I head over to Allen Edmonds, as I did today. As regular readers might anticipate, I'm not much for the "Made in China leather uppers" for $ 89.99 at DSW stores. I like real leather. Today I picked up a pair made of Chromoexel from Horween leather - one of the few operating tanneries in the USA and the only one in Chicago.

http://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes/me...810_color=1811

Chromoexcel is a pure aniline, and a pull-up leather (the ones so many dislike because "they scratch"). It's just a fantastic hide (and very costly) that has a richness and hand you will find in few leathers. The salesman at the Allen Edmunds store was going to explain the hide to me, but I told him I am familiar with it already, and know how they perform and that you don't use colored shoe polish on them - EVER. Creams only.

When I get bold enough (and have sold enough sofas to feel a tad wealthy) I intend to commision a leather jacket in Chromoexcel as well from this jacket maker in Scotland.

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/p...classicleather

It would probably be crazy expensive to do a leather sofa in this hide, it would be something like a Hancock and Moore Grade 7 (and they only go as high as 5), but it would be stunning. There's a really good blog from Horween on how they make this leather - and the photos are excellent (and you can see how nasty this business of tanning hides is). Here's the blog on Chromoexcel:

https://www.horween.com/blog/2010/03...mexcel%C2%AE-2

One of the founders of Hancock and Moore, Jack Glasheen, told me one day he decided to follow the example of Allen Edmunds shoes when he and Jimmy Moore began their company in the 1970's. Use the best components, build it right, and if a customer needs to return one for repair they will fix it. It was a good company to pattern yourself after.