Vintage 1940s-50s Swedish Goatskin Leather Jacket, Belted, Äkta Getskinn

In 1734 the botanist Carl Linnaeus rode through Malung, deep in the forests of Dalarna, and wrote admiringly of how skilfully the local people made their fur and leather clothing. Two centuries later, Swedish leatherwork had grown from that country craft into a real industry, and this jacket comes from that world.

It was made in Sweden around the 1940s or 50s. The only label is a small woven tag between the shoulders reading Garanteras Äkta Getskinn, "guaranteed genuine goatskin". There's no maker's name, just a promise about the leather, which was what mattered most to a Swedish buyer at the time.

Behind that promise was a long tradition. Malung, long known as Sweden's leather capital, had been working skins since the 1600s. For generations its skinnare, the leather merchants, tailors and tanners, walked from village to village making and selling leather clothing in return for lodging and modest pay. Tanneries and factories followed in the late 1800s. Between the two World Wars, a boom in Swedish demand for sports and outdoor clothing turned the trade into a full industry, and by the 1950s and 60s some 150 to 200 leather firms were at work in Malung alone, before cheap imports in the 1970s closed most of them.

The jacket was made for life outdoors in a Swedish winter, and every part of the cut shows it. Four flapped pockets sit on the front, two high under a stitched yoke and two angled low at the hips. The notched collar has a button behind it, so it can be turned up and closed at the throat. A row of buttons runs down the front, a leather belt with a covered buckle draws in the waist, there are epaulettes on the shoulders, and the cuffs close with buttoned tabs. At the back, elastic is gathered into the leather at each side of the waist, so it sits close without a half belt. Inside, the whole body is lined in heavy grey wool with a bold yellow windowpane check, and the sleeves in brown satin.

The goatskin has taken on a remarkable colour. The original brown has worn through to oxblood and rust across the collar, shoulders and sleeves, and the close, pebbled grain has creased deep at the elbows and around the pockets. It's soft now, and still completely sound.

Condition & Restoration

Very good vintage condition, with an outstanding natural patina.

The goatskin is strong and supple, with deep tonal colour and natural creasing from age. The buttons, belt and buckle are present and working, and the elastic gathers at the back still hold their shape. The wool lining is complete, and the satin sleeve linings show light wear consistent with age.

Specialist leather cleaned and conditioned in-house, with the patina left fully intact.

Key Features

• Swedish goatskin jacket, approx. [1940s–50s]
• Woven "Garanteras Äkta Getskinn" label
• Heavy grey and yellow windowpane wool body lining
• Brown goatskin with deep oxblood and rust patina
• Notched collar with button at the back to close it up
• Leather epaulettes
• Two flapped chest pockets beneath a stitched yoke
• Two angled flapped hip pockets
• Button front with leather belt and covered buckle
• Elasticated side gathers at the back
• Buttoned cuff tabs
• Brown satin sleeve linings and leather hanging loop

Garment Measurements, Laid Flat

• Chest, armpit to armpit: 21" / 53.5 cm
• Shoulders, seam to seam: 18" / 45.5 cm
• Sleeve, shoulder seam to cuff: 25" / 63.5 cm
• Underarm seam to cuff: 18" / 45.5 cm
• Back length, base of collar to hem: 28" / 71 cm

Best suited to: 38" chest / Size Small

Fit: A trim, fitted cut, drawn in at the waist by the belt and elasticated back, with a longer body that sits below the hip. For the best indication of sizing, please compare the measurements above with a similar jacket you already own. For any sizing questions, please get in touch.