Crush on Retro Leather Jacket Review: Best Budget Leather Jacket?

I’ve been wearing some of the best leather jackets money can buy for a while now, but recently I came across something much more affordable: Crush on Retro, a newcomer from China.

Usually, it’s not that hard to figure out why a leather jacket is low quality by simply reading the product page and looking at photos, but Crush on Retro is a stumper. They make a vegetable tanned horsehide leather jacket — descriptors that always suggest a four-figure price tag — for just $350.

So I’m putting it head-to-head with Rainbow Country, a Japanese leather jacket brand that’s world famous for their quality. Mine looks surprisingly close to the Crush on Retro jacket, and at four times the price, the Rainbow Country should be better.

But is it four times better?

We’ll break down construction, leather quality, fit, details, and overall value to find out if a sub $400 jacket can compete with the best on the market.

Pros & Cons: Crush on Retro Leather Jacket

If you don’t have time to read the whole review below or watch the video version of it above, here’s a summary of my experience with Crush On Retro.

What I liked

• Exceptional value; real horsehide around $350 is hard to find, especially new.
• Thick leather with nice grain that should crease and age well.
• Feels durable not something you have to baby or worry about scratching.
• Comfortable fit and easy to wear day-to-day.
• Solid construction overall: utilitarian but clearly not poorly made (French seams, sturdy build).
• Hefty zipper that feels tougher and easier to use than the Rainbow Country repro zipper.
• Comparable look, visually not far off much more expensive jackets.
• Way better than mall brands even those that cost more (see AllSaints)
• Good return policy and fast shipping.
• Worthy entry point into real leather jackets without buying used.

Downsides, not dealbreakers

• It’s not the best horsehide: the leather lacks the refinement and character of high-end Japanese leather.
• Less precise stitching and fewer stitches per inch than Rainbow Country.
• It’s a direct “reproduction” of Rainbow Country: some might respect the original designer too much to buy what some would call a knockoff.
• Cheaper hardware: Crush on Retro uses a duller alloy instead of polished stainless steel.
• Cotton-polyester lining: it’s fine, but fans of high-end jackets would prefer no synthetics.
• Slight puckering of lining compared to the cleaner Japanese lining.
• Fewer finishing details: sleeves, pockets, and trim are simpler.
• Slightly less sharp silhouette than the Rainbow Country.
• The company’s not very transparent with how it’s made: It’s cheap and it’s made in China, so I’d want some information about the factory and the tannery to balance that out.

The Original: Rainbow Country’s Single Rider Leather Jacket

• Shinki horsehide with teacore finish
• Among the top Japanese leather jacket brands
• Handmade in Japan

I have the Rainbow Country Single Rider: a 1930s-inspired, single-breasted leather jacket built with meticulous detail. It’s made from teacore vegetable-tanned horsehide that’s notably soft and lustrous, developing deeper grain and character as it breaks in.

Inside is a warm melton wool lining, and plenty of vintage touches like the Waldes pin-lock zipper, ball-chain chest pocket, nut buttons, and side waist adjusters.

You feel the quality the moment you put it on: the weight, the grain, the way the leather starts to show character after only a few wears. It’s the kind of piece that improves with time. The patina, creasing, and subtle shifts in color don’t just tell a story — they become your story.

Among Japanese leather jacket makers, it’s widely considered as one of the best in terms of value thanks to its materials, patterns, and construction quality. Jake from Almost Vintage Style wrote an in-depth review of his own Rainbow Country jacket here if you want to dive deeper.

Overview: Tailor Brando Mulholland Jacket from Crush on Retro

• Around $350
• Thick horsehide leather
• Solid wool lining
• Strong first impressions for the cost
• Popular recommendation for sub-$500 buyers

I bought the Tailor Brando Mulholland jacket on Crush on Retro (COR) after seeing constant references on leather forums — especially Reddit — as a good option under $500.

I paid $350 for it, which is kind of wild. Some people have even gotten it cheaper, since Crush On Retro is a vendor while Tailor Brando actually makes the jacket.

(But I ordered from Crush On Retro because they have a good reputation for customer service — it’s often worth paying a little extra to buy from a store than from a brand, especially if that brand’s in China!)

The brand Tailor Brando makes reproductions of famous brands like Real McCoy, Freewheelers, Eastman and more, then they sell them at a fraction of the price of the real thing. The Mulholland looks very much like Rainbow Country’s Hercules jacket.

First impressions were strong. At a similar price to something like a Thursday jacket, this already looks noticeably better. The leather is thick and it should crease beautifully.

Crush On Retro’s Leather Quality

• Rainbow Country: Vegetable-tanned Shinki horsehide
• Crush on Retro: Vegetable tanned horsehide

The Rainbow Country uses Shinki — one of the most respected tanneries in the leather jacket world — prized for its tight grain and the way it develops character over time.

Rainbow Country also adds their own finishing, including a delicate teacore topcoat: a thin dye layer over brown leather. It patinas quickly, but it also means high-wear areas, like around the zipper, can show wear early, with the zipper gradually cutting through the finish. I found it more delicate than I expected.

Crush on Retro’s leather is not Shinki, but it’s still a good hide. It’s thick horsehide with a nice grain that should crease well and feels durable when I’m wearing it. It’s less shiny than the Rainbow Country leather and has a slight squeak — normal for thicker horsehide leather jackets.

The horsehide is so thick though that after a month it’s already developing rolls and tunneling.

💡 Important: Horsehide is thicker, harder to break in, and is typically more expensive than other leathers like cowhide, goat, sheep, or lamb. Learn more about types of leather used to make jackets →

Crush on Retro vs Rainbow Country: Fit and Feel

• Both jackets fit well and feel comfortable
• Rainbow Country has the sharper silhouette
• Softer lining on Rainbow Country
• Crush on Retro still far above mall-brand fit and feel

The Crush on Retro fits well. It’s not quite as sharp-looking as the Rainbow Country, but the difference is small — both wear comfortably and look similar on body.

The Rainbow Country does fit me better overall and has a cleaner silhouette. Its lining is also noticeably softer, while the Crush on Retro’s lining feels a bit rougher.

I should note that my Mulholland jacket is lined with a wool blend, but they now sell the jacket with a cotton-poly blend.

Although the two jackets I’m comparing have wool lining, the plaid sleeve lining on the Rainbow Country makes it slightly warmer.

Stitching, Seams, and Details

• Rainbow Country has cleaner stitching and finer detail work
• Crush on Retro uses solid French seams but less precision
• Hardware is higher quality on Rainbow Country
• Overall construction similar, refinement different

You can clearly see the extra craftsmanship on the Japanese jacket. The two look very similar at a glance, but the Rainbow Country is cleaner in the details. It’s clearly the more refined jacket.

The Crush on Retro is solidly built — just less refined. Stitching is a bit less precise, and some structural areas are simpler. I should note that the man hunting for a sub-$500 leather jacket is unlikely to care that much about these higher-end details.

Hardware is another difference. The Rainbow Country uses polished stainless hardware, while the Crush on Retro uses a duller alloy, solid hardware, just not as premium.

Crush on Retro vs. a Mall Brand Jacket (Michael Kors)

To put things in perspective, I compared the Crush on Retro jacket to a high-end jacket and a typical mall-brand leather jacket — in this case, a Michael Kors.

Even though the Michael Kors originally retailed for about $600 (and dropped to around $300 on sale), it feels dramatically less substantial than the Crush on Retro jacket.

The Kors’ leather is soft and supple, but also very thin and floppy. It’s comfortable at first, but it’s unlikely to age well — more likely to tear than develop character.

By contrast, the Mulholland uses much thicker horsehide that actually behaves like a heritage leather jacket and should improve with wear. The difference is obvious once you handle both side by side.

One Month Update

After a month of regular wear, the Mulholland has already started developing sleeve tunneling and early rolls. It’s become one of my easy grab-and-go jackets — comfortable and simple to wear day to day.

Up close, the design is very similar to the Rainbow Country, though not identical. The Mulholland feels more utilitarian: the stitching isn’t quite as clean and the finishing is simpler, but it still feels solidly built.

It’s not better than the Rainbow Country — that’s still the more luxury piece — but it’s much closer than I expected after real wear.

The hardware stands out as a difference. The Mulholland’s zipper is hefty and confidence-inspiring, while the Rainbow Country uses a reproduction zipper that’s actually a bit finicky and known to be easier to damage if you’re not careful.

After the wear I put into these jackets, you can also see how differently the leather behaves. The Rainbow Country’s delicate teacore finish shows wear quickly — especially around the zipper — whereas the Crush On Retro’s thicker horsehide seems more tolerant of everyday use.

It’s not better than the Rainbow Country — that’s still the more luxury piece — but it’s much closer than I expected after real wear.

Is it Worth It?

Before buying $2,000 jackets, I was mostly shopping in the $600 range — and at $350, Crush On Retro is superior to any other jacket I’ve tried at the $600 pricepoint. It punches well above its weight and is a lot easier to buy than most competitors.

The Rainbow Country is clearly the higher-end piece: Shinki leather, more precise stitching, and cleaner finishing. But the Crush on Retro doesn’t feel at all cheap, actually the opposite, it feels high quality: the horsehide is thick, it’s already developing rolls and tunneling, and it wears comfortably in everyday use.

Functionally, there’s nothing I can do in the Rainbow Country that I can’t do in this.

Crush on Retro also ships quickly (about a week) and has a straightforward 14-day return policy, which helps make it an easy entry point.

The Japanese jacket is beautifully made: softer wool lining, plaid sleeve liner, and very supple leather. Everything about it feels refined.

That’s really the point of this comparison: the Rainbow Country is the better jacket, but the Crush on Retro delivers an unusual amount of quality for the cost.

Compared to many other jackets I own — including Thedi and Aero — it punches well above its price.

Closing Thoughts

I used to say if you wanted a quality leather jacket for cheap, you had to buy second hand. But that comes with its own set of issues: wrong size, worn linings, strange smells, someone else’s story.

Crush On Retro is really changing the game. For under $400, you’re getting real horsehide, a great pattern, and something that actually ages gracefully.

Is it perfect? No. But is it better than I expected? Absolutely. The used market isn’t your only option anymore.

With Crush on Retro, you don’t need to spend fifteen hundred dollars to wear something you’re proud of.