What is leather and suede?

It’s a natural animal hide-not a piece of fabric, so, even with the latest and best care technologies, some change of appearance can result. When you purchased your leather garment, it probably had hangtag that emphasized the nature of the variances in colour and textures as characteristics that make each garment unique.

Other tips on leather and suede:

• Hides from different areas of different animals are used. A good manufacturer tries to match hides, texture, weight, and colour with uniformity. But variations may be accentuated after cleaning. Scar tissue and vein marks are inherent to natural hides. It is typical that scar tissue or other imperfections are ‘filled’ before dyeing. The result is cleaning may reveal these imperfections.
• Naturally occurring wrinkles are made less noticeable by the leather tanner through a special process. These wrinkles may reappear over time with natural ageing. The agitation of cleaning can accelerate this condition.
• The danger of overstretched hides — When cleaned relaxation shrinkage in one or more hides will cause a change in the dimensions of the garment. In most instances, when you wear your garment this snugness should dissipate, once again conforming to the size and comfort you enjoy. Snugness can also occur over time, as the various hides tend to return to their most natural dimension.
• Poorly formulated construction adhesives can dissolve during cleaning causing shaded areas. This is most often noticeable around seams and hems.
• Spots and stains. Protein stains such as blood, egg or milk are, at best, difficult to remove from a natural hide because leather is also a protein. Dyes used to re-colour a garment typically will not completely cover the stain. Saturated ink stains are virtually impossible to completely remove. Our leather specialist always tries to go as far as possible to remove as much as possible.
• Chemical burns. Spots appear as puckered areas with a hard center. Caused by contact with moisture combined with heat or other staining substances containing salt, this circumstance results in permanent damage that cannot be reversed.