How do I tell if a couch in a used furniture store is real suede or fake?!
Answers:
Some couches do have tags on the bottom, near a side with an armrest.
Did a quick search for you on Google, and most of the sites are telling me to go by the smell of it. Does the couch smell like leather?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how…
Very difficult to tell the difference. If the sofa is not too old, I would smell the fabric (on the back of the sofa) .. suede has a smell similar to leather, while fake suede doesn't.
I'd play around with the nap too ... they differences are subtle and probably non-verbal (you could try going to a fabric store to fondle fake suede fabric, then going to a leather store to fondle suede jackets). They say that fake suede is identical to real suede, but they ARE different.
Of course, it the sofa is cheap enough, who cares? And don't be afraid of suede ... my daughter has a genuine 100% suede recliner, and it is now 8 years old. It looks just fine. She uses a suede conditioner-cleaner product on it (available at most furniture stores) twice a year.
If you want to know what leather smells like, go smell leather belts in a store. Of course, people might look at you funny, but that's their problem!
The use of white cloth on the underside is a money-saving technique. Either it's a cheap sofa and they tried to save money on making it, or it's an expensive suede sofa and they wanted to make it more affordable.
