Leather Repair and Alteration

Owning a wearing a vast assortment of leather gear, which I use for motorcycling, comfy gear to wear after work and on weekends, as well as for fetish interests, I am sometimes asked about suggestions on having leather altered or repaired.

Recently I had a zipper installed in my blue leather cop-style shirt and my CHP leather breeches. The shirt fits great, but the snaps over the years became loose and would unsnap all by themselves when I moved while riding my Harley. The CHP breeches, which were a gift, came with the cheapest snaps at the fly, and they always would unsnap (often when I swung my leg over the saddle of my bike.) Not a good thing...

I brought these items to a luggage repair shop. Think about it -- most luggage repairs are of zippers on leather. Who better to be able to install a zipper on leather than someone with experience?

Now these items fit great and remain closed where they're supposed to, and give me flexibility to move without worrying about an indecent exposure arrest (LOL!) The cost was $40 for each item, and I consider it a good investment as I will get much more use out of these pieces of leather gear for years to come.

I have not had many situations where leather has had to be repaired. I take good care of my gear. However, once I got a tear on the side of a pair of leather jeans when the leg got caught on a sharp-edged bolt on my bike. Once again, the luggage repair shop was able to fix it and the results were great.

Some guys require leather to be altered. Hemming to a shorter length is simple. Re-sizing to a larger waist is possible, and sometimes necessary as one ages and gets that "over-30" spread. It is a wise investment to have leather resized if indeed you will get many more years of enjoyment from the initial investment you made in it.

I have tried to have leather alterations done by a tailor, without much success. Tailors are accustomed to doing work on suits and cloth items, not on leather. A luggage repair shop has the equipment and experience to alter leather correctly. Consider it next time you may need work done on leather gear.

Life is short: enjoy it in leather!