Leather Care Guide

A leather jacket asks for about half an hour of care a year. In exchange it will outlast almost everything else you own. This guide covers how to care for leather jackets of every material we sell — smooth leather, suede, shearling and faux — plus storage, rain and the winter problems (road salt, heated air) that North American owners actually face.

Smooth leather (cowhide, lambskin, top-grain)

Wipe dust off with a soft dry cloth every few wears. Condition once or twice a year: apply a small amount of neutral leather conditioner with a cloth, let it absorb for twenty minutes, buff off the excess. Conditioning replaces the oils leather loses to air and wear; dry leather is what cracks. Keep coloured polishes for shoes — on jackets, neutral conditioner preserves the tone. Deep cleaning belongs to a professional leather cleaner, never a washing machine or a standard dry cleaner.

Suede

Spray new suede with a suede protector before the first wear and every few months after — this is the single highest-value two minutes in this guide. Brush with a suede brush after every few wears to lift the nap and remove surface dust; brush in one direction for an even tone. Flattened nap revives with gentle steam (a kettle's steam held at a distance, then brush). Light marks often yield to a suede eraser. Never wet-clean suede, never apply leather conditioner to it, and let a suede specialist handle deep stains.

Shearling and sheepskin

Brush the fleece gently with a soft brush to keep it lofty. Air the garment after wear — wool regulates itself remarkably well and rarely needs washing. Spot-clean the leather side with a barely damp cloth. Store shearling cool, dry and unsealed; it needs air. Cleaning beyond spot care belongs to a shearling specialist — tell any cleaner exactly what the garment is before handing it over.

Faux leather (synthetic)

The easiest material in this guide: wipe with a soft damp cloth, mild soap for marks, hang to dry. Never use leather conditioner (it is made for hides and can damage coatings), never iron, and keep faux away from prolonged direct heat, which ages the coating fastest.

Storage — the rule that matters most

Hang leather on a wide, padded hanger — never a wire one, which will emboss the shoulders of a heavy jacket — inside a breathable cotton cover, in a cool, dry wardrobe. Never store any leather or shearling in a sealed plastic bag or box: trapped moisture mildews. Give jackets room; leather crushed against neighbours creases where it should not.

Rain and winter

If smooth leather gets wet, shake off the water, hang it at room temperature away from radiators, and condition once fully dry — direct heat is leather's enemy. Road salt is the winter hazard: wipe salt residue off promptly with a barely damp cloth (salt pulls moisture out of hide), then dry and condition. Suede should sit out heavy rain entirely; shearling should be kept as dry as its fleece allows.

What never to do

Never machine wash or tumble dry any leather. Never use hair dryers or radiators to speed drying. Never apply shoe polish, oils or home remedies (olive oil, vinegar) to a jacket. Never store leather folded. Every one of these has ruined more jackets than wear ever has — the correct routine, above, is shorter than the list of mistakes.

Questions about a specific jacket's care are on its product page specifications — and our Materials Guide explains why each material asks for what it asks.