What is shearling? Is it real leather?
Short answer: yes, real shearling is leather, but it’s leather with the wool still attached. It’s a sheep or lamb skin that has been tanned with its fleece left on. One side is a leather surface (usually suede or a smooth finish) and the other side is the wool. Nothing is glued or sewn together: the leather and the wool are the same piece of skin.
That is why shearling jackets are so warm, so heavy for their size, and so expensive compared with a leather jacket that has a fabric lining. It’s also why “faux shearling” or “sherpa” is a very different product, even though it can look similar on a phone screen.
With a name like Shear Leather, this one is close to home for us, so here is the complete answer.
What the word “shearling” means
The word is old. Dictionaries trace it back to Middle English, from shear + -ling, and it has two related meanings:
- The animal: a young sheep that has been shorn once.
- The material: the skin of a recently shorn sheep or lamb, tanned with the wool still on.
The second meaning is the one that matters when you buy a jacket. Because the animal was shorn not long before, the wool on the skin is fairly short and even. After tanning, it’s clipped again to a uniform length, which gives shearling its dense, plush feel.
Is shearling leather or fur?
It’s both, which is where the confusion comes from.
- The skin side is leather. It goes through the same tanning that turns any hide into leather, and it’s finished like leather: as suede (napped and soft) or as a smooth, coated “nappa” surface.
- The wool side is fleece. The wool is never removed, so in a jacket it faces inward as the lining, and it usually shows at the collar and cuffs.
US labelling rules reflect this. The FTC says that if hair or fur fibre is still attached to the animal skin, the garment falls under its fur labelling rules, not the textile rules. Those rules even allow the term “Shearling Lamb” on labels for lambskin that has been sheared. Leather with the hair completely removed, by contrast, is just leather. So a real shearling jacket sold in the US should carry a label naming the animal and the country of origin, and a faux one should carry a fibre-content label (for example, “100% polyester”).
This isn’t legal advice, just a useful tip for buyers: the label tells you a lot. If it lists polyester or acrylic, the “shearling” is a fabric.
Shearling vs sheepskin vs lambskin vs sherpa
These four words get mixed up in product listings all the time. Here is what each one normally means.
| Term | What it is | Wool attached? | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shearling | Sheep or lamb skin tanned with the wool on, wool clipped to an even length | Yes | Aviator and B-3 jackets, coats, collars, boots |
| Sheepskin | Skin of a sheep made into leather; in clothing it usually means wool-on | Usually yes | Often used as a synonym for shearling |
| Lambskin | Leather from a lamb or young sheep | Usually no (wool removed) | Soft, light leather jackets |
| Sherpa / faux shearling | A pile fabric made from synthetic fibres such as polyester or acrylic | No skin at all | Linings, collars, fleece jackets |
The one to watch is lambskin. A “lambskin jacket” is normally a smooth leather jacket with the wool removed, not a shearling. If you want to compare lambskin with other jacket leathers, see our guide to cowhide vs lambskin vs goatskin.
“Sherpa” started out as a brand name for a curly pile fabric and is now used generically. It has its place (it’s light, cheap and machine-washable), but it isn’t sheepskin and doesn’t behave like it.
Common shearling finishes you’ll see in listings
Not all shearling looks the same. The finish on the leather side, and the type of wool, change the look, weight and care.
| Name in the listing | What it means | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Suede finish | The leather side is napped, giving a soft, matte surface | The classic look; needs protection from rain and salt |
| Nappa (napa) finish | A smooth, coated leather surface | Shrugs off light rain and dirt better than suede |
| Toscana | Suede finish outside, long silky wool inside | Very soft and luxurious; the long wool shows at the collar |
| Merino shearling | Shearling from merino sheep, often from Spain or Italy | Fine, soft wool; usually lighter weight |
| Mouton | Sheepskin finished to look like a sleek fur | Smoother, flatter wool; more of a “fur coat” look |
| Distressed / antiqued | A worn or waxed look on the leather side, common on aviator jackets | Hides scuffs; the vintage flight-jacket look |
If you’re shopping for a flying-jacket style, our aviator and B-3 bomber jacket guide explains which finishes the originals used and why.
Is my shearling coat real? 6 checks to tell real from fake
You can do most of these in a shop in under a minute. Online, ask the seller for a close-up photo of parted wool and the care label.
- Part the wool and look at the base. On real shearling the fibres grow out of a skin that looks like thin suede or leather. On faux shearling you’ll see a woven or knitted fabric backing, often with a visible grid.
- Check the edges and seams. Look inside a pocket, at the hem or at an unfinished edge. Real shearling shows one solid layer: leather on one side, wool on the other. Faux shows fabric bonded or sewn to fabric.
- Feel the fibres. Real wool fibres have slightly tapered tips, vary a little in length and crimp, and feel dense and springy. Synthetic pile is very uniform and can feel slippery, sometimes with a slight sheen.
- Weigh it in your hand. Real shearling is noticeably heavier than a faux jacket of the same size.
- Read the label. As above: a fur-type label naming sheep or lamb points to real shearling; a fibre label listing polyester or acrylic means it’s synthetic.
- Sense-check the price. Real sheepskin is expensive to produce. A full “shearling” jacket priced like a fleece is almost certainly faux.
You may see a burn test recommended online (real wool singes and smells like burnt hair; synthetics melt and smell like plastic). It works, but it damages the garment, so only ever try it on a loose fibre you’re allowed to destroy, never on a jacket in a shop.
Real vs faux shearling: which should you buy?
Faux isn’t automatically worse. It depends on what you need the jacket to do.
| Real shearling | Faux shearling / sherpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Warmth | Very high; wool traps air and the hide blocks wind | Moderate; depends on the shell |
| Breathability | Good; wool handles moisture vapour well | Lower; can feel clammy indoors |
| Weight | Heavy | Light |
| Lifespan | Decades with care | Pile can flatten and pill over time |
| Care | Specialist cleaning; keep it out of heavy rain | Often machine-washable |
| Price | High | Low to moderate |
| Animal product | Yes | No |
If you want a jacket for real winters that you’ll keep for many years, real shearling is hard to beat. How warm it is in practice depends on the cut and length; we cover that in is a shearling jacket warm enough for a Canadian winter?. If you want something light, easy to wash or animal-free, a good faux jacket is a sensible choice.
Caring for real shearling (the short version)
Because shearling is leather and wool at once, it needs gentler care than either alone.
- Don’t machine-wash it, and don’t send it to an ordinary dry cleaner. Standard dry cleaning can strip the natural oils. Use a cleaner who specialises in leather and sheepskin.
- If it gets wet, shake off the water, blot it, and hang it on a wide hanger to dry at room temperature, well away from radiators and hair dryers. Our guide is shearling waterproof? covers rain, snow and road salt in detail.
- Brush a suede finish with a suede brush to lift the nap and remove dried dirt or salt. Wipe a nappa finish with a soft, slightly damp cloth.
- Store it on a broad, shaped hanger in a breathable cotton bag, never in plastic.
For the leather side in general, our leather jacket cleaning and conditioning guide goes step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Is shearling real leather?
Yes. Real shearling is sheep or lamb skin that has been tanned into leather with the wool left on. The outside of a shearling jacket is leather (suede or smooth), and the inside is the wool from the same skin.
Is shearling the same as sheepskin?
In clothing, mostly yes. Shearling is a type of sheepskin: one that was shorn and then tanned with its wool clipped to an even length. People often use the two words interchangeably for wool-on jackets.
Is lambskin the same as shearling?
No. Lambskin usually means leather from a young sheep with the wool removed, used for soft, smooth leather jackets. Shearling keeps the wool.
What is faux shearling made of?
Faux shearling, often called sherpa, is a pile fabric made from synthetic fibres such as polyester or acrylic. It imitates the look of wool but has a fabric backing instead of a skin.
Is shearling a type of fur?
For US labelling purposes it’s treated like one, because the wool is still attached to the skin. In everyday language most people call it sheepskin or shearling rather than fur.
Why is shearling so expensive?
Each jacket needs several whole skins of good, even quality, the tanning has to preserve both the leather and the wool, and the thick double-sided material is slower to cut and sew than plain leather.
Sources checked October 2026: dictionary definitions of “shearling” (Dictionary.com, Collins); the American Sheep Industry Association sheepskin glossary; the US Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on textile and fur labelling and its Fur Products Labeling rules (16 CFR part 301).