Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with leather

Boot sizin'

little_c — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:54:35 -0800

How do I know if these boots are too small, or just need to stretch? I just bought a pair of knee high leather boots (these ones). They are a size 7, and I usually wear a size 7 or 7.5. Just tried them on (they came in the mail) and they are very tight around all parts of my foot - heel, top of the foot, sides, toes - and a little bit tight around the calf. Almost painfully tight around my foot.

I've never had a pair of real leather boots before. Should I exchange them for the size 7.5, or is this just what leather boots do?

Bringing Back the Boot

readery — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:03:48 -0800

When I buy used boots, how do I best clean and restore the leather? Settling in on a winter work uniform of skirts with boots, I've been buying some cute used boots. It's getting ready to snow and I've never conditioned leather before. Do I need to clean the leather first? Are there any standout products to use? Do I treat black, brown and tan differently?

Thanks!

Help me find this jacket!

PFL — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:39:55 -0800

I'd like to find a leather jacket similar to this one. I have no idea where to start or anything about leather jackets in general. Is there a specific style of jacket I should be searching for?
I'd prefer it to be a more slim-fitting jacket like this as opposed to a biker jacket, but if you have any cool biker jackets in mind I'd check those out too.

Bonus points for Nashville-area stores but online sources work too. Thanks!

Leather in vegetarian restaurants

Hoopo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:04:19 -0800

Is it rude to wear leather to a vegetarian restaurant? So about a month ago, I decided to go to an Indian vegetarian restaurant in the neighborhood. When I was about to sit down, I took off my jacket to put it on the back of the chair and realized: it's made of dead animal. No one said anything or gave me any funny looks, but I wonder in a more general sense if this is considered a "faux-pas."

Cleaning a cat-peed leather jacket?

iftheaccidentwill — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:10:36 -0800

Cleaning a cat-peed leather jacket? I just returned home from a Scrabble tournament to find my leather jacket on the floor. My fears were confirmed when I picked it up and noticed a certain... waft to it.

How can I clean this without ruining the jacket? There are no tags on the inside with cleaning suggestions. If possible, I'd love to avoid sending it to a dry cleaners (I was quoted 50$). If I have to go that route, will they get the stench out?

Need sites for new leather jacket

Ikazuchi — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:21:54 -0800

So its about time to get a new leather jacket. I'm male and looking for either a "car coat" or "walking coat" style and I need it in ~2XLT. I can't find anything good at Burlington, Zappos, or Wilsons. Anyone have a good idea where else to hunt something like this up online? I don't necessarily need to purchase it online, but at least hunt for a jacket whose look I like.

Help me find a new beloved leather coat?

desuetude — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:56:58 -0800

I am looking to replace my beloved leather coat, which was stolen last spring. So now it's fall, and the stores are full of coats, but I've found that nothing even remotely comparable seems to be in style at the moment. Am I missing the secret source for classic, fashionable, longer-length leather coats? Do I need a fashion lesson and some nudging? Mine was Kenneth Cole from 2001ish, black leather, lambskin, very soft and smooth and gently glossy. Longer, but not full-length – about 36" from shoulder. It zipped all the way up to a simple collar. Lightly lined. It had a belt, but wasn't a trenchcoat style at all, the cut of the coat was sleek, sleek, sleek.

I loved it. It made me feel sexy and put-together; it suited my style and flattered me. It was my perfect city coat. It reached nearly to my knees, giving me some protection from the wind-tunnel gusts, but it wasn't so long that it was a heavy nuisance to carry around or drape over the back of a chair, or cumbersome for this fast-walker while walking home.

The sleek short leather jackets I'm seeing in department stores (like Macy's) and online (Zappo's, Amazon, Bluefly) are cute, but not something I need – they're too casual and they don't fill the desired warmth/season/dressiness gap left behind by my old coat. Plus, I have a warm, lovingly-tortured biker jacket. Parkas are also too casual. I have a lightweight thrift-store leather blazer and don't want another. The longer leather coats I see in the stores are A-line sort of cut with buttons like this, but I've got a small frame and I look decidedly frumpy in this style.

I'm willing to consider other styles of coats beyond an exact replica of my old coat, but would like it to be long enough to hit me at least mid-thigh, and I'd like it to be leather. Dammit.

My company has offered to replace my coat, which is why I'm getting a little antsy. I don't want to hold up resolving this too long, for fear that this will start to get politically and financially complicated -- it seems impolite to dither around forever in taking them up on their offer.

I live in Philadelphia. If suggested stores are online, I'd need a pretty reasonable return policy in case I have to do some considerable trying-on-and-returning. I'm shooting for something in the $200-$500 range.

Are meat and leather production correlated?

dkg — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:29:02 -0800

What proportion of leather comes from animals whose other parts are ultimately consumed by humans for food? What proportion of leather-bearing food animals' skins are ultimately made into leather? How would i find out? I'd like to know how well-correlated meat and leather production are: are there leather-bearing animals whose bodies are discarded as scrap even though they could be eaten? or food-bearing animals whose skins are discarded as scrap even though they could be fashioned into clothing?

Do we (in the USA? in the world?) consume more animals for their meat or for their skins? If it's not evenly balanced, what happens to the unbalanced bits?

or am i wrong in assuming that all leather-bearing animals have flesh that could potentially be eaten for food? I'm fine with ignoring non-leather-bearing food animals for the purposes of this question.

How would i begin finding hard data on this? Comments and criticism to help me think about the question more clearly would be welcome too.

How do I clean body oil residue from a leather couch

archimago — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:27:07 -0800

How do I clean body/hair product residue buildup from a leather sofa? The backrest on my leather sofa has accumulated a thick waxy residue on the places where people's necks/heads rest. Yeah, it's gross, but the couch is dark brown and I just noticed it when I accidently scratched the couch with my fingernail and instead of scratching the leather, I got a dark waxy residue under my fingernail. It's only in the places where heads/necks rest, so I am assuming it is from body oils and hair products. It's pretty thick. I "clean" the couch with a leather conditioner, but I never noticed this as you can't really see it on the dark sofa so it has been building up for years.

How do I get it off? Some warm water and mild dish soap? I have no idea what kind of leather it is, so my internet surfing is frustrating as everyone has a different method depending on the type of leather it is.

Need help identifying an old Harley Davidson leather biker cap.

silly110671 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:57:52 -0800

Need help identifying an old Harley Davidson leather biker cap. Pics inside. My mother is an avid resale shopper and collects items she finds unique and usually asks me to find information on them, but my google-fu has failed me on these couple items. We're mostly interested in it's history, how old they are.

Pics Here

Harley Davidson leather biker cap - "Brando" style, I've found many generic ones and a newer HD cap, but this one, I can't find any info. Only words on it are the stamp:
Licensed By Harley Davidson
Genuine Leather
Made in U.S.A.

Mickey Mouse matching umbrella and handbag set - If I had to guess it appears 80s/early 90s in style.

girl needs her nice leather...case

kenzi23 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:05:18 -0800

Can you help a fashionable girl find a nice leather wallet-style iphone case? I'm looking for a leather iPhone case, something like this Sena case but more stylish and/or funky and/or sophisticated...essentially I want something more fashionable and higher quality that this. I would like this to be a kind of clutch purse in which I can put a small amount of cash and 2-3 cards. I like the style of acme made but they don't make iPhone cases.

Online would be good but I'm in NYC so if you have any stores to to suggest here that would be great too. Any recommendations?

Punk Leather Jacket Rehabilitation

lekvar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:46:11 -0800

Back in the day, I had a black leather motorcycle jacket painted up in the usual punk style: Big back patch, studs, spikes, chains, the works. I'm older now, and I'd like to keep the jacket while getting rid of the youthful excess that covers it. How do I rehabilitate my old leather jacket? The spikes, chains, and studs aren't the problem, as they come out/off pretty easily. I can deal with the scars their extraction will leave.

The bigger issue is the paint. The back patch is spray enamel and acrylic, and there are enamel bits over the rest of the jacket. The two options I see are stripping off the entire outer covering and starting over or simply painting over the whole thing. I see some potential problems with either option: Acrylic paint doesn't strip off without a major fight, but it's lumpy enough to show through any over-coat I might apply.

I'm sure there has to be a solution, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to see it. I'd like this jacket to slide, semi-gracefully, into middle age with me, scars and all.

Long question short: Have you ever rehabilitated a leather jacket, and if so, how? Any input cheerfully accepted.

Smelly couch, smelly couch, what are they feeding you?

drpynchon — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:31:22 -0800

How to deodorize a leather couch? I believe our five year old couch has slowly developed the odor of "overuse." Any tips on getting rid of this odor and general leather couch maintenance are much appreciated.

Leather purse cleaning

demiurge — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:58:50 -0800

I need advice for cleaning a water stain on a leather purse. A drop of rain fell on my fiancee's purse and caused a stain. The purse is made of very soft leather and I did not expect it to leave a mark after drying, but it has been several days and the dark spot is only slightly lighter. You can see pictures of the spot here and here. I assume it was only a drop of rain since it was raining lightly that day, but the only other possibility would be a drop falling from a overhang.

I know nothing about leather care and I got conflicting advice from different sites from a Google search. Can you give me any advice on how to return the purse to its original condition based on your leather experience?

Leather Jacket

ashaw — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:08:58 -0800

I bought myself a leather jacket in the biker style. The jacket length is perhaps an inch or so too long. The jacket is made from thick and still somewhat creaky leather. What can I do to alter it? Would you advise me to attempt it myself?

When I die, will my grandchildren fight over who gets it?

litterateur — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:57:21 -0800

I am writer in search of a messenger bag. What is your opinion of the Saddleback Leather Company, specifically its briefcase? In your opinion, is really it worth a month's rent?

These boots aren't made for walking...yet

B-squared — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:07:40 -0800

I just bought a pair of amazing leather boots. They were the last pair. I'm not returning them. However, they're knee-high and the left one is a little too tight on my calf. I can still wear them, but I'm looking for advice as to how to stretch them, just a little, to make them more comfortable in the short term. I imagine that they'll naturally stretch a bit over time, but I'm hoping for a quicker fix. Anyone?

What are other examples of offbeat man-made materials?

jackypaper — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:33:28 -0800

Pleather fascinates me. What are other examples of man-made "faux" materials and/or products? I'm specifically interested in products that are considered to be (possibly inferior) replacements for the original?

Silicone smell in condo

fantasticninety — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:48:41 -0800

What is the cause of the slightly silicone/leathery/car interior smell in my condo? I've just moved into a condo. The building is about 20 years old, but everything has been redone inside within the last two or three years.

When I walk in the condo, there's a slight smell of silicone or leather. It smells sort of like when you sit in a new car. The only thing in the condo at this point is a "bonded" leather couch, which may be the cause of the smell as I don't remember there being this smell beforehand, but when I go up to the couch I can't locate it. To be honest, I can't find any area of the condo that has this smell more than in other areas.

Is there a way of locating the source of the smell? Do air purifiers or filters work in these situations? Could it be the paint? The fridge?

What's my best next action in this instance?

Thanks so much for any help.

Gussy up my feet for summer.

PhoBWanKenobi — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:52:34 -0800

Are there any sandals as comfortable as Chacos but . . . well, cute? I live in Central Florida and I walk an average of 2 miles a day. Thanks to the climate here, my feet develop blisters really, really easily--most strappy sandals are a disaster, as are most flip-flops (because I get blisters between my toes, to boot). Last summer, my sister gave me a pair of her old Chacos and they were a god-send; I've yet to get a single blister in them, ever.

But they've started to get pretty smelly, and I've been lusting over the strappy leather kind of Roman-looking sandals I've been seeing a lot of this season. But, man, just looking at them makes my feet hurt.

I have a few other restrictions on shoe selection: I strongly prefer leather sandals with ankle straps and I am totally, completely incapable of walking in heels of just about any height. The Dansko Sissy linked on today's cankle question are cute, but I'm even skeptical about my ability to walk in heels that are that high. And because I'm a starving, soon-to-be-unemployed graduate student, I'd like to spend under a hundred dollars on them. In fact, the cheaper the better though, since I'll live in a comfortable pair of sandals, if they really fit the bill I'll be willing to pay a bit more than I normally would.

So how about it, hivemind? Do cute, truly comfortable leather walking sandals exist?

Dead Cow Wrappers For Words

devilsbrigade — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:13:08 -0800

I've seen a couple people recently with very nice fairly stiff leather journal covers, maybe a little smaller than 8 1/2 by 11, that hold a smaller replaceable floppy journal inside. I want one. I've looked around some, but all I can find are the cheap mass-produced ones. Does the hive mind have a lead on where to get a good-quality leather cover online or in the SF bay area?

Roman emulation

niccolo — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:03:39 -0800

I am attending film school where I am putting together the proposal for an ambitious film that takes place in the Roman era, in tent interiors. Now, the Romans used leather for tents, however I'd like to use a cheaper alternative, such as brown canvas. Should I use canvas? Where can I get largish quantities of canvas/tent making material? (Some source specific to Vancouver would be very helpful!)

Looking for leather in NYC

bshort — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:27:42 -0800

I'd like to buy some leather that's suitable for tooling in NYC. I'm looking for vegetable tanned leather at least 3 or 4 mm in thickness and at least 2 square feet in area. I'd also like to look at it before buying it, so internet-based retailers aren't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for personal recommendations, and I'm capable of looking in a phone book, so "call around" isn't the answer I'm looking for.

How can I wash oil/grease out of my leather gloves?

autojack — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:09:55 -0800

How can I wash oil/grease out of my leather gloves? About a week after I bought a really nice pair of leather motorcycle gloves, my bike broke down on the road and I spent 45 minutes fixing it, getting my hands absolutely filthy in the process. By the time I was done it was raining pretty hard, and I decided that it would be unwise to tempt fate by riding the rest of the way bare handed. As a result, the inside of my gloves are very, very dirty.

The tag on them says simply, "Do not wash." Is there anything I can do to get them clean that won't ruin them? I'm not even sure if I can turn them inside out, because they have plastic impact armor on the knuckles.

What do black leather armbands mean?

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:20:38 -0800

In the gay leather subculture, what do those black leather bands around a bicep mean (if anything)? Very NSFW: example. Is it like a hanky code or something? Does the side the person wears it on tell sexual position? Or is it just decoration?

My googling hasn't worked very well.