A leather jacket is one of the few things I would tell anyone to buy properly the first time, because the difference between good and bad leather is visible from across a room and it gets wider every year you own it. Full grain leather softens and takes on the shape of the person wearing it. Corrected or coated leather cracks at the elbow and stays stiff forever.

The three things I check: the weight, because a real leather jacket has heft and a thin one will never hang right, the lining, because a well made jacket is lined properly through the sleeve so it slides over a knit, and the zip, which should be metal and should run smoothly with one hand.

Prices on this page run from $910 to $11800, which sounds absurd until you handle both ends. There is a biker grid, a suede grid, and a shearling grid for the coldest months. Below, the jackets worth buying, starting with the label that does this better than anyone at its price.

Nour Hammour is my answer whenever someone asks where to buy a first serious leather jacket. The brand does nothing else, the leather is properly heavy, and almost everything sits between $1500 and $2700, which is a fraction of what the big houses charge for a comparable hide. The dalma leather jacket at $1540 is the one I would buy first. The passage leather jacket and toyen leather jacket are the classic shapes. The kerry belted suede jacket at $1760 is the softer option, the blaise shearling coat at $2670 is the winter piece, and the grange gathered leather trimmed suede jacket is the most interesting cut of the group.

The biker is the shape that never dates, and the spread here is enormous. Arma's paula full grain leather jacket at $1395 and maeve leather jacket at $1550 are the two best value pieces on this page, and Arma's leather is genuinely excellent for the money. Nili Lotan's redley leather bomber jacket at $2800 is the elegant middle. Isabel Marant's farza leather jacket is the one with the most attitude. At the top, Khaite's cordan cropped leather jacket, Saint Laurent's leather bomber jacket, Gucci's biker web trimmed full grain leather jacket and Givenchy's gathered leather jacket are all pieces you would keep for decades.

Suede is the softer, more forgiving version and it is what I wear in spring and autumn. Arma's fem suede jacket at $1000 is the cheapest serious suede jacket I have found. Nour Hammour's dalma suede jacket at $1540 and passage suede jacket at $1990 are both quietly excellent. Nili Lotan's cirque suede jacket is the one with the best shoulder. Arma's judy oversized suede coat is the long option. If you want the expensive version, Chloé's cropped suede jacket and Khaite's alder belted suede jacket are both beautiful, and Versace's greca embossed leather and suede jacket is the loudest.

Shearling is the only outerwear that beats a proper wool coat in real cold, and the trick is buying it cropped so the volume does not swallow you. Nour Hammour's paneled shearling coat at $2110 and ellery shearling trimmed leather jacket at $2120 are the two sensible buys here. Blazé Milano's tatoosh leather trimmed shearling jacket at $2990 is the most flattering cut. Rabanne's shearling trimmed textured leather jacket and Chloé's cropped shearling trimmed leather jacket are the fashion picks. Altuzarra's kenny shearling trimmed leather coat, Khaite's malone shearling bomber jacket and Valentino Garavani's leather trimmed shearling jacket are the top end.

A final eight, from the Arma miri suede jacket at $910 to the Brunello Cucinelli paneled suede bomber jacket at $11800. If you want one piece from this list that will outlast everything else in your wardrobe, it is the Nour Hammour isaline leather coat.

Sizing is where most people go wrong. Try a leather jacket over the thickest thing you plan to wear under it, then check you can cross your arms in front of you. Leather stretches across the body over time but it does not grow across the back or the shoulder, so that is the measurement that has to be right on day one.

Storage matters more than cleaning. Hang it on a wide wooden hanger, never a wire one, and keep it out of direct sun, which fades and dries the hide. Condition full grain leather once a year and leave suede alone apart from brushing.

A good leather jacket should look worse in year one and better in year five. Let it.

Phoebe