Refurbishing an old leather jacket
I'm so excited about the results I got from trying this simple technique that I wanted to share it with you! The story begins when I was last in Sydney…
I love op shopping as well as consignment stores and vintage and secondhand markets. So naturally, as I was staying in Woollahra, I scoured all of the different secondhand stores down Oxford Street (several times!). I love rescuing special pieces and putting together unique combinations so you can imagine my joy when I found the perfect leather jacket with a cutout lace edging in a colour I like very much. It was kind of like broderie anglaise done in leather and it fitted me perfectly.
So I bought it, despite a slightly musty smell. There was no body odour but just slightly musty from being stored and not aired. Tip: always smell a potential purchase, even if it’s supposed to be brand new. Fabrics pick up body odour smells quite easily. These can be washed out in most cases. But beware of that damp smell that fabric gets if it is not dried immediately or if it was left in a heap while still still wet. Dish cloths can sometimes develop the smell. And it never goes away!! I’ve tried everything. But if you know something I don’t, please let me know.
Anyway, back to my leather jacket. As the musty smell was not strong, I figured I could get it out fairly easily. I aired the jacket in the bathroom. I steamed it. I hung it out in the sun for hours and I sprayed it with my favourite perfume. Still there. So there was only one thing for it; hit the internet. Unfortunately the internet is not a perfect thing so I found lots of conflicting advice about what methods and products to try. I wanted to find something simple, reasonably natural and easily obtainable, not an unnecessarily overpriced chemical concoction. After all, leather is as natural as it gets, having been around for as long as humans and animals have.
Finally I came across the wonderful website of the English company Hide Park (great name!) and I believe if anyone knows how to treat this issue, this company does. They recommend lightly spraying a musty smelling jacket with either white vinegar or a cheap vodka. It was a tough choice; to smell like a bar or more like a salad?? It seemed a shame to waste vodka (expensive or otherwise) so I opted for the vinegar. Apparently the acid in the vinegar levels out the pH and counteract any mildew or musty smell. Hide Park assured me I wouldn’t smell like a vinaigrette, so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best!
I sprayed the inside first, as being a light colour, I didn’t want to stain the jacket. Once I had done the inside, and I could see the jacket was reacting well to the vinegar and not staining it, I began on the outside. I still moved cautiously, spraying the underside of the arms and other less visible places first, but it was fine. There was no staining. I left the jacket to dry, which took only a few minutes. When I returned, I began busily sniffing the jacket like a rabbit, trying earnestly to smell either the vinegar or the mildew. But to my astonishment, both smells had almost entirely vanished in a matter of minutes!! I say ‘almost’ as I went over the jacket a second time as I had missed a few small spots.
But basically, this $1.20 purchase of white vinegar and only a few minutes of my time saved a perfectly lovely leather jacket from being cast aside! My belief is that we should respect the resources already used in fashion and if we can resurrect pieces we like rather than always buying new, then we should.
I totally recommend this leather restoration process. If you’d like to try it, follow these simple steps (from Hide Park) and prepare to be amazed by your success!
Fill a small spray bottle with white vinegar
Lightly spritz the leather jacket both on the inside and outside. Note, only apply a light mist, as you do not need to drench the jacket!
Lastly, hang the item outside (weather permitting) or near an open window to dry
Hide Park suggests following up this refresh process with a leather conditioner to keep the leather supple and avoid cracking however I haven’t done this yet. When I do, I will look for something else reasonably natural. My research tells me that olive oil is a definite no-go although coconut oil may be ok. Fortunately, I love the smell of that!
My refreshed leather jacket!