This is round 4 of our Best Leather Jacket Series, where I test out and review popular leather jackets from well-known and some lesser known brands in pursuit of the perfect fit. 

In this The Jacket Maker leather jacket review, I’ll breakdown how their leather biker jacket and suede bomber jacket feels & fits, style & design, construction (hardware, lining, etc.), pros & cons, and whether or not they’re worth it. 

Let’s dive in.

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About The Jacket Maker

The Jacket Maker was co-founded by CEO Syed Obaid. It started with none other than the search for a good leather jacket, similar to my goal with this series. Syed was fed up with choosing between fast fashion or overpriced luxury.

After thorough digging and research he realized that the explanation for higher priced outerwear was long supply chains, wholesalers, retailers coupled with costly marketing campaigns.

Syed chose to go direct to consumer (DTC), cutting out the middleman and unnecessary expenses along with designing and manufacturing in-house — with the goal of making it easy for people to buy high quality leather jackets at fair prices.

Now without further ado, let’s start off first, with The Jacket Maker Sven Mocha Suede Bomber Jacket. 

» Related: You might like this Peter Manning Lambskin Leather Jacket Review.

Sven Mocha Suede Bomber Jacket Review

How Does It Feel & Fit?

First thing’s first, you might be wondering, how does the jacket feel and fit? It actually has a similar feel and fit as my trusty Asos Design suede bomber jacket that I’ve had for over a handful of years now.

How it Feels

The suede is surprisingly similar; they both likely use the same leather skin or grain. They both also have ribbed cuffs and waistband, a clear difference being the collar construction. Enough of the comparison though and onto how the Sven Mocha Suede Bomber fares on its own.

The mocha suede bomber is a mid-weight jacket, ideal for the middle of spring or fall, but not the best option for hotter and colder temperatures as there’s not much in terms of insulation. Basically, the suede feels super soft (like a baby’s skin) with a nap texture that varies in lighter and darker brown shades as you swipe your fingers across the leather.

How it Fits

And for how it fits, I’m quite impressed. As a shorter guy (just barely 5’6″), the ready to wear size XS fits me near flawlessly. They conveniently carry sizes XS-4XL. All crucial areas of fit are solid from the shoulders to the high arm holes without being constricting when I move my arms forwards and back.

Additionally, the jacket length is flattering for my 5’6″ frame, not too long or too short, hitting the sweet spot around mid-fly. The sleeves are also an appropriate length which is always nice since many OTR jacket sleeves (not including short guy brands like Peter Manning and Ash & Erie) often run several inches long. 

Furthermore, you’ll notice rib knit cuffs and hem details which is a clean aesthetic for a bomber jacket, adding style and functionality. And bonus points, since there’s enough room for me to layer a sweater or hoodie underneath which IMO is essential with a bomber jacket.

Overall the feel and fit of Jacket Maker’s mocha suede bomber is on point from top to bottom. No complaints here. An extra bonus for the fact that The Jacket Maker offers a made to measure (MTM) option for an additional $30. And so those who have measurements that are hard to fit for are in luck.

Style & Design

IMO, Bomber jackets with café racer style ooze an effortless casual cool. In a brown suede — correction, mocha suede nonetheless. Here’s a little men’s style secret, brown never left town and so you’re always safe in brown jackets, boots and shoes — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

For the design, the Sven bomber is highlighted by a band collar with snap button closure. It’s got some motorcycle jacket inspired details too, like the double horizontal chest zips and super subtle crosshatch patterned panels along the shoulder and down the triceps. 

For the fit, I went with my trusty earth tone color scheme, opting for an olive green hoodie which complements the dark brown exceptionally well. For the bottom half, I went black slim jeans and black cap toe boots — stylishly rugged if you ask me.

I feel the jacket is casual enough to wear with a fitted cap and so I went with a black and burgundy Temple (my alma mater) emblem cap. The burgundy acts as an accent color that livens the outfit’s overall muted look.

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Construction (Hardware & Lining)

According to The Jacket Maker, the Sven Mocha Suede Bomber is made with an outer shell of “real leather,” not encouraging to hear since that could literally mean any type of leather. Thankfully they specify that the leather type is goatskin suede. Tanned leather from goatskin is considered extremely durable and is commonly used to make rugs and carpet binding.

The jacket’s inner shell is a quilted 100% polyester lining. As I mentioned earlier there’s not much insulation beyond the polyester lining and a very thin wadding material so I wouldn’t’ expect to be braving the elements in this jacket.

All of the zippers are industry standard YKK in a matte bronze-esque finish. The zippers are on the smaller size which complements the jacket’s overall streamlined silhouette, though slightly more substantial zips would also be appreciated.

In addition to the visible horizontal chest zip pockets, the jacket has two side pockets and two interior pockets for extra storage. And as mentioned prior, the cuffs and bottom hem are ribbed for precise fit and tailoring.

Check Out The Suede Bomber

The Bottom Line

The Sven Mocha Suede Bomber Jacket feels and fits great. It’s well made, well designed, and while it certainly places more emphasis on style than function, it is still a serviceable 2 season jacket. Come winter, just remember to layer up!

» Related: You might like this ASOS Design Biker Jacket Review.

Furton Black Leather Biker Jacket Review

How Does It Feel & Fit?

The Jacket Maker’s Furton Black Leather Biker Jacket is among their best-selling items. They categorize it as a winter jacket because of the removable fur collar (it’s a nice touch).

How it Feels

As for how the jacket feels, the leather is actually quite soft, despite being made of cowhide. The cowhide leather is much stiffer than the AllSaints’ Milo lambskin leather and so it’s not quite as comfortable at first and is taking much longer to break in.

The Furton does, however, feel more like you’re wearing an armored suit jacket because of the sturdier build. You can tell that the jacket can handle the elements and wear and tear over time, much like a true biker jacket should. It’s meant to be worn while riding after all.

How it Fits

I’m wearing the Furton biker in their smallest off the rack (OTR) size of XS, though I could’ve gotten a custom jacket as well, which would’ve likely resulted in an even better fitting jacket, but I wanted to see how their OTR pieces stack up.

Out of all the leather jackets I’ve reviewed thus far, the Furton jacket’s fit is most similar to the AllSaints Milo Biker. It has a well-fitted, streamlined silhouette with high arm holes and enough room underneath to layer a hoodie or light jacket. Just like the Milo biker, this jacket is slightly on the longer side, sleeves as well. 

I know many would say that the longer sleeves are intentional because when you’re riding a bike, the longer sleeves are meant to protect your wrists fully, but from the look of the model wearing the jacket, it’s clearly designed as a for fashion first. All in all, the longer sleeves don’t really bother me though a shorter jacket length would provide more of a fashion forward aesthetic which is what I’m going for.

Overall, the fit is solid here, no real complaints from me. And though ideally I would go custom with Jacket Maker’s MTM option, the XS is still highly wearable.

Quick note: If you’re enjoying this review of The Jacket Maker, then you’ll probably find my other writing on all things men’s style useful. Each week, I share updates, style tips and other things not shared on the blog through my free email newsletter.

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Style & Design

It has similar style to the Asos Barneys Originals Biker Jacket I reviewed previously and the AllSaints Milo Biker Jacket that I reviewed in the first edition this best leather jacket series. From the asymmetrical front zip to the belt loops and the front ticket pocket on the Milo jacket and the diagonal chest zip on the Barneys jacket—all 3 are channeling what a moto jacket should be.

At the same time, while the Barneys and Milo jackets are more fashion oriented, the Furton Biker combines both fashion and function made with a more hard wearing cowhide leather. The Furton jacket also has a few additional bells and whistles not found on the other 2 jackets, like shoulder epaulettes and fur collar, a prime addition for wearing in colder temperatures.

There are many ways to style the iconic motorcycle jacket. Personally, I like to keep things simple. Oftentimes you’ll see guys rocking a basic white or black t-shirt under a moto jacket with skinny jeans and sneakers.

But this time, I decided to opt instead for a fitted hoodie in olive, black slim jeans and a pair of black boots to match the jacket’s overall rugged/rakish aesthetic. I’m big on layering, especially as the temperatures begin to dip during the late-fall into winter season and a hoodie is an easy way to add even more effortless style to an already stylish outfit.

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Construction (Hardware & Lining)

Moving onto the Furton leather jacket’s construction, just like the Sven suede bomber it has an outer shell of “real leather,” more specifically cowhide with a semi-aniline finish.

Semi-aniline leather is produced through a very similar process to full-aniline, but has a thin protective top coat added to protect it from wear and staining. Pull-up aniline leather has additional oil or wax applied to the leather to give it a distressed look.

The inner shell is made with a quilted viscose lining and a very thin wadding just like the suede bomber jacket. True to biker jacket form, the Furton has shoulder epaulettes, diagonal zip pockets with YKK zippers and a functional belt with belt loops. 

Additionally the notched lapel collar is standard for motorcycle jackets with the addition of the removable fur collar which is a fantastic functional addition for winter weather.

There are no real QC issues I noticed except for a few errant threads on the inner quilted lining which is disappointing since they pride themselves on crafting each jacket by hand. If this were the case, the jacket stitching would be impeccable.

Check Out The Leather Biker

The Bottom Line

In the end, I’m really feeling the fit of this jacket and like how it’s been wearing in over the past year. The leather is breaking in nicely, no cracking at all, just a well worn leather. 

If I had to choose between the Furton black biker or the Sven mocha bomber — can I say both? (haha). They both have different aesthetics, leaning casual that can take you from school to the town in effortless style.

» Related: You might like this AllSaints Milo Biker Jacket Review.

Is The Jacket Maker Good Quality?

Depending on who you ask, you’ll get differing opinions, but in my experience The Jacket Maker is legit. Their jackets are handcrafted one at a time (no mass chain production here). 

The Jacket Maker offers custom jackets which is more than most DTC brands and even the bigger brands offer. They may say bespoke, but made to measure isn’t quite bespoke (the differences between the 2 go far beyond the scope of this review).

According to them, all of their jackets are made with full-grain natural leather, YKK zippers and polyester lining. It’s safe to say that the price to performance here is quite good. If you’re looking for an affordable, stylish leather jacket that’s well-made, The Jacket Maker is a great choice.

The Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Plenty of sizes to fit most men
• Made to measure option available
• Can request a custom design on all jackets
• Affordable, well-made jackets with an emphasis on style
• Leather is strong and seems made to last
• Carries a vast selection of all types of leather jackets
• Free worldwide shipping w/ 30 day return period

Cons:

• No transparency on manufacturing or where the leathers are sourced
• “Real leather” is rather vague leaving more questions than answers

Is It Worth It?

The Jacket Maker makes stylish, well designed jackets that are certain to bring the compliments. Coming in at $240 for the suede bomber and an even $300 for the leather biker, these jackets are hardly breaking the bank for a stylish, pretty well made leather jacket.

At these prices I wouldn’t consider them grail pieces, but they can be serviceable for many seasons to come, making them a fantastic value play in my eyes. At least I see them lasting for the long haul, but of course time will decide that. 

AllSaints Milo Biker is now $600 (inflation anyone?), approaching Schott NYC’s lower tier level prices. At half the price of AllSaints, The Jacket Maker is an incredible value and worth checking out if you’re in the market for your first real leather jacket.

Check Out The Jacket Maker

Wrapping Things Up

It looks like I have my entry-level basics covered with The Jacket Maker, but I’m still in pursuit of more of a grail worthy leather jacket. Overall, I’m satisfied with how both jackets wear on my frame. I enjoy wearing them and seeing all the different ways that I can style them, which is the fun part.

Although The Jacket Maker hits the spot, my quest to find the best leather jacket continues. And of course, if you have any biker jacket recommendations, I’m open to suggestions. 

^{A note: The Jacket Maker sent me the jackets in this review. These are all my thoughts and opinions based on my experience. Gentleman Within holds all control over editorial content.}

What are your thoughts about The Jacket Maker?

Let’s continue the discussion over in the Gentlemen Within Private Facebook Community.

Looking forward to seeing you in there.