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A woman holds a striped paper cup at the shearling cuff of her suede coat, on a city street.
Photo by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash

An edit

Suede and shearling

Suede boots and bags, shearling jackets and down coats trimmed in shearling, for women and men.

Suede and shearling are two finishes of hide: suede is leather buffed to a soft nap, and shearling is sheepskin tanned with its wool left on. On this page that means suede boots and bags, shearling flying jackets, and down coats with shearling on the hood or collar.

Sheepskin flying jackets were made for bomber crews in the thirties, when cockpits froze at altitude. COOR cuts its aviator jacket from lambskin, and Patou makes an oversized denim jacket with shearling. Coperni makes knee high suede boots and a folded suede tote, and Guidi dyes its suede boots after they are made, so the colour varies from pair to pair.

Most of the wall is down coats from Moose Knuckles and Mackage, trimmed in shearling for deep cold. Due West in Toronto carries those coats with jackets from COOR and G-Lab, WDLT117 brings the Guidi and Coperni suede and the Patou jackets, and parlor23 adds varsity jackets.

Common questions

What is the difference between suede and shearling?
Suede is leather with its inner side buffed to a soft nap and no wool. Shearling is sheepskin or lambskin with the wool left on, suede on one side and fleece on the other.
How do you look after suede?
Brush it with a suede brush to lift the nap, and keep it out of heavy rain. Treat new suede with a water repellent spray, and let wet suede dry away from heat.
Is shearling warmer than down?
Down is warmer for its weight, while a shearling jacket blocks wind and keeps its warmth when damp. Many winter coats use both, with down inside and shearling at the collar.