Talk:Suede

Textile Arts Center

References to Suede Alternatives
What's with all the references to Ultrasuede and Microsuede - if these products are so great, give them their own pages! Why is this encyclopedia article going on about how "luxurious" these products are? Sure - reference them in a section titled "suede alternatives", but highly subjective statements like this should be cut.

Merging
What would folks think of merging this with Leather? Suede is, after all, just one specific form of leather... -- Metahacker 20:40, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

I think I disagree. A kangaroo is just one specific form of mammal, but that's no reason to merge the kangaroo article into the mammal article. Besides, this article has, in principle, plenty of room for expansion. (Whether it actually gets expanded in the near future is another question entirely, of course.) &mdash;Caesura(t) 21:13, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

Merging (again)
So, it's been three months, there's still very little useful content here that is (a) accurate and (b) not on the Leather page -- I'd like to re-open the merge discussion. Thoughts? Counterproposals? -- Metahacker 16:53, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Personally, when I think of a leather jacket and a suede jacket, they seem to be entirely different. Perhaps they are made from the same raw material, but so are many things.  A suede article could also contain a large amount of information about the particularities of the material (i.e. taking care of it) which don't necessarily apply to leather.
 * I Think they should be kept seperate. Yes, the suede article isn't that great or accurate at the moment, but I think a rewrite would be better than merging with leather. --SnakeSeries 21:37, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I just went here for information about microsuede, and am a bit disappointed that im redirected here because there is no article about microsuede. But at least this article covers the whole class of materials i am currently interested in: Materials that feel like the softest possible leather, but are cheaper / more durable / allow more colours. I am a juggler and make my own juggling balls, so im interested in the combination of a finish that feels good and extreme durability. Suede made from real leather is almost like an exception in this class of materials, and it is useless for many of the applications suede is being used for, like juggling balls or car seats, because it lacks the durability. I agree that the articles should be kept seperate, because this is about a whole class of materials that have two properties at the same time that real leather cannot have at the same time: Durability and suede-like softness. I am against a merger, independent of if and how this article improves in the future, because an overview over this class of materials of which most can be considered artificial super-leathers does not really fit in the main leather-article, and never will. 79.230.3.207 (talk) 02:11, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Content
I think this needs to be edited heavily, but be kept separate from the Leather article. Here's why:

While "Suede" on its own defaults to "sueded leather" these days to most people, a suede finish is available on fabrics as well. With the rising popularity of microsuede, ultrasuede, sueded silks and cottons, and even yarns (Berocco's Suede brand, Lion's Suede brand), it would be extremely useful to explain the differences here.

Feyandstrange 07:42, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
 * oh the heck with it, I'll do a hack job on it myself. Stupid insomnia. Feyandstrange 07:45, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree that this article needs improvement and expansion. A separate article does no harm and can usefully include non-leather content, while cross-referencing the Leather article and others. One difficulty in the need for 'reliable sources' is that, in the absence of suitable published material, no contributions can be made, even by well qualified people [or have I got the policies wrong]rasp8 12:23, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Most of the information about these materials probarbly cannot really be used because its coming from the companies making and marketing them. But i am still quite sure that good sources can be found, its just that maybe its difficult to find them at the obvious places. A non-biased independent paper that tells you everything about one of these materials might be hard to find or in many cases not exist. How the materials are being made is in many cases kept secret by the companies. But studies where properties of a variety of materials is being tested to see which would be the best for a certain purpose can probarbly be found i think. If we could get info about which one is most/least fire-resistant, resistant to abrasives, waterproof, resistant to tensile stress, and info about which one is being preferred by manufacturers for which kind of products, be it juggling balls (with suede-like finish) or car seats (with suede-like finish), i think it would be a great article.79.230.3.207 (talk) 02:32, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Definitely a separate article
Suede deserves its own article, it's a genuinely distinct item used very differently from typical leather uses today. This one could easily be expanded; for example, going into the finishing process in detail, or explaining how "suede-soled" shoes are made. Many people are interested in suede leather care, and it's very different from normal leather. The history of suede would almost be worth an article all by itself, it's an interesting story and the uses of the fabric/leather through the ages are worth recounting--I think it's a real shame we've gotten away from using the genuine item.

Then again, I'm in the camp who believes multiple articles don't hurt anything. A brief mention in the leather article with a link to this one should clear up any lingering doubts. 12.103.251.197 04:29, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree - merging is silly. Suede is a completely different product, just because it's similar to another. That's like saying soap and shampoo should be merged because they both clean people. Each should reference the other though.--202.154.112.139 (talk) 13:23, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Looks pretty good...
Good job guys! As a newcomer, it looks like a pretty good article at this point. 74.71.73.29 (talk) 19:07, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

Suede
About the quality 2405:201:E020:5004:F12C:A278:7FF5:96F1 (talk) 04:30, 6 January 2023 (UTC)