What On Earth is Vero Cuoio?

Ever looked at the sole – or insole – of a pair of shoes, or perhaps the stamping on a belt and seen this little mark?

The stamp ‘Vero Cuoio’ sitting there, alone and unexplained.

You probably thought “what on earth does that mean?” and shortly thereafter, found yourself here.

Well, what is it?

Stop wasting time, you’re thinking. So, without any further ado:

Vero Cuoio is simply Italian for the term ‘real leather’. Much like we have here in Australia, ‘genuine leather‘.

While the term genuine leather has been bastardised here and is now a marketing term which is slapped onto goods made from bookbinder leather – reconstituted or bonded, the lowest quality of non-synthetic leather – the Italian symbol retains the meaning that Genuine Leather once commanded here.

It’s a symbol used to denote quality leather, tanned and made in Italy itself.

What does that mean for me as a shopper?

Consider it somewhat of a green light.

Now, you don’t need to go exclusively looking for stuff with this mark to ensure you have a good shoe/belt/leather product in general. There’s no guarantee that something stamped with VC isn’t going to be – in the context of shoes – a cemented sole. Being a simple brand, it could also easily be faked so you need to know the hallmarks of a quality shoe and/or leather first.

There are also plenty of great leather makers around the world, such as in the USA and other parts of Europe. It’s not just limited to Italy, despite the prestige associated with the nation in this field.

That’s all for today!

One less confusing term to worry about.

What’s your go-to leather goods brand?