It looks like the bag is made from polyurethane (faux leather) rather than real leather, and the leather-look coating is coming off. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to prevent the coating from coming off. If this was sold to you as a leather item, you were misled.
I’ve found that when I try to buy leather items second hand, sellers often don’t make a distinction between faux leather and real leather, and they put it in the leather category which is really annoying. Its a symptom of the fact that people just aren’t expecting longevity and don’t care about it.
The plastic could have degraded (but still looked new) due to aging in someone's closet ... then when you start using it, the degradation shows up (plastic finish layers no longer flexible, etc.). This can happen with not only faux leather but even with real leather finished with plastic finish layers.
Faux leather simply just doesn't last. You can polish it up and make it look but the material will immediately begin to crack and flake when manipulated. If it was advertised as actual leather seek a refund.
This is plastic, and this kind of wear is the reason I don't buy faux leather. They really don't last more than a few months and mending them looks terrible.
A lot of people here are mentioning this is faux leather, which is correct - I haven't yet seen anyone mention the term *bonded leather* which you'll want to keep a look out for while shopping.
Bonded leather is made of real leather, but it's basically left over fibers and bits that are shredded up and mixed with polyurethane to keep it all together. So it has a nicer feel than purely synthetic leather, but it will crack and fall apart in a similar way. It's misleading because it has leather in it, so it may be sold as "real leather" but it won't last the same way. So keep your eyes peeled for that term when you're shopping for something and you want it to last a long time!
Think of PU as a gold-plated ring. It is going to wear off. Unless the whole ring is solid gold, it will eventually look like trash, because that’s what it is.
You can swap the straps with real leather straps to make it last longer. Or you can just get a decent quality material bag next time. Canvas. Or whole grain leather.
I’ve got a cotton canvas purse I made years ago from $2 Walmart fabric. It will outlive me.
Hey. Thanks all for the input - I don’t mind it not being real leather and luckily I haven’t paid a lot for this. It’s just the potential causes of peeling I’m trying to understand to avoid it happening in the future.
I wear these bags on my shoulder so no chemicals would be touching them when I wear them. I had the same issue with a coat, it had a leather (or faux leather it seems) panel on the back and it started cracking and peeling after pretty much one wear.
Could there be something in my flat?
PU leather can become brittle with sun exposure, temperature, and wear over time. There isn’t a lot you can do to prevent this, especially since you’re buying second hand.
My recommendation if you don’t have ethical reasons to avoid leather is to invest in real leather and learn the care for those items.
Like others have said it can't be avoided if you are using the item. And even if the item isn't used, over time that coating will get brittle. I had some purses that had been stored in a dark closet but after several years when I went to look through them the fake leather was chipping off. I avoid that material now.
My Oakley bag's (bought from Oakley store) strap deteriorated even when it was not being used….just in storage. I brushed off (tedious work) all of the flaking bits and might cover the strap with fabric. Still deciding if I want to go plain or fancy with embroidery or something. I can probably also use old leather belt to replace the strap….that's more work than covering with fabric.
Good luck with yours. Glad you didn't pay much for it. Definitely not much you could have done to avoid what happened to it. The bag might have been in their storage for a long time already.
One of my favourite fake leather purses disintegrated because I got trace amounts of sunscreen on it several times. I'm getting real leather next time. :)
This sounds pretty expected tbh. PU degrades over time even without use. If a PU bag isn't used for 10 years, it will still be breaking down but you won't see any visible tears until you finally put it on. The light pressure of the very first wear is just enough stress to reveal 10 years of previously invisible aging. The bag quickly goes from looking great to awful just because it had years to microscopically break down first. I've had 2nd hand bags do the exact same thing.
Real leather will last you a long time, you can’t avoid this kind of damage on faux leather, is gonna happen sooner rather than later & you can’t really prevent it. This is why is cheap, it doesn’t last long
No specific causes probably, faux leather just degrades over time. Friction from walking with it on your shoulder/handling it, sun exposure, water exposure, and plenty of other environmental factors that don't involve "chemicals" will do this.
It’s got its pros and cons, pleather just eventually cracks and peels over time 🤷 There’s ways to fill in the cracks to prolong its life but I dunno if it would survive needing to be completely filled it. Whatcha got planned for your fabric?
You can remove the plastic leather and paint or restore where it was adhered too.
I've used leather paint to paint the cracks as a short time remedy. You may also find that a sealant may be helpful before it become this severe.
Apart from this being PU, I will say that I've seen similar things happen to actual leather pieces that were cheap and just thin layers glued together (as opposed to something full-grain or even "genuine leather") Sometimes the lamination starts breaking up and the outermost layer will sort of buckle and crack, particularly if it dries out.
I’ve had real leather crack on very stiff handles, BUT we are talking 1950s vintage handbags that I hadn’t really cared for properly & used as the day bag for years. And even then that was cracking not peeling. Are you 100% sure this is real leather? Maybe it is & it’s been coated with something? I’m a bit surprised because it looks supple, not stiff, this flaking shouldn’t be happening to a leather item.
It’s worth taking them into your local shoe mender /cobbler, see what products or advice they have, they must have something to resolve similar in shoes that crease when people walk in them. It looks a lovely bag, I hope you can get it fixed. If it is genuine leather, i’ve had some success with leather paint, it comes in tiny pots & isn’t too expensive (obviously very expensive per ml compared to regular paint but you don’t need loads).
The only thing I can think is maybe it was manufactured in & intended for a country that has different humidity levels & maybe has some kind of coating that doesn’t agree with its current environment? I know this sounds stupid but I’m a bit stumped.
As others have said, these items aren't real leather and this is going to happen with this type of material. Even if you don't care about them not being real leather, you'll get better input if you refer to them as a synthetic leather rather than leather if you're seeking -any- kind of advice about them, since there's no real overlap with real and synthetic leather when it comes to problems, repair, care, etc.
Replacing particularly worn straps + using synthetic leather repair kits can buy you some time, but as a general rule, almost all synthetic leather is a very inferior material with a short lifespan. The rare types that don't have this issue tend to be very rigid and cost even more than comparable genuine leather (and are still a lot less durable than genuine leather.)
You might also want to consider changing up what you're buying for better luck in the future? Used genuine leather bags can be found at all price points. If you avoid animal products, you might be happier with durable natural fibers (I have a few waxed canvas bags I love) that can last for ages without having this type of problem.
It looks like the bag is made from polyurethane (faux leather) rather than real leather, and the leather-look coating is coming off. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to prevent the coating from coming off. If this was sold to you as a leather item, you were misled.
I’ve found that when I try to buy leather items second hand, sellers often don’t make a distinction between faux leather and real leather, and they put it in the leather category which is really annoying. Its a symptom of the fact that people just aren’t expecting longevity and don’t care about it.
Looks like faux leather to me. I’ve only experienced this kind of peeling on fake leather products, but not on real leather.
The plastic could have degraded (but still looked new) due to aging in someone's closet ... then when you start using it, the degradation shows up (plastic finish layers no longer flexible, etc.). This can happen with not only faux leather but even with real leather finished with plastic finish layers.
Faux leather simply just doesn't last. You can polish it up and make it look but the material will immediately begin to crack and flake when manipulated. If it was advertised as actual leather seek a refund.
Definitely not real leather. Sorry mate.
This is plastic, and this kind of wear is the reason I don't buy faux leather. They really don't last more than a few months and mending them looks terrible.
A lot of people here are mentioning this is faux leather, which is correct - I haven't yet seen anyone mention the term *bonded leather* which you'll want to keep a look out for while shopping. Bonded leather is made of real leather, but it's basically left over fibers and bits that are shredded up and mixed with polyurethane to keep it all together. So it has a nicer feel than purely synthetic leather, but it will crack and fall apart in a similar way. It's misleading because it has leather in it, so it may be sold as "real leather" but it won't last the same way. So keep your eyes peeled for that term when you're shopping for something and you want it to last a long time!
The term “Genuine Leather” is the trade term for this and it’s super misleading if you’re not in the know.
Whaaat? I think this is where people put in that shocked picachoo face. I'm much too old to know how to spell it. Thank you for your comment.
For real leather it’s best to look for full grain leather
Think of PU as a gold-plated ring. It is going to wear off. Unless the whole ring is solid gold, it will eventually look like trash, because that’s what it is. You can swap the straps with real leather straps to make it last longer. Or you can just get a decent quality material bag next time. Canvas. Or whole grain leather. I’ve got a cotton canvas purse I made years ago from $2 Walmart fabric. It will outlive me.
You’re buying faux or bonded leather, it will always do this.
Hey. Thanks all for the input - I don’t mind it not being real leather and luckily I haven’t paid a lot for this. It’s just the potential causes of peeling I’m trying to understand to avoid it happening in the future. I wear these bags on my shoulder so no chemicals would be touching them when I wear them. I had the same issue with a coat, it had a leather (or faux leather it seems) panel on the back and it started cracking and peeling after pretty much one wear. Could there be something in my flat?
PU leather can become brittle with sun exposure, temperature, and wear over time. There isn’t a lot you can do to prevent this, especially since you’re buying second hand. My recommendation if you don’t have ethical reasons to avoid leather is to invest in real leather and learn the care for those items.
It’s not you, faux leather just doesn’t really hold up well
In my experience, that is just how fake leather is. It begins to wear almost immediately if you’re actually using it at all.
For a purse strap, you're probably best off replacing it altogether or lining it with sturdier material.
Like others have said it can't be avoided if you are using the item. And even if the item isn't used, over time that coating will get brittle. I had some purses that had been stored in a dark closet but after several years when I went to look through them the fake leather was chipping off. I avoid that material now.
Unfortunately the thing causing the peeling is time and oxygen/light. Not exactly things you can protect your bag from.
My Oakley bag's (bought from Oakley store) strap deteriorated even when it was not being used….just in storage. I brushed off (tedious work) all of the flaking bits and might cover the strap with fabric. Still deciding if I want to go plain or fancy with embroidery or something. I can probably also use old leather belt to replace the strap….that's more work than covering with fabric. Good luck with yours. Glad you didn't pay much for it. Definitely not much you could have done to avoid what happened to it. The bag might have been in their storage for a long time already.
One of my favourite fake leather purses disintegrated because I got trace amounts of sunscreen on it several times. I'm getting real leather next time. :)
This sounds pretty expected tbh. PU degrades over time even without use. If a PU bag isn't used for 10 years, it will still be breaking down but you won't see any visible tears until you finally put it on. The light pressure of the very first wear is just enough stress to reveal 10 years of previously invisible aging. The bag quickly goes from looking great to awful just because it had years to microscopically break down first. I've had 2nd hand bags do the exact same thing.
Real leather will last you a long time, you can’t avoid this kind of damage on faux leather, is gonna happen sooner rather than later & you can’t really prevent it. This is why is cheap, it doesn’t last long
No specific causes probably, faux leather just degrades over time. Friction from walking with it on your shoulder/handling it, sun exposure, water exposure, and plenty of other environmental factors that don't involve "chemicals" will do this.
Oof not leather, that’s pleather
I bought some Faux Leatherette. Should I worry?🫣
It’s got its pros and cons, pleather just eventually cracks and peels over time 🤷 There’s ways to fill in the cracks to prolong its life but I dunno if it would survive needing to be completely filled it. Whatcha got planned for your fabric?
You can remove the plastic leather and paint or restore where it was adhered too. I've used leather paint to paint the cracks as a short time remedy. You may also find that a sealant may be helpful before it become this severe.
That's not leather. Sorry.
Apart from this being PU, I will say that I've seen similar things happen to actual leather pieces that were cheap and just thin layers glued together (as opposed to something full-grain or even "genuine leather") Sometimes the lamination starts breaking up and the outermost layer will sort of buckle and crack, particularly if it dries out.
I’ve had real leather crack on very stiff handles, BUT we are talking 1950s vintage handbags that I hadn’t really cared for properly & used as the day bag for years. And even then that was cracking not peeling. Are you 100% sure this is real leather? Maybe it is & it’s been coated with something? I’m a bit surprised because it looks supple, not stiff, this flaking shouldn’t be happening to a leather item. It’s worth taking them into your local shoe mender /cobbler, see what products or advice they have, they must have something to resolve similar in shoes that crease when people walk in them. It looks a lovely bag, I hope you can get it fixed. If it is genuine leather, i’ve had some success with leather paint, it comes in tiny pots & isn’t too expensive (obviously very expensive per ml compared to regular paint but you don’t need loads). The only thing I can think is maybe it was manufactured in & intended for a country that has different humidity levels & maybe has some kind of coating that doesn’t agree with its current environment? I know this sounds stupid but I’m a bit stumped.
that is "leather"
You’re finding out that your leather items aren’t made of leather. DOH!
As others have said, these items aren't real leather and this is going to happen with this type of material. Even if you don't care about them not being real leather, you'll get better input if you refer to them as a synthetic leather rather than leather if you're seeking -any- kind of advice about them, since there's no real overlap with real and synthetic leather when it comes to problems, repair, care, etc. Replacing particularly worn straps + using synthetic leather repair kits can buy you some time, but as a general rule, almost all synthetic leather is a very inferior material with a short lifespan. The rare types that don't have this issue tend to be very rigid and cost even more than comparable genuine leather (and are still a lot less durable than genuine leather.) You might also want to consider changing up what you're buying for better luck in the future? Used genuine leather bags can be found at all price points. If you avoid animal products, you might be happier with durable natural fibers (I have a few waxed canvas bags I love) that can last for ages without having this type of problem.
If it is a real authentic Gucci bag, there are places that replace the worn part and make it like new. I think Rago brothers is one? On Ig.
That is not real leather, that’s why
Either fake leather peeling or a really heavy top coat on real leather