Why I created the women’s motorcycle jacket I couldn’t find

After more than 20 years of riding motorcycles, I was still making compromises every time I bought a new jacket.

Too technical. Too sporty. Not quite the right fit. Something I was happy to ride in, but wanted to take off as soon as I reached my destination.

I kept wondering: why couldn’t I find one motorcycle jacket that gave me the protection I wanted, worked for the way I ride and still felt like me?

Eventually, I decided to create it.

The result is VEGA, the women’s motorcycle jacket I created after years of experiencing many of the same frustrations I now hear from other women riders: finding the right fit, protection and functionality without feeling that personal style has to be sacrificed along the way.

Why is finding the right women’s motorcycle jacket still difficult?

Women’s motorcycle clothing has changed enormously since I started riding. There is more choice, more technical innovation and more recognition that women riders deserve products designed with them in mind.

But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped making compromises.

Since creating Linda-Jean, I’ve spoken to women riders online, at motorcycle events and at my stand. Different women. Different motorcycles. Different bodies. Very different ideas about style.

Yet I keep hearing variations of frustrations I recognise myself.

Sleeves that are too long when everything else fits.

A jacket that works around your waist but not your bust or hips.

Finding your size, but not in the jacket you actually wanted.

Something that feels fine when you’re standing in a changing room but suddenly doesn’t feel quite right when you reach for the handlebars.

Or finding a technically capable motorcycle jacket that simply doesn’t feel like you.

Recent research suggests these conversations aren’t happening in isolation.

In 2025, UK motorcycle retailer Orwell Motorcycles (link to their website: https://orwell.co.uk/) asked women riders and pillions what they wanted to see from its women’s clothing range.

More than 200 responded, with requests including better options for petite, tall and plus-size women, more casual motorcycle clothing and greater availability of AA- and AAA-rated garments.

The issue isn’t simply whether women’s motorcycle clothing exists. Of course it does.

The challenge is whether women with different bodies, riding styles and personal preferences can find protective clothing that works for them.

Women’s bodies don’t fit neatly into a size chart

Two women can technically wear the same clothing size and have completely different proportions.

One may need more room around the bust. Another around the hips. One has longer arms. Another has a shorter torso.

That’s why finding your motorcycle jacket size is only part of the equation.

The way the jacket is cut and how it behaves when you’re sitting on the motorcycle matter too.

Recent specialist coverage of women’s motorcycle gear continues to highlight problems such as jackets pinching in one area while gaping in another, as well as the importance of sleeve length and armour positioning.

And that last point matters because we’re not simply talking about fashion.
We’re talking about protective motorcycle clothing.

Why does the fit of a women’s motorcycle jacket matter?

A motorcycle jacket needs to work when you’re actually riding your motorcycle, not simply look good while you’re standing in front of a mirror.

Reach forward for the handlebars and everything changes.

Your arms extend. Your elbows bend. The jacket moves across your shoulders. The back can rise. Armour that seemed perfectly positioned while standing may feel different once you’re sitting on the bike.

That’s why I always believe motorcycle clothing should be tried in a position that is as close as possible to how you actually ride.

Fit and comfort are also attracting formal research attention. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is studying motorcycle protective equipment, including jackets, to examine comfort, usability, protective value and both perceived and objectively measured fit. The proposed study involves 625 motorcycle riders.

→ Take a closer look to the study from the US National Highway

For us as riders, there’s also a much simpler consideration.

Nobody wants to spend an entire day distracted by a jacket that pinches, pulls, rides up or constantly needs adjusting.

Protection matters. But so does being comfortable enough to concentrate on enjoying the ride.

Why should women have to choose between protection and style?

This was one of the questions I kept coming back to when I started Linda-Jean.
Motorcycle clothing is first and foremost protective equipment. I will never argue otherwise.

But why should taking protection seriously mean that our personal style becomes an afterthought?

Recent rider-focused coverage still describes women experiencing jackets that ride up, bunch, pinch or simply don’t work particularly well once they’re on the motorcycle.

It also reflects a desire for motorcycle jackets that combine protection and riding functionality with something women are happy to wear away from the bike.

I recognise that desire very well.

When I’m riding, I’m rarely just riding.

I’ll stop for coffee. Walk around a town. Have lunch. Meet friends. If I’m travelling, I’ll want to explore wherever I’ve ended up that day.

And my motorcycle jacket comes with me.

That idea of clothing doing more than one job has been with me for a long time.

What riding across the Alps taught me about motorcycle clothing

In 2011, I spent a week riding the Route des Grandes Alpes on my Ducati Monster 620.
There wasn’t much luggage space. We were navigating with paper maps, there were no intercoms and there certainly wasn’t room for a second wardrobe for when we stopped riding.

When you travel by motorcycle, you quickly learn that everything you pack needs to earn its place.

That experience stayed with me.

Years before I thought about creating Linda-Jean, I had already started questioning why motorcycle clothing couldn’t work harder for us.

Why couldn’t one garment perform more than one function?

And why should my motorcycle jacket only feel appropriate while I’m sitting on my motorcycle?

Those questions eventually became part of the thinking behind VEGA.

I realised I wasn’t the only woman making these compromises

One of the most interesting parts of building Linda-Jean has been hearing other women’s experiences.

I might have started with my own frustrations, but the more women riders I meet, the clearer it becomes that there isn’t one universal “female rider problem”.

There are lots of individual ones.

The petite rider struggling with sleeve length.

The curvier rider who gets the waist right but not the bust.

The woman who wants serious protection but doesn’t identify with a very sporty aesthetic.

The rider who wants her motorcycle clothing to work when she reaches her destination, rather than immediately wanting to change out of it.

We’re not one homogeneous group and we shouldn’t be treated as one.

The Orwell survey reflects that diversity: women weren’t asking for one particular type of motorcycle jacket.

They were asking for more protection choices, different sizes and different styles of clothing.

That’s an important distinction.

Women riders don’t need one perfect motorcycle jacket. We need better choices.

→ Check out our blog post How to choose a women’s motorcycle jacket: safety, fit and style explained

So I decided to create the motorcycle jacket I wanted to wear

Starting a motorcycle clothing brand certainly wasn’t what I imagined when I bought my first motorcycle.

But years of being the customer gave me a very clear idea of what I wanted to create — and, perhaps more importantly, what I didn’t want to create.

I didn’t want to make motorcycle fashion at the expense of protection.

And I didn’t want to make protective motorcycle clothing and treat how a woman feels wearing it as an afterthought.

So when I started developing VEGA, I began with the woman who would actually wear it.

Protection came first.

VEGA is certified to Class AA under EN 17092-3:2020 and includes Level 2 protection at the shoulders, elbows and back.

Then came movement and fit.

I wanted the jacket to work when sitting on a motorcycle, not just standing in front of a mirror. That thinking influenced details including the extended back, adjustable waist and side zips that provide additional flexibility when sitting on the bike.

And then came life away from the motorcycle.

Remember that trip through the Alps and my belief that everything we carry on a motorcycle should earn its place?

That thinking eventually contributed to VEGA becoming a 3-in-1 design. The complete jacket can be worn while riding, the outer shell can be worn without the inner layer, and the inner jacket can be worn separately away from the motorcycle.

Finally, there was style.

I wanted to create something I would genuinely choose to wear.

Even the burgundy colour was deliberate. For me, it represents something I wanted Linda-Jean to stand for from the beginning: elegance and strength.

None of those individual decisions solves every frustration experienced by every female rider.

They aren’t supposed to.

VEGA is simply my answer to the motorcycle jacket I couldn’t find.

What should women look for in a motorcycle jacket?

There is no single best women’s motorcycle jacket because there is no single type of woman or motorcyclist.

Your ideal jacket depends on your body, your motorcycle, your riding, the conditions you ride in and what you expect your clothing to do.

But there are five questions I believe are worth asking.

1. What protection does the jacket provide?

Look beyond words such as “protective” or “motorcycle-inspired”.

If you’re buying protective motorcycle clothing, understand what you’re buying: check the garment’s certification, the protection supplied with it and whether that protection suits the type of riding you do.

2. Does it fit properly when you’re riding?

Don’t judge the jacket solely while standing in front of a mirror.

Sit on a motorcycle if you can, or replicate your riding position. Reach forward and check what happens around your shoulders, elbows, back, waist and hips.

Does the jacket still feel right? And does the armour remain where it should?

3. Can you move comfortably?

Think about what you’ll actually be doing in the jacket.

Can you reach your handlebars comfortably? Turn your head? Bend your arms? Get on and off your motorcycle easily?
Small irritations in a changing room can feel very different after several hours in the saddle.

4. Does it work for the riding you actually do?

A woman commuting through London has different requirements from someone crossing the Alps or riding mainly on sunny Sunday mornings.

There’s little point buying entirely for the adventure you might take once every five years if most weekends involve a two-hour ride followed by coffee with friends.

Buy for your real riding rather than an imaginary version of it.

5. Will you actually enjoy wearing it?

This matters too.
Your motorcycle jacket is going to spend a lot of time with you.

If you feel comfortable and confident wearing it, if it works with your lifestyle and if you don’t immediately want to take it off every time you get off your motorcycle, that has value.

Protection and personal style don’t need to be opposing ideas.

Creating VEGA changed how I think about women’s motorcycle clothing

Creating my own motorcycle jacket hasn’t convinced me that I’ve found the answer for every woman.
Quite the opposite.

It has made me appreciate even more how different we are.

Different bodies. Different motorcycles. Different riding styles. Different journeys. Different tastes.

The motorcycle clothing available to women has improved enormously during the more than 20 years I’ve been riding. There are some excellent products available today.

But recent feedback and research also show that women continue to experience frustrations around fit, sizing, choice and finding clothing that suits the way they actually ride.

VEGA won’t be the right jacket for every woman — because no single jacket can be.
But every time a woman tries it on at an event, looks at herself in the mirror and smiles, I’m reminded why I started.

I wanted to create another choice for women like me: riders who take protection seriously but don’t believe getting on a motorcycle means leaving their personal style behind.

And the more women I meet through Linda-Jean, the more convinced I become that better women’s motorcycle clothing starts by listening to the women who actually ride in it.

I’d love to hear from fellow female riders:

💬 What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to motorcycle gear?
Drop a comment or send me an email, your feedback will help me shape the future of Linda-Jean Women’s Motorcycle Fashion.