These 7 Shearling Coats Are Your Ultimate Cold-Weather Style Hack

What is shearling?

On a technical level, shearling is insulating sheepskin leather with the wool still attached. These days, though, brands also use materials like polyester to create faux shearling that has that same fluffy look, but without the moisture-wicking and anti-bacterial properties that real wool has. Shearling was made popular in menswear in the 1940s to keep military pilots warm, but it entered the mainstream in the 1960s and 70s.

How do you take care of shearling?

Because genuine shearling has a lot of natural properties–being water-resistant, odor-resistant, antibacterial–it doesn't need a lot of hands-on care. If the wool begins to get matted, you can brush it out with a specialized brush, or spot treat stains with detergent. When in doubt, take your coat to a specialist.

How did we select the best shearling jackets?

Most of the jackets on this list were tried, tested, and reviewed by Esquire editors. For the ones we couldn't get our hands on, we dissected all the available details to make sure we're always recommending the best of the best.