Suede is not waterproof and it is not instantly destroyed by rain either, which is the honest middle ground almost nobody sells you. Suede is the inner side of the hide, buffed into a nap of tiny raised fibres. When those fibres get wet they stiffen, and if they dry stiff and unbrushed they become brittle and snap off, which is the point at which the damage is permanent.

So the rule is not avoid all water. The rule is that what you do in the twenty minutes after getting caught matters more than the rain itself. Blot with a cloth, never rub, dry at room temperature away from any radiator, and brush the nap back up while it is drying. A protector spray applied before you ever wear the piece buys you real margin. Shoe care guidance from Samuel Hubbard and NBC Select's suede round-up both land in the same place: prevention and patient drying, not panic.

Below, suede in the three places it gets tested most: the jacket, the shoe and the bag. Khaite, Mansur Gavriel, ALOHAS and Frēda Salvador all feature, and St. Agni gets the Label Love.

A suede jacket is the most weather-exposed suede purchase and the one I would think hardest about, because it is also the largest surface area. Get it wet unevenly and you get tide lines across a panel, which is far more visible than a mark on a shoe.

What to look for. A tighter, finer nap sheds light rain better than a deep, plush one. Check whether the piece is suede or nubuck, since nubuck is sanded top-grain and is meaningfully more hard-wearing. And be realistic about colour: a mid tan shows water marks most, black and deep chocolate hide them best, and a pale suede is a fair-weather garment whatever anyone tells you. St. Agni and Joseph do the wearable shapes, L'Agence and Nili Lotan the investment blazers, and JW PEI's faux suede is the version to buy if you genuinely walk everywhere in the rain.

Shoes take the worst of it, because rain arrives from below as well as above and pavement water carries salt and grit. This is where a protector spray stops being optional.

My approach is simple. Spray a new pair before the first wear and again every few months, keep a suede brush and a suede eraser by the door, and never dry a wet pair near heat. Rotate them, because the nap recovers with a rest day. Sole matters too: a rubber or lugged sole keeps the upper further out of standing water than a thin leather sole. Frēda Salvador and St. Agni make the versions I would wear through a British autumn, ALOHAS and Splendid the affordable ones, and Ganni's suede boots have enough sole to take a wet pavement seriously.

Suede bags are the easiest of the three to live with, because they spend most of their life under your arm rather than in the weather, and because the wear they do get tends to read as patina rather than damage.

The failure points are specific and worth checking before you buy. Corners and the base rub shiny first, so a bag with leather trim on the base will outlast one that is suede all over. Handles darken from hand oils, which some people like and some do not. And a light suede bag will pick up colour transfer from dark denim, which is very hard to reverse. Mansur Gavriel and Joseph do the structured leather-trimmed versions, St. Agni and Anine Bing the soft slouchy ones, and Frēda Salvador's tote is the practical everyday pick.

St. Agni is the brand this issue is built around, because suede and leather are essentially the house language. The palette is narrow and warm, mostly coffee, toffee, black and pebble, and the shapes are quiet enough that the material does the talking.

What I rate is the range across categories. The suede mules and ballet heels are the pieces I would buy first, the soft bags are the best value in the range, and the tailored suede coat is the one to consider if you want the material as an outer layer rather than an accessory. Sizing runs true with a narrow-ish fit through the toe box, so if you are between sizes in shoes, take the larger. The Australian label prices in a way that sits under the European houses doing similar work, which is the main reason it keeps appearing in my basket.

The suede edit, all of it on my radar.

Mansur Gavriel Box Tote in anise suede, the colour I did not expect to want.

Splendid Latouche suede flat in wine, the cheapest thing here.

Nili Lotan Anita suede bag, the considered end of the list.

Cinq À Sept Layla suede kitten heel mule, a low heel that survives a pavement.

Ganni low Chelsea boots in brown suede, enough sole for real weather.

JW PEI Kiana faux suede tote, the sensible option if you commute in the rain.

Anine Bing Elly bucket bag in tobacco, the shape that hides wear best.

Joseph Bean suede bag, small and structured and it will not sag.

My suede rules, learned mostly by ruining things.

Spray before the first wear, not after the first soaking. Protector works as a barrier, not as a repair.

Blot, never rub. Rubbing wet suede is what actually breaks the nap.

Dry at room temperature and brush as it dries. A radiator is what turns a wet shoe into a ruined one.

Buy dark suede if you walk a lot. Mid tan is the colour that shows every mark.

If you take one thing away: suede is fine in the rain and ruined by radiators. Own a brush, keep it by the door, and let anything wet dry slowly and away from heat.