As the good old British weather rolls lazily from a bleak, unpredictable and generally damp summer into a bleak, unpredictable and generally damp autumn, thinking about kitting out your autumn wardrobe with one or two leather jackets is a great idea. But there’s more choice that you might think, and if you are thinking about braving the elements then it’s worth knowing one or two things about choosing leather jackets for autumn before you head off.

Of course, one of the first things to think about is whether to head off to the shops, or buy online. Obviously if you’re in the shops you can get to try on a variety of leather jackets to see what you look like in them. On the other hand you will probably face a very limited range, and often the choice is either between reasonably priced poor quality leather jackets which feel like wearing reinforced cardboard, and high priced leather jackets which look good, and feel good, but lighten your wallet a little too much for you to be able to afford to ever go out in your jacket anywhere.

Buying leather jackets for your autumn wardrobe is certainly a lot quicker and easier online, and you generally have much more choice. Because online retailers have very few overheads the price is usually very much lower too, meaning that you needn’t compromise on quality. This is important because with the British weather generally damp and very changeable it’s important to have leather jackets and coats which can cope.

Cheap leather coats made from cow hide is usually pretty waterproof, but then so is wearing a very large bucket, and it’s about as flexible and comfortable. Some manufacturers of leather coats split cow hide into thinner slices, improving the feel, but the quality is very suspect, and a lot is lost in the process, including warmth and durability.

Leather coats and jackets made from sheep, kid or lamb hide are very soft and supple, very warm, and very waterproof, providing a much better range of benefits. There’s also generally a better range of colours and styles because you can do so much more with softer leather, which is why it’s used to make so many other things such as the seats in luxury cars, wallets, handbags and such like.

For an autumn wardrobe you could consider some of the brighter colours available such as purples, reds or creams, perfect ladies leather jackets, or for the men perhaps a choice of timber or chestnut jackets.

Of course for anyone there are always the classic and timeless colours of black, brown and tab, and with finishes ranging from soft natural sheen, matt, brushed, semi-glaze, washed, crushed and textured finishes, you could find that you’re spoilt for choice.

Still, by the time you’ve browsed the range available and made your choices for your autumn wardrobe it will be just in time to start thinking about choosing leather jackets for winter, when the weather will rapidly lurch into being bleak, unpredictable and generally damp.