A Guide To Mens Black Leather Jackets

Marlon Brando in the movie "The Wild One" (1953) made the black leather motorcycle jacket a cultural icon, which was followed by James Dean in the movie "Rebel Without a Cause", then a black leather jacket with an American Flag sewn to the back of it was worn by Peter Fonda in the movie "Easy Rider", and the Fonz wore one in the television series called "Happy Days" which was about the 1950's and 1960'.

Arnold Schwarzenegger wore one as the "Terminator" and Keanu Reeves wore a full length black leather coat in "Matrix." More recently American teen idol Zac Efron appears in black and white photograph wearing a leather jacket looking like a modern James Dean on the magazine cover of Wonderland 5th Anniversary issue Sept/Oct 2010.

The black leather motorcycle jacket creates the immediate identification with being a "bad boy", someone a bit dangerous, wild, and maybe who has a lot more girls chasing them than everyone else.

Taken to the extreme the black motorcycle jacket, when covered in insignia of motorcycle gangs like the Hell's Angels, means a direct gang affiliation. The black leather motorcycle jacket was originally worn by police to avoid injury from falling from their motorcycles. Then in the 1950's it became the fashion of the "Greasers", which were guys that wore jeans, black motorcycle jackets and greased their hair back in hairstyles called ducktails.

No longer was the black motorcycle simply protective clothing, it became a show of rebellion to wear one. This was also the time with gang fights were called "Rumbles" and the fights were more likely settled by the use of fists and knives rather than guns. Oh, those good old days, when you could only get stabbed, rather than shot!

In modern times black leather is also a very strong part of the gay subculture and there are gay leather bars where all the patrons are wearing nothing but black leather.
If your idea is to convey a tough guy image, to be thought of as a bit dangerous, then the black leather jacket is the perfect thing to wear.

When they fit properly, they feel comfortable and if you do happen to have the motorcycle to go with it, they will offer some very modest protection from a slow speed spill onto the pavement. You may crack your head wide open when you crash if you are not also wearing a helmet, but the black leather jacket will help keep your skin from being scrapped off if you slip out in gravel and "eat it" on the street. Be aware that if you wear a black leather jacket, because the cultural identification with "bad boys" is so strong that you will be perceived as one, even if you are gentle as a lamb.

Just don't get into any fights unless you are capable of finishing them and remember that is it highly likely someone in the crowd will be carrying a gun and a bullet cannot be stopped by leather it can only be stopped by something called Kevlar.