Was the leather muscled curiass of the later times sexier?

[Urselius]

The Sutton Hoo burial, of an Anglo-Saxon ruler c. 620AD, has two shoulder clasps which incorporate a sliding pin fastening and staples to attach both halves of each clasp to a garment. It has been reasonably inferred that the clasps were the fastenings of a leather ciurass, indeed any other use for the clasps is difficult to envisage (as textile would not require such over-engineered fastenings. As the burial also included a helmet of distinct Roman antecedents (although its decoration was Swedish in character) and Byzantine metalware the idea that the owner was aping, to some extent, Roman pomp is well nigh inescapable.

As to bling, a leather ciurass, dyed red with gilt tooled decoration would be quite as eyecatching as a mail shirt.

Leather, in the form of a "buff coat" was a widespread form of protection in the 17th century in Europe. Indeed a buff-coat cost about twice as much as an iron breast and backplate, so leather armour was not necessarily a cheaper option than metal.

As far as keeping out edged weapons, leather could be quite effective. One British cavalry officer was run though the body by a sword in battle in the Peninsular War and subsequently bought a "buffalo-leather cuirass" for himself to save him from further trauma - which it proved fully capable of doing in subsequent clashes.