Buying the right leather jacket for you.
What type of style and hide is dependent on your fashion sense and personal desires.
All leather skins / hides are very different in feel, texture and durability.
Ostrich Leather
In most cases this is farmed in South Africa, it has the most unique pattern and look, Ostrich skins are very difficult to produce with extreme complex tanning methods, making it an extremely expensive skin.
Pony Skin
Its a bit of myth – Most Pony Skins that designers use are in reality “Calf Skins”
Shearlings
These skins can come in many different forms, mostly they are from sheep just sheared, then sent for tanning and dressings applied. Shearling skins always have the wool left on and dependent on the leather jacket style this can be worn either way. Shearlings are finished in many different way, but mainly with a suede on one side or a painted finish always with the clipped wool left on the other side.
Calf Skin
This type of skin is super soft and feels just so luxurious, its a very durable skin, but can be tanned in many different thicknesses, the very thin calf skins can tear very easily, so be careful of sharp objects. It has a a very fine grain and is typically from a calf of around 3 years old.
Alligator and Crocodile Skins
These skins are known as tiles, square or oblong scales.
Understanding the difference between these two similar looking skins is important. The sales executive should be fully aware, but in just in case they don’t.
Crocodile -: Pay close attention to these skins, when buying them, take a small magnifying eye glass with you. Crocodile skins have small dots near the edge of the scales, these dots are in fact hair follicles. Crocodile is a much harder wearing skin.
Alligator -: These skins do not have the dots close the scales edges, this is one of the only ways to tell them apart, Alligator is much considered the finer skin, croc is much harder wearing.
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