The Faux Leather Fiasco: A Lesson in Fashion and Laundry

Alycia has a love for leather jackets—their cool and classy look has always captivated her. However, genuine leather jackets come with a hefty price tag, so she opted for a more affordable alternative: faux leather jackets bought online. While they look stylish, faux leather items require special care, such as hand washing with mild soap or dry cleaning.

This is where the challenge begins in our household. My girls, particularly Sherilyn, are not keen on hand washing their clothes. Sherilyn’s schedule is perpetually packed with assignments and dance practice, leaving her little time for laundry.

The other day, Sherilyn borrowed Alycia’s faux leather jacket for an event. True to form, she didn’t hand wash it afterward. Normally, I would have asked Maria, our part-time helper, to take care of delicate items like this. But Maria hasn’t been coming recently due to her difficult pregnancy.

Left to figure it out myself, I decided to put the jacket in the washer on the hand wash cycle. Big mistake. When the cycle finished, the jacket came out a complete mess. The cheap faux leather had torn, and the material disintegrated into tiny black debris that scattered everywhere—on the floors, the balcony, and even in the washer. Fortunately, I put the jacket into a fine mesh laundry bag and most of the debris was left inside the laundry bag. It took me nearly an hour of vacuuming, dry wiping, and wet wiping to clean it all up.

As expected, Alycia was furious. She blamed Sherilyn for not taking proper care of the jacket and insisted that Sherilyn pays for it. Sherilyn agreed and reimbursed her. Thankfully, the jacket wasn’t an expensive one, but it served as a hard-earned lesson for all of us.

Never buy faux leather clothing unless you’re willing to invest in dry cleaning after every wear. It’s impractical, expensive, and not worth the hassle. I’ve learned my lesson too. Years ago, I bought an expensive faux leather skirt from H&M, only to have the fabric start peeling after a few wears. Since then, I’ve sworn off faux leather clothing despite loving their look.

Sometimes, the appeal of an item isn’t worth the headache of maintaining it. This little episode has reminded me to prioritize practicality and quality over fleeting style. And for Alycia and Sherilyn? Perhaps they’ve learned a thing or two about responsibility and the true cost of fashion.

Moments before binning the faux leather jacket.

The mess the faux leather jacket caused on the floor.