About our leather

Which leathers do we use?

We choose three leather finishes to suit the different pieces we make: aniline glove leather for lingerie and corsets, semi-aniline black lamb nappa for jeans, skirts and shirts, and a richly coloured, surface-finished lamb nappa for coloured jeans, skirts and shirts.

Aniline leather

Aniline leather is coloured with dyes throughout the skin, leaving the grain, pores and natural markings visible. It has the soft, supple slightly stretchy feel we want for our lingerie. Because there is no surface coating to break at each needle hole, stitching does not expose a contrasting layer in the way it can on some coated lambskin. This helps us achieve the fine, unobtrusive seams we want in lingerie.

Our Southcombe glove leather feels exceptionally soft and supple, with a fine natural grain. With wear, close-fitting pieces can develop a patina and mould to your body shape.

We use very fine, 0.55 mm aniline glove leather for all our men's and women's underwear and corsets supplied by our local tannery and glove makers, Southcombe - they've been glove makers since 1847  (we formerly used Pittards). Southcombe glove leather softness and flexibility make it perfect for close-fitting lingerie and it's why our pieces are so different from the rest of the market.

Semi-aniline leather

Our black jeans, skirts and shirts use Madrid, a 0.6–0.7 mm Italian lamb nappa. Its semi-aniline finish combines dye with a light surface finish, leaving some of the hide's natural grain visible while giving a more even appearance. This slightly heavier leather gives these garments the soft drape and structure we want.

Pigmented leather

For coloured jeans, skirts and shirts we use Valencia, a soft Italian lamb nappa of the same 0.6–0.7 mm weight. Its pigmented finish means colour is applied at the surface, giving a more even appearance and covering more of the hide's natural variation. This is different from the dye-led aniline finish of our glove leather. This is the leather that most people think of when we talk about lambskin.

A world of colour: GH Leathers lists Valencia in 52 colours. That range lets us offer expressive coloured pieces in the lambskin thickness we need for a beautiful drape on jeans, skirts and shirts. 

A note about our suppliers

Pittards glove leather was sold as machine-washable, and some of our older advice referred to it. As that stock runs out, we have moved to glove leather supplied by Southcombe, a long-established Somerset glove maker with its own tannery. We do not describe the Southcombe leather as washable, and Pittards washing advice must not be applied to it.

Our Valencia and Madrid lamb nappas are supplied by GH Leathers. 

Leather care

For light marks on our leather, gently wipe with a slightly damp cloth. For a greasy mark, a tiny drop of detergent and a cotton bud may help, but use caution and test an inconspicuous area first, or ask us to send a snippet out to you to test. Do not rub hard, as this can fade the colour. Let the leather dry naturally at room temperature, away from radiators, tumble dryers, hair dryers and direct sunlight. For heavier soiling, consult a specialist leather cleaner.

 

Ironing your leather

All the leathers we use can be ironed to remove wrinkles. Use a dry medium iron with the steam turned off. Place a silk organza pressing cloth or silk scarf between the iron and leather. Set the iron to medium and keep it moving as you press through the cloth to avoid scorching. Never use steam - it will permanently shrink your leather whilst making it go like cardboard.

Leather corsets

These require specialist dry cleaning because of their metal boning.