Editorial · No. 04
Buying leather well
Grain, tanning, and why the best belt is rarely the most expensive one in the shop.
By Katia · · 5 MIN READ
Leather goods reward close looking. The surface should feel dense, not plasticky. Edges should be finished, not raw. Colour should sit in the hide, not sit on top of it.
For a belt or a simple bag, vegetable-tanned leather ages with use — darkening, softening, acquiring a patina that synthetic coatings never will. That ageing is the point.
Katia is the editor of Ere. She writes about clothes worth keeping, from London.