Faux Suede Jackets: The Complete Guide

You can officially consider me a sinner now. Last week, I actually went ahead and bought a faux suede jacket.

The horror!

But the fact of the matter is that faux suede jackets are not as bad as they are claimed to be. In fact, they have several advantages over real suede. If you don’t agree with anything else, you would have to agree to the fact that faux suede is more cruelty-free compared to real suede.

Maybe, just like me, you also want to give faux suede jackets a shot. Which means you would also have tons of questions regarding them.

In this article, I have tried to answer the most burning questions so that you can rock your “fake” suede jacket without any hesitations.

Does a faux suede jacket stretch or shrink?

A faux suede jacket neither stretches nor shrinks over the course of time. Since it is not made from real animal hide like suede, there is no change in the size of the jacket.

Jackets made from real suede tend to mold to the curves of your body. This makes them appear well-fitted. And it also makes them feel much more comfortable.

However, one cannot attain this same level of comfort with a faux suede jacket. Faux suede is made from polyester, which is not a natural fabric.

Synthetic fabrics like polyester are known for being very true to size. Water does not affect them, sunlight doesn’t affect them. So I will recommend you to buy a faux suede jacket only if it fits you perfectly.

Can faux suede jackets be tailored?

Faux suede jackets can be tailored by an experienced heavy-duty tailor who has previously dealt with leather products.

Most parts of a faux suede jacket can be altered easily by an experienced leather crafter.

You can have the size of the point collar reduced, the sleeve diameter reduced, the sides taken in. What you can’t alter is the length of the jacket and the position of the shoulders.

Well sometimes you can even alter those things, but it’s usually not worth the price. You would be paying more than the original cost of the jacket.

Faux suede is usually cheaper to alter than its real counterpart. If you want to get more information about tailoring real suede, I have covered everything I know about the topic in this article.

Can faux suede be ironed?

Faux suede jackets can be steamed by a classic handheld steamer. They run no risks of damage when subjected to the heat of a steamer.

Even if you don’t own a steamer (which you should; it’s pretty cheap), there are a few ways to get wrinkles out of a suede jacket. They might not work perfectly, but they would really help you in getting rid of the majority of wrinkles.

The simplest manner in which you could steam your faux suede jacket is by simply hanging it in the bathroom while you take a hot shower. The steam from the showerhead should effectively get rid of all the wrinkles in the jacket.

If you want to take a look at some more ways to steam a jacket without actually using a steamer, you can check out this post where I talk about steaming a jacket made from real suede.

Can faux suede jackets be ironed?

Similarly, faux suede jackets can also be ironed with a heavy-duty iron. Just use a pressing cloth between the iron and the jacket so that you don’t flatten the nap and ruin the look of the suede.

Another thing that you need to make sure of is that the heat is set to the lowest setting. This will be the safest way to actually do the ironing.

Iron the jacket like you would iron any other garment. Just keep looking at the jacket every once in a while to make sure that you are not overexerting pressure.

Can faux suede jackets be washed?

Faux suede jackets can definitely be washed. Unlike real suede, they are made from polyester, which is a wash-friendly fabric. You need to wash a faux suede jacket after every few wears, as they tend to attract dirt very quickly.

This is one of the major benefits of faux suede over real suede.

If you throw your real suede jacket, which is made from animal hide, into the washing machine, chances are that you will completely ruin it in an irreversible. Washing a suede jacket is, for the lack of a better term, complicated.

There are no such risks that you run with washing faux suede. It will not shrink or stretch. If you are still not convinced, just take a look at the inside tag of the jacket and you would find it state that the jacket is machine washable.

How long do faux suede jackets last?

Faux suede jackets tend to last for anywhere between 6 months to 3 years depending upon the quality of the garment and the degree of maintenance.

The couple of faux suede jackets that I have owned have lasted for multiple seasons just because I took proper care of them.

There are a few different ways to increase the life of a faux suede jacket, but the main thing that is going to be the make-or-break factor is if you waterproof the fabric or not.

Real suede does not take to water very well. Faux suede is no different.

So just take a decent suede protector spray and waterproof the jacket every few months in order to increase longevity. If you don’t know which protector spray to buy, I recommend you buy this one from Amazon. It’s quite cheap, and I have had great results with it.

Final Remarks

Buying a suede jacket is not that bad of a choice actually. You just need to be aware of what the differences are and you are getting into, and should not expect from it what you expect from real suede.

Like you shouldn’t expect it to last more than a few years or be extremely high-quality. These things are okay because you are also going to be paying a lesser price upfront.

So just be aware of your options and try to make an informed decision.