A Complete Guide to Buy a Real Leather Handbag

By Akshay Sharma August 31, 2018 Fashion

1. Type of Leather Used

Best option in leather for bags is full grain leather like used in shoes and leather jackets. This type of leather bags looks awesome after years.
To verify what good leather looks like check its patina – a weathered, sheeny look that material gets through ageing. You will never find it with less graded or heavily treated leather.

Be aware and not buy bonded leather made bags because they use leather scrap reworked with chemicals and plastics and they make for second grade leather.

This type of leather bags come at very cheap price as compared to full grain leather bags but don’t buy them because they don’t age well and no value for your money.

2. LINING & FINISHING

Next thing to check in a leather bag when you are looking to buy is lining. The lining should be made with a durable and long lasting material and should look good with the bag.

If you find the lining and finishing cheap inside, then you can better calculate the overall price of product. Keep durability in your mind and you will never be going to buy a wrong one.

3. Country of Origin & Making

If you don’t think this should be a quality factor, then you barely know about the leather bags. There are some countries like Italy, England, France and the US producing good quality leather with a good track record of tanning leather.

But nowadays you need to pay more attention, especially with the tags and labels. For example, there are many companies that produce their leather in other country and get the finishing done in Italy for capitalising on the reputation of Italy made bags.

You should check premium leather bag brands and check the selection of leather and tanning. A good product has detailing and uniqueness with every other piece.

4. HARDWARE & ZIPPERS

Zippers are must check part in a bag and should not be compromised when you look to buy a leather bag. Once a zipper fail a bag might become useless. Best quality zippers are generally made of brass with plating of nickel or copper.

Along with the zipper, hardware is the second thing which can reduce your bags life if they not of good quality. By Hardware we mean the small parts in the bag as

Buckles
Handles
Locks
Metallic rings
Shoulder strap fittings

Check the material of all hardware, it should be good and made of brass, copper or nickel. The finishing of hardware should be clean and size should look comfortable and strong for the maximum capacity and weight of the bag.
When buying online take a closer look at all the hardware and zippers because you don’t have chance to make a test pull to make sure it’s built to last.

5. Durability & Handwork

There are two things to check durability of a leather bag.

a. A careful selection of leather
b. Good stretching

A good bag can carry a certain weight and can move around without any trouble and affecting the life of bag. That’s why full grain leather is advised for a handbag but if you looking something affordable and then top grain leather is the best alternative for this.
It’s important that you check inner and outer surface for good stitching. A good stitching should have consistency and barely noticeable without any loose thread.

6. HANDLES & STRAPS

The handle should feel comfortable in hand because it’s your first contact with the bag. This should be fabricated with multiple layer of leather so it won’t feel hollow.

Handle should not be very long because this will increase the stress to the bags focal point.

The most important thing to notice in handles and straps is how they are attached with the bags. If they are stitched, then there should be an extra layer of stitching where straps meet the bag.

7. Colour

Selection of the colours in leather bag more depends on which type of environment you are taking them in.

For example, if you work in a professional environment then Black and dark brown colours are the best for you. But if you like your surrounding more casual and relaxed then tan and light brown colour is your cup of tea.

Buying a bag with more than two colour or bag with bold colour stitching is not a good option because they are seen as flamboyant. Single colour bags are the safest selection.

8. Statement

The most important thing is the design of your bag because your bag says a lot about your personality. It should make a statement wherever you carry it.

Have a closer look with the major difference between a briefcase and a messenger bag.

A briefcase is useful for those who need to transport documents or laptop from office to other place or home. It best fits with the suit that you’re wearing for your work.
A Messenger bag is less formal and versatile then briefcase. It can be carried over the shoulder or cross body and works great in casual work environment or in traveling for holidays.

About Price

The price is never a good quality measure for a leather bag. Because there are many brands selling low quality bags on high price just because of their name.

So don’t be fooled with the name of the brand. When buying a bag check for the premium quality leather and compare prices for same quality and buy the one you find affordable.

Author Bio:

This article is published by Gorjus London. A leading brand in London selling real leather bags with amazing designs specially handcrafted for London ladies. Since they just started their online store, so prices are extremely low and affordable as per the quality of purse and handbags.