Shearling vs Sheepskin vs Faux Fur: What You're Buying

Shearling vs sheepskin comes down to the wool. Shearling is a sheepskin tanned with the wool still attached, so one piece of material is both the leather outside and the fleece inside. Sheepskin is the broader word for the hide itself, which can be sold with the wool on (that's shearling) or shorn down to smooth sheepskin leather. Faux fur, often sold as faux shearling, is a synthetic pile fabric made to look and feel like wool.

Clothing labels blur these words all the time, so it's worth knowing exactly what each one means before you spend money on a winter jacket.

What Is Shearling?

Shearling is a sheep or lamb hide that has been tanned with the wool left on. The leather or suede side faces out, the wool faces in, and it's usually turned back at the collar, cuffs and front edges so you can see the fleece. Because the wool grows from the hide, there's no seam between "shell" and "lining": it's one material.

That gives shearling some real strengths:

• Warmth for its thickness. The dense, crimped wool traps a lot of still air.
• Breathability. Wool absorbs moisture vapor and lets it escape, so you're less likely to feel clammy when you walk indoors or pick up the pace.
• A wide comfort range. Most people find shearling comfortable from crisp fall days into real cold.

It also has trade-offs. Shearling is heavy, it usually needs specialist cleaning, and it's expensive, because each hide yields a limited number of usable panels and the tanning process is involved.

What Is Sheepskin Leather?

Sheepskin is simply the skin of a sheep. When the wool is removed and the hide is finished, you get sheepskin leather: soft, fairly light and finely grained. Lambskin comes from younger animals and is usually thinner and softer still.

A sheepskin leather jacket is then lined with something separate, such as cotton, viscose, quilted polyester or a fur-like pile. So a "sheepskin jacket" might be a true shearling jacket, or it might be a sheepskin leather shell with a different lining. The name alone won't tell you which. The spec will.

What Is Faux Shearling?

Faux shearling goes by many names: artificial fur, faux fur, sherpa or synthetic pile. It's a knitted fabric, typically polyester or acrylic, with a dense brushed pile on one side. It's cut and sewn in as a separate lining, sometimes with a matching collar.

What it does well:

• It's lighter than natural shearling.
• It's warm, especially when you're standing still.
• It's easier to care for and usually costs less.
• The lining is animal-free.

Where it falls short: it breathes less than wool, it can mat or pill at friction points over time, and high heat (a tumble dryer, a radiator) can melt or flatten the pile.

Shearling vs Sheepskin vs Faux Fur: Side by Side

How Do You Read a Jacket Spec?

Product names are written for searching; specs are written for facts. Look past the title and check:

• The material line. This is the shell: for example sheepskin, lambskin, cowhide, suede or faux leather.
• The lining or inner line. "Artificial Fur Lining" or "Artificial Shearling Lining" means a synthetic pile. "Polyester", "Viscose" or "Quilted" means a fabric lining.
• Qualifying words anywhere. "Faux", "artificial", "synthetic" and "sherpa" all mean the fleece is not wool.
• Collar and cuff details. A fur collar can be listed separately from the body lining.
• Anything missing. If a spec doesn't name the lining, ask before you order.

What Do HANGIES Fur-Lined Jackets Actually Use?

To be straightforward about it: most of the fur-lined pieces in our shearling and fur-lined jackets collection are real leather shells, mostly sheepskin with some lambskin and cowhide, paired with an artificial fur lining. They aren't natural shearling, and the lining is listed on every product page. You'll see "shearling" in some product names because it's the everyday name for this style of jacket; the spec line is what tells you the material.

A few examples:

• Our waxed brown sheepskin jacket has a sheepskin leather shell, an artificial fur lining, a belted fur collar and fur-trimmed round cuffs.
• Our brown sheepskin leather vest pairs sheepskin leather with an artificial fur lining and a zip front, for core warmth without sleeves.
• Our brown suede vest with an artificial shearling lining has a suede shell, a synthetic pile inside and a button front.

You'll find more sleeveless options in our leather vests collection.

How Can You Tell Them Apart in Person?

If you're looking at a jacket in a shop or a vintage market, a few quick checks usually settle it:

• Part the fleece. On natural shearling, the wool grows straight out of the hide, so you'll see skin at the base of the fibers. Faux fur shows a knitted or woven fabric backing instead.
• Look at the edges. A natural shearling collar or front edge shows leather and wool together in one cut edge. A faux lining is sewn in, so you'll usually find a seam or binding where it meets the shell.
• Feel the fibers. Wool has a soft crimp and a slightly dry, springy feel. Synthetic pile tends to feel slicker and more uniform.
• Check the weight. A full natural shearling jacket is noticeably heavy for its size.

None of these is a reason to avoid faux linings. They simply help you make sure you're paying for what the label says.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose natural shearling if you want the widest comfort range and the most breathable warmth, you face long stretches of serious cold, and you're happy with the weight, the price and specialist cleaning.

Choose sheepskin leather with an artificial fur lining if you want the look, feel and wind protection of real leather, a very warm lining, less weight and a lower price, and you'd rather brush a lining than send a jacket away for cleaning.

Choose a fully synthetic jacket if you want an entirely animal-free piece at the lowest price, and you accept that it may not age the way leather does.

There's no single right answer. For everyday winter wear in a city, many people find a leather shell with an artificial fur lining hits a sensible balance of warmth, weight and cost.

How Does Care Differ?

• Natural shearling: brush the wool gently, blot spills straight away, and leave deep cleaning to a specialist.
• Artificial fur lining: brush it with a soft brush now and then so the pile doesn't mat, spot clean with a damp cloth, and never put it near high heat.
• The leather shell: wipe it with a damp cloth, let it air-dry at room temperature, and condition it occasionally.

Our guide to caring for a shearling jacket covers snow, salt stains and storage in more detail, for natural and artificial linings alike.

FAQ

What is shearling?

Shearling is a sheep or lamb hide tanned with the wool left on, so the leather side and the fleece are one piece rather than a shell with a separate lining.

Is sheepskin the same as shearling?

Not always. All shearling is sheepskin, but sheepskin can also be shorn and finished as smooth sheepskin leather, then lined with fabric or artificial fur.

Is faux shearling warm?

Yes. A dense faux shearling lining traps a lot of warm air, though it breathes less than wool and can feel clammy if you are very active.

Do HANGIES fur-lined jackets use real shearling?

Most use a real leather shell, usually sheepskin, with an artificial fur lining, and each product page lists the lining in its spec so you can check before ordering.

Compare linings, shells and collars for yourself in our shearling and fur-lined jackets collection.