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Buyer Beware: Purchasing Leather Clothing On-Line   by Kent Johnson

When you purchase leather clothing on line or at a store, what exactly are you getting? We've been selling leather for a long time on-line. Time and time again, many people want to know more about leather types and quality to make sure they are receiving value for their dollar. This article is a brief rundown on leather types and qualities found in stores and on line, plus some prudent advice.

First, when we think of leather, each of us may have a different idea of what leather is. We can think of the leather furniture, a fine pair of leather shoes, or a simple black motorcycle jacket. We will stick with leather clothing in this article and leave furniture and shoes to those who know it better. So what makes a great looking motorcycle jacket versus a fine leather fashion coat? First of all, the size of the leather piece(s) used to make the garment and the prominence of the grain. Your best quality leather apparel is made using large pieces of leather. The fewer seams in your garment the better. When you purchase a cotton shirt, you don't expect to see seams on the arms or running down the back, do you? Since Leather is so expensive, often times two smaller pieces are sewn together to make a large panel, for instance, on the back of a jacket. The quality of the jacket is best without a seam or seams on the back, but a center seam is not unheard of even in a quality leather jacket. Second, the grain of the leather is very important. Normally, in standard leather jackets, the leather exhibits a natural grain, or small bumps all across the top. This is a natural appearance and virtually all pieces of leather are slightly different in grain pattern. Hence, no two top grain leather items are really identical. If the leather looks too perfect in grain pattern, it probably is. A grain pattern can be embedded with machinery on smooth leather to make it appear to be top grain. This leather is too uniform and does not look natural. Also, this leather is less expensive than graded top grain leather. What is graded? A grader looks at pieces of leather to determine what pieces will go into large cuts or cut into smaller sections to make sleeves and collars, etc. The pieces that are cut into smaller pieces have defects such as scars or blemishes in the leather that make the look non-uniform. We have a motorcycle jacket that has the Branding Iron mark right on the back. Obviously, the grader missed this and it got through and into a jacket. Different leathers have different grain patterns. Cowhide, the most popular leather for motorcycle gear, has relatively large bumps. Buffalo Leather also has large lumps and is also frequently used in motorcycle apparel. Lambskin has a much smoother appearance and finer grain and is desired the most in quality fashion items. Goat Skin is also used and looks very similar to lambskin in appearance but does not have the "depth" in appearance of lamb. Pigskin also has a very fine grain and appears to be smooth, but if looked at closely, small bumps can be seen.

What types of leather are sold on the web and what are the characteristics? The most popular leather sold on line is "patched leather." This leather is dirt cheap and readily available. It is often brand named "Stone Design" or "Diamond Plate," but what is it? Patched leather clothing and purses that are made from small pieces of leather, primarily leather scraps from the cutting room of manufacturers that are making better quality leather items from large uniform pieces of leather. Most of the patched leather is made in China and is primarily pigskin, however, a manufacturer may use any type of leather to create the patchwork. The items made from this type of leather are of general good quality in craftsmanship but, if you are paying for leather, you are not getting quality leather. Because the leather is small patches sewn together, you have many, many seams. The value of the sewing is more than the value of the leather. Many stores and mail order advertisements offer this type of leather clothing also and the prices are incredibly low. However most people looking for leather clothing, aren't looking for patched leather, but are buying based on price rather than quality. Many are surprised when they receive their patched leather items in the mail, but the cost of shipping the item back plus restocking fees, may make it worthwhile to keep the patched item and get rid of it at a garage sale. Buyer beware.

"Buyer Beware" is a very appropriate term. Many, if not most of the largest leather suppliers sell patched leather as well as more premium cuts of leather. Price is a good indication of quality, but don't be fooled by price alone, check out customer testimonials on the web site as well as reviews from shopping opinion polls, like those on shopping.com, pricegrabber.com and amazon.com. Stores that sell on these sites normally get reviews. If the store doesn't have any reviews or testimonials, beware. When it comes down to it, you need to use a store you can trust, and finding that trust may take some looking.

For more information, contact http://www.discount-leather.net

About the Author

Author is currently the owner and operator of Discount Leather Mart, http://www.discount-leather.net, an on-line leather clothing store. Discount Leather Mart has been operating on-line since 2003 and has serviced over 10,000 customers. Before opening his on-line venture, he was a biologist in upper management and sales for various agricultural/chemical companies