Penny Lane and Afghan Coats: The Film, the Real Shearling, and How They Size

· 15 October 2026

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Every autumn the same coat comes back: long, suede, with a big shaggy collar and fur at the cuffs and hem. People call it a Penny Lane coat. Older sellers call it an Afghan. The two names get mixed up all the time, and so do real sheepskin and the fashion versions.

I have had a few of these through my hands this season, real and faux, women’s and men’s. This is what I have learned from them.

Short version: a Penny Lane coat is a long suede coat with shaggy fur at the collar, cuffs and hem, named after Kate Hudson’s character in Almost Famous (2000). An Afghan coat is the older one: sheepskin from Afghanistan, fleece inside, suede outside, often embroidered, worn by the Beatles in 1967. Real shearling is one piece of skin with the wool still on it. And because the fleece sits inside, a shearling coat feels a size smaller than its label, so always go by the chest measurement.

Three Penny Lane coats worn from the front: brown suede with fur trim and a tie belt, a long beige coat with a shaggy collar, and a cream shearling with a belt

Where the Penny Lane coat comes from

The name comes from a film, not a brand. In Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous, released in 2000, Kate Hudson plays Penny Lane, a girl who follows a 1970s rock band on tour. She wears a long suede coat with a huge cream collar, with blue tinted glasses, flares and platforms.

The costume designer, Betsy Heimann, has said she based the shape on a 1920s opera coat, with its broad collar and swinging hem, and on the coat Shirley MacLaine wears in The Apartment. She has also told interviewers that the fur collar was made from a rug she bought at Urban Outfitters. A film coat, built to catch the light on an actress’s face.

It worked. Twenty-five years later, “Penny Lane coat” is what people type into Google when they want a long shaggy coat with a 70s feel, whether it is real sheepskin or not.

Four long shaggy coats worn with wide trousers: a faux fur maxi coat, a beige suede Penny Lane coat, a dark brown coat with fur trim and a white coat with a grey fur collar

The Afghan coat came first

The real thing is much older. Afghan coats were made in Ghazni province, between Kabul and Kandahar, from sheepskin with the fleece left on the inside and the leather side turned out. The outside was often embroidered with silk flowers and patterns.

Hip-length Afghan coat in light brown suede with long shaggy fleece at the edges and cuffs and cream embroidery down the front, on a museum stand — An Afghan coat from between 1965 and 1975: brown suede, long fleece at the edges and cuffs, cream and pink embroidery. Photo: Museum Rotterdam, object 24389, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A long beige suede coat with a shaggy fur hood and cuffs beside a long denim coat lined with shaggy faux fur — The same idea decades later: a long suede coat with a shaggy hood and cuffs, and a denim coat lined in shaggy faux fur.

They reached London in 1966. Craig Sams, an American who had travelled through Kabul the year before, imported them and sold them through boutiques including Granny Takes a Trip on the King’s Road. The Beatles bought some there. In May 1967 John Lennon wore a yellow Afghan coat with red embroidered flowers to the launch of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and everyone wanted one.

Two men in a fur shop in Kabul in 1966, one holding up a long shaggy sheepskin coat, with embroidered coats hanging on the walls — A fur shop in Kabul in 1966, the year the coats reached London. Photo: Wilford Peloquin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones in 1967 wearing a shaggy dark sheepskin waistcoat over an embroidered shirt — Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones in a shaggy sheepskin, Amsterdam, September 1967. Photo: Ben Merk / Anefo, Nationaal Archief, public domain (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

The makers in Ghazni could not keep up, and copies flooded the market. Through the 1970s the Afghan became the hippie coat. That is the look Penny Lane was dressed in, thirty years on.

Close-up of two sheepskin coat collars, one dark brown and one cream, above tan and grey suede with buttons and a tie belt

Penny Lane, Afghan or aviator: how to tell them apart

The three get listed under each other’s names, so here is how I sort them.

Penny Lane: long, usually mid-calf or longer. Suede outside, shaggy fur showing at the collar, cuffs and hem. Often a tie belt. The fur can be real shearling or faux.
Afghan: sheepskin, fleece inside, the leather side out, often embroidered. Older originals are hip or knee length with a curly fleece edge. If it has embroidery on the suede, it is in the Afghan family.
Aviator or sheepskin jacket: shorter, about hip length, with a wide collar and heavy buttons or a zip. Made for warmth first. Very good, but not a Penny Lane coat.

A 1966 black and white image of a woman in a hip-length sheepskin coat with a fleece collar, beside new housing in Newcastle — The everyday British version: a hip-length sheepskin coat with a fleece collar, Kenton Bar Estate, Newcastle, 1966. Image: Newcastle Libraries, no known copyright restrictions, via Flickr.

On my rail right now there is one of each kind, and some in between. The beige full-length shearling coat is the classic Penny Lane shape: shawl collar, fur at the cuffs and hem, tie belt. The brown aviator sheepskin is the short, chunky kind.

Real shearling or faux?

Real shearling is a sheepskin with the wool left on. The fur and the suede are the same piece of skin. Faux versions put a fake fur on a woven or knitted backing, or sew a strip of fur onto a fabric coat.

Close-up of a curly reddish-brown shearling collar growing straight off the edge of grey suede — Real shearling: the curly fleece grows straight off the suede edge, with no seam where a fur strip would be sewn on. Photo: Flyinace2000, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.

The checks I do:

Part the fur. On real shearling you see skin at the root, not threads or a fabric grid.
Look at the edges. On a real coat the fleece curls straight off the edge of the suede. On a faux one there is a seam where the fur strip is sewn on.
Feel the weight. Real sheepskin is heavy. A full-length one is a proper weight on the hanger.
Read the label, if there is one. “Genuine sheepskin” or “real shearling” on one side, “faux fur” or polyester on the other. Many vintage coats have lost their labels, so the first three checks matter more.

Faux is not a bad thing. A faux coat is lighter, easier to wear on a mild day, and a fraction of the price of real sheepskin. I just want you to know which one you are buying. These three on my rail are faux:

West Y2K Penny Lane Afghan jacket in faux suede with shaggy faux fur — West Y2K Penny Lane jacket, faux suede · £34

Italian Y2K brown longline merino wool coat with faux fur trim — Italian Y2K faux fur trim coat, merino wool · £95

Y2K reversible brown faux fur Penny Lane maxi coat — Y2K reversible faux fur Penny Lane maxi coat · £65

How a shearling coat sizes

This is where most people get caught. The fleece takes up room inside the coat, so a real shearling coat fits smaller than the same size in wool. The label also tends to be old or missing.

From the coats I have measured:

The cropped aviator sheepskin has no size tag. It measures 24.5 inches armpit to armpit and, with the thick shearling lining, fits a UK 12 to 14 with a relaxed, oversized feel.
The beige Penny Lane coat is labelled EU 46. Depending on the country, EU 46 reads as anything from a UK 14 to a UK 20 on paper, yet it measures 21 inches armpit to armpit and fits like a UK 12 to 14. If you buy Italian or German coats, my guide to Italian, French and German sizes explains why the number is only a starting point.

So ignore the tag and use the chest. Measure armpit to armpit, double it, and compare it with your own bust measurement. For a coat you will wear over a jumper, you want at least 3 to 4 inches more than your bust. Our size guide shows where to measure, and Will it fit? checks your measurements against every piece in stock.

Length matters too. The beige Penny Lane coat is 46 inches from the shoulder, which on most women falls well below the knee. Shoulder to cuff is 18 inches, a little shorter than modern coats, because 70s sleeves were cut slim.

Three long Penny Lane coats worn open, in beige and taupe suede with long shaggy fur along the front, cuffs and hem

Looking after vintage suede and shearling

A vintage sheepskin will have marks, colour variation and a soft patina on the suede. That is normal, and on a forty-year-old coat it is part of the look. What you want to avoid is damage that grows.

Keep it dry. Suede does not like rain. If it gets wet, hang it on a wide hanger and let it dry slowly at room temperature, never on a radiator.
Brush it. A soft suede brush lifts the nap and takes off light dust.
Clean it properly. Use a specialist sheepskin or leather cleaner, not an ordinary dry cleaner and never the washing machine.
Store it well. A wide, padded hanger and a breathable cotton cover, not plastic. A shearling coat folded in a bag all summer comes out creased and musty.

How to wear it

The film look is still the easiest: flared jeans, a fitted knit, boots or platforms. A low rise flare under a long coat gives the same long line Penny Lane had. My guide to vintage low rise flares covers how those jeans really measure.

For everyday, I like low rise jeans or a mini skirt, a fine cashmere jumper and an oversized Penny Lane coat on top. The coat does the work, so keep what is under it simple. There is more on picking a good second-hand knit in my cashmere guide.

Three looks with shaggy-trimmed coats: a long camel coat with fur collar and cuffs, a brown knit coat with fur cuffs over flared jeans, and a cropped brown shearling jacket with a pleated mini skirt — Every piece in these three looks is in the shop now: see all women’s outerwear.

What is on my rail now

Every piece here is one of a kind and measured by hand. Once it sells, it is gone.

For the rest of the season’s coats, see all women’s outerwear and our vintage edit.

Questions people ask

What is a Penny Lane coat?

A long suede coat with shaggy fur at the collar, cuffs and hem, usually with a tie belt. It is named after Kate Hudson’s character Penny Lane in the film Almost Famous (2000).

Is a Penny Lane coat the same as an Afghan coat?

Not quite. The Afghan coat is the original: sheepskin from Afghanistan, fleece inside, often embroidered, popular in London from 1966. Penny Lane is the later name for a long, shaggy-trimmed suede coat in that 70s spirit.

How can I tell if a sheepskin coat is real?

Part the fur. Real shearling shows skin at the root and the fleece grows straight off the suede edge. Faux fur sits on a fabric backing or is sewn on as a strip. Real sheepskin is also noticeably heavy.

Do shearling coats run small?

Yes, usually by about a size, because the fleece takes up room inside. Go by the chest measurement, not the label, and allow 3 to 4 inches over your bust if you will wear a jumper under it.

How do I clean a vintage shearling coat?

Brush the suede, keep it dry, and take it to a specialist sheepskin or leather cleaner. Do not put it in the washing machine or dry it on a radiator.