I’m just gonna come out and say it - the Icon 1000 Fairlady Women’s Jacket is a really nice jacket. It kind of surprised me.

Icon 1000 Fairlady Women’s Jacket - Review
I mean, I expected high quality leather and exquisite construction; Icon’s 1000 line sort of set the bar for ultra-premium motorcycle protective gear when it launched a couple years ago. I knew it would have high-quality, street-specific safety features because street safety is their schtick (all jackets include armor and all helmets are full-face). And I knew it’d have a distinctly young, urban style (which I confess, I totally dig) because, well, it’s Icon.

But what I wasn’t expecting was how absurdly great it looks while wearing it. Ladies, it’s one of those pieces you find and go, “huh...this is kind of cool”, and then you put it on and go, “oh, I want this!”

The Fairlady comes in black with blue accents or brown with black accents. I got the brown one. The leather is soft, with subtle shade variations that give it a vintage vibe, but at 1.1-1.3mm thick, it’s not exactly wimpy. It comes loaded with a full compliment of D3O impact protection at shoulders, elbows, and spine. If you’re not familiar with D3O, it’s thin, light, flexible and tough (the stuff is used to protect the most fragile thing in the universe: your smartphone). It’s not the kind of stuff I look for in track-specific gear, where speeds and spills demand something that’s just plain thicker, but D3O can take a good beating: it hardens on impact, absorbing inertia and minimizing injury-producing force. Also, the Fairlady is not designed for track use.

READ MORE: Rolands Sands Design Women's Oxford Jacket

Hot-spots like underarms and the back of the neck are perforated for ventilation and comfort. I stayed perfectly comfortable riding in barely-breaking-bad, 101-degree heat (granted, I’m sort of used to it).

Icon 1000 Fairlady Women’s Jacket - Review

Zippers are appreciably brawny YYK. If you’ve ever had to replace a non-YYK zipper because the stupid thing came apart the first time you gave it a challenge, you feel my oh-my-god-I-can’t-believe-a-new-zipper-costs-$100-pain.

A removable inner thermal liner in silvery blue satin adds luxe appeal (not to mention versatility for use when the temps dip). Accessorizing touches like buckles and key fobs and circa 1950-something labels are purely charismatic and wholly non functional, but chicks dig ‘em (well, the buckle and belting along the bottom actually work, and offer a more customizeable fit).

READ MORE: Icon 1000 Federal Jacket

Don’t freak out about the longish sleeves; they’re made that way to accommodate your reach for the handlebars. This jacket has a sport-fit, which is really more descriptive of the fashion than the style of riding. A “sport-fit” usually implies a short waist, not too good for sportbike riding. This jacket hit me just below the top of my low-rise jeans and dips just a little lower in the back. I did not experience indecent exposure in a semi-lean on my Ducati Monster.

Icon 1000 Fairlady Women’s Jacket - Review

The coup de gras of the Fairlady is that female-specific fit, available in seven different sizes, btw (XS-3XL). Your helmet might mask your gender, but those princess seams and cleverly-curved breast pockets won’t! No more boxing in the girls, ladies, and say hello to your figure in a legit motorcycle jacket made for real riders.

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I did not know that was possible.

The Icon Fairlady Women’s Jacket; $535. About what you’d expect from a really, really nice jacket.

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