But if you're looking to invest a little more in a higher-quality leather that can last a lifetime—and look good doing it—then, full-grain leather is the way to go. And remember to give your leather bags, jackets, and accessories the love and care they need with our assortment of easy-to-use leather care products.
When purchasing a leather handbag, cowhide leather is considered to be the highest quality material available. Not only is cowhide leather extremely durable, but it also looks aesthetically appealing. When you touch cow skin leather, you should be able to feel the roughness.
Among real leathers, full grain leather is by far the best in terms of quality. Unlike the other grains, full grain has not been separated from the top grain or split layers, and is therefore the strongest and most dependable type of leather.
Leather has four basic grains or qualities: full-grain leather, top-grain leather, genuine leather, and corrected-grain leather.
Deerskin: Ultra-soft, supple, lightweight, durable, spongy and yet, highly durable, deerskin is one of the only types of leather that can get wet and still dry soft, over and over again! It's also a lot more comfortable than cowhide, and hence is a favorite of luxury handbag brands like Prada.
Many vintage Gucci products were constructed with pigskin, calf and exotic leathers imported from different parts of the world. Today's Gucci leather is the ultra-luxurious Guccissima leather, meaning “the most Gucci” in Italian. It was introduced in 2006 by then Creative Director Frida Giannini.
About Louis Vuitton Vachetta
Vachetta is commonly the name Louis Vuitton use to call the leather used on their handbags and luggage range.
Bonded leather is the lowest (and the cheapest) grade of leather. Common Uses: Making furniture, bookbinding, and various fashion accessories. Though there are four basic types of leather, you can find a wide range of options based on the percentage of organic material, durability, and the finishing process.
Full-grain leather is the best among all leather types. Moreover, only the highest quality of animal skin can be made into full-grain leather. This may also be the reason why full-grain leather is expensive and that is because of its quality. Just like top grain leather, full-grain leather comes from animal skins.
The most expensive exotic leather in the world is from the shell cordovan, a leather derived from the flat muscles underneath the hide on a horse's rump. As you can imagine, not many places in the world raise horses for leather.
Pigmented leathers typically have the strongest performance characteristics of all leathers, proving resistance to scratching, fading, staining and abrasion.
When it comes to grading real, authentic leather, you can sort everything into 3 main categories. These leather grades for furniture are full grain leather, top grain leather, and split leather.
The premium leather that Italy is renowned for is the full-grain, vegetable-tanned kind. Removed from the outermost layer of the animal's skin — the most durable part of the hide — full-grain leather has an unaltered grain structure and is subsequently extremely robust.
They also design handbags in calfskin, goatskin and exotics (to name a few). However, a few years ago, Chanel made the decision to concentrate predominantly on Lambskin and Caviar, which is why their seasonal designs will host one of these leathers.
Leather is a very reliable and highly sought-after materials bags are made from. Known for being sturdy, durable, soft to the touch, and easy to style with a number of different colors, this versatile material is made from the tanned hides of skinned animals.
As a general rule of thumb, lambskin is best for leather garments (jackets and coats) because its soft texture easily forms to the body, whereas calfskin is better for accessories (shoes, handbags, wallets, and related accessories) because it is tougher and retains its shape better.
An item of good leather quality will usually have quality stitching to match. Flaws in stitching, hardware, and lining can indicate inferior leather. Pay attention to how it feels and looks. If the leather feels wrong (hard, plasticky, or thin), it probably is.
The real answer for the most versatile solution here would be a pair of each! Failing that, it depends which colours you wear most. If you're more drawn to black and grey trousers, black leather shoes are likely to be more useful. If you prefer navy and beige, we suggest brown leather shoes might get more wear.
Very Durable – Unlike bonded leather, PU leather is more resistant to cracking, peeling, scratches, and scrapes. It is stain and fade-resistant as well.
The highest quality grade of leather is Full Grain followed by Top Grain. Lower quality grades of leather include Genuine leather (also called Corrected Grain leather) and Bonded leather.
Full grain leather is the highest quality grade of leather that money can buy. It comes from the top layer of the hide and includes all of the natural grain. It is more expensive for manufacturers to buy and more difficult for them to work with.
1. Brown Leather Sofa – A Popular Choice. It's not hard to see why brown is the most popular colour for a leather sofa. It offers a wonderful palette, from tans through to rich chocolates and lends itself beautifully to classic sofa styles, such as a leather Chesterfield like the Harrington.
Next to the monogram, Epi leather is the most recognizable material used by LV. Epi leather is a rigid and extremely durable material which is treated with plant dye to give it a matte finish. It's a great choice for everyday use because it is totally waterproof and doesn't scratch easily.
Made from real calf leather, Prada leather bags should be supple and smooth.
Coach uses a large variety of leathers for their products, ranging from suede all the way to crocodile embossed cowhide and calfskin.