Just received leather samples from Carrie.
top left: Dark Maple Bainbridge
Top right: Dark Hickory Vancouver
Bottom left: redwood Bainbridge
Bottom right: Chestnut Vancouver.
Generally speaking to my Hand, the Bainbridge leathers feel smoother, slicker. Like they have a “harder” top coat. The Vancouver’s feel softer, not nearly as “slick”…you can feel the grain, whereas the Bainbridge feels slick.
The Bainbridge also is glossy, while the Vancouver is more matte in comparison…it still has a shine, just not as much as the Bainbridge.
the colors of the two Bainbridge samples also seem to have more depth and variation. They also have more of a pull up effect than the Vancouver’s. The Dark Maple Bainbridge has a pronounced pull up effect more so than the others. You can see in one of the pics (sorry it got rotated when I posted it) where I rubbed my finger on the backside of the sample to see this effect. After laying the samples all back down, the drastic pull up effect stays with the Dark Maple Bainbridge sample, while the others seem to return to their more normal color only really showing the pull up effect while creased or with pressure being directly applied.
To my eye, the dark Hickory Vancouver is almost black. but has dark brown underlying tones it is like a really dark seal color with a medium pull up effect.
The redwood Bainbridge sort of resembles a lighter weight cordovan CXL with more grain and color variation, also a medium pull up effect though more so than either of the Vancouver’s.
the Dark Maple Bainbridge and the Chestnut Vancouver are nearly identical in color having very rich brown tones. the main differences being that Bainbridge seems to have more depth of color, is smoother/glossier/and has much more dramatic pull up effect, and when creased…the creases seem to stand out more and set in quickly. The Chestnut Vancouver is grainier from the start, less glossy, less color variation, a medium pull up effect, and when creased, the creases don’t stand out as much. It’s almost like comparing a brown CXL to a brown Vicenza. The Dark Maple Bainbridge being closer to CXL just lighter.
Thickness? I have seen Where it’s been said that the Vancouver’s are heavier than the Bainbridges’s. That may be so but I can’t tell with these samples. They all seem to be about the same, except the Dark Maple Bainbridge in these samples appears to be the thickest, and I can’t tell a difference comparing the others.
I really like the dramatic pull up effect, depth of color, and variation of the Dark Maple Bainbridge compared the Chestnut…it’s one of those leathers you just keep staring at because it continues to evolve and reveal new things about itself.
All of these are really gorgeous, a jacket in any of them would be brilliant.
I encourage anyone with any of these to post photos of your jackets to this thread so we can see more of what they look like.
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