980s and again in the 2010s through hip-hop.
Did people wear varsity jackets in the 80s?
Yes. The Thriller video, teen films such as The Breakfast Club and early hip-hop all helped revive it.
When was the first varsity jacket made?
The letter dates to Harvard in 1865, but the wool-and-leather jacket form appeared in the 1930s.
Are varsity jackets in style in 2026?
We found strong runway and resale interest in 2022-2023, but no reliable 2026 trend source.
Related guides
Sources
- Wikipedia: Varsity letter, [Letterman (sports)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterman_(sports)), Jacket
- Analog:Shift, The history of the varsity jacket (Oren Hartov, 2025)
- Heddels, The history of varsity jackets (Zach Liollio, updated 2026)
- The Zoe Report, The humble varsity jacket is getting the high fashion treatment (Bella Gerard, 2023)
All read 2026-10-10.
leatheride Editorial Team
leatheride articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.