How to Identify Genuine Leather

Pure, genuine leather products are a class apart! Their natural, rich, and elegant finish trumps any synthetic materials that are out there, however finished they look. Fashionistas, Style Aficionado, and Purists can never settle for the poor imitations of the real thing. It is, therefore, important to know how to distinguish between genuine leather and synthetic ones. Read this article on how you can do so.)

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Bringing clarity to your carry: our guide to the best bags for men

Bags: from briefcases born out of the Industrial Revolution, to the ‘bread bags’ of the Great Wars and the 21st century man bag, ever since we’ve needed to carry our possessions, we’ve relied on them.

Perhaps more than ever before, men are embracing bags. They are lauded as functional and stylish accessories.

But with so many different types of bags available — and in the knowledge that each could ‘make or break’ an outfit — the question naturally surfaces: “Why are Carl Friedrik yet to release a men’s bag guide?”

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Trust Us, You Can Pull Off Leather…Everything

It’s time to think outside bikers and bombers. Here are 38 luxe and buttery blazers, shirts, pants, and more to step out in right away.

All products featured on GQ are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

It’s been a weird year for getting dressed. If you’re shaking off the style cobwebs, breaking free of your sweatpants, and need some pointers on where to go next, we’ve got you. All week long, GQ Recommends is exploring What to Wear Now: the clothes, designers, bold moves and big vibes that matter at this precise moment.

If the idea of wearing leather clothing that isn’t a biker jacket makes you think of fetish clubs or TV mobsters, you haven’t been paying attention. Over the last couple of years, the swankiest, supplest material on the planet has been having a real moment in menswear, in every imaginable form: blazers and trousers, button-ups and bucket hats. Whatever your poison, it’ll simultaneously deliver a jolt of fearlessness and an air of lush luxury to your fits. 

You don’t need to be the frontman of a hair metal band to pull this stuff off, either. Treat your leather pants like just another pair of pants, your leather shirt like any other shirt, and you’ll be shocked to discover just how easily and effortlessly it syncs up with the rest of your wardrobe. You’ll look and feel like yourself—only a teensy bit sexier.  If you’re ready to get your hind into some hide, we’ve gathered up dozens of the finest designer leather goods worth investing in immediately. Don’t let this prime leather weather go to waste, folks!

All products featured on GQ are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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10 leather pieces to buy now and wear through next season

Sandy’s biker jacket in Grease, Keanu Reeves’ coat in The Matrix, Posh and Becks’ matching Moto jackets in 1999 – if leather conjures up all the wrong connotations for you, then we are here to change your mind.

Sharp, shiny and super-structured, leather really is quite unlike anything else in your wardrobe, so that means it will immediately give basics an edge. And by basics, we mean everything from simple white T-shirts to polo-necks and cashmere knits, making it an excellent trans-seasonal material.

The secret to versatility is all in the silhouette. For AW19, that’s loose, but not lacking in structure. In fact, together with pleats and clever patterns, designers are utilising leather’s sturdiness to create pieces with architectural appeal. And the high street is also stepping up when it comes to shape – look to Arket, & Other Stories and Topshop for directional pieces around the £200 mark that will only get better with age.

Read More 10 leather pieces to buy now and wear through next season