From Leather to Pleather Men seem to favour leather bracelets more than women; the gold chunky ID bracelets are taking a back seat to vegan leather bracelets for men. As a global community people are much more aware of the environment and want to support ecofriendly and sustainable products. Many jewellers are using vegan leather which is a non-animal product, it is called faux leather or pleather. These leather items such as bracelets are made from a material called polyurethane. It is interesting to note that cork, apple peels or pineapple leaves are the basis for making vegan leather. Vegan leather has a different feel to authentic leather it feels smoother and is soft, pliable and is not able to be stretched whereas real leather can be stretched. The vegan leather feels cool to the touch and real leather is warm. Wearing leather bracelets started centuries ago with tribesmen and slowly over the decades became more of a fashion statement and then seemed to fade after the 1960s. In recent years there has been a return to this fashion and men are starting to wear them again. Leather bracelets are comfortable, lightweight and look fashionable it's possible to dress them up or down depending on your outfit. There are so many different and unique styles to chooses from and the leather is available in different colours. Jewellers that work with leather designing bracelets have many ways of making the bracelet. Popular styles include plaited, knotted, and used with metal to offer a stylish bracelet. When choosing to wear a leather bracelet and a watch it is a good idea to wear them on opposite wrists so that the metal clasps on the bracelet don’t rub against the watch face and scratch it. Leather is waterproof so it is ok to shower or swim with the bracelet on however because leather can mould it needs to be thoroughly dried. Leather does also slightly shrink and can fade with extended exposure to the elements or water. How to wear leather bracelets on both wrists as a fashion statement. • • •
Mix and match your bracelets if they look good and compliment your outfit and each other there are no rules. Mixing metal with leather can work but beads work better together with leather unless the metal is thick and chunky that could complement the leather. Match your bracelets to your outfits and colour code but watch that they don't clash.