There was a lot going on during Tom Cruise’s cameo at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday night. Yes, he rappelled down from the rafters (because of course he did), but identifying the source of his perfectly patinated leather jacket kept us a bit preoccupied. It was pleasantly worn-in and just the right amount of cropped, and, based on all visual evidence, field-tested and able to handle an impossibly dramatic entrance with aplomb. An ideal fall layer by any metric, basically. At first glance, it looked vintage and frustratingly rare. We’re happy to report it is not.
After doing a little digging and a few hours’ worth of comparative analysis (read: outsourced the labor to our eagle-eyed colleagues), it seems like the 62-year-old stuntman extraordinaire was wearing a leather jacket from RRL, the western-inspired sub-label of Ralph Lauren, the official outfitter of Team USA.
Crafted from full-grain cowhide and equipped with custom brass hardware and a plaid lining, it’s a dead-ringer repro of the type of leather jacket that makes folks really want a leather jacket in the first place. The type that looks killer over a plain white tee and dark jeans, but also layers with ridiculous ease over a threadbare flannel and pleated khakis. The type that becomes increasingly difficult not to wear as soon as the temperature begins to hover around 60 degrees.
But it’s also $1,900, and very much not the only rider-esque jacket on the market, so we thought we’d highlight a few others we’re into—at a few different price points, and in a few different materials—to help you score your fix. Your mission, should you choose to accept it? Make like Tom Cruise, and wear the hell out of one as soon as the first dusty-hued leaf hits the street outside your door.
