If you buy anything made of leather, it’s bound to be of good quality, right? Wrong! So, what exactly is the issue here? Just like with many things in fashion, the terms “leather” or “genuine leather,” “top grain leather,” and “veg tanned leather” are often overused and under-explained. So, you, as a consumer, have a hard time knowing what you’re actually buying, what’s good, what’s bad, and what to avoid.
This guide by no means is meant to be an indictment of leather goods manufacturers, tanneries, and craftsmen. It’s really an effort to help you understand what you’re buying, so not so much is missing between the process of leather production and leather goods production and the final product that finds its way to you.
What is Leather?
So, first of all, what do we mean by leather? When we talk about leather, we mean an animal hide or skin that has been tanned and then dyed. Despite the simplistic definition of leather, the variations of qualities are endless. It’s almost like saying “food.” It is a product type, but there’s a big difference between fish sticks and caviar.
The final leather that is used in production is greatly influenced by the animal it came from, the tanner who tanned it and dyed it, but also the way it was finished and handled with oils and waxes.
Of course, the workman shapes the leather goods, but today we are only discussing the leather, not the workmanship.
Another hugely important aspect of leather, which is often not mentioned when you buy leather products, is what part of the skin or hide this leather comes from. So, in order for you to understand the differences between high-quality, average-quality, and low-quality leather, we first have to take a look at the leather basics.
Leather Basics
Leather is made of the skin of an animal, but at the top of the skin, usually there’s hair and the epidermis, which are skin cells that are typically both removed at the early stages of the tanning process.
With the hair and epidermis removed, you basically have three different areas of the skin or the hide.
On top, you have the grain, which is basically tight collagen bundles.
At the bottom, you have the corium, which is large collagen bundles, and then in between, you have the grain/corium junction, which are collagen bundles that are somewhat in between the grain and the corium.
Below the corium is the flesh side. But, during the tanning process, in the early stages, all flesh is completely removed, so when you have that skin of a bull, before tanning, it can be between 9 and 10 millimeters thick, which is about ⅖ of an inch.
Because that hide is so thick it can actually be cut apart. This is also known as splitting. That means one hide of about 5 sq. meters or 50 sq. feet can yield 100 sq. feet or 10 sq. meters of leather.
The highest quality part of the leather is the grain on top. So, you might think, “Well, top grain is the best you can get, right? Well, not quite. Basically, the top grain can be separated into two different categories: the full grain and the corrected grain.
Looking at the skin layers again, the full grain is basically the grain and maybe sometimes with a small part of the grain/corium junction. The corrected grain is a leather from the grain/corium junction and maybe a little bit of corium.
As you can see, the corrected grain layer comes from an area that is not the top of the grain. Because of that, it is split leather. So, typically, the top of the corrected grain leather is either sanded or buffed or embossed or pigmented. To make it even more confusing, some people refer to this part also as the “top grain.” The corium part of the skin is later usually advertised as genuine leather or suede or nubuck leather. You can also make suede out of full-grain leather, but typically, most suede leathers are part of the corium that is then sanded or treated in a certain way to give it this suede-like, velvety texture.
If we just look at the full grain leather, it can be subdivided into aniline and semi-aniline leather. There’s also a subvariant—so-called “pull-up aniline leather.” All of these are generally high-quality leathers.
What exactly do these aniline terms mean? Once the hide is tanned, it is then ready for dying. In order to dye the tanned hide, they usually are put into drums and then the dye is added in the drum; they rotate; and then at the end, you have the tanned and dyed leather. Of course, there are many steps in between, but it’s just to simplify things.
Aniline dyed means dyed all the way through the leather, which typically means, if you look at the leather, there is a color all the way through the leather from the top to the bottom side. Aniline dye is a translucent, water-soluble dye without any insoluble pigments, so the aniline dying process brings out all the marks, the grain patterns and even the imperfections of the leather surface.
On the other hand, semi-aniline dye is basically like a regular aniline dye plus a certain amount of non-soluble pigments. Think of it as a kind of top coat. Because it’s semi-aniline dyed, the leather still shows the natural grain structure of the leather and imperfections such as wrinkles or scars. At the same time, it adds certain properties to the leather. Often that can be a better color consistency o,r it can be scscratch-resistantr water-resistant. Also, you can add other things that, for example, make leather touchscreen sensitive.
Keep in mind that if the leather is truly semi-aniline dyed, it will always absorb moisture to a certain degree. It may not be as quick as aniline-dyed leather, but eventually, it will soak in, and you can see it in the leather.
Last but not least, there is pull-up aniline leather, which is basically aniline leather that is then finished with layers of oils and wax on top.
For example, the Montecristo Dumont, the kind of leathers that we use at Ford Belvedere all fall in that pull-up aniline dyed category.
Keep in mind, no matter if you get aniline-dyed leather or semi-aniline dyed leather, typically these are high-quality products. Yes, some aniline leather may feel different than others, and not all tanneries produce the same quality level, but in general, it’s a high-quality mark. And then, of course, there’s personal preference.
A pull-up aniline leather will have this beautiful pull-up effect, where, as you bend the leather, it gets lighter—sometimes also darker. It will develop a nice patina over time. The scratches are typically visible immediately, but they also buff out over time as you use them.
Aniline leather is very similar. It doesn’t have the pull-up effect, it has the natural grain pattern, the color is mostly consistent, and it develops a nice patina; but you won’t see scratches as easily. Then there’s semi-aniline leather, it won’t develop as nice of a patina if any at all, but it has different properties; it can be scratch-resistant out of the box and you get that beautiful color consistency, but still the natural grain. So, it all depends on what you’re interested in and what nice leather is in your mind.
Let’s move on from the cream-of-the-crop of leathers to the corrected grain. Again, this is the split underside, and so typically, corrected grain leathers will always be less expensive than full-grain leathers. Because the leather is split, the top of the surface has to be treated in some way to make it resemble full-grain leather.
If you want smooth leather, typically, the leather is pigmented, which means you add a layer of color and polyurethane on top. So, what you actually touch with leather is an artificial coating, not the actual skin and hide. Usually, a grain-like pattern is embossed on top of it. So, at first glance, it may seem very similar to a full-grain leather, but it’s all artificial, and because of that, you typically don’t see any imperfections.
Aniline-dyed leathers and pull-up aniline-dyed leathers really get better with age. They develop a patina, they show scratches, they get darker in areas, the scratches buff out, and every day you wear it, the more you will enjoy your product. With pigmented leather, it’s the opposite.
The day you get the leather, it is as good as it will ever get, and then as you use it, it will just get worse and worse and go downhill from there. Because of that, at Fort Belvedere, we only get full-grain leathers that are either aniline dyed, pull-up aniline dyed, or semi-aniline dyed. We skipped the entire pigmented range because the only reason to use them is for economic reasons, never for quality. That being said, probably 80% to 90% of all the leather out there is pigmented leather that is heavily coated. Most nubuck or suede also comes from the split leather that is then tanned, sanded, and dried.
With higher heat, you can create a denser collagen fiber structure, but in order to create a quality split suede, a lot of experience and knowhow goes into it, and that’s why there are certain manufacturers that specialize in split suede, and their qualities are better than those from others. Of course, you can also make suede leather from a full-grain skin or hide. But, typically, that’s not done because it is a lot more expensive than a split suede.
What To Look For
So, most importantly, what should you be looking out for when you’re in the market for high-quality leather goods?
I would say look for the words “full grain” or “uncorrected leather,” look for “aniline dyed leather,” or “semi-aniline dyed leather.” When it comes to suede or nubuck, understand that, most likely, you are getting a split suede unless it’s specifically mentioned that it’s not a split suede.
When something says it is “genuine leather,” you really get just a part of the corium—it’s the lowest quality of split leather, and it really is not high-quality leather. Even though you might think, “Oh, genuine leather! Sounds nice,” I would always stay clear of that.
If it says vegan leather, then it’s not leather after all, and if you want to learn more about it, as well as the environmental impact of vegan leather, check out our post on that.
Vegan Leather: Better Than Animal Leather?
Does the Animal Matter?
So, does the quality of the leather depend on the animal? Yes, it absolutely does.
It all starts with the properties that you want to have. For example, if you want a pair of gloves, then you want a leather that is very flexible and stretchy; think of peccary or lamb nappa. As you move your hand, you want the leather to contract and extract, so it feels like a second skin and there’s no resistance.
So, let’s say you were to use a really high-quality, expensive, full grain, aniline dyed, box calf leather, it would be terrible for a pair of gloves because it’s way too stiff and it doesn’t have the flexibility that you want for the glove.
On the flip side, if you use a very nice-to-the-touch, soft, lamb Nappa leather for your shoe soles or for a wallet, which is used and put into a pocket very often, it’s just a bad choice because, even though the leather is soft and nice to the touch, it just won’t last very long.
Leather’s Price Tag
Skin Type Matters
The type of animal skin that is used can also have a huge impact on the cost.
For example, peccary leather can cost 20 times as much as lamb nappa leather. But, even then, not all synthetic leather is alike. It hugely depends on where the tanner comes from. Generally, you can say that calfskin is always more expensive than a cowhide or a bullhide. Why?
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Calfskin’s Premium Cost
The calf is a much younger, smaller animal that yields a different leather. Even for calfskin, there are differences. It depends on whether it was a calf that only consumed milk or it was a calf that also started to eat grass. Generally, the younger, smaller calf is more expensive than a calf that is slightly bigger. At the same time, you can call both of them, legally, “calfskin.”
As a consumer, it’s almost impossible to find out those details because they are not what a manufacturer advertises. Even when it comes to things like bullhide or cowhide, not all hides are equal.
For example, if you have the leather from a cow, it will have more wrinkles and creases than that of a bull. This is especially true if the cow has already given birth. That usually means the leather quality will be inferior because there are more wrinkles, it’s more stretched out, and it doesn’t have this nice, tight collagen bundle.
Also, cows that were maybe raised in mountain pastures will have fewer bug bites, and if they grew more slowly, the leather quality will be different than if you take a hide from a commercially grain-fed cow that was maybe in South Africa and is full of bug bites. And then, of course, the tanning matters a lot, especially the quality of the tanning.
Does It Matter Where the Leather is From?
In related questions, you might ask, does it matter where the leather is from? And the answer is yes and no. Countries like Italy, Germany, France, and England have centuries of experience in tanning leather, but they also have experience in Morocco and other parts of the world. So, that doesn’t mean that all tanneries in Asia, Central America, and South America are bad.
Over the years, I found that European tanneries often specialize more on the top end of the market versus leathers from other continents, which are often more attractive because of their lower price. If you want to dive deeper into that topic, we have a guide on whether “Made In” matters or not.
For example, for our Ford Belvedere peccary gloves, we originally had them tanned in Peru because the raw skins came from Peru. So, the idea was tanning them as quickly as possible, right where they’re at, yields a higher quality product.
Well, over time, we realized there were inconsistencies in the color output and in the softness of the leather. We then started shipping our peccary skins to a specialized tanner in Germany, and they did a beautiful job. The colors are consistent—not just within the batch but also from one batch to the other—and all the leather is always soft and really nice to use. So, the quality of the tanning can make a huge difference, and, again, if there is expertise that has been built over centuries, that can certainly help.
So, obviously, the German tannery had much more expertise and know-how in tanning this particular leather. This is also a reason that most tanneries specialize in a certain thing and are not a jack-of-all-trades.
Some really specialize in veg tan, cowhide, or bull hide; others are known for their suede; others focus just on lamb nappa and other glove leathers; others will do maybe just calf leathers; and if they have the smaller machinery, they couldn’t even work on cowhides. In recent years, the idea of veg tan leathers has become much more popular. And, often, veg tan leathers can be burnished, they develop a nice patina, and so it has become synonymous with a higher-quality leather, whereas chrome tan leather is often used as an inferior type of leather.
There are definitely really high-quality chrome-tanned leathers and not-so-great veg tan leathers. To learn more about that, we made a post comparing veg tan and chrome tan leathers.
Tanned vs. Vegetable Tanned Leather, Explained
Does It Matter What Part of the Animal It’s From?
Also, one thing that is often not discussed with retailers or brands is what part of the hide or skin these leather goods were cut from.
Why would it matter from what part a leather good is cut? Well, it’s because leather is a natural material.
On an alligator hide, it’s a lot more obvious because if you cut something from the center on the area of the umbilical cord, you have different scales; if you go more towards the tail, it becomes very scaly, and on a shoe, for example, it’s not ideal anymore because the leather won’t age very well. But, even in bull hides or cowhides, for example, there are certain areas that are much inferior to others.
Why Are Crocodile & Alligator Leather Goods So Expensive?
If you look at a cowhide, for example, you have the belly area on the sides, and you have the neck and shoulders on the top, and then, the best piece is known as the “groppone.” You can also see being referred to as the “double groppone,” which is when basically the spinal area hasn’t been cut.
If you make leather couches, typically, they leave their hides intact. If you make smaller leather goods, they will cut along the spine. Why? Because the spine area itself is often not the best, but the things next to it, on the groppone are the top-quality leather you can get in that hide.
Groppone is best for bespoke shoes
Bespoke shoemakers sometimes even go so far as to only cut a single shoe from one area of the Groppone, which they deem best, and then the rest will be scrap leather, or they’ll go to other manufacturers, which are fine with that level of quality.
If you don’t mind lots of wrinkles and creases, the neck and shoulder area leather might be good for you, versus the belly ends can be very stretchy, and I wouldn’t use them for anything. Also, sometimes, it depends on what kind of leather goods you want to produce.
Neck and shoulder are best for belts of varying lengths
For example, if you want to produce belts in various lengths and you don’t mind the wrinkles and creases, the neck is actually ideal because you have very little waste, and you get leather at a lower cost per square foot or square meter. So, you can produce something that’s very economical and doesn’t produce a lot of waste.
On the flip side, if you want to cut belts that are all the same length, you’re better off using the Groppone, and you’ll have the side effect that there are no creases, but, of course, the leather will also cost more per square foot or square meter.
At Fort Belvedere, we cut our leather goods from the Groppone because we don’t want creases. Maybe if we wanted a belt that was more casual and we wanted these creases to underline the casualness of it, I could see us going in that direction. But, typically, we only cut from the groppone versus other brands don’t always do that.
Fort Belvedere
Chestnut Brown Calf Leather Belt Aniline Dyed Cut-To-Size
Fort Belvedere
Tan Cognac Brown Calf Leather Belt Aniline Dyed Cut-To-Size
Fort Belvedere
Black Calf Leather Belt Aniline Dyed Cut-To-Size – Folded Edges
So, why am I telling you all this? Because it makes a difference in the price and the perception of the product. So, often, when you watch or read a review, people go on about the Tuscan leather that is veg-tanned, aniline dyed from the small Italian tannery approved by the Consorzio… Yada-yada-yada. But, they don’t even talk about where the leather was cut from.
For example, look at the brand Satchel & Page and their Weekender. They’re very transparent about their leather on their product page. They say “veg tan from Italy,” “dyed through,” which means aniline dyed. They also say what area it comes from and that it’s from a certified Consorzio tannery in Italy. They also say that they only use French shoulders and that those have characteristic wrinkles.
It’s not just the French shoulders that have wrinkles and creases. It’s all the cowhide and bullhide shoulders and necks, and this is not something that they have to actually do to the leather. That comes naturally with the leather.
But, when you compare their products to maybe someone else who also sells veg tan leather weekenders, the other may be a lot more expensive and you may not know why. Well, this is the reason why.
If one company cuts everything from the Groppone and the other cuts something from the neck, for one you get the creases; for the other you don’t. Then, you have to ask yourself, do you want leathers with wrinkles or creases or do you not? That is a personal preference. If you like that more casual, wrinkly look, then by all means, get the leather from the neck and shoulders.
Personally, if I would invest money in a Weekender, I would want something cut from the groppone so I get the best quality leather that looks nice.
The same is true for the leather from the belly area, something can be veg tanned and from a very reputable tannery, but if your good is made from the belly part of the leather, it is just not as good as the groppone.
How will you notice that? It will probably be
- Softer
- It won’t keep its shape as well
- It won’t age quite as well
And then, of course, there are certain leathers like Cordovan leather, which are always from the shell part of the horse, so they can’t come from any other part. Because of that, it’s also impossible to have a large golf bag made out of one piece of cordovan, or you can’t make a cordovan belt out of one piece of cordovan leather.
If you take a closer look, there are always multiple pieces of Cordovan stitched together because the Cordovan area is just the buttocks of the horse basically and it’s just a small area.
Just Because It’s Natural, Doesn’t Mean It’s “Green”!
Another thing to keep in mind about leather is that, just because it is a natural animal-derived product, doesn’t make it automatically green.
Environmental and Ethical Concerns
Pollution and Exploitation
Historically, tanning and dying has always been a dirty craft and, even today, it can still be quite dirty and it requires chemicals. Because of that, much of the world’s leather production has been moved to countries with lower environmental and safety standards, which, of course, makes it less expensive to produce that leather. For example, the sacred Ganges River in India has been heavily polluted because of leather production.
That being said, not all tanneries are bad. I’ve seen some tanneries in Germany that had really refined wastewater systems and very stringent regulations. From my experience, the German regulations are even stricter than, for example, in well-known leather countries like Italy.
So, understanding where something was tanned, under what conditions—maybe it was certified in a certain way—can also help leather be less impactful on the environment. So, when you buy leather next time, ask them if they can tell you something about their environmental certifications or if they have no clue about them.
Price & Quality Rarely Correlate When It Comes to “Luxury” Goods
You might also think, “Well, why should I care about all of this? Can I just go out and buy something really expensive, then I know I’ll get a quality product?” And unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Yes, we might assume that a higher price will correlate with a higher quality good, but often, we find that high-end brands rely heavily on the brand name and try to cut corners on quality. If you generally want to learn what items are worth your money or not, check out our “Is It Worth It?” series. So, rather than relying on a brand name, I hope you can actually use the things you learned today and find a better leather product for yourself.
Leather is a Physical Thing
Of course, leather is a physical thing, and I always find that it’s a very haptic experience—touching it, feeling it, bending it will really help you understand what you like and what you dislike. Sadly, that’s not something I can purvey over an online guide.
For example, on a recent business trip to Europe, we visited a belt manufacturer. After we had talked, I stopped by their factory store, and inside, it was cool to see they had belts from various decades. I just walked through and touched each one of them.
I could immediately spot their higher-end calfskin belts, which were originally more expensive than their cowhide belts, but that was because I had already had all this experience. Just by looking and touching the leather, I could tell if it was aniline dyed, semi-aniline dyed, pigmented, or corrected.
Becoming a leather expert takes a lot more than watching some videos or reading some guides, but it’s just like your style journey, it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process But, it’s enjoyable and what you learn will stay with you for life.
Did you learn anything new that you didn’t know before? Please share with us in the comments.
Outfit Rundown
Today, I’m wearing a tweed jacket from MacKinnon, Scotland. It has patch pockets, it is a brown, Prince-of-Wales check with a red over plaid. I’m pairing it with a cream custom shirt with a navy red and cream silk tie from Brooks Brothers, as well as a wool-silk pocket square in red and blue from Fort Belvedere.
My pants are a nice red pair of Stancliffe corduroy trousers also from Fort Belvedere. And you can see I’m coordinating the color red in the jacket, in the pocket square, in the tie, and in the pants thus, tying it all together.
My socks are likewise Fort Belvedere. They’re shadow-striped in gray and red. My shoes from Paul Stuart, they’re in a nice kind of cognac brown, aniline dyed leather that has been embossed with a grain. They’re like penny loafers with some kilties without the tassel, which I thought was interesting.
My belt matches the color of my shoes. It also has an embossed pattern on an aniline dyed calfskin, which I found at the outlet at the belt manufacturer. My wallet is a bi-fold wallet with ten card slots made in our Dumont leather in saddle brown. I’m particularly proud of it because it truly has a lot of leather even in all the dividers and, because of that, it takes about three times as much leather as a regular wallet.
The Dumont leather is very special. It’s fully-aniline dyed, it is finished with oils and waxes to get that nice pull-up effect, but it’s also tumbled to get kind of a grainy look but still with a smooth texture on top.
My pinky ring has a blue star sapphire, and it’s silver to match my belt buckle. With my tweed jacket, I’m going with the Green Irish Tweed cologne from Creed.
Fort Belvedere
Cardinal Red Silk Wool Pocket Square with Printed Geometric Medallions in Blue, Black with Buff Contrast Edge
FAQ
How can I recognize high-quality leather when purchasing menswear products?
High-quality leather will have a supple texture, consistent coloration, and a distinct natural scent. Check for imperfections or marks on the surface, which often indicate genuine leather. Additionally, good quality leather items should have sturdy stitching and clean finishing.
What different types of leather should I consider when buying men’s accessories?
Full-Grain Leather: Considered the best quality, it features the entire grain layer without any removal of the surface. It’s durable and develops a patina over time.
Top-Grain Leather: This is the second highest quality, where the top layer has been sanded to remove imperfections. It’s more pliable than full-grain and still very durable.
Genuine Leather: Despite the name, it’s of lower quality, made from the leftover parts of hide after the higher grades have been removed. It’s less durable and doesn’t develop a patina like higher-grade types.
Is there a difference between “genuine” leather and other types of leather?
Yes, genuine leather is actually not the highest quality of leather despite its name. It’s a grade below full-grain and top-grain leather and refers to any product that contains any amount of real leather, often layered with other materials or heavily processed to look uniform.
How do I take care of my leather goods to ensure they last long?
Keep dry: Avoid exposure to water; if your leather gets wet, let it air dry naturally.
Condition regularly: Use a leather conditioner every few months to prevent drying out and cracking.
Store properly: Keep in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight to avoid fading and deterioration.
Clean gently: Wipe with a damp cloth for surface dirt and use a specialized leather cleaner for deeper stains.
Avoid chemicals: Keep your leather products away from harsh substances that could damage the material.
Can scratches on leather be repaired?
Minor scratches can often be buffed out using a leather conditioner or oil. For deeper scratches, you might need a leather repair kit or the help of a professional.
Why does some leather fade over time, and can it be prevented?
Leather can fade due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, heat, and harsh environmental conditions. While some degree of fading is natural as leather ages, it can be minimized by keeping your leather goods out of direct sunlight when not in use and regularly conditioning them to maintain moisture.
What is the expected lifespan of a quality leather piece?
The lifespan of a leather product greatly depends on how well it is maintained. High-quality leather goods, when properly cared for, can last several decades. Regular maintenance and protective measures are key to longevity.
Are there sustainable or ethically sourced leather options?
Yes, there are ethically sourced leathers available that come from facilities following responsible practices regarding animal welfare and environmental impact. Look for certifications or brands that specifically mention their ethical sourcing and sustainability efforts.