I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare.
Since 90% of "leather" products are such awful garbage, it's not surprising to me that consumers have abandoned the sector en masse.
I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.
I can understand a reason why would you want something last a lifetime, but what about comfort?
I've never had a leather jacket - they seem heavy and not really weatherproof.
Something like merino hoodie + gore tex windbraker is my go to for last 4 years now. Absolutely love it.
I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.
I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…
I bought a pricey belt from Kenneth Kole made of this crap without knowing better. It was garbage within months. I learned my lesson and bought a proper leather belt from who knows what brand from Amazon for a fraction of the price, it's doing great years later. My parents had a horrible experience with made in china "leather" chairs. They had to reupholster them within months. You have to be very careful buying leather now and do hours of product/brand research to ensure you're not getting a lemon. At my hourly rate, that costs me way more than the product itself for anything less than large furniture items. I'm a lot less likely to buy leather goods as a result.
“According to Hidenet, a leather markets research firm, a hide from a branded cow went for as little as $4 the week of July 15, down from as much as $81 just five years ago.” Wait, what? Consumer trends have shifted so radically in 5 years that even with a white hot economy leather prices have dropped by 20x?
The economy is hardly white-hot, especially for people below the top decile or so – the median American worker made 5% LESS in 2018 than in 1979 ( https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45090.pdf ) – so I’d be surprised if this wasn’t basic economics: for a long time, leather was a premium good and cost more, so companies focused on using less of it and the large fraction of consumers who favor low prices rewarded them for it…
It appears to me that the report you cite says that the overall median real wage rose by 6.1% over that time period. (Table 1, page 4, first row; related text on page 5).
What figure in the report are you using to determine a 5% decrease over that time period?
I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.
I would recommend r/goodyearwelt for recommendations on boots. Really knowledgeable community without being too snobbish (imo).
I’ve found some pretty good leather jacket threads on Styleforum. There’s another forum whose name is escaping my mind, but they are dedicated to classic reproduction leather jackets.
I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…
I had a really awesome leather belt that I got when I was 15. I stopped wearing it when I was 30 because my weight finally out outgrew the belt. Still have it. It's no worse today than it was when I got it as a teen.
I go through about a belt a year now. Because I always seem to end up with this crap you describe. Even if I try to avoid it. Guess I need to do a better job looking... Or just lose some weight so I can use that same belt for another 15years.
Americans are eating more beef than they have in a decade? That's really surprising; seems everyone I talk to - not just vegetarians - have started looking at beef as something to be indulged in only on occasion. I assume the climate impact is the main reason.
It's just lot of signalling. If they are vegetarians they eat no meat, ever. No chicken, seafood or taco Tuesday.
I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.
I bought a Ted Lapidus leather jacket fifteen years ago and although it was quite pricey (around 1k in 2004) I haven't regretted the choice. It's in prime condition and will probably last me at least another 15 years. So my advice is to go for a respectable brand or some specialized shop for tailor made clothes and be ready to pay a generous price.
I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…
There is a grading system for leather. "Genuine" leather is a deceptive marketing term designed to sell shit leather as quality.