Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Cheap or expensive leather jacket??

43 replies

MaudesMum · 29/10/2017 13:37

I ordered a leather jacket in the Sainsburys 25% off sale, and it has arrived, and is fine. Not brilliant, but fine - on the positive side it doesn't look too cheap, on the negative it has quite irritating flappy lapels.

However, I'd previously tried on an All Saints jacket - the oversized one - and fell very much in love. Lovely leather, very much "me" in terms of how it looks. But it is £420 and the Sainsburys one is £74.50. - so 5 1/2 times as much, and the most I've ever paid for an item of clothing. On the other hand, if I wear it for many many years because its so lovely it would be worth it. Aargh....

OP posts:
Greenteandchives · 29/10/2017 13:39

Waiting to see what replies you get as I am currenty considering an investment in an All Saints jacket. I try it on most weeks! 😳

carb0nated · 29/10/2017 13:41

Leather jackets last years and years. I wouldn't even look at one that cost less than £100 as I know the leather would be cheap rubbish.

happymama99 · 29/10/2017 13:46

If you can afford it you should get the one you love!

bellsandwhistles89 · 29/10/2017 13:48

You could try a River Island jacket, the leather ones are actually surprisingly could quality although around £100. If you can afford the expensive one though then go for it.

bananafanana1 · 29/10/2017 13:48

They last ages and you’ll always love the all saints one- splash out! Grin

Leatherboundanddown · 29/10/2017 13:57

I just got a muuba one from asos for £215 in sale and I love it. Definitely just as good as the all saints ones.

PNGirl · 29/10/2017 14:10

Mine are both AllSaints. They were worth the money. You can get the odd nice cheaper one (Mango) but if you want it to last years there's no contest.

HolgerDanske · 29/10/2017 14:28

I would definitely go for the all saints one.

If you can wait for a discount or sale, even better. But even at full price, if that's the one you love, and you can afford it, then that's the one you should get. I'd rather have one beautiful item that's just right, than five lesser items of varying suitability and/or quality.

whoareyoukidding · 29/10/2017 14:28

If you're young (ish) and basically ok figure then go for cheap. The older one gets, the better quality clothes one needs just to look ok.

Original poster
MaudesMum · 29/10/2017 14:35

Thanks - all really interesting thoughts! I'm in no way young (mid-50s) and not that thin (somewhere between 14 & 16 at the moment). I've come down from size 20 over the last 9 months, and the jacket is going to be a present to myself for getting to the point where I can actually fit into one - but realistically I'm never going to fit into very small/short ones. Will now trawl Asos and River Island to see what they've got...

OP posts:
Floisme · 29/10/2017 14:36

If you can afford to, I would wear the cheap one first to see how you get on with it. I bought 2 cheapies: a pleather one for £50 and a real leather one from a charity shop for about £6.99. Much to my suprise, I realised the biker style didn't suit me nearly as much as I'd thought it would. I was very glad I found out before pissing away £300+.

Catinthecorner · 29/10/2017 15:02

I’ve done really well on eBay with all saints stuff. Also bought my muuba leather jacket for about £70 on there

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 29/10/2017 15:04

I paid a fortune for one. 18 years ago and its still lovely.

ElspethFlashman · 29/10/2017 15:17

I'd try out the style on the cheap first. It's an expensive experiment if you aren't used to the style. My sister bought a V V expensive leather jacket which she soon realised didn't really do her any favours and it languished in her wardrobe for years. God knows where it ended up.

I always hated bikers on me as I looked a bit masculine, until I found a faux leather one in Topshop without a collar so it's much more elegant and you can wear scarves with it.

Have worn it to death and it looks pretty authentic. I'm honestly not sure something that costs hundreds would be any better tbh?

But if you have found one that you are 100% sure of the style of, then no harm thinking about it. It's a hell of a lot of money though and I'd wait for a sale somewhere.

NewBallsPlease00 · 29/10/2017 15:20

I wanted to know that the leather was ethically handled and had same dilemma with all saints at £398 (random price!!) or a next one at £160.
I'm actually ok I bought the cheaper one- I would have loved the other one more yes but I also love love loved the shoes and dress I bought with the extra I was going to spend. I wear it 2-3 times a week and don't regret not spending more

bingolittle · 29/10/2017 15:24

I really wouldn't buy the cheap one - the lapels are already annoying you and you will never really be happy with it. It's cheaper than the other, but it's still not exactly free.

Whether or not to buy the expensive one is a separate issue and depends on whether you really love it.

Original poster
MaudesMum · 29/10/2017 18:22

Thank you everyone - I've decided to send back the Sainsburys one and carry on looking. I've seen some quite nice ones at John Lewis - both their own brand and Jigsaw - particularly this one www.johnlewis.com/jigsaw-washed-biker-jacket/p3284308?colour=Black - so I'll go off to a big branch at some point and have a bit of a try on.

OP posts:
zippyswife · 29/10/2017 18:32

Hey I’m a bit of a cheap skate but I’m glad I got my all saints leather jacket. I love it. And it makes me feel good. Wait till the 20% off and go for it!

zippyswife · 29/10/2017 18:34

Mine was £220 in the sale at all saints (ink blue balfern) which was a seasonal one and so super reduced. I didn’t want black so it was perfect for me!

whoareyoukidding · 29/10/2017 18:36

There's a back Friday coming up 24th November I think - why not wait til then OP and get a bargain?

glovesonstrings · 29/10/2017 18:38

Zara sell decent real leather jackets. Worth trying on. If you can bear standing in a queue to pay for half the day.

Jermajesty · 29/10/2017 18:43

I recently got this and am very impressed with the quality : www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/leather-biker-jacket-6809159

They also do an oversized one : www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/oversized-leather-biker-jacket-6876354

Ktown · 29/10/2017 18:48

I have an all saints and a next one.
I don't think there is much, if anything in it.
I like both.

mowglik · 29/10/2017 19:37

Get the one that makes you feel great and you love, it that’s the £400 one then save up for it/xmas sales, you will wear it for a long time so getting it right is important

SesameSparkle · 29/10/2017 21:43

I would recommend trying on as many jackets as possible before making up your mind. If it's all saints you've still got your heart set on, then you can wait till the 20% offer if you have to.

I tried on everything, all of the all saints ones, mango, tk maxx, whistles etc. In the end the one that really worked on my figure and looked good quality too was a £100 zara jacket. It was a collarless one that looked best on me and it took 2 zara online orders to get the style and size I needed. I love it and I've worn and worn it.

By the way the John Lewis own brand one is nice in real life for the reason that it's a little longer than the standard cropped one.