buying a leather jacket in Florence

Lots of shops around the Piazza Santa Croce. As far as determining Italian from Chinese? Good question.

From my reading the vast majority of leather products, especially at the lower price range, are made from So. American leather. Probably impossible to tell other than looking closely at the workmanship.

Go into a store where the items have sewn-in labels and the shopkeeper can tell you about the item. Something has to be done with all that leather from the bistecche alla fiorentina.

There are at least dozens of shops/storefronts selling leather in Florence. If my mission was to buy a leather jacket, I'd start by shopping at home. Go to the most expensive stores and ask the salesperson to explain what to look for in a quality jacket. Also google "how to buy leather". Once you have a good idea of the look and feel of good leather, quality stitching and dyeing, etc. you will be ready to ignore all the salesmen in Florence who all say they sell "the best leather in Florence" and spot quality for yourself.

They will make one to fit you in a couple of hours in one of many shops right in the piazza near Mercado Centrale. You will not be able to miss it! You can pick the color, and this will be a nice gift to give yourself!

There's a leather working school/shop attached to Santa Croce. The quality looked amazing (although I'm not a leather fan, so had no interest in buying).

The leather shop attached to the Santa Croce Church is one of the finest in the world.... Princess Di, The Queen, Dwight Eisenhower (desk set) all made there, and the price is indicative! If you've got the bucks, go for it! A small hand bag is hundreds of dollars and up!~

The area where leather products are manufactured is in the Valdarno Inferiore, that is the Arno valley roughly between Empoli and Santa Croce Sull'Arno. What you will find in Florence is likely to be made there. They are likely not Chinese imports, but they are Chinese made, since virtually every worker in those factories in Tuscany are Chinese immigrants nowadays. When I was growing up I used to buy mine from the source, in one of those factories since my family had connections there. In Florence itself the best deals are probably at the San Lorenzo market behind the "barroccini" (Florentine dialect for market stands on wheels). Most of those shopkeepers are Iranian, but don't be discouraged, there are virtually no Italians left working in shops of any kind in Florence. I don't know about their leather selection, but a great clothing store locals go to in the city center in Florence is Santini. They are located in via Alamanni on the northwest side of the station. They have great prices for clothes and apparel. I used to shop there when I lived in Florence, and occasionally pay a visit when I travel there. You can't beat their prices.

Roberto, Native Florentine -- thanks. I'm keeping this advice for MY records as well!

Ooh, thanks for this topic! I leave for Italy in three days and have failed miserably at trying to find a jacket here - evidently if you wait until jacket weather to buy one, you're flat out of luck because they're all gone from the racks. Stupid fashion industry. Florence is our first pit stop, so I'll definitely look at these suggestions for a nice jacket.

^The poster above me has one post, and it's to describe his "favorite" place, haha.

• Bob, I've looked into this a little bit because I'm hoping to buy a jacket this summer. One scam that seems to be prevalent in some shops according to my research is to say that they will make the jacket or alter it for you, and then ship it to you. Many of these people paid upfront and then never received a jacket once they got home. That could be the notoriously slow post, but it could also be an actual scam.
• For determining quality - one thing you can do is to separate the lining from the leather in your hands. You, of course, won't be able to see the back of the leather since the jacket is sewn up, but you can rub the back of it and see if it is suede or not. The back of the leather shouldn't be slick. Also remember that smell can be faked, just because it smells like leather doesn't mean it is. When separating the leather from the lining, rub the leather together and see how that feels too - it shouldn't feel plasticy.
• According to some various sites/reviews I've seen, don't go to Sarapell (#14), don't go to PARSA. The Leonardo leather shop is reputable, Massimo is recommended, Maria Vittorio Latini, Piero Tucci. I can't vouch for any of them personally but these are some of the notes I've taken down. Some others recommend Roberto Strand #204 in the market, Stella Pelle #168.

Two friends purchased leather coats at Massimo Leather last September and are pleased with coats and price they paid, so that shop would be worth checking out. It's on a small street just off the San Lorenzo market. Website is www.massimoleather.it.

Original post is almost a year old so I infer someone deleted a newer post reviving the topic. Anyway, I also visited Massimo's and am happy with purchases.