FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
We get the same handful of questions every week, from guys who've never bought a leather jacket before and guys who've owned five. You can't feel the hide before you click buy, and that bothers people, so here's everything we'd tell you in person if you walked into the shop.
Materials & Craftsmanship
What's the difference between full-grain and top-grain leather?
Full-grain is the whole outer layer of the hide. Scars, wrinkles, insect bites, all of it, left alone. Top-grain gets sanded down and buffed until the surface is even, then sealed with a finish coat. Here's the trade-off nobody tells you upfront: full-grain looks a little rougher on day one but ages into something better, a real patina, while top-grain looks sharp out of the box and stays roughly the same until it eventually cracks. Neither one is fake. They're two different decisions about what a hide should look like ten years from now.
Our black leather jacket collection and brown leather jacket collection run both grades. Check the product description for which cut uses which.
Is lambskin or cowhide better for a leather jacket?
Depends what you're doing in it. Lambskin is thin, light, and soft almost immediately, no six-week break-in required. Great for a cafe racer or anything you want to wear like a second skin from week one. Cowhide is heavier and takes longer to give, but it shrugs off scrapes that would tear lambskin. If you're riding, cowhide. If you're wearing this jacket over a dress shirt on a Tuesday, lambskin.
Our biker jacket collection leans cowhide-forward. The cafe racer collection leans lighter.
Do your jackets use real leather or a leather blend?
Real hide. Every jacket. No bonded leather, no polyurethane dressed up with a leather-adjacent name. The FTC's Leather Guides spell out exactly what can legally be called "leather" on a product label in the US, and we hold our listings to that line. If a product page says lambskin, cowhide, or suede, that's the animal it came from.
Are your zippers and hardware genuine YKK?
Yes. Every jacket. Cheap hardware is usually what fails first on a leather jacket, long before the hide itself gives out: the pull snags, the teeth split, the slider gets sloppy after a winter of use. A genuine YKK zipper has a distinctly heavier pull the first time you use it, and that weight doesn't disappear after six months the way it does on off-brand hardware.
Fit & Sizing
How should a leather jacket fit?
Snug through the chest and shoulders. Enough room underneath for a sweater, not much more than that. Leather relaxes as you wear it, so a jacket that fits right on day one usually fits loose by month three. Sleeves should stop at your wrist bone. If you're between sizes, size down, because leather gives and it doesn't give back.
Do leather jackets stretch or loosen over time?
Yes, a little, mostly where your body actually moves: underarms, elbows, across the shoulder blades. The fibers relax under heat and repeated flexing. Give it four to six weeks of regular wear before you judge the fit. It's stiff the first few times you put it on. That's the leather, not a defect, and it goes away.
What size should I order if I'm between sizes?
Size down for biker and cafe racer cuts, since those are built to sit close to the body. Size up for bomber and shearling styles if you're planning to layer a hoodie underneath. Every product page has its own size chart, and the numbers do shift a little between our bomber jacket collection and our biker cuts because the two silhouettes aren't built to do the same job.
Do you offer big & tall or petite sizing?
Most of the catalog runs standard men's sizing. A handful of styles come in extended sizes, and that availability changes by cut and by hide batch, so it's worth checking the size dropdown on the specific product rather than assuming. If your size isn't listed, message us before you order. Sometimes there's a near-identical style in the size you need.
Care & Longevity
How do I clean and condition a leather jacket?
Damp cloth for everyday dirt. Leather conditioner every three to six months so the hide doesn't dry out and crack. That's genuinely the whole routine, and the part people get wrong is skipping it entirely and assuming the jacket takes care of itself. It doesn't. Never machine wash it. Never dry-clean it. Both strip the oils leather needs to stay flexible. For a better understanding, please read our leather care guide.
Can I wear my leather jacket in the rain?
A quick walk through a drizzle won't do any damage. A real downpour is a different story: it pulls the natural oils out of the hide and leaves it stiff once it dries. If that happens, blot the jacket with a towel (don't wring it), let it dry away from a radiator or direct sun, then condition it once it's fully dry.
How long should a genuine leather jacket last?
Ten to twenty years, if you look after it. Longer, honestly, in a lot of cases. Cheap bonded leather or PU-coated jackets crack and peel inside a year or two because the surface finish is doing all the structural work, and once that fails, there's nothing underneath it. Real hide just ages. Darker color, softer grain, a better-looking jacket than the one you bought.
How do I store my jacket in the off-season?
A wide, padded hanger, not a wire one, in a cool closet with air moving around it. Skip the plastic garment bag entirely, since leather needs to breathe and plastic traps moisture against the surface. A breathable cotton cover is fine if dust is your only concern.
Style & Use Case
What's the difference between a bomber, biker, and cafe racer jacket?
Three different jobs, three different jackets. A bomber has a ribbed collar, cuffs, and waistband with a straightforward front zip, originally built for pilots who needed warmth without bulk. A biker jacket has an asymmetric zip and wide lapels, designed to cut wind at speed. A cafe racer strips the biker down to something slimmer, with a minimal collar and a cleaner line. Layer a bomber over a hoodie. Wear a biker with boots and denim. Wear a cafe racer when you want the biker silhouette without looking like you rode in on one. Full range here: bomber, biker, cafe racer. If you're curious where the bomber shape actually came from, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum has an original WWII A-2 flight jacket in its collection, with the full history behind it.
Are shearling jackets warm enough for real winter?
Yes, and by a wide margin. The wool lining traps body heat while the leather shell blocks wind entirely, which is a combination few other jacket types match. That said, it's built for genuinely cold weather. If you live somewhere with a mild fall and a short winter, a standard cowhide or lambskin jacket will get more wear out of you over the course of a year. Shop the shearling collection if you're dealing with real cold.
What jacket style suits a heavier or bigger build?
A structured biker jacket with a straight cut, generally. Cafe racer styles are cut slim through the waist on purpose, which doesn't do a bigger frame any favors. A slightly boxier bomber also works, since the ribbed hem creates a clean line instead of pulling tight. One thing to actually check before ordering: a jacket that's snug in the shoulders but loose at the waist is the wrong fit for your build, not the wrong size to order in general.
Do you carry vintage or crested styles?
We do. The vintage leather jacket collection covers distressed, already-worn-in finishes. The crested leather jacket collection leans into varsity-style patches and appliqué detail. Both are built around heritage styling rather than a clean modern look, so expect visible grain variation on purpose, not as a flaw.
Do you make celebrity-inspired jackets?
Yes, our celebrity leather jacket collection recreates recognizable film and TV silhouettes in genuine leather. Worth being clear about one thing: these are style-inspired cuts, not officially licensed merchandise tied to any studio or actor. We're matching a look, not claiming a partnership.
Ordering, Shipping & Returns
What's your return and exchange policy?
How long does shipping take within the US?
A few business days after your order gets processed, with faster options at checkout if you need it sooner. Made-to-order or custom-fit jackets take longer, simply because those get cut and stitched after you place the order rather than pulled off a shelf.
Do you ship internationally?
We do, to select countries outside the US. Transit time and any duties owed depend entirely on the destination, so use the shipping calculator at checkout before you finalize the order.
Can I exchange a jacket if the size doesn't fit?
Yes, free of charge, as long as it's unworn and within the return window. Leather doesn't behave like a cotton shirt where a size off either way barely matters. We'd rather swap you into the right size now than have you fight a jacket that never quite settles onto your frame.
Trust & Authenticity
Are your jackets handmade or factory-produced?
Cut and stitched by hand, using traditional construction methods, not run through a fully automated assembly line. That's exactly why two jackets in the same style will show small, natural differences in grain and finish. It's a hide, not a printed pattern, and no two hides are identical.
How do I know I'm buying genuine leather and not faux leather?
Every listing states the exact leather type and grade, lambskin, cowhide, suede, or shearling, in line with FTC labeling standards for what can be called genuine leather. If a listing doesn't specify the hide, ask us before ordering. We'd rather answer than have you find out the hard way.
Do you offer a warranty on stitching or hardware?
Yes, manufacturing defects in stitching or hardware are covered under our standard warranty, detailed on the Shipping & Returns page. Normal wear and improper care aren't covered under that warranty, since those aren't manufacturing problems, they're just how leather behaves over time.