I was gifted the Zenna Black Leather Bomber Jacket by The Jacket Maker in exchange for an honest review. Get 10% off at The Jacket Maker with the code FRAN10.
I have always been a leather jacket person. Not necessarily a fashionable leather jacket person, but I’ve owned enough of them over the years to know what I like.
There was the almost floor-length leather coat I owned for more than twenty years, although I should probably clarify that I stopped actually wearing it once I was about 20 because even I eventually realised that looking like an extra from The Matrix wasn’t necessarily a timeless aesthetic. After at least a decade in a vacuum bag in the loft it finally went to the charity shop, where I hope somebody considerably younger and cooler than me found it and is currently stalking around Reading looking mysterious.
More recently, my favourite has been a black leather bomber jacket I picked up in a charity shop for a tenner about seven years ago. It said Medium on the label but was very clearly designed for somebody around a size 10. I am now very definitely a size 12, which meant I could still zip it up if I breathed in quite hard and didn’t mind my hips bulging out underneath it like some sort of reverse muffin top.
Naturally, I continued wearing it.
I also own a Mango leather jacket with one of those asymmetric side fastenings which, while perfectly nice in theory, does absolutely nothing flattering whatsoever to my body. I wear it occasionally, but I do so in the full knowledge that it is not making me look either svelte or glamorous. Then there are several faux-leather jackets bought cheaply in sales over the years which I apparently cannot bring myself to throw away despite also refusing to wear them because, as it turns out, I really don’t like plastic pretending to be leather.
Basically, what I needed was a proper leather jacket that was soft, comfortable, actually fitted me and didn’t require either abdominal compression or delusion.
Which is where the Zenna Black Leather Bomber Jacket from The Jacket Maker comes in.
The Zenna Black Leather Bomber Jacket
I was allowed to choose my own jacket from The Jacket Maker and, after spending far too long looking at them, went for the Zenna Black Leather Bomber Jacket (it also comes in brown and green suede).
In retrospect, given how relentlessly it has rained since it arrived, I am slightly irritated with myself for not choosing one of the styles with a hood. However, apparently even after 42 years on this earth I still make clothing decisions based on what looks nice rather than what is appropriate for the British climate, so here we are.The Zenna is a classic black bomber made from real sheepskin leather with an aniline finish.
It has a quilted lining, ribbed cuffs and hem, a band collar with a popper fastening and, importantly, a decent number of pockets: four zipped on the outside – two of them big enough to hold a mobile phone – and another two pockets inside which are perfect for train tickets and keys. The older I get, the more I resent having to take bags anywhere, so this is perfect for me.
The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the packaging was how incredibly soft the leather is. Properly buttery soft. My old charity-shop bomber was real leather too, but much stiffer, whereas this feels supple straight away without needing several years of wear before you can comfortably bend your elbows.
It also feels like a proper leather bomber jacket rather than something thin and flimsy. The Jacket Maker says its jackets are handmade individually rather than being produced on a mass-production line, and the stitching and finish on mine are very neat.
A Word About The Sizing
This was the only part of ordering that caused a little bit of drama; based on my chest measurement, The Jacket Maker initially recommended that I choose a Large. I am usually a UK size 12 and, looking at the rest of the measurements, I was fairly convinced that a Large was going to swamp me, so I asked them to send a Medium instead.
I am glad I did as the Medium is actually slightly roomy on me. Not ridiculously so, and there is plenty of room underneath for a jumper, which is useful for a jacket I intend to wear through autumn and winter, but I definitely would not have wanted it any bigger.
Their current size guide lists a Medium as UK 12–14 and a Large as UK 16–18, which feels much more in line with the jacket I actually received. If you are between sizes or prefer a fitted leather jacket rather than an oversized look, I would personally pay attention to the overall size chart rather than automatically sizing up based on one measurement.
After seven years of wearing a Medium leather jacket that was secretly a size 10 and could only be zipped up if I sacrificed the ability to inhale, it is admittedly quite novel to have one that closes without requiring preparation.
What Is It Like To Wear?
Lovely, and warm.
The softness makes a much bigger difference than I expected. It doesn’t have that stiff new-leather-jacket feeling where you spend the first few weeks moving like somebody has put you in a brace. The sleeves and shoulders move easily, it sits nicely over clothes and the ribbed waistband gives it the proper bomber shape without gripping tightly around my hips.
I also really like the simple styling. There aren’t loads of unnecessary buckles, belts or decorative zips, so it works with jeans and trainers without looking like I am attempting to join a motorcycle gang.
One slightly odd feature is the main zip, which does up from the opposite side to the one I am used to. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it and after a few wears I imagine I will stop noticing, but the first couple of times I put it on I genuinely had a brief moment where I wondered whether I had somehow forgotten how zips worked.
Is It Worth £270?
At £270, this clearly isn’t an impulse purchase in the same way my £10 charity-shop jacket was.
Then again, I owned that jacket for seven years and the enormous leather coat before it survived for more than two decades, so I don’t really see a good leather jacket as something you buy for one season.
The Jacket Maker’s whole pitch is that it sells directly to customers rather than through traditional retail mark-ups, and alongside its standard sizing it also offers made-to-measure jackets and completely custom designs. For somebody who struggles to get a standard leather jacket to fit properly, that is quite an appealing option.
For me, though, the biggest selling point is simply the leather itself. It feels expensive. It is soft, comfortable, warm and substantial, and it is exactly the sort of jacket I can see myself throwing on constantly for years. Watch this space!
The Ultimate Wardrobe Test
Perhaps the strongest endorsement I can give the Zenna is that it finally made me get rid of my old charity-shop bomber.
I had kept that jacket for around seven years despite the fact it was blatantly too small, because I loved the shape and had convinced myself that being technically capable of fastening a zip was the same thing as an item of clothing fitting.
The arrival of the Zenna finally broke the spell, and my old jacket has now gone to my friend Helen, who it actually fits and looks fantastic in.
The Mango jacket and assorted faux-leather sale purchases are, admittedly, still taking up space in my wardrobe, because personal growth has its limits.
But I finally have a black leather bomber that fits comfortably, feels absolutely gorgeous and doesn’t make my hips look like they are attempting to escape from underneath it.
I just wish I’d chosen the hood.
Get 10% off at The Jacket Maker with the code FRAN10
