Lambskin quality and durability for casual use?

[Mainspring]

https://shangrilaheritage.it/produc...Ntncgug-qae83GbbkqDXf34wcVtvrrik9GQ9UeThlOg9z

I really like the design and look of the cafe racer linked above, and they do custom sizing. I've seen mixed reviews on this company, but their more recent work (done in Italy) seems to garner good reviews and people say their customer service is great.

My question is, how durable or long-lasting do you suppose this Tuscan lambskin is? It does not appear to be the tissue-like, wafery lamb of some designer jackets you see. It's listed as "vegetable tanned, drum dyed, full grain Lambskin from Tuscany". Looks decently thick for what it is.

Keep in mind I have a Belstaff cowhide motorcycle range jacket with armor that I wear on the bike and a horsehide Aero Cafe Racer that I can grab if I'm going to be outside doing anything strenuous. Do you suppose this lamb jacket would be fine for casual wear and would last a long time? It would be the most I'd ever paid for a jacket made of lambskin, hence my question. To me it seems comfortable and nicely made.

Here are some photos from their website of how the jacket ages. Thanks for your thoughts, everyone.

 

[Poltung]

I have their Varenne Vicenza steerhide and I love it, so I guess I and other loungers can vouch for the company's craftsmanship.
As for the lambskin, I only briefly owned a used one (approximately 2 years old, worn 2-3 times/week) from Atelier Bertrand, a french brand. Resold it because it wasn't for me, but the leather was great. It had nice creases, smaller softer rolls rather than bigger rolls like steerhide or sharper creases like horsehide. No holes, so flaking, no structural issues. I tried wearing it for a week, and it handled rain quite well. The leather was substantial yet buttery soft, which is great (but ironically the reason why I resold it. I like my leather stiffer)
According to the previous owned, no break in required out of the box.

 

[Jon Crow]

I have their Varenne Vicenza steerhide and I love it, so I guess I and other loungers can vouch for the company's craftsmanship.
As for the lambskin, I only briefly owned a used one (approximately 2 years old, worn 2-3 times/week) from Atelier Bertrand, a french brand. Resold it because it wasn't for me, but the leather was great. It had nice creases, smaller softer rolls rather than bigger rolls like steerhide or sharper creases like horsehide. No holes, so flaking, no structural issues. I tried wearing it for a week, and it handled rain quite well. The leather was substantial yet buttery soft, which is great (but ironically the reason why I resold it. I like my leather stiffer)
According to the previous owned, no break in required out of the box.

In the 90s I had a couple of lamm nappa single rider jackets, I liked them, just bought another nineties one actually, definitely soft and supple

 

[tamoko]

I have a lot of original vintage A-2 horsehide M-422/a lambskin and some cowhide horsehide motorcycle jackets.
So I think you key questions
"How durable or long-lasting for example lambskin."
First, du you plans use as casual or really motorcycle jacket?
First no matter, second thick cowhide like VANSON or some horsehide ( less comfortable)
If I compare my vintage or even antique leather jacket leather, this is a lot of how intensive this leather was used and exposed to elements.
This is all what matter.
Some "Mint" most valuable for collection, looks like a new after 100 Years, no matter which leather was used. Some Jacket from 1990x, if leather starting to "rost" are dead.
Specific to this Jacket you show, for casual use you can absolute don't worry for next 50 Years, even if you plans occasionally to swim in saltwater. Direct hard UV sunlight will be kill leather early.
Hope this helps.

 

[Jon Crow]

I have a lot of original vintage A-2 horsehide M-422/a lambskin and some cowhide horsehide motorcycle jackets.
So I think you key questions
How durable or long-lasting for example lambskin.
First du you plans use as casual or really motorcycle jacket?
Firs no matter second thick cowhide like VANSON or some horsehide ( less comfortable)
If I compare my vintage or even antique leather jacket leather this is a lot of how intensive this leather was used and exposed to elements.
This is all what matter. Some "Mint" most valuable for collection looks like a new after 100 Years no matter which leather was used. Some Jacket from 1990x if leather starting to "rost" are dead.
Specific to this Jacket you show, for casual use you can b absolute don't worry for next 50 Years even if you plans occasionally to swim in saltwater. Direct hard UV sunlight will be kill leather early.
Hope this helps.

Yep Tamoko all about caring for it no matter the leather

 

[AeroFan_07]

https://shangrilaheritage.it/produc...Ntncgug-qae83GbbkqDXf34wcVtvrrik9GQ9UeThlOg9z

I really like the design and look of the cafe racer linked above, and they do custom sizing. I've seen mixed reviews on this company, but their more recent work (done in Italy) seems to garner good reviews and people say their customer service is great.

My question is, how durable or long-lasting do you suppose this Tuscan lambskin is? It does not appear to be the tissue-like, wafery lamb of some designer jackets you see. It's listed as "vegetable tanned, drum dyed, full grain Lambskin from Tuscany". Looks decently thick for what it is.

Keep in mind I have a Belstaff cowhide motorcycle range jacket with armor that I wear on the bike and a horsehide Aero Cafe Racer that I can grab if I'm going to be outside doing anything strenuous. Do you suppose this lamb jacket would be fine for casual wear and would last a long time? It would be the most I'd ever paid for a jacket made of lambskin, hence my question. To me it seems comfortable and nicely made.

Here are some photos from their website of how the jacket ages. Thanks for your thoughts, everyone.
View attachment 761144 View attachment 761145 View attachment 761146

You certainly could get some decent life out of lambskin if you take care of it.

You have already indicated ownership of a few more durable steer & horse hide jackets.

So if it's something you really want and are comfortable with the price and construction, give it a try.

 

[Edward]

Definitely a subjective one. I've never been a fan of lamb as I cut my leather teeth on hefty mc jackets, though I've come to appreciate lighter hides in their place over time. Lamb wouldn't be for me given I'm a klutz and would doubtless tear an elbow on a wall within a week, but if you want a soft jacket for casual use and aren't hard on your clothes, it can be a good choice.

 

[Quest]

I have Shangri La's 4-Pocket "Explorator" in brown; lambskin. It's a nice veg-tan ... smells like walking in a pine forest, and it's 3 years old. Leather has a nice sparkle and grain. Of course, its a 4 pocket, their version of Belststaff Trialmaster or whatever, so even if they had gone with horse or steer, it would probably be on the thinner side due to sheer weight, and the cost would probably be double due to the significant amount of leather required for a coat instead of jacket.

If your use case is just walking around, and you want it comfortable out of the box and to fit tight, its still a high quality veg tan, just for a bit of premium compared to say, getting a Vanson or something. But I don't doubt the quality of their in-house, non name-tannery product, especially compared to all the junk lambskin that is out there.

The case against it, is that Shangri-La has a lot of other choices to be more 'bold', like a few of their CF Stead, Badalassi, and Maryaam. Personally I would pay up for the out of the box character of the CF Stead "Varenne" Whiskey or "Choido" Whiskey. Perhaps they could do a customer cafe racer in those, I think they previously had some cafe racers with other choices.

I will attach some pictures in a moment.

 

[Quest]

The image uploader was giving me some lip', so Imgur it is. Not the best lighting for pictures.


Not at much wear as that image claims, but I haven't worn it as much this winter as it was pretty cold on the east coast USA. Lamb pretty much stops keeping you warm even with layers below 30*F lol, at least for me. And last year the winter was hardly cold where I was at all.

The fading on higher wear areas like the pockets is minimal so far, but it's coming along. Fine by me, I'm not looking for a radical or artifical teacore in 6 months.

Downside of Lamb or some veg tans (as you expect with many veg tan boots) is any nick shows up when you whack something, as you can see on the arm. Not that this doesn't happen with CXL, or any of those other Veg tan options, but the more "pull up" it has, the more likely over time it will just blend in with everything else. Flip side is there CF Stead options have so many little 'nicks' that bumping into something just blends in nicely with those sorts.

https://imgur.com/a/Zuvlv5J

Hard to capture in the pictures is some 'dynamic' grain areas and smoother areas, which is much more common in CXL or any Horsehide. So I am pleasantly surprised.

I don't doubt the arm creases and seams on that cafe will lighten up over time, while the neck area will darken from your body oils and hair oils & sweat.

Counter argument of course is lusting after those Thedi Cocoa and Cognac...those things have that "high / low" effect out of the box and look incredible.

 

[omega1848]

i must say I was quiet impressed how well the Lewis Leather is holding up!

 

[Doctor Strange]

FYI...

I've been wearing a Wested lambskin Raiders as my "summer weight leather jacket" for OVER 20 years now. It's held up to ordinary casual use just fine. Some of the brown top coat has worn off in places as expected, but the leather is solid.

Okay, sure, lambskin IS more fragile than other hides. Yes, a couple of years after I first got it, the back panel got caught in a car door and it tore a big gash. I sent it back to Wested for repair and they replaced the panel perfectly FOR FREE. But that's another story.

Apart from that one tear 20 years ago, there's never been any problem with this jacket. (And to the "Wested jackets aren't milspec tough" crowd: that includes the cotton lining, all the stitching and hardware. Everything's held up beautifully to annual use since 2003.) So in my experience, there's no problem with lambskin jackets if you don't abuse them.

 

[tomek9210]

I've never had any problems with lambskin jackets as well and I've been wearing Indiana Jones jackets since 2009. Of course some lambskins are thinner and some are thicker but it's not cotton or linen. It's a tough material after all.

 

[MrProper]

i must say I was quiet impressed how well the Lewis Leather is holding up!

I have two Lewis leathers, but they’re not made of lambskin; they’re made of vegetable-tanned sheepskin, which is quite thick compared to lambskin. Are you really talking about lambskin?

 

[omega1848]

Maybe my fault, I thought that Jacket above pictured was a Lewis jacket, but maybe I misinterpreted the logo for a Lewis one...

 

[MonsieurTK]

I was also thinking about purchasing the same Shangri-La cafe racer, but in black, due to a very good deal coming up. However, the thought of placing a MTM order on their website with a change to CF Stead's Horsehide is too tantalizing for me to purchase their regular lambskin jacket.

 

[Skiptomylou41k]

I think lambskin is super comfortable but they don't keep shape well and look wrinkled and cheap. I haven't seen one that I love as most come from fashion brands that just glue everything together.

 

[MonsieurTK]

I think lambskin is super comfortable but they don't keep shape well and look wrinkled and cheap. I haven't seen one that I love as most come from fashion brands that just glue everything together.

That's pretty much the conclusion I came to as well. Not to mention the extra care and conditioning it'd require versus something like a horsehide leather.

 

[tomek9210]

I wouldn't say that the lambskin look cheap.

It all depends on what you are looking for. Lambskin is thinner and therefore better for a warmer part of the year. Horsehide and cowhide are great for the fall and winter time. Or when you need an extra protection. Those skins are like an armor.

 

[bobjones]

FQHH is great for younger people, but when you get up in years like me and have 2 blown-out shoulders, you just can't carry the weight of a 6, 7 or 8 pound coat any longer for more than an hour. I take long walks here and while I love my FQHH jackets, just don't wear comfortably on me any longer and will be listed for sale here shortly.

During the colder months I wear a uniqlo goosedown jacket which weighs like a pound and keeps me super warm.