Definition of patent leather?

R

raincitytreasures

Registered Guest
I recently won a purse on ebay that was listed as "patent leather." It's a nice purse, but does not have the shiny, mirrorlike surface I associate with "patent" leather. This is the definition I found:

leather with glossy surface: leather that has been treated with lacquer to give it a hard, glossy surface

Am I correct in thinking it should always have that surface?
 
Well, what is commonly thought of in the public eye as "patent leather" is not always leahter. Its usually a type of polymerized vinyl. (and you will never see a leather interior, it is usually peau de soie). MANY people label this patent leather, but then clarify that it isn't genuine but some folks don't know the difference.

Genuine patent leather is genuine leather where a synthetic layer is bonded to it. When a genuine patent leather gets bumps on the edges it will behave as leather, where the vinyl would be more likely to crack. You will usually see the words "genuine leather" on the inside, but they are not all marked unfortunately. You will mostly see a leather or sueded leather interior, but occasionally a very high quality satin. There is also Japaning, which was the precursor which is basically heavily lacquered/shellacked leather. Typically, you will not see the base color in high of a variety of colors as in the first.

Another clue is the actualy quality of the hardware, etc.

There is also PVC, which basically is marketed as "wet look vinyl" and is not either of the two above. It is very glossy, tears much easier, and is mcuh less substantial. Interior is usually a vinyl.

Now, the shiniest is NOT usually going to be your genuine leather surprisingly enough. I do have a calfskin patent leather that is very highly glossy, but the other two are even glossier. and i have a genuine patent leather that is not quite as glossy, but they are all smooth

One real way to tell is with a hot pin test. if just the outer layer melts, its usually genuine , and if the whole thing melts and you can stick the pin through, it isnt....but i don't advise that because either way you can damage a nice purse. If it is patent leather it can be repaired with heat in some cases by reheating and buffing the surface, but i always say "don't try this at home!" :)

BTW - do you have a picture?

Chris
 
That's really interesting. I'm going to save the info, thanks.

pink-purse.JPG
 
Chris, your explanation of this is wonderful!

One of my pet peeves is that many sellers market any shiny-surface purse as "patent leather" when indeed, many are not real leather! If I'm unsure, I will always put a disclaimer in my listings, but I'm not sure if some sellers even know the difference, and think all "patent" products are the same! The pin test is a good tool if you can find a spot on the inside, say, if it's wrapped around the frame, to test it, or on the bottom or in a side crease.... Real patent leather will age far better than faux, and will stay supple, whereas the fakes will crack, as Chris points out. Also, too, the real leather may not be as shiny--it will have the gloss, but may not shine like a mirror!

I love the color of your purse, and from the photo, it appears as if the finish qualifies as "patent" shiny..... FWIW!
 
One of my pet peeves is that many sellers market any shiny-surface purse as "patent leather" when indeed, many are not real leather!

Anne, the big factor here though, it is in the "common language" or socially acceptable to talk about non genuine leather as patent leather as a descriptor. It has become an acceptable way to describe. I don't think its necessarily wrong to say it and then clarify in most cases, and then state whether it is genuine or not. One has to be a real detective sometimes. Vinyl interior, definitely not genuine. and then look at the hardware too. A sure bet though is to search "genuine patent leather" but you certainly wouldn't catch them all...and then "calfskin patent leather." Like I say though, not all makers did that, though if they were exporting, they had to.

However, sometimes people shoot themselves in the foot, particularly with items that are not purses is when they do have a PVC item. They would fair much better with "wet look" "PVC" because there is a whole other market for that. Trendy clubbers, people who are devotees of the 80s looks and the fettish market would all be wanting PVC instead.

For me, I prefer the quality of genuine patent leather, but I don't turn my nose up at the high quality vinyl at times because there are some darn cute bags out there that are in colors that are just not widely available in genuine patent, but then again I "know" what I have versus thinking I have the other.

There are times of course where based on photos, etc it will be tough to tell.

Chris
 
I realize many do lump these all in together, and I, too, don't feel the PVC stuff should be at all! I guess I'm just a dinosaur and not with "the flow" in this area.... Even though it's widely acceptable to call faux patent leather "leather," if I bought something called patent leather, and it wasn't leather, and the seller did not make the distinction or at least indicate he/she wasn't sure, I'd be mighty upset! I have nothing againtst faux patent leather products, and don't have a problem either buying or selling it, I personally still insist on making the distinction. I might put "patent leather" in the title but in the description would definitely say whether or not I knew if it was real... JMHO!
 
The purse is actually a true red. I'm going to take pics of the inside, hardware and underside of the decorative vertical belt that is attached to the front.

Thank you all for this fascinating discussion-I've learned so much. My area is more in the 1950s lucite bags, but this is for a secret Santa gift. She specified patent leather on her list, but she may mean the shiny stuff.
 
Hi.

I was away until now....

I would probably find out if your person liked only genuine patent leather or liked all kinds. Some people are attracted to the shiny-ness and it doesn't matter. Some people have a lot of faux and are just now only looking for genuine, but would never pass up a faux if it was lovely, and then some folks only like genuine.

I would venture to guess that the pink is a high quality vinyl just because of the slight ripple on the left hand side, but really....sometimes it is hard to tell in photos! If the interior is vinyl, it is a definite non genuine but still cute as a button, if leather its real.

On the red purse, to me it doesn't look patent leather at all due to the texture, but i think the style is fantastic
 
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