Buying a leather jacket may not always live up to expectations. The leather outerwear market offers a large number of leatherette jackets that are sold under the guise of natural ones.
The chemical industry has developed so much that artificial material can easily be given the color, smell and non-flammable properties that are inherent in natural leather. Therefore, you need to know the different aspects by which leather can be distinguished from leatherette.
About the purchase and the need for verification
A leather product cannot be cheap. The material is durable, has a long service life, and will protect the owner of the jacket from rain and wind.
Outerwear should always have good performance as it serves many useful functions. And I really don’t want to buy artificial clothing at the price of leather.
An uninitiated person will notice the difference when the material has already deteriorated, cracks, dents, and abrasions appear.Therefore, it is better to familiarize yourself with how you can check a jacket for authenticity immediately at the place of purchase and at home.
Reference! You should avoid buying a leather jacket at the market or in a store without a positive reputation. When buying expensive clothes that must be used for many years, it is better to go to a store with extensive experience and good reviews.
How to distinguish leather from leatherette on a jacket in a store?
First you need to look at the tag. All leather items must have a tag made from a piece of the same material as the item, in the form of a small animal skin.
Substitute products have a diamond-shaped tag. However, it is no secret that there are unscrupulous sellers for whom changing the tag and passing off leatherette as leather will not present any difficulties. Therefore, this method of determining the material is only superficial.
To determine the authenticity of the material, you need to know the characteristics of genuine leather. This will allow you to completely determine the material of the product in a few minutes.
Important! Leather products must have a quality certificate. The certificate can be requested from the seller, and he is obliged to provide it.
Smell
Today, the smell of a jacket can no longer accurately indicate the material. Fragrances, dyes and leather shavings are used on leatherette products, which can almost exactly imitate the pleasant aroma of natural leather. However, the substitute may have a strong chemical odor. This jacket may smell like plastic, rubber and other chemical industry products.
The leather has a pleasant, mild aroma that does not “harm” the nose. But relying only on this method, it will not be possible to accurately determine the material.
Edge thickness, edge
The type of edge will always indicate a synthetic material. Firstly, the leather is thicker than the substitute. But today even leatherette can have a rough layer.
Secondly, the edge of a natural product is less neat and has roughness. The edge of the hem of the faux jacket is smooth, without any roundness.
Elasticity
The skin has excellent elasticity. If you bend a piece of a jacket, folds and wrinkles form on the surface, which disappear almost immediately. The elastic properties of the material played a big role in creating demand for it.
If, after squeezing and bending a piece of material, the wrinkles are not smoothed out quickly, the paint begins to peel off, and the material breaks, it means that the seller was caught in an unscrupulous manner. Wrinkles on leatherette can remain forever, which definitely indicates a fake.
Color
Leather products are always expensive, so it is unlikely that manufacturers will use cheap paints for coating. Natural jackets are painted with an even, uniform coating. On faux leather, clear paint boundaries or stains are sometimes visible.
Genuine leather will not change color after stretching or bending. The shade of leatherette may lighten after the above manipulations.
Presence of pores
Faux leather is non-porous. Of course, a pattern with individual pores will be visible on the jacket, but this texture is the result of machine embossing, which is performed according to specified patterns with a repeating pattern. All pores are of the same depth, made according to a stencil.
Natural leather has an uneven texture, on which the pores are placed in random order. Pores, like wrinkles, are shallow, but clearly visible from close up. The relief on the skin is formed naturally, so there is no even pattern.
Base material
You should always pay attention to the underside of the leather.The natural material has a soft and delicate inner side made of flesh. The section shows numerous tangled fibers, which represent the entire area of the section.
Leatherette is made on a textile basis. The base can also be non-woven. The leather imitation is glued to the fabric, which is immediately noticeable on the cut.
How to distinguish leather from leatherette on a jacket at home?
There are methods by which you can determine the authenticity of a leather item only after purchase. The seller in the store will not allow testing on a product that has not yet been purchased. Therefore, the test is carried out at home. The methods are quite simple and allow you to accurately determine the material of the jacket.
Contact with fire
This verification method is strictly for use in a store. No seller will jeopardize their goods. Genuine leather will not change its appearance from short-term contact with an open flame from a match or lighter. Leatherette is a fabric base and a polyurethane film, which immediately begins to melt in the fire.
The method may fail if the leather is treated with aniline. This coating is used to smooth out the relief and add shine to the product. The material ignites from an open flame, so the product can be damaged.
Contact with water
The advantage of this method is that a seller who is confident in the quality of the product will allow you to conduct a test before purchasing the jacket. To carry out the test, only clean water is needed.
You need to drop some water on the surface of the leather jacket. The natural material will completely absorb it within 10 seconds. Also, the wetted area will darken a little. Water will quickly drain from synthetic material.
The exception is jackets that are impregnated with a water-repellent agent.Water will also quickly drain over a waterproof surface. Therefore, not every product can be tested with a water test.
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