Leather products are always in fashion, they look stylish, add a special chic to the image. In order not to be mistaken in authenticity and not to buy high-quality leatherette instead of natural material, you need to know how to distinguish genuine leather from artificial. Most people believe that a fake has an unpleasant chemical smell, but manufacturers have learned how to get rid of it by adding animal skin crumbs to the product. Knowing the main differences between these two materials will help you make the right choice.

Distinctive characteristics of genuine leather

For the production of bags, shoes and clothes, different types of leather are needed. Depending on the method of dressing, they have different properties - strength, breathability, thickness, wear resistance. There are such basic methods of processing natural material:

1. Raw. This skin goes through the processes of gilding and skinning. Initially, it is soft, elastic, but hardens after drying. This property is used to shape the skin, for example, when tightening drums.
2. Tanned. This method of dressing is the most common, it gives strength, durability, plasticity to the material. Tanning is done in different ways (chrome, vegetable, zirconium, fat, synthetic), such a material has softness, elasticity, water / heat resistance.
3. Raw. Such skin is tanned with aluminum alum, used in the production of saddlery and saddlery goods, orthopedic shoes.

Each method of dressing gives the skin certain properties. Features and characteristics that help distinguish natural types of matter from each other are as follows:

Name	Processing method	Characteristics
	Chrome-tanned goatskin	Beautiful appearance, pronounced graininess, density, elasticity, moisture resistance, wavy edge
Shagreen leather	Vegetable tanning with alum from different types of skins (lamb, horse, goat, donkey)	Fine-grained surface, soft, embossed, beautiful pattern
	Chrome tanning of various skins, followed by varnishing	Smooth or embossed, shiny, flexible, durable, waterproof, soft, stretchy
	Tanning of elk, deer, sheep, goat skins	Low pile, soft, breathable, high wear resistance

Types of artificial leather substitutes

Leatherette is an artificial raw material that imitates the look of natural leather. It consists of such layers: knitwear, non-woven material, impregnation and polymer coating, natural matter consists of a single layer. Leatherette is used in all areas of production. Many artificial substitutes are almost indistinguishable from natural raw materials. They have high moisture and frost resistance and an average degree of resistance to repeated bending. Leather substitutes are popular due to their low cost, practicality and durability. Their distinctive features:

How to check the skin for naturalness

In order not to be mistaken in the quality of the purchased goods, for example, jackets, you need to know how to distinguish real leather from a fake while still in the store. To do this, you can use the following methods:

1. Price. This is the very first indicator that helps to distinguish a fake. Natural raw materials cannot be cheap, but the price does not always match the quality.
2. Presence of embossing. All well-known manufacturers put their name on the product, which confirms its quality.
3. Heat transfer. Touch the product for a few seconds, heat it with the warmth of your hand. As a result of touching, genuine raw materials will quickly warm up and remain dry, artificial raw materials will sweat and heat up for only a few seconds.
4. Edge edge, material thickness. Artificial matter has a uniform texture, natural - a rough edge over the raw area.
5. elastic properties. Artificial material can be distinguished from genuine material by pressing. Natural skin at the moment of pressing is characterized by the appearance of fine wrinkles and rapid straightening of the material.
6. Bend the product, artificial raw materials may change color on the bend.
7. A cut of natural raw materials will have many fibers, leatherette - a textile base.
8. Deformation. When bending, cracks should not appear on the material. If they appear, you have a fake in front of you.
9. The lining of quality products is made of good materials, a fake will use cheap fabric.

Fire exposure

An ordinary lighter will help to identify genuine leather, to distinguish it from artificial. When interacting with fire, leather substitutes immediately begin to melt, and in the worst case, the product may ignite, since some manufacturers process raw materials with special compounds (aniline) during the manufacturing process. The natural material is not afraid of the touch of the flame, you can only smell the burnt skin.

Action of water

In this way, which allows you to distinguish a genuine product from a fake one, you will not be able to use it in the market or in the store, it is unlikely that such manipulations will be allowed there. For him, you need a drop of water, which you need to drop on the product. Natural matter will immediately absorb moisture, artificial materials repel it. If your drop is not absorbed, you have a fake in all its glory.

Specific smell

Hoping that your sense of smell will help distinguish a fake from the original is not worth it. Yes, natural raw materials have a special smell that cannot be confused with anything else. Artificial materials often smell like plastic, oilcloth. However, many manufacturers, when creating things, add special flavors to their composition. As a result, you will not smell chemical odors.

How to distinguish leather from leatherette

To distinguish leather from leatherette, try pulling the material in different directions. The substitute will resemble rubber, and the natural raw material will stretch smoothly, elastically, but unevenly. Then press on the item. The mark on the original will quickly disappear, and you will feel the density, elasticity of matter. It will be more difficult to push a fake and the fingerprint will be visible for a long time.

Pay attention to the pores in the raw material. This is another way to help distinguish a fake, to identify a quality mark. Looking closely, you will see that in the leatherette the pores are at the same distance from each other, have the same size and shape. In natural matter, the pores are arranged in a chaotic manner, and their depth and structure cannot be identical in nature. Lacquered skin can be distinguished from an artificial fake by bending. As a result, there should be no creases, cracks and scratches on the genuine material if you gently run your fingernail over the surface.

In addition to the above, there is another way to distinguish leather from eco-leather. Look at the color of the item. Paint in artificial material is absorbed better, so the shades are richer and brighter. Goods made from natural matter are not so colorful. In addition, eco-leather does not have a characteristic smell inherent in animals, which cannot be said about natural raw materials.

How to know if shoes are leather or not

If you are heading to a store or market for a new pair of shoes, also be guided by criteria that will help you find out the history of the material's origin, distinguish a fake from an original. This point is very important, because you will have to walk in shoes in different weather conditions. A quality product will not let your feet sweat, get wet, freeze and guarantees comfort while wearing.

Natural shoes must be marked (small sticker) with graphic signs. It contains information about the upper and lower parts of the shoe, lining, sole. This must include information about the material that makes up 80% of the top of the model, about the lining, insole and 80% of the sole. If there is no matter, from which 80% of this shoe is made, then only 2 main raw materials used for its production are indicated.

Quality shoes always have the leather icon that was used in the production of the product. This is a small piece of pressed leather in the shape of a rhombus for artificial raw materials and a figured badge for natural. In various languages, this specimen may have the following written on it: genuine leather (in English), vera pelle (in Italian), cuir (in French), and echtleder (in German). This secret will also help you distinguish a fake from the original.

If you touch the wrong side of natural raw materials to the touch, it will be fleecy, while artificial material does not. The front side of genuine suede dressing is also covered with a small thick pile. If you hold your hand, then visually the color of the product should change slightly. So you can always distinguish natural suede from its low-quality fake.

Appearance and cuts

You need to pay attention to the folded edges of the product. In natural leather, the outer fold resembles a rounded roller, in artificial raw materials, the fold is flattened, and it is also thinner. Examine the wrong side of the material in sections, the fake will have a textile base. In a high-quality product, it is unrealistic to do this at the place of the seams, since they will all be hidden, but on the internal seams you can try to find an open cut and see the reverse side, the wrong side of the used raw materials.

Video

Are you planning to buy an Italian bag made of genuine leather? Then the question "how to distinguish genuine leather from artificial" will be more relevant for you than ever. The technology for manufacturing artificial materials has reached a very high level and it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish leatherette from genuine leather. Dishonest manufacturers add remnants of genuine leather to the composition of leatherette, which gives it a characteristic smell of natural material. Various tricks are used, and in the store, to the question “Is the bag leather?” You will definitely be answered - "Yes, of course!" In this case, the product may be obviously of poor quality, but the seller will stand his ground to the last.

Being deceived is always unpleasant, especially when it comes to an expensive purchase. So that you do not waste your money in vain, we have prepared for you several life hacks that will help you distinguish a genuine leather bag from the best fake.

The main differences between genuine leather and artificial

So, you have decided to buy an Italian bag made of genuine leather in an online store. We will omit all the details about how exactly you need to choose an online store and how to understand whether you are really buying Cromia, Braccialini or Di Gregorio (we already wrote about this). Today we will focus on the material.

Sign #1. Attached piece of skin

Each manufacturer of leather products must attach to the bag a small piece of leather from which the handbag is made.

Such a label guarantees that the thing is really of high quality. Branded products are often marked in a special way: if it is a symbol of an animal skin, it is real leather. The rhombus icon symbolizes that the thing is made of leatherette, the canvas symbol - the bag is made of textile.

You can be sure that the bag is made of natural material if you see such inscriptions as "vera pelle" or "genuine leather", which, respectively, means "genuine leather" from Italian and English.

Sign #2. The cut of the material.

Another “sign” by which you can determine the “naturalness” of the material is its wrong side. Of course, in high-quality sewn handbags you will not find the wrong side. But if you suddenly find a cut (perhaps at those places where a zipper or trim is sewn), keep in mind that bakhtarma (as the reverse surface of genuine leather is called) should be soft and feel like suede. At the same time, the reverse side of leatherette products is covered with textiles.

Also note that the cut of a leather bag will be different from the cut of a leatherette product, it will have the shape of a fluffy, round roller. In artificial materials, the cut is completely flat.

Ask the seller of the online store to send you a photo of the inside of the bag and its cut.

Sign #3. The appearance of the bag.

No matter how obvious it may be, the material from which the handbag is made will tell a lot about its appearance. The front side of genuine leather (it is called mereya) should not contain cracks, wrinkles and creases. In addition, you should check the quality of staining your handbag. Slightly scratch the product - the surface should not delaminate, and the paint should not chip off.

The paint should not remain on your hands after you have touched the product - this is a clear sign of poor quality.

Coloring should be uniform, without spots, various sagging and other defects. Unlike artificial materials, the skin itself is very plastic. Therefore, if a thing, for example, a bag made of genuine leather, is slightly stretched, it will immediately return to its previous state. Leatherette does not have this property, since no analogues of natural collagen have yet been found in modern production.

Sign number 4. Genuine leather absorbs moisture, while faux leather does not.

Another way to check the "naturalness" is to slightly wet the bag.

Real leather absorbs water and darkens in the process. Artificial materials do not absorb moisture and water rolls off them.

This is easy to test at home. The main thing is not to overdo it: you do not need to keep the bag under the tap. Wet the strap of the accessory a little and wait. If the skin is tight, rub the water for a couple of minutes. This will be more than enough for the test.

Sign number 5. Hot - cold

Did you know that leather is a good conductor of heat? So, we have another reliable way to check the material. To conduct this experiment, it is enough to hold your hand on a product made of real leather - it will heat up quickly, and you will feel it.

But leatherette has a low heat transfer coefficient, so a handbag made from it will remain cold.

Sign number 6. Testing by fire

The latter method, of course, is not simple, but it is no less effective.

When you set fire to a piece of leather, you should smell the burnt natural material, not chemical compounds.

Of course, you are unlikely to be able to set fire to a bag right in the store (especially if it is an online store), but if you can cut off a small piece from the tag, you can test it at home.

Armed with these tips, you can easily distinguish even the most skillful fake from the original. But, of course, the surest way is to buy accessories in the trusted Northern Venice online store.

We are pleased to present you only high-quality genuine leather bags from Italian brands. And, of course, we do not sell fakes and Chinese fakes. Each handbag is presented in a single copy and purchased directly from the designer houses of the brands.

If you know of any other ways that will help distinguish artificial leather from genuine, share with us in the comments!

Happy shopping!

Products made of genuine leather, due to their natural and elegant appearance, are significantly different from any synthetic fibers. Today, there are a large number of similar synthetic materials on the market at a much lower price. You can also find products that are only partly made of genuine leather, but the tag says "genuine leather" or "made from genuine leather." Marketers use such ambiguous terms to mislead buyers. If you are planning to purchase an expensive product made of genuine leather, you need to know how to distinguish a genuine product from a synthetic material.

Steps

How to distinguish genuine leather from a fake

Beware of buying products that do not have a "genuine leather" tag. If there is a mark "artificial material", then it is definitely synthetic leather. If nothing is indicated, then most likely the manufacturer wants to keep silent about the fact that the skin is not real. Of course, used items may not have tags at all. However, most manufacturers pride themselves on using natural leather, so they make the appropriate marks:

Examine the surface of the product for graininess, small bumps and pores, imperfections and unique textures that indicate that the leather is genuine. Defects on the surface of the skin actually characterize its quality on the positive side. Do not forget that genuine leather is made from animal skin, so each piece is unique, just like the animal from which it was taken. The often repeated, even and identical pattern indicates the production of this material by machine.

• There are scratches, folds and wrinkles on the surface of genuine leather, and this is how it should be!
• It should be remembered that manufacturers are constantly improving production technology, and designers are learning to imitate natural leather more efficiently. Therefore, shopping on the Internet by the picture carries certain risks.

1. Squeeze the skin in your hands and look for folds and wrinkles. Real leather is wrinkled to the touch. Synthetic materials tend to retain their stiffness and shape under pressure.

   Smell the product. The smell should be natural and slightly musty, not plastic and chemical. If you don't know what leather should smell like, go to a store that sells genuine leather goods and check out a few bags and pairs of shoes. Ask if there are any synthetic products on sale and compare both products. After such an experiment, you can accurately distinguish the smell of genuine leather.

   • It should be remembered that genuine leather is made from animal skin. Faux leather is made from plastic. Obviously, the natural material smells like leather, and the artificial one smells like plastic.

2. Carry out a fire resistance test. In this case, there is a possibility of partially spoiling the product. In some cases, it is better not to use this method, but you can check the product in a small and hard-to-reach area that is not visible, for example, at the bottom of the sofa. Keep the flame close to the surface of the material for 5-10 seconds:

   Pay attention to the edge of the product. Real leather has uneven edges, while the edge of artificial leather is even, and even perfect. Machine-made leather has a clean cut. Genuine leather along the edges consists of a large number of threads that crumble. Faux leather is made of plastic, so it does not have these fibers, and the cut line is clean.

   Crush the leather item to slightly change its natural color. Genuine leather has good elasticity and changes color and wrinkles when bent. Artificial leather is much stiffer and better retains its shape, and in comparison with natural it bends worse.

   Apply a small amount of water to the product. At the same time, natural leather will absorb moisture. If you keep a high-quality fake, then a small puddle forms on the surface. Genuine leather absorbs a drop of water within a few seconds, and thus confirms its authenticity.

   Real leather products are not cheap. The price of a product completely made of genuine leather is quite high. Such things are usually sold at fixed prices. Go shopping to learn about the prices of genuine leather, combination leather and artificial leather, so you will learn to understand the difference between them. Among all types of genuine leather, cowhide is the most expensive, as it has high strength and is easily dyed. Split leather, which is obtained by laminating leather, is cheaper than coarse-grained leather or belt leather.

3. Ignore the color, as even colored leather can be natural. Bright blue leather furniture may not look natural, but that doesn't mean it isn't. Different colors and dyes are used on both synthetics and genuine leather, so the first thing you should pay attention to is the smell and texture of the product.

   Distinguish between types of genuine leather

   1. "Genuine leather" is just one of the real leathers on the market. Most people find it difficult to distinguish genuine leather from substitute or artificial leather. Connoisseurs know that there are several types of genuine leather, of which "genuine leather" is almost the lowest class. Starting from the most expensive type, there is such a classification:

      • coarse grained leather
      • facial skin
      • Leather
      • Synthetic leather

How to determine if shoes are leather or not?

Shoes are an important part of the wardrobe, so when purchasing it, you want not to make a mistake and choose a high-quality, comfortable and durable product. These requests are answered by leather shoes, which are considered to be the most reliable and stylish. It is no secret how difficult it can be to choose the right pair of shoes, and the main difficulty lies in distinguishing genuine leather products from leatherette models. This is not always easy even for an experienced merchandiser, let alone ordinary buyers. Unfortunately, in the modern market you can often find a fake that is sold under the guise of genuine leather products. Therefore, before you go for shoes, you need to arm yourself with knowledge that will help in choosing.

So, you are holding a pair of shoes in your hands that visually appealed to your taste - do not rush to take out your wallet: first of all, pay attention to the presence of a label with information about the material from which the product is made. This information is placed in the form of conditional images in the table. For example, if you find a skin pattern, then most likely you have a model made of genuine leather. But the rhombus pattern suggests that the material is not natural, no matter how the seller convinces you of the opposite. And finally, the matting pattern means a textile material, but this is also easy to determine by appearance. Unfortunately, the information on the label cannot always protect you from fakes, and not all manufacturers produce shoes with labels.

If the shoes are imported, you can try to look for inscriptions on the shoe box indicating that the product is made of genuine leather inside. In Italian, genuine leather is translated as "vera pelle", in German - "echtleder", in French - "cuir", in English - "genuine leather".

Next, you should pay close attention to the inside of the product, where there is no lining. For artificial leather shoes, the basis of the material will be textile or polyamide. The presence of a narrow strip of genuine leather near the zipper should not confuse you: this is often done by the manufacturer specifically in order to mislead buyers.

The processing of the edges of the material is also important: the presence of a rounded roller indicates a product made of genuine leather, but a sealed flat edge indicates unnatural raw materials.

There are also tests developed over many years of experience that can help you identify a fake. You can try to press your finger on the toe of the shoe or bend it - the wrinkles that appear at the same time should completely smooth out when you return to the normal position. If you find that there are creases left, you have shoes made of artificial leather or pressed leather crumbs in front of you.

Another popular method is to test the material by touch. If you touch natural leather, it begins to heat up and give off heat, while the artificial material remains cool. Strong leather polishing should alert you - often this is done in order to hide defects in the structure of the leather substitute.

There is a way to check the naturalness of the material with water: a drop of water will slide down from the leatherette, and on natural leather it will linger until it is absorbed.

But you should not even try to identify genuine leather by smell: before selling, most manufacturers impregnate models with special compounds that mimic the smell of natural leather, so this method can easily mislead you.

We offer to buy

How to distinguish a leather bag from a fake leatherette?

Genuine leather is the noblest material, the use of which goes back to ancient times. At first, clothing made from animal skins was the only way to cover up nakedness and shelter from the weather. With the passage of time and the development of handicraft, other materials for making clothes became available, but leather continued to be valued as a quality and durable material. And today, despite the variety of all kinds of natural and synthetic materials, leather is considered a symbol of prestige and good taste, and leather accessories emphasize the style of the owner.

Leather bags are no exception. Handbags, various purses, clutches, shoulder bags, backpacks, briefcases - and this is just a short list. Leather remains a rather expensive material, and, unfortunately, scammers widely use it, offering bags made of leather substitute under the guise of leather products. The development of technology makes it possible to make a fake almost indistinguishable from a product made of real leather. The truth emerges only with time, when the thing becomes unusable. Even if earlier, the money spent cannot be returned. Like the mood of the purchase. To prevent this from happening, it is worth remembering a few simple tricks that allow you to distinguish a bag made of real leather from a fake leatherette.

Carefully inspect the bag and try to find an open cut of the skin.

In some bags, it is quite difficult to find the wrong side of the skin. But it's worth trying to find the cut. Usually it is located at the place where the lightning is attached, or trim. The reverse surface of natural leather - bakhtarma - is soft, and resembles suede to the touch. It is also worth remembering that the cut of a leatherette bag will be completely flat, while the cut of a leather bag will be in the form of a fluffy roller.
When sewing bags , we specifically do not paint over skin sections. Firstly, we have nothing to hide, we do not combine, like some unscrupulous manufacturers, we use only natural leather for all the details of the bags. Secondly, the paint will crack sooner or later, and it will look much worse than a disheveled cut of genuine leather. In general, painting over a cut of genuine leather, in our opinion, is like making furniture from natural wood and painting it with paint so that ugly knots would not be visible.

Look carefully at the front

Despite the characteristics of the leather substitute as close as possible to real leather, even a seemingly attentive buyer will be able to distinguish leather from a fake. Genuine leather, unlike leatherette, is elastic, and if the bag is slightly stretched, it will easily return to its previous position. When sewing bags, most often they use the skin of cattle (cattle), in other words, cows, since it is moderately elastic, unlike goat or sheep skin, wear-resistant enough, unlike pig skin, and affordable, unlike crocodile skin, snake, ostrich and other exotic. Cow skin has a smooth, ugly surface, so at the tannery, with the help of embossing (pressing), it is given a variety of relief patterns. It becomes similar to the skin of any other animals, which naturally have a more beautiful relief surface, then the skin becomes covered with paints. There is even such an expression "to give the skin a natural look." If the skin of cattle is stretched, the pattern that was given to it at the tannery will almost completely disappear (if not too thick a layer of paint) and it will be seen that it is actually smooth with small, frequent pores from hairs.
When making bags we almost always use cattle leather and only occasionally sheep or goat leather for those who like it softer.

Apply water to your skin

Another property of natural leather that leatherette products do not have is moisture absorption. If you drop liquid on the surface of the leatherette, the drops will roll off it. If the water is absorbed and a dark spot remains, then you have genuine leather. But water will only be absorbed into velor, suede, nubuck and other non-waterproof leather that is not covered with a surface layer of paint.

Keep your hand on the material

Leatherette has low thermal conductivity. If you put your hand on a leatherette bag, even after a while the material will remain cold. If you do the same with a bag made of genuine leather, in a minute the surface will warm up to hand temperature.

Examine the leather hanging tag

A conscientious manufacturer, along with the label, always hangs a label on the bag, a piece of genuine leather from which this bag is made. If the bag is combined (sewn from several colors or leather textures), then all samples, respectively. Most often, these samples are carved in the form of an animal skin, denoting the sign of natural leather. The color and texture of the samples must fully match the color and texture of the leather from which this bag is sewn. Some manufacturers of leatherette bags are cunning and glue a label of 2 materials, natural velor or split leather on the bottom, and leatherette on top from which the bag is sewn. Since it is possible to accurately identify genuine leather only by its reverse side, thus, buyers are misled. We recommend that you do not be lazy and carefully (possibly armed with a magnifying glass) see if the label is glued from two different materials.