What size leathers?

I wasn't sure where to put this and the search seemed to only find items for sale so.....

I am close to taking my test and finally getting out and about on my SV. I passed my mod 1 last week (no minors) and my mod 2 will be booked soon.

I am wanting to get some leathers to wear, mainly for the warmer months as I have some protective winter gear. I am just not so sure on what size to go for.

When buying suits for work, I go for a 38regular in the jacket and I get 30" waist trousers. I ride to work with my work clothes underneath my protective riding gear and this works fine for me.

Do I simply go for the next size up (40), or is it not that simple? Does the size of normal clothes translate directly into the size of a leather suit (one or two piece)?

Is it advisable to get leathers that I can fit clothes underneath? Or should I go for something closer fitting? Carrying my suit, shirt and tie to work as well as my gym clothes and towel will be quite diffict, so I was hoping I'd be OK with wearing my suit underneath my leathers.

Any help is much appreciated.

Not sure about sizing but I would recommend going into a shop and trying different suits on til you find one that fits. I have found that each manufacturer tends to have a different fit for each different size so it's difficult to go on just sizing alone.

With regards to how tight they should be, they should be fairly tight to you, I certainly would manage to fit anything much more than underwear, thermals and a t-shirt under mine (oo-er)! The idea behind them being tight is that they then (hopefully) won't bunch up if you are sliding along the road at 60mph...

Your suit is not going to look presentable after being worn under leathers. Ideally, I believe you should just have "thermals" or under layers beneath your leathers.

Get a top box for the gym kit etc.

I don`t know of anyone who wears a suit under their leathers and as Fenjer says it might not look very presentable once you arrive. Maybe you should look more towards textile jacket and trousers?

Also, another point to note, I think a lot of folk prefer the two peice suits, as on hot weather days if you're out on a social ride you can take the jacket off when you stop. Not so easy in a one piece. If you want to do track days etc you just make sure it all zips together.

And as MBK said, get into the shops and try on as much as you can, what you like the look of might not fit well, and that can do more harm than good.

Jen

I currently have a couple of textile jackets and some textile trousers. I may be best off continuing to use these to commute and then get some leathers for social riding etc.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.