Few items of menswear come packaged with just as much attitude, heritage or unfiltered masculinity as a leather jacket. Synonymous with punks and pilots, motorcycles and Marlon Brando, the leather jacket is high-testosterone menswear, but it is also a surprisingly versatile classic. No well-edited wardrobe is complete without one Leather Jackets.

Men have been wearing hides and skins since our knuckles stopped skimming the floor, but the most effective leather jacket as we know it today came to prominence in early 1900s. Brown leather flight jackets were worn by the early aviators and the military, most notably the German Air Force in World War I.

The first contemporary-looking style arrived in 1928. A Manhattan raincoat maker, Irving Schott, designed a motorcycle jacket for Harley Davidson. Dubbed the ‘Perfecto,' after his favorite cigar, this leather jacket was built to protect riders from the weather and accidents. During World War II the flight jacket became known as the bomber and was prized because of its warmth having been made for wear in open cockpits.

Between then and now, leather jackets have appeared everywhere from in cult flick The Wild Anyone to on the backs of the Sex Pistols. It's standard-issue for mavericks, scoundrels and sex symbols.

Today, the garment is probably be one of the very most expensive additions to a wardrobe, so don't be considered a rebel without a clue – make a shrewd purchase. If for no other reason, a great leather jacket is one of many few long-term relationships you'll have in fashion. They're created to last, age as you do and pair with more items than you might expect. So, if that you do not consider Danny Zuko a mode icon, that's fine – you can find alternative methods to use it that don't include leather pants.

A brandname favored by everyone from A-list actors to the Pope, Belstaff has been making motorcycle gear considering that the 1920s. While offering different types of leather jackets, the British brand is probably best noted for its long, belted styles.

Search for options which have been hand-waxed for an authentic worn-in feel that'll make sure your jacket only gets better with age. It's also a water-repellent treatment, meaning you shouldn't hesitate to wear it in light rain.

Named following the village of Cromford in Derbyshire, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, this brand has been a specialist in leather, suede and shearling for over 45 years. Predicated on Marylebone's Chiltern Street, it includes bespoke, made-to-measure and an alterations services alongside a unique collection, all handmade in London.

Clients include celebrities and wardrobe designers for films, presumably seduced by the brand's superlative crop of leathers, which are hand-picked from small tanneries around Europe.

We realize leather jackets are great, but sometimes you need something a lot more than the traditional brown or black. This is actually the year for expression, so you may not desire to be stuck wearing exactly the same dark motorcycle jacket everyone (and their dog) has been rocking the past few decades. And to stick out sometimes, you have to take a little risk – a sky blue or race-car red seems appropriate to us. Additionally it is nice to understand the chance won't include any compromise in quality.