Types of Leather for Jackets and Bags

Buying a leather jacket is a tricky business so when you decide to grab one, its important to know what you’re paying for. Leather jackets and bags come in different types of leathers that we can pick from as per our choices depending on the season, the weight of a jacket, and the budget.

Full Grain Leather

Full Grain Leather

This might be one of the oldest types of leather that were used in making leather products i.e. jackets and bags . It’s generally used in high-end luxury products hence one of the most expensive animal skins. Don’t confuse the name with the texture of this type of leather, there are no grains in a jacket made from full-grain leather. Run your hand through the jacket and you’d feel an undeniable smoothness and comfort in it.

Top Grain Leather

Top Grain Leather

Leather goes through a process in which the surface is smoothened out and all the imperfections are removed. It’s cheaper as compared to the full-grain and is often confused with genuine leather. Both of these go through minimal processing, therefore, the seller sometimes gets away with this mix-up.

Genuine Leather

Genuine Leather

To avoid any confusion while Buying a leather jacket it’s important to know How to identify genuine leather. If you’re going for the best one with a generous budget, a full-grain leather jacket must be your first pick. However, genuine leather is the best alternative. People often believe that genuine and real leather are the same thing. But they’re not. Genuine leather isn’t real leather. Genuine leather is basically the lowest quality and should be the least expensive. Jackets and bags are hardly ever made from this type of leather because it’s not durable at all.

Real Leather

Real Leather

On the other hand, real leather means the leather in its pure form. The best identification if real leather is that it feels like skin. Real leather has three grades, top one i.e. full-grain contains minimum impurities and imperfections. Real leather is more expensive because of some extraordinary characteristics.
Run your hands through real leather and it would be smooth. It shouldn’t feel like plastic. A real leather jacket would be the best investment you’d ever make as it absorbs water, doesn’t crack easily, and doesn’t catch fire.

Bonded Leather

Bonded Leather

Mix and match of all types of leather be it real one or fake. The leftover pieces of leather jackets, bags, and other products are utilized in making belts, wallets, watch straps, and other accessories. It is less expensive and less durable because of all the shredding that it goes through. However, with proper care, a bonded leather item can last up to 5 years.

Split Leather

Split Leather

Leather comes from animal skin and that skin has multiple layers which are then separated and processed. Split leather comes from the fibrous part of the skin that is left once the top-grain has been separated from it. Split is usually the second or third layer of the hide and is heavily pigmented. It is much weaker and less durable than top-grain leather.

Suede Leather

Suede Leather

Suede is made from the innermost part of the animal skin that’s why it’s soft and fuzzy. No matter what big brands tell you, natural suede only comes in black color. It is mostly taken from small animals i.e. sheep, calves, and goats because their skin is delicate as compared to that of bigger animals. Suede is a high-quality product but there’s no match with the full-grain. Its commonly used in shoes, bags, wallets, and jackets.

Nubuck Leather

Nubuck Leather

If your jacket has a velvet-like finish, it’s made of nubuck leather. That texture is obtained by sanding and buffing the top-grain as well as full-grain leather which is why nubuck is durable and long-lasting. It is capable of absorbing a small amount of water, however, to make it a foolproof water-resistant piece of clothing, sprays, and conditioners are available.

No matter what, a leather jacket of any type, material, or texture will add spunk to your overall look. So just go for it! because your wardrobe deserves to have a leather jacket on it.

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