Few jackets carry as much quiet history as the harrington. It is the short, zip-up jacket with the flat collar and the ribbed waist that you have seen a thousand times without always knowing its name. It started on the golf course, found its way onto the backs of mods and skinheads, and then became a uniform on the football terraces of the 1980s. Along the way it never stopped being what it was at the start: a simple, honest jacket that looks right on almost everyone. This guide explains what a harrington actually is, how it differs from a bomber, where it came from, and why a leather harrington jacket is the version worth keeping for good.
The harrington is proof that the best design does not shout. It is a short jacket with a clean collar that has outlasted every trend thrown at it for nearly a century.
What is a harrington jacket?
A harrington is a lightweight, waist-length jacket that zips up the front and finishes with a ribbed, elasticated hem and matching ribbed cuffs. The defining detail is the collar: a flat, shirt-style point collar that sits down against the chest rather than standing up around the neck. The body is cut short and fairly straight, so the jacket ends right at the waistband and never covers the hips.
Traditionally the harrington is slim and light, built to be thrown on over a shirt or a polo without adding bulk. The front zip runs all the way to the top of the collar, and there is usually a small amount of shaping at the sides so the jacket follows the body rather than hanging square. It is the kind of piece you can wear three seasons out of four, on its own in spring and autumn and as a layer under a coat in winter.
The name is a quirk of television history. The cut had been around since the 1930s, worn on golf courses and for casual weekends, but it only became the harrington in the 1960s, after a character on a well known American soap opera wore one so often that menswear sellers started asking for the jacket by his surname. The label stuck, and now harrington describes the shape itself, whoever makes it.
Harrington jacket vs bomber jacket: the real difference
This is the question people ask most, because at a glance the two jackets look related. Both are short, both zip up, both are easy to layer. The differences, though, are clear once you know where to look, and they change how each jacket wears.
The first tell is the collar. A harrington has a flat point collar, like the collar on a shirt, that folds down. A bomber has a ribbed, knitted band collar that stands up around the neck. That single detail gives the two jackets completely different characters: the harrington reads a little smarter and more buttoned-up, the bomber a little more sporty and relaxed.
The second difference is the cut. A harrington is trimmer and straighter through the body, designed to sit close. A classic bomber is fuller and rounder, with more room across the chest and a more pronounced blouson shape where the body gathers into the hem. Finally there is the history: the bomber descends from military flight jackets, while the harrington came from golf and casual town wear. One was built for the cockpit, the other for the clubhouse, and you can still feel that difference when you put them on.
Buneri Brown Leather Zip Box Harrington Jacket {{button: View the brown leather harrington | https://buneri.eu/products/buneri-brown-leather-zip-box-harrington-jacket/}}
This brown leather harrington is the style done properly: the short box cut, the clean point collar and the zip-box front, all in real sheepskin leather rather than thin cotton. It gives you the authentic harrington line with the depth and durability of real leather, so it reads as heritage rather than high-street. It is the jacket to reach for when you want the look with substance behind it.
From the golf course to the mods
The harrington began as practical sportswear, a light jacket to keep the wind off between holes. It might have stayed there if British youth culture had not adopted it. In the 1960s the mods, obsessed with clean lines and sharp, continental style, took to the harrington because it was neat, understated and looked right with slim trousers and a button-down shirt. It fit their whole philosophy: nothing flashy, everything considered.
From the mods it passed to the skinheads of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who kept the jacket but hardened the look around it. The harrington suited them for the same reason it suited the mods: it was short, it was smart, and it did not get in the way. By this point the jacket had completely escaped the golf course and become a piece of street uniform, worn by young men who cared a great deal about exactly how they dressed.
What is remarkable is how little the jacket itself had to change to move between these worlds. The same short body, point collar and ribbed hem worked for a sharp-dressed mod and a terrace regular alike. That adaptability is the core of the harrington’s appeal and the reason it keeps coming back decade after decade.
Buneri Brown Leather Zip Box Harrington Jacket Ii {{button: See the second brown harrington | https://buneri.eu/products/buneri-brown-leather-zip-box-harrington-jacket-ii/}}
This second brown harrington is a slightly different take on the same classic, so you can choose the exact tone and finish that suits you. Like the first, it keeps the short box silhouette and the point collar that define the style, in real sheepskin leather built to soften and improve with wear. If you want a harrington that looks lived-in and personal rather than brand new forever, this is the one that rewards the years.
The football terraces and the casuals
The harrington’s most famous chapter came in the late 1970s and through the 1980s, on the football terraces of Britain. The casuals, young fans who built an entire subculture around dressing well, adopted the harrington as part of a wardrobe that prized understated, good-quality clothing over anything loud or logo-heavy. On a cold Saturday afternoon, a short zip-up jacket that looked sharp and layered easily was exactly right.
The terraces turned the harrington from a youth-culture piece into something close to a national classic. It was everywhere, worn by thousands, and it carried a certain quiet confidence: the point of casual style was to look like you had not tried too hard while actually having thought about every detail. The harrington, plain and perfectly cut, was made for that game.
That heritage is why the jacket still feels authentic today. When you wear a harrington you are wearing something with real roots in British style, a line that runs from the golf course through the mods and skinheads to the terraces and out the other side into the present. A leather version simply takes that story and makes it last.
Buneri Black Leather Classic Box Zip Jacket {{button: Shop the black box-zip jacket | https://buneri.eu/products/buneri-black-leather-classic-box-zip-jacket/}}
This black box-zip jacket is the harrington idea at its cleanest: short, straight, zipped to the collar and stripped of anything unnecessary. In black sheepskin leather it is as easy to wear as a jacket gets, going with jeans, chinos and almost everything in the wardrobe. It is the versatile, year-round member of the harrington family, and the one you will likely reach for most.
How to wear a leather harrington jacket
The harrington is one of the easiest jackets to style, precisely because it was built to be plain. Here is a simple way to get it right, whether you are after the heritage look or something more modern.
- Start with a clean base. A plain t-shirt, a polo or a fine knit underneath keeps the short, neat line of the jacket intact. Avoid anything bulky that breaks the silhouette.
- Keep the trousers slim or straight. Slim jeans, chinos or tailored trousers all work, because the short jacket balances a leaner leg far better than a wide one.
- Let the collar do the talking. Zip it up to the neck for a sharper, mod-leaning look, or leave it half open over a collared shirt for something more relaxed.
- Mind the length. The hem should sit right on your waistband. If it drops over the hips the proportion is wrong and the jacket loses its character.
- Choose footwear with intent. Clean trainers lean casual and modern, loafers or desert boots lean heritage. Both suit the jacket, so pick the mood you want.
Caring for a leather harrington
- Wipe the leather down with a soft, dry cloth every few wears to lift dust before it settles into the grain.
- Let the jacket dry naturally at room temperature if it gets caught in the rain, never on a radiator or with a hairdryer.
- Store it on a broad hanger so the shoulders keep their shape, and give it room to breathe rather than crushing it in a packed wardrobe.
- Condition the leather a couple of times a year with a product made for real leather, which keeps it supple and deepens the colour over time.
- Do up the zip halfway when you hang it, so the front keeps its clean line and the ribbing does not stretch out of shape.
Treated this way, a leather harrington does the opposite of a cheap jacket: it looks better the longer you own it, softening to your shape and building a patina that no new jacket can fake.
What makes a Buneri jacket
Every Buneri jacket is real sheepskin leather with a premium faux fur lining, so it is warm, soft and built to last for years rather than a season. Each one is hand-made to order in our own workshop in Karachi, Pakistan, and sent to you by courier directly from there, usually in about 14 days: roughly 7 days to make and 7 to ship.
Shipping is free, and we pay any customs and import taxes, so the price you see is the price you pay. If the fit is not right, you have 30 days to return it. Want a precise fit from the start? Made-to-measure is available for a fixed surcharge of 49 EUR through the Custom size option on the product page. The seller for our European shops is Garments X Wears Kft. in Budapest.
In closing
The harrington has survived almost a century because it gets the basics exactly right: a short, clean cut, a smart point collar and a ribbed hem that sits where it should. It carried the mods, the skinheads and the terrace casuals, and it still looks right today. A leather harrington jacket takes all of that heritage and makes it permanent, giving you a piece with real history, real substance and a line that never goes out of style.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a bomber jacket and a harrington?
A harrington is a short, boxy zip-up jacket with a flat point collar, a ribbed waistband and ribbed cuffs, cut close to the body and designed to end right at the waist. A bomber usually sits a little fuller through the body, often has a stand-up ribbed collar rather than a flat one, and grew out of flight jackets rather than golf and casual wear. In short, the harrington has a shirt-style collar and a trimmer line, while the bomber has a knitted collar and a rounder shape.
Why is it called a harrington jacket?
The style is far older than the name. This short zip-up jacket was worn through the 1930s onward, but it picked up the harrington label in the 1960s after a character on a popular television drama was often seen in one. The name stuck, and today harrington simply describes the cut: short body, point collar, ribbed hem and cuffs, light and easy to layer.
Is a leather harrington jacket good for everyday wear?
Yes, it is one of the most wearable jackets you can own. The short, clean cut goes over a t-shirt, a knit or a shirt without bulk, it layers under a coat in deep winter, and the point collar keeps it smart enough for more than just weekends. In real sheepskin leather it also lasts for years and ages beautifully, which a thin cotton version never will.
How should a harrington jacket fit?
It should sit close but not tight. The ribbed hem is meant to rest right on your waistband, the cuffs should grip the wrist without cutting in, and you want just enough room for a t-shirt and a light knit underneath. If it hangs below the hips or balloons at the body it is too big, because the whole charm of the harrington is its short, neat line.
