Women and fashionistas know the importance of handbags. Not only because of its functionality, but also the style it instantly brings to complement their fashion choices. So, it’s safe enough to say that handbags are a girl’s best friend.
Handbags have their level of essentiality for many women. Thus, they always have an extra room for one more handbag despite owning a dozen already. Chances are, you’re reading this post to get a few buying tips you can use when you’re out looking for a brand-new one.
As you’ve noticed, most handbags are made of leather. Most designer brands use leather because of all the qualities and beauty to create such an accessory as a handbag.
Thus, it’s important to get meticulous to ensure the money you spend on this item won’t go to waste. To help you, here are the four most important tips you need to remember when you’re buying a leather handbag.
1. Identify Genuine Leather from Faux Leather
To determine a genuine leather from its faux version, check the finish of the handbag. You can start by examining and touching the handbag’s surface. A good indicator of faux leather is visible imperfections and marks. Also, you cannot stretch faux leather, and it often has a cool feel to it. Faux leather also reflects brightly in direct sunlight. Genuine leather, meanwhile, has a smooth and sometimes patterned surface depending on the animal skin used. It’s flexible and thick and often feels warm.
2. Determine the Different Types of Leather
Generally, there are four main types of leather. These are top-grain, full-grain, corrected grain, and bonded. All have their distinct qualities, texture, and characteristics that are unique from each other. Full-grain leather is considered the most expensive type of leather since it has the highest quality among others. This is the type of leather that is used to make a cowhide leather handbag.
Exquisite leather, meanwhile, includes crocodile, snake, lambskin, suede, and caviar. Suede is considered to be the most expensive and also the type that requires more maintenance. In the end, choose the type of leather that perfectly complements your style and fashion.
3. Understand the Leather’s Tanning Process
The tanning process is how the animal skin is treated to create leather. Understanding this is important as it determines the quality and the type of maintenance you need to apply to ensure the handbag’s longevity. There are two different tanning processes you need to know. These are chrome and vegetable tanning.
- Chrome: It uses chromium and other chemicals to treat animal skin. It only takes several days to complete the tanning process. Chrome tanning is cheaper than vegetable tanning. It’s also the most common way to treat animal skin and widely available.
- Vegetable: It’s the more intricate and natural process of tanning animal skin. Vegetable tanning takes a week or two to complete the process compared to chrome tanning. Also, it’s more expensive than chrome tanning since it produces high-quality leather that designer brands often use.
4. Choose a Suitable Color
Leather handbags usually have natural colors. The most common colors are brown, dark brown, black, light brown, and tan. Each color is suitable for different functions and environments. But all of us have our own fashion rules, so you can do anything you want when choosing colors. But, if you’re keen to fit your style with the environment, you must carefully choose which color suits best with your outfit.
For example, if you want to look sharp and formal, you can choose a cowhide leather handbag with deep brown or black colors.
Fashion experts suggest choosing a leather handbag with a single color, so you won’t have difficulty matching it with your outfit.
Conclusion
It’s important to learn these tips when you’re planning to purchase a leather handbag. It’s because this accessory is more than just a fashion statement, but a piece of art that you can proudly show to everyone. So, when you’re searching online or shopping in a mall, always remember these tips to score the one that has the style and quality.
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