MATERIALS GUIDE
The different types of leather
When buying a leather suit, it is important to know what skin it is. The material will have a direct impact on how you wear your product. Some are designed to be warm, others to complete a summer look. Likewise, you will have to go for different leathers if you are looking for a model that is rather light or rather heavy and rigid.
List of our tips and tricks by type of leather:
– Lamb leather
– Sheep leather
– Goat leather
– Cow skin
– Buffalo leather
Lamb leather
Lamb is a supple, thin and light skin. It has the particularity of being soft to the touch. They exist at all prices, and it is not uncommon to find a quality jacket at a low price. It is also one of the most used for making leather jackets. You will find many models at Serge Pariente, Schott and Gipsy to name a few names.
Lamb can be washed, soaked, turned or vegetable. It all depends on the finish of the leather. The differences lie mainly in the manufacturing or tanning processes.
Sheep Leather
Sheepskin is supple and lightweight. It is also soft and pleasant to wear. It can be more or less thick depending on the finish of the model chosen. Most leathers today are sheepskin. A real mid-season material, the jacket will be like a second skin.
Depending on fashion and brands, several different finishes exist: washed, returned, etc. You will find totally different products between our range of Redskins leather jackets and that of Oakwood for example.
Sheepskin is a very popular skin in winter. Warm and thick, it is ideal for the cold season. The inner fur is made up of sheep’s wool, and the outer part is rawhide.
Goat Leather
Goat leather is strong and supple. He is recognizable by his slightly grainy skin texture. Depending on collections and trends, it can be a little stiffer.
Its appearance is also different. There may be waxy (shiny) or more matte style jackets, but most of the time, goatskin is used to design suede leather jackets, i.e. with a velvet aspect.
Cowhide Leather
Cowhide leather is one of the strongest hides. We can find it in different forms: either thick and heavy or thin and flexible. However, that does not take away its robustness, which makes it one of the skins most used for protective Clothing. This skin is also used a lot and worn in Winter because in addition to these characteristics, it also keeps you warm.
For example, over the autumn period, ¾ of Schott brand jackets are made of this material.
Buffalo Leather
Buffalo leather is also one of the most resistant materials. It is the skin that ages the fastest. Used more frequently for men’s clothing, it is particularly worn on long men’s coats. To avoid this phenomenon, leathery people have found different tricks. This is why most of the time, this skin has a shiny or greasy appearance.
The shiny appearance is caused by a varnish which is applied during manufacture to prevent premature aging of the leather. The grease on the leather corresponds to grease applied during manufacture. At first, it stops the aging of the leather but also it prolongs its lifespan.
Horse Leather
Horsehide is the most resistant leather but also the most rigid. Some models can even stand up when placed on the ground! It has a very fine grain and is very generally marketed with a glossy finish so that its aging is as aesthetic as possible.
It is the leather of aficionados par excellence! It was used for the creation of the first zipped leather jacket, the perfecto, and it is still used for the manufacture of the most iconic models!
