Real stories · The biker jacket that made Malcolm cool

I bought Malcolm a biker jacket half as a joke — he hasn't taken it off since

The biker jacket that made Malcolm cool — that's what this is. I'm 67, Malcolm is 68, and his wardrobe has been beige-and-navy since roughly the millennium. Sensible coats, sensible jumpers, a man dressed entirely by habit. Then our granddaughter found a photo of him from 1978 — on a motorbike, in a leather jacket — and he went quiet in a way I recognised.

What I wanted, half as a joke and half not, was to buy him back a little of 1978.

Then I found the Tharen from a British label called York Boutique — a classic moto jacket in beautifully distressed vintage-brown PU leather, with quilted shoulders, a snap collar and proper zips everywhere. There's a black as well; I chose the brown, because that was the colour in the photo.

The worn-in brown is what makes it work. It doesn't look new — it looks like something he's owned since that photo was taken, which is exactly the point — which is why he put it on, looked in the mirror slightly too long, and then wore it to the garden centre, of all places. And because it's PU rather than heavy hide, it's light and soft from the very first day with no breaking in, the quilted shoulders do the attitude, and the smooth lining keeps him warm while he's being admired.

Worn-in vintage brown that looks owned-since-1978 rather than bought-last-week — light, soft PU with no breaking in, and quilted shoulders doing all the attitude on his behalf.

It was £49.95 — 55% off the usual £110 — which is a very reasonable price for getting 1978 back, and with a fortnight to send it back and free delivery there was no risk in the joke.

He has since worn it on dog walks, to the pub and to one school concert for the grandchildren, and our granddaughter — the source of all this — looked up and said 'Grandad looks cool.' He has been quietly insufferable ever since. It was £49.95 in the sale — 55% off the usual £110.

If your husband also went beige somewhere around the millennium, do have a look. The Tharen is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 220 customers, it comes in vintage brown and black, in sizes S to 3XL — and with Christmas coming, this is exactly the present that gets him talked about.