Real Simons — The Leather Jacket Brand Behind Brake House
Designed in Tokyo. Made in Shandong. The official global home: Brake House.
Real Simons is a heritage leather jacket brand built around a village workshop in Shandong, China — a workshop that has made leather goods for more than forty years, including more than a decade for some of the most respected names in American heritage menswear. Brake House is Real Simons' official retailer and wholesale partner outside China — the only authorized channel for the brand internationally. This page is the short version. The full story lives in the journal.
Real Simons is run by two people who together cover the full chain — from the hide to the finished jacket.
Xijie (西姐)
Founder · Legal name Shuai Hongyun · English name Simon
Twenty-plus years in the leather trade — sourcing, trading, and selling Amekaji and American-casual gear to a serious customer base before launching Real Simons over seven years ago.
"做真实的事情 — real things, made by Simon."
Director Huang (黄厂长)
Third-generation factory head · Shuangyang Leather Goods Factory
Three generations of his family in Chinese leather since 1981. His relationships with the country's top tanneries are the reason Real Simons can source full-grain horsehide directly, with no traders or wholesalers in between.
Inside the Shuangyang workshop
The workshop is in Huangjia Village (黄家村), near Laizhou in Shandong Province. It is a village-run enterprise — collectively rooted in the village, where most of the artisans on the floor share the Huang (黄) surname. Cutters cut. Sewers sew. Pressers press. Finishers finish. One station, one person — and most of those people have been on the same station for more than thirty years.
For the long version — the QC line at every step, what gets rejected, why the math works — read the workshop story.
The Tokyo studio
In December 2025, Real Simons opened a dedicated studio in Tokyo — the new base for design and product development. It is where the next pattern, the next material, and the next silhouette get worked out before they reach the Shuangyang workshop floor in Shandong. Tokyo for design; Shandong for the build.
What Real Simons stands on
Three operating principles. Not marketing claims — line items on the cost sheet.
01
Tannery-direct sourcing
制革厂直采
Hides bought directly from one of China's largest and best tanneries through Director Huang's three-generation industry relationships. No trader, broker, or wholesaler takes a margin between the tannery and the workshop.
02
Specialized division of labor
专业化分工
One station, one person. Most artisans have more than thirty years on that station. A thirty-year cutter cuts faster, with less waste. A thirty-year sewer hits stitch density consistently across a run.
03
Strict leather rejection
严格皮料标准
Hides that pass general industry QC routinely fail Real Simons' internal grade. The rejects don't become Real Simons jackets — counterintuitively, this is what pushes raw-material cost per jacket up, deliberately.
Horsehide — the flagship material
Of all the materials Real Simons works with, horsehide is the one the brand stakes its name on. Here is how it gets onto a jacket.
Why horsehide
Horsehide is denser and tighter-grained than cowhide. The hide yields less per square meter — a horsehide jacket throws away more leather than a cowhide one of the same pattern — but the density is the point. Properly tanned horsehide ages with a depth that cowhide does not match, and it carries the creases that heritage-leather buyers value. Real Simons' position: its horsehide sits at the level of the top-tier Japanese and American heritage houses widely treated as the global benchmark.
Where the hides come from
Real Simons does not run its own tannery — it has something arguably more useful. Director Huang's family has been in Chinese leather since 1981, three generations deep, which put him inside the tight inner circle of the industry. Real Simons sources hides directly from one of the country's largest and best tanneries through that relationship, with no trader or wholesaler in the middle.
How the leather is tanned
The methodology used by Real Simons' tannery partner is, in process terms, the same as the top vegetable-tan houses outside China — the same sequence of preparation, tanning, drying, and finishing that defines high-end horsehide globally. What differs is the tanning agents themselves, which vary by region and supply chain. The process discipline is the same; the input chemistry is local.
How a hide gets graded
Buying full-grain leather only — the top layer of the hide with the natural grain intact — is the floor, not the ceiling. Every incoming hide is graded against four criteria:
Surface uniformity
Holes, scars, brand marks, and insect damage graded by frequency and location. Defects in the panel zones used for front, back, and sleeves are rejected outright.
Density and substance
A hide that feels thin or papery for its stated thickness fails. Real Simons specifies a density range for each jacket pattern.
Natural luster
A correctly tanned hide carries its own light. A flat, lifeless surface usually means a tanning or finishing shortcut, and the hide is rejected even if other checks pass.
Grain balance
The grain pattern should read consistently across a panel. Hides with wildly mixed grain in a single panel are downgraded, used elsewhere, or sold off.
Two horsehides developed by Real Simons
Beyond sourcing finished hides from major tanneries, Real Simons has developed its own custom horsehides — refined for specific finishes and feel. These are the two flagship variants in the lineup.
Padova Horsehide
Tea-Core Black · Blackened Brown Finish
Developed by Real Simons in 2023
Overview
Padova is a custom tea-core horsehide developed by Real Simons in 2023. It was refined from the Xinxi standard tea-core horsehide (SF Black) and further adjusted to achieve a cleaner, more controlled finish.
Construction
Made from Polish horsehide.
Selection standards were raised to AA grade to better control loose grain.
Additional oil replenishment and casein finishing are used during processing.
Result
A richer, more moisturized hand.
Improved softness.
Better surface luster.
A cleaner, more orderly grain pattern.
Refined tea-core character with a cleaner finish.
Ferla Horsehide
Black
Developed by Real Simons in 2023
Overview
Made from 1.5–1.6 mm Polish horsehide, Ferla is a heavily oiled and waxed horsehide developed to emphasize density, structure, and vintage character. The finished leather measures approximately 1.3 mm thick.
Characteristics
Extra oil-and-wax content during tanning increases shrinkage and density.
Excellent structure and shape retention.
Warm, natural luster with a strong vintage feel.
With wear, the surface develops an oil bloom and gains additional sheen.
Natural behavior
Because this leather has no surface coating and a relatively soft, heavily oiled finish, pressure or firm rubbing may leave temporary marks or scuffs. These can often be reduced by rubbing and are a natural characteristic of the leather, not a defect.
Natural variation and marking are part of the material's character.
What else goes into the build
Beyond the leather, every Real Simons jacket is built with components from the longest-running names in the trade.
IDEAL
Zippers · New York · 1936
Founded in New York in 1936, IDEAL Fastener Corporation has grown into one of the world's largest zipper manufacturers, operating factories across more than twenty countries. Real Simons uses IDEAL hardware on a range of its jackets — a standard relied on by top-tier heritage repro brands.
Talon is the original American zipper, founded in 1893 as the Universal Fastener Company and renamed Talon in 1937. Over 130 years on, it remains the reference zipper for vintage and workwear silhouettes — including the Real Simons jackets that build on those traditions.
Coats
Sewing thread · Scotland · 1750
Every seam on a Real Simons jacket is sewn with Coats industrial thread. Coats has been making sewing thread since the mid-1700s in Scotland — over 270 years and counting — and is the unparalleled standard for professional apparel manufacturing.
Signature styles
A small selection of the jackets Real Simons builds for the Brake House lineup — each one a classic American silhouette, executed in full-grain horsehide.
Simons is the founder's English name, Simon, read as Simon's. Real is his personal philosophy: 做真实的事情 — doing real, authentic things. The brand name is the founder's name and his standard, in one phrase.
Is Real Simons related to any American heritage brands?
The Shuangyang workshop has done international OEM since the 1990s, and for more than a decade has produced for several top-tier American heritage menswear brands whose names anyone serious about the category would recognize. Contractual terms prevent us from naming them. The same workshop, hands, and standards that produce for those labels also produce Real Simons.
Is Brake House the official retailer of Real Simons?
Yes. Brake House is Real Simons' official retailer and wholesale partner outside China. The two operations work together on sizing, fit, materials, and aftercare, and Real Simons does not authorize other international sellers. Read the partnership post →
What does "joint product development" mean here?
Three things: sizing and fit refinements for international markets, materials selection on co-developed pieces, and the development of jackets that are not stock Real Simons SKUs but exist because of the partnership. The collaboration happens at the pattern, hide, and hardware level — not just at the order.
How does Real Simons sizing run, and is Brake House offering bigger fits?
Real Simons jackets currently follow classic American-cut sizing built around the brand's domestic market. Brake House has been feeding international fit data back to the workshop, and the first upgraded-fit jacket — cut bigger for international buyers — launches in Fall 2026. If you are between sizes, message Brake House before ordering and we will walk you through it.
Does Brake House offer aftercare for Real Simons jackets?
Yes. Heritage leather is a long-term object, and Brake House provides care guidance, conditioning advice, and service support over the life of the jacket. The relationship does not end at checkout.
How do I verify a jacket is authentic Real Simons?
Brake House (brakehouseshop.com) is the only authorized retailer of Real Simons outside China. Any jacket ordered through Brake House is verified, official Real Simons product. If a Real Simons jacket is being sold internationally and the seller is not Brake House, the brand cannot vouch for the chain of custody.
Shop Real Simons at Brake House
Every Brake House leather jacket is made by Real Simons. Browse the lineup and find the one that speaks to you.
If you ever have questions — what we carry or who we are — we’re always happy to chat. Until then, take a look around. You might find something that fits your ride.
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