Plastic or Leather

[Bria]

MMMMM I just won a wonderful pair of leather Kenneth Cole boots on ebay. Im finding the fine brandname shoes and boots Kenneth Cole, Guess, Via spiga, Mia, are heavens above the usual Jante, Pleaser, plastic shoes.... I recently got a pair of Guess wedges and wore them for 6 hours right out of the box and wow did they feel nice. And the lst pair of Kenneth Cole boots I got, wow just so nice to wear they feel comfortable and sexy which is just perfect for such a shoe fetishst like myself.. so All I can say is buy leather its worth it.... Ive got a grat supplier of good brand name heels online now and mmmm im having so much funat about a pair a week....

[Firefox]

Oh definitely leather for me. If I can get it in the style I want that is. Leather moulds to the foot better, and breathes well. However if I really like a pair in vinyl/PVC I will get them, especially as the price will be usually low. Worn with socks they are not so bad, but nothing to compare with leather.

[genebujold]

Leather. Why anyone would want to put a substance (plastic, aka "patent leather") that, quite literally and scientifically measurably exudes toxic chemicals next to their skin (which is quite adept at absorbing toxic chemicals) is utterly beyond my comprehension. That and the fact that leather breaths, it "wears in," comforming to your foot, and that shiny plastic footwear looks to me like something from a 1960's film starring Goldie Hawn... Well! Who can argue against leather? I suppose the animal rights activists might have a word or two. However, given the fact that the utilization rate for cattle and swine as food is significantly greater than their use for clothing means that if none of us bought leather products, all that leather would rot on the tanning racks. Besides, I have to counter the animal rights activists with the environmentalists. I worship neither animals nor the environment. Neverheless, hides are a renewable resource and their use does not pollute our planet. Patent leather, on the other hand, is made from byproducts from the oil refining process (somewhat polluting), do not decompose properly (at all) in landfills (seriously polluting the environment), and to me, just look bad (visually polluting). Finally, when it's properly cared for, a pair of leather shoes will last longer than a pair of fake ones. Thus, leather is the way to go: 1. Comfort 2. Renewable resource 3. Non-polluting 4. Biodegradable 5. Fashionable 6. Wearability Oh - and did I mention the fact that leather is extremely difficult to work using modern fabrication methods? Thus, it's use means good wages to many workers in poor countries, vs good money to very rich owners of modern manufacturing plants. Need I continue?

[badger]

Leather 95% of the time. I do own one pair of thigh high red vinyl platform boots, that I wear for shoveling snow.

[High Surprise]

Never done plastic myself. Do your feet not tend to get very hot in anything but leather? Am I being too practical?

[J-Nation]

Neverheless, hides are a renewable resource and their use does not pollute our planet.

Patent leather, on the other hand, is made from byproducts from the oil refining process (somewhat polluting), do not decompose properly (at all) in landfills (seriously polluting the environment), and to me, just look bad (visually polluting).

I don't disagree with the main thrust of your argument, but a couple of points here - the leather tanning process can use some pretty nasty chemicals and Patent leather *is* leather, but with a particular surface treatment; I presume you actually mean PVC?

Emma

[Laurieheels]

Plastic and other man made materials, and plastic patent, are what the masses wear when they try to copy high heeled styles and cannot afford to compete with celebrities and wealthy socialites. Count me as one of the masses. Leather would be ideal, but sadly, it falls very far down on the list.

[genebujold]

I don't disagree with the main thrust of your argument, but a couple of points here - the leather tanning process can use some pretty nasty chemicals and Patent leather *is* leather, but with a particular surface treatment; I presume you actually mean PVC?

Emma

Aha! You're right!

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=patent%20leather

Unfortunately, a lot of goods marked "patent leather" are shiny on one side... and backed in fabric on the other. That and the fact they don't smell in the least like leather (but they do smell like plastic) leads me to believe, well, they're plastic.

So, although "real leather" is included as belonging to the "patent leather" category, in my experience, if it ain't real leather, it shouldn't be called leather.

Unfortunately, there's no fashion police to enforce the term, as there is in the food industry for the term "organic."

Plastic and other man made materials, and plastic patent, are what the masses wear when they try to copy high heeled styles and cannot afford to compete with celebrities and wealthy socialites.

Count me as one of the masses.

Oh, I don't know - my wife has found a number of very comfortable, elegant/stylish leather heels for under $70 on Zappos.

[Ionic]

True, nothing beats leather on a pair of boots but I've had one or two successes on cheapo eBay bargains that were plastic but you are totally stuffed if your plastic shoe is ill-fitting. As Gene said about Zappos, here at Argos Additions you can get an ankle boot in leather for 22-25GBPs at the bottom end for fairly basic styles. I just walked past Ravel with a mid-season sale marking down boots from 55 to 35GBPs - I spotted a 42/8 - tempting... However there are legitimate uses for non-leather materials for different design intentions. Denin, a heavy variant, is occasionally used for boots and mules and things, and then there are those boots made using a stretchy lycra fabric which is very light and soft and moulds your shape exactly. Textile fabrics are deployed for the toe straps of summer slides/mules and plastic seems entirely appropriate for beach ware. Over on another thread is a question about the leopard pattern uppers on the metal heel shoe called 'Brazil' - I'm still trying to identify what they actually made of under the pattern. Synthetic materials are appropriate for those adjustable heavy duty sports sandals but I can't abide trainers as a day shoe, only for their proper purspose in the gym or on a long walk - I just get far too hot and they don't breathe. That is just a sample of possible examples, I can just remember leather ski-boots (and hickory skis!) as a small child and I definitely wouldn't want to go back to them!!! Everything in its place. /I

[jo]

Hmm, Patent Leather is actually a coated type of leather, but a lot of places advertise, or sell (but don't mention what it is), Patent PU, with the PU standing for PolyUrethane (a type of plastic) which is more flexible then PVC (PolyVinylChloride), and less brittle than PC (PolyCarbonate).

More in the archives of The Patent Letter e-zine (Google for it).

[Laurieheels]

Oh, I don't know - my wife has found a number of very comfortable, elegant/stylish leather heels for under $70 on Zappos.

70 American, being around 100 Canadian, is still way, way outside of my personal budget.

For some, that's a bargain. And I am glad if people can get good shoes for that.

When I talk about masses, I mean people who are only going to be able to afford shoes at Walmart, Payless, or other such low end price stores. There are so many out there who can't even afford a computer or internet access. So we'll never hear from them.

I think at times our perspective is skewed, since we are all shoe and boot lovers, and we'd be willing to pay a set amount for something.

Many people don't even have the chance to make that choice.

It all depends on the person and where that person is in life.

[Ionic]

Well I just won some stretchy fabric 4" boots on eBay unopposed at lunchtime today for 5GBPs INCLUDING postage. That should be within anyone's tightest budget! I don't think he allowed for enough postage so I might add on another 75p or so. /I

[Dr. Shoe]

PU: Advantages: Uniform quality, easier to work than leather, more durable*, intrinsically waterproof, resists distortions, slightly stretchy. Disadvantages: Has to be "backed-off" with fabric to wick sweat away from the foot, the matte finish is not too convincing. Leather: Advantages: Breathable, looks better, renewable resource. Disadvantages: is a natural organic material full of flaws and inconsistances which may be fine to look at but is actually a bugger to work with, the tanning process is even less environmentally sound than using plastic (chromium salts, heavy metals and phosphates, not to mention the waste products and byproducts) Don't get me wrong, I would rather wear leather than plastic only because it means I'm buying quality because if any company that is prepared to use leather will pay more for the other components and use shoe makers with higher skill level. *Do not confuse with PVC which is not more durable.

[PJ]

I learned to hate plastic shoes a long time ago. Way back when I was in the military, I tried out Corfram shoes for the first time. Although they were easy to shine up, held the shine a long time, and were easy to keep shined, they made my feet sweat and stink.