Look at vintage leather jackets and you will find black ones that have turned brown at the elbows, shoulders and cuffs. That is tea-core (chashin in Japanese): leather finished black over a brown core. As the surface thins with wear, the brown underneath shows through, and the way you move ends up drawn on the jacket.
Why the core is brown
It began as an accident. When black leather was made in the 1930s-50s, the hide was commonly dyed brown first and blacked over the top, and the dye of the day did not reach all the way through. The result was a cross-section that is black outside and brown inside. Modern dyeing can colour a hide evenly, so today tea-core has to be made on purpose.
Where the brown appears
Always the same places: elbows, shoulders, cuffs, hem, front placket and pocket openings - wherever the body moves against something. It comes faster if you ride, or wear the jacket daily; it will not happen in a wardrobe.
There is an order to it. First the whole jacket greys slightly, then the raised edges go brown - the seam lines, the point of the elbow - and only later does it spread as an area. That is why the third year is more interesting than the first, and the tenth more than the third.
What to check before you buy
- The cut edge. Look at the hem or a pocket opening: you can see the brown under the black. This is the surest sign.
- Whether it is coated. Heavily pigmented leather just loses its film as it wears; it never gives a clean brown. The closer to uncoated (aniline), the more honest the ageing.
- Thickness. Thin leather wears through quickly and gets close to a hole before it gains any depth. Around 1.2-1.4 mm horsehide is a comfortable weight for a jacket you intend to wear in.
Tea-core at REAL SIMONS
Ours is mostly Polish horsehide: vegetable-tanned, water-dyed, and left uncoated. It asks for more care, but the brown comes through honestly where the jacket rubs. Even within tea-core, the tannage and the finish change the character.
- Cafe Racer J-100, Tea-Core Horsehide - a light brown core, so the contrast shows early
- Racing Leather Jacket, Padded - Padova Tea-Core Horsehide - soft oil-wax finish, full grain, uncoated
- Racing Leather Jacket, Padded - Oil-Wax Tea-Core Horsehide - the same pattern with an oilier finish
- A-2 Flight Leather Jacket 23380, Horsehide - tea-core on a flight jacket
- MENDOZA Single Riders, Second Edition - Tea-Core Horsehide - a 1930s cossack shape
Living with it
- Mind the rain. Uncoated leather drinks water. Wipe it dry and let it air in the shade.
- Do not load it with cream on day one. Too much oil stops it abrading, which pushes the brown further away. Wait until it feels dry.
- Do not store it folded, or the colour will only come at the crease. Use a hanger that matches the shoulders.
A tea-core jacket is not at its best the day you buy it. It shows the years you put into it.