Off the Rack ~ Busty Biker Jackets

Since fall is in full swing here in New York, this week I’m going to discuss my favorite bust-friendly jacket option, the biker (or the motorcycle, or the moto). Some of the features of this style include a wide collar, epaulets, zips on the wrists, a built-in belt, and studs. But the most important feature that all biker jackets must have in order to be classified as such is an asymmetrical zipper up the front. And this, my friends, is what makes the style so bust-friendly, even from non-booby brands and in unforgiving fabrics.

The asymmetric zipper and the wide, decorative collar mean that with most of these jackets, you can stop the zipper just under your bust. In fact, many are designed to be worn this way. This means you can buy a size to fit your waist without worrying about fitting your chest. Below are some photos of several biker-style jackets I’ve purchased over the years, with notes about their particular details.

First up is a knit, biker-style hoodie from Forever21:

In this case, I actually do zip it up partway over my bustline. But it’s a stretchy knit and I could stop the zipper lower if I needed to accommodate even more boob. Additionally, since this jacket is cropped and has the built-in belt, if it wasn’t stretchy, I could adjust the belt to be smaller and it would still show off my waist.

Next up is a studded denim jacket from Romeo & Juliet Couture:

This brand is ordinarily way expensive, but I found this piece heavily discounted at a Burlington Coat Factory. The brand also pops up on US flash sale site Hautelook.com pretty regularly, and their affiliate site NordstromRack.com.

I got this jacket in a size medium. It’s 99% cotton and 1% spandex, so it has just enough stretch to accommodate my curves while maintaining its structure. I think it fits well whether open, zipped to the bust, and even zipped all the way up. It has a hidden snap in each corner of the collar, so that when I zip it all the way the collar stays in place and doesn’t crumple up or slide around. The princess seams, a serious rarity among biker jackets, also help make it fit well. I really love how nipped in it is at my waist while still accommodating my chest, and frequently wear it with poofy skirts.

I can’t seem to find this jacket for sale with any conventional retailers, but there are plenty of people selling it on eBay and Poshmark. It also comes in light blue denim.

This particular jacket is what’s called a “collarless” style. It still has lapels, but no collar around the neck. The next two options have a conventional motorcycle-style double-collar.

For the third look, I have another Romeo & Juliet Couture piece (also purchased at a major discount), this time in a soft and floppy rayon-polyester-spandex blend with polyester lining:

This one lacks the princess seams, the structure, and the stretch of the previous choice. It fits quite differently even though it’s the same brand and the same size. The zipper is also on the opposite side.

I would not wear this one zipped all the way, as it squishes my chest that way. (It would also hide the blue denim lapels, which I like the look of.) However, by stopping the zipper at the base of my bust, it leaves me with plenty of room. This jacket is also long enough that as bust size increases, one could stop the zipper lower and lower. With this very floppy fabric, the lapels don’t stick out or float away from my body the way they did with the Express striped blazer Mia tried earlier this year.

Finally, we arrive at my favorite fall clothing item out of my entire wardrobe, a real leather motorcycle jacket with all the trimmings! I bought this coat from WilsonsLeather.com last year with major trepidation. The size chart is useless and the reviews weren’t really helpful. Even with extra coupons that dropped the price to $160, that was a lot to invest in something that might not fit. But then I saw a girl in my apartment building’s elevator in an amazing leather jacket, and when I asked her where it came from, it was the very same one! So I went for it.

The jacket features the double-collar, stud snaps, epaulets, a built-in belt, several pockets, wrist zips, lace-up sides, and—best of all—a zip-out quilted poly-fill liner.

Here are three shots with the liner in it:

And without the liner:

I guess you can’t really see a difference in the photos, but the liner, while warm, makes the jacket feel a lot tighter and more restrictive, so I really prefer to wear it without the liner when I can.

This jacket is obviously not as bust-friendly as the other options above, but it’s still a vast improvement over other leather jackets I’ve tried on in stores. Most of them completely flatten me and make me look like the Michelin Man. Even if it isn’t the most flattering coat ever, I still feel really comfortable in it and I think you can see my shape pretty well. One thing that helps a lot is the lacing on the side (visible in the third liner photo). I tightened it so that it’s looser at the bottom of the placket and as tight as possible at the top, so that it cinches my waist in further right at the base of my bust.

As for sizing, I tried a medium first and it was way too bulky. The shoulders were wide, the sleeves practically reached my fingertips, and the waist had inches to spare. So I exchanged for a small. The more I wear this jacket, the more flexible it becomes—and the more it molds to my body! When I first got it, it was definitely more boxy-looking than it is here. But real leather is known for molding to your body with heat, so over time this jacket will fit better and better as I keep wearing it.

A note about this particular item: Wilson’s Leather lists it as $400 but on sale for $269. Don’t believe it! This is an exclusive item they always carry year in and year out, and it’s always marked at $269. However, they have 30% or 40% off sales all the time, and as far as I can tell, this jacket is always part of that deal. So keep an eye out for their next big sale (Black Friday, perhaps?) before you make a purchase.

Finally, here are some biker jackets from boob-friendly brands that you can buy right now:

If you know of any others, please share in the comments!