Real vs Fake Leather Jacket: How to Tell the Difference

See the arrival of your new jacket. Something feels off as you run your hand over it. It is nearly rubbery and hard. No texture changes under your fingers, no comfort, and no fragrance. Turns out that you just bought a jacket that is not made of leather for good money. 

If you are not sure what to check, then you can expect to be fooled by fake leather, too. That's right, fake leather looks so good now. Many people have been fooled.

Quick Tip: The leather smells earthy, almost like dirt. It has uneven pores, and it is naturally grained. Fake leather smells like chemicals. The texture is like plastic and has an overly consistent appearance. Before you buy it, check the corners, rub the texture, and smell it. 

Key Takeaways

• The natural surface of the hide is preserved in full-grain leather. 

• Genuine leather is of a lower grade because it is polished down and remanufactured. 

• With proper care, cowhide can last 15 to 20 years; lambskin goes out more quickly but is softer. 

• No two genuine leather pieces have the same appearance. Be alert if yours looks to be the same.

How Do I Know If a Leather Jacket Is Real or Fake?

Touch it. Real hide came from an actual animal, so it has tiny pores and small color changes across the panel. Nothing about it looks perfectly even. A real leather jacket usually measures 1 to 1.5 mm thick at the shoulder. Fake leather feels different. It's often rubbery or stiff. It's thinner too. Fold it a little and watch what happens. Real leather holds that fold for a second. Fake leather springs right back.

Now smell it. This one matters a lot. Real leather smells earthy. A little sweet, even. Fake leather smells like a shower curtain. That plastic smell gives it away every time.

Full Grain vs. Genuine Leather: What Is Actually Different?

Full grain keeps the hide exactly how it came off the animal. Scars stay. Wrinkles stay. Nothing gets smoothed out or hidden. That's why it looks a little rough around the edges. It also outlasts every other type of leather out there.

Genuine leather, though? Kind of a misleading name if you ask me. It should mean top quality. It doesn't. This comes from the lower layers of the hide, the parts left over after the good stuff gets taken off. Workers sand it down, then press a fake grain pattern into it so it looks neat and even. Still real leather, technically. Just the cheaper kind. And it shows. Cracks usually start showing up somewhere between years 5 and 7.

Lambskin or Cowhide: Which One Actually Lasts Longer?

Lambskin runs thin, about 0.9 to 1.1 mm. Soft right out of the box. It moves with you instead of fighting you, which is why jackets built for style usually go with this.

Cowhide is a different animal, literally. Thicker, usually 1.3 to 1.8 mm. Stiff at first, it takes a while to break in. But once it does? It just keeps going. Years of daily wear barely touch it.

So here's the real question. Want something you'll still be wearing in ten years? Cowhide, no contest. Want something light you can grab without thinking twice? Lambskin wins that one easily.

Why Jackero's 10 Years in Manufacturing Changed What You Get

Before launching the company, Faraz, founder of Jackero, worked directly in the leather industry for ten years. During that period, he repeatedly observed the same issue: jackets were either overpriced or reasonably priced but badly constructed. Jackero's purpose is to bridge that gap. Instead of developing our quality on another company's manufacturing floor, we build our own jackets, so we have complete control over the stitching, finishing, and leather grade used in each piece. 

Real Leather vs. Faux Leather at a Glance 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my leather jacket even real?

Run your finger over it first. Real hide has tiny bumps and pores, never a flat, smooth surface. Give it a smell too; real leather smells earthy, almost sweet. Fake stuff smells like a shower curtain. That one's hard to miss once you notice it.

Genuine leather isn't that good, is it?

Nope, kind of a trick name, actually. Full grain is the top layer, left alone, scars and all. Genuine leather comes from the layers underneath. It gets sanded down and stamped with a fake pattern so it looks nicer than it is.

Cowhide vs. lambskin: Which should I get?

It depends on what you want it for. Lambskin is soft right away, light, and barely needs breaking in. Cowhide is stiffer at first but takes a beating for years without falling apart. Daily wear for a decade? Go cowhide. Something light to throw on? Lambskin.

How long should a real one actually last?

10 years is easy. Sometimes 20, if you take care of it.

Does leather really look better as it ages?

Yes, genuinely. It builds up this worn-in look called patina. Most people end up liking their jacket more after a few years than they did on day one.

Final thought

Cheap leather might save you some money today. Two years from now, though, it cracks and fades, and you're back to shopping. A real one costs more upfront, but you're not replacing it every couple years.

We check every cowhide and lambskin jacket by hand before it leaves: grain, thickness, and stitching. Shipping's free worldwide, and if it's not right, you've got 30 days to send it back. 

Written by Amna Ijaz