People get confuse and it becomes difficult for them to identify between the real and the faux leather. Here are few suggestions which will help you out in identifying the real leather.
Comfort: People always look ahead for this major factor while selecting the leather shoe. The Real leather allows air to pass properly and make you feel comfortable while the faux leather will cause your feet to sweat and feel scratchy as it does not allow air to flow as easily through the material.
Appearance: Real leather looks more beautiful than the faux one. It holds up to the elements much better and has a more refined look. When shopping for leather shoes, always look at the label. You should make sure that both the linings are leather. If the lining is made of PVC or PU, it defeats the purpose of purchasing a leather shoe because it cancels out the breathability and flexibility of the leather outer. One more way to check whether leather is the real deal or just trying to fake it is by looking at the other side of it. Real leather tends to have a suede type look and feel while fake leather is often plastic or material on the other side.
Checking Pores: Another way for making sure that an item is real leather is to carefully check for pores. Leather once had hair on it and the pores will be shown in some sort of consistent pattern. Thinking of the leather as a skin can help. For example, if you dug your fingernail into your skin it would leave a mark and slowly fade – the same goes for genuine leather. Genuine leather will also be thicker and softer than faux leather which often has that smooth shiny feel to it and is thinner than it should be.
Quality: Depending on the quality, real leather can feel coarse or smooth, or anywhere in between. The leather is also flexible and soft. If the item in questions feels really smooth or has a similar feel to plastic, it is likely fake leather.
Absorption: You can also do one experiment to know whether the leather is real or fake. You can place both the shoe infront of you and then just drop the water on both shoes. The leather has the tendency to absorb the water within seconds. Therefore, true leather will absorb water (except for waterproof leather), but artificial leather does not absorb water.
Smell: One of the best way to identify whether the leather is real or faux one is by smelling the leather. Real Leather doesn’t have the plastic chemical smell that often accompanies faux leather.
Inputs By: Mr. Chander Daultani, Director, Valentino
