Search for a leather jacket and the phrase “cafe racer” comes up straight away. It is not a styling term - it is a shape that came out of how people rode. It goes back to 1960s Britain, to the riders who raced between cafes.
How to spot one
Lean over a tank and a big collar flaps in the wind while a heavy belt digs into your stomach. So both were removed. Four things give a cafe racer away:
- A low collar - a small stand collar, or no collar at all.
- A straight front zip, never the diagonal zip of a double riders.
- A short body, so nothing bunches when you lean forward.
- Minimal pockets, and zipped when there are any.
If it has a large collar, a diagonal zip and a D-pocket, it is a double riders - our 618 Double Riders, for example. Same leather, different ancestry, different fit.
Four families at REAL SIMONS
J-100 - the standard
The most straightforward of them, drawn from 1950s racing jackets: slim, short in the body, zipped pockets on both sides. Three leathers:
- J-100 Tea-Core Horsehide - thick, dense horsehide; the brown comes through where it wears (what tea-core is)
- J-100 Goatskin - light and supple, easy over a long day. Blood red, indigo and off-white
- J-100 Reinforced High-Density - padded shoulders, double-stitched placket; the most purpose-built of the three
641 - minimal, one-piece horsehide
641 Cafe Racer, Oil-Wax Black Horsehide. A stand collar and a front zip, and little else. The twin zipped chest pockets pull on chain tabs, which is the one rough note. Red cotton lining, and a slim cut.
Crew neck - no collar at all
Cafe Racer Crew Neck, Tea-Core Horsehide. Based on 1960s-70s flat track racers, with the collar left off entirely - easy to layer over a shirt or a hoodie. Tea-core as well.
Cowhide J100 - the 1930s ancestor
J100 Cafe Racer, Vintage-Finished Brown Cowhide. This one predates the cafe racer: a 1930s sports jacket, with a half belt and action pleats at the back and hand pockets set on the diagonal as they were then. A roomier Western cut rather than a tight Japanese straight, and a burnt-in vintage finish that lands differently on every piece.
Choosing, in order
- Pick the leather. Weight and shine, take horsehide (J-100 tea-core, 641). Lightness and softness, take goatskin.
- Collar or no collar. Crew neck if you want a clean neckline.
- Use the measurements. A cafe racer is meant to be slim and short, so it will not match your usual size. Shoulder, chest, length and sleeve are listed under the size selector on every product page.
The other shapes are in Riders.