The welding jackets I've seen and used before mostly looked like high school letter jackets -- cloth torso, leather sleeves, usually two different colors. Which was fine, they did their job, and after a few months the sleeves had pinpricks of black all over them. Now, I find they've got some kick-ass black welding jackets:
The biggest thing that pisses me off about these jackets is that the manufacturers put their logos all over them; free advertising, I guess -- but
these guys have ones with less logo (just an embossed one) that could pass for less lame than the one above. I used the picture of the one above from
Tillman/Onyx because it shows how the jacket fits better. As a fan of straight lines, I think welding jackets are excellent. They have a short collar, seams reinforced and hidden as much as possible, and the sleeves don't taper at the wrists. The buttons down the front are (or just look) a little off-center, to cover up the opening better, and the pockets are usually big enough to accommodate a gloved hand. They're also a bit longer than a lot of other black leather jackets, so while they look kinda like a motorcycle jacket, they're looser and cover the belt line, and have a more casual look...plus they'll fit guys like me, with a little waist, better. They're a little heavier than your average leather jacket, so it's probably getting too warm for them now that summer's here, but you might want to save your pennies and have one ready for cool fall weather.
