This Is the Best Leather Jacket for 2023, According to a Fashion Editor
So Versatile is a seasonal column where associate fashion editor Sierra Mayhew selects one item she's recommending to everyone this season because you can wear it in so many ways. Think something timeless, chic, and flattering for all ages and body types. Plus, you'll walk away with three effortless ways to wear it.
If you walk into the Who What Wear office in January, you might expect to see a lot of puffers and wool coats, but think again. Lately, every time my fellow fashion editors and I gather, despite the cold, more than half of us are wearing a heavy-duty leather jacket. Some prefer the traditional moto style, while others are playing around with distressed brown and cargo-pocket iterations. Now when the Who What Wear fashion editors are all wearing something, you can infer that this is the It item of the season. I'd definitely call it that.
Leather jackets have absolutely peaked in the past few months thanks to a few big names wearing them on the runways and on the streets. What I love the most about the current revival of the leather jacket is that people are having so much fun remixing it.
That's So Versatile
Currently, a staple that is loved by celebrities involves an oversize leather moment with a shearling collar. Popularized by everyone's favorite designer, Khaite, it's the best take on a leather jacket that I've seen in a while. I recently acquired a similar version that's $4000 cheaper, and I'm obsessed. I wear it so often that some people might think it's the only jacket I own. In actuality, I probably have 20 to 30 others, yet I continuously wear the leather number again and again. Naming something the "So Versatile" piece of the season is a major honor. This jacket has truly earned it with its versatility and quality construction.
3 Ways I'm Wearing My Leather Jacket
People are saying New York is the new L.A. New Yorkers are trading their known glamour for a more casual aesthetic, and I'm right with them. If you're currently bored of your jeans-and-sweater combination, try styling your look with a statement leather jacket and hiking boots. You will fall in love.
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It suddenly feels like I only own one sweater. This is all I want to wear.
I saw Laura Harrier styling this exact jacket in the most interesting way. I hadn't thought to wear a slip skirt with a belt, but I'm never going back. I feel like my look was taken to the next level. This is the best take on officewear I've seen.
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Investing in those basics you'll wear on repeat is always a good idea.
One of my favorite ways to wear a leather jacket in the winter is with a coat on top. Layering a jacket with a coat gives you options when you step indoors but don't want to take every layer off.
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Shop more leather jackets:
This is the kind of leather jacket that fashion editors are after.
This color will spice things up.
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Sierra Mayhew was always destined to work in fashion, but she didn't know it at first. Growing up with no choice but to wear a rotation of school uniforms and activewear, her love for fashion really blossomed when she moved away for college and was able to finally define her very own personal style. Shortly thereafter, she interned at Elle magazine and instantly knew that editorial was for her. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, she worked for ShopBazaar, contributing regularly to Bazaar.com, and finally made her way to Who What Wear, where she is an associate editor. When she’s not working, you can catch her always trying to catch a flight, trying the latest fitness craze in New York City, or exploring luxury vintage boutiques.