There's always the danger that when you spend a lot of time searching for something, the end result never quite lives up to your expectations. Sometimes the bar is raised just too high and (in this case) the piece of clothing just can't compete with the blood, sweat and toil put into finding it. Especially when the piece in question is a replacement piece. In fact, I wonder whether I should even begin the search now at all?
I don't know about anyone else but sometimes the thrill of spotting something, falling in love with it, buying it on the spot and realising that it was just what you were looking for but hadn't realised it, can't be beaten. Which is exactly what happened with my first cream leather biker jacket. So now I really know not to bother taking the search any further. The bar has now just gone from being the lowest of the asymmetric bars to the highest one. I'm doomed to failure.
However, many of you have commented on my cream leather jacket - Oasis in the sale for just over £100 - so in the name of research I will continue. It's also starting to look a little tired and having had it cleaned, at pretty much half of its cost, I am debating where to go with it next. I know that I went through this whole debacle about a year ago now and I didn't replace it then. The nearest I got to doing so was an All Saints one in Bicester but the fit wasn't right.
For those who haven't tried a leather jacket before I do think that they have their place. For a start they are warm. I often layer a Boden cropped cashmere cardi under mine so it adds another layer of warmth without being visible. They are work just as well with jeans as with dresses, as well as over evening outfits.
Reiss arguably does the best leather jackets on the High Street. They always have a good selection of styles and colours and sometimes they can be found in Bicester at a reduced price. Having said that, the Reiss stores are much better than they used to be at having sales. They didn't ever do mid-season sales, or one off promotions but that has changed recently.
This Kara jacket from Reiss costs £350. Reiss also has an ice blue, a cornflower blue and a red leather jacket, for anyone who is after a coloured one. I like it probably as much as any other but the price is a sticking point...
Please excuse the photo of the Hanni leather jacket from Ted Baker (£359). I like the no fuss approach of this jacket but sometimes a little detailing is needed to break up the expanse of leather across one's chest!
The leather peplum jacket from Oasis (£175) is a better price but I wonder whether it may be taking the detailing to the extreme. I am not quite convinced that the combination of the peplum, the sleeve detail, the tabs at the back, the detail across the shoulders at the back and what looks like quite a shiny finish is a winning combo.
The collarless quilted leather biker from Warehouse (£165) is a better price and a nice soft grey colour. The absence of a collar is great for those who don't want a lot of faff going on around the neckline -added to which it's one less thing to get grubby. Personally I think that it looks better on the model than in the main picture, so it may be one of those that's worth trying on.
Looking to Oasis again, this colourblock leather biker jacket (£160) may hit the mark for those looking for something pale but interesting. They also have a nice drape waterfall jacket (£140) - which suit some shapes more than the biker style - and a suede biker jacket (£100) both of which can be found here
This biker jacket from Baukjen (£369) also comes in cobalt blue. The style is great but I'm not sure that the colour is quite what I am after. Maybe it's a little bit too far down the brown, as opposed to the neutral, route.
For something slightly different, the sail leather biker jacket from All Saints (£398) is a really lovely colour. It's really versatile and might be a good alternative to a cream one, now that the cream bar has been set so high.
There are of course many other brands that do great leather, as well as specialist leather shops and ebay, for great finds. This is just a quick whizz through what is available now and which can be bought with relative ease for most - in terms of geography at least.
