Ariadne, it's a distressed uneven finish brownish-burgundy. I really enjoy wearing it. I'm sure the cobbler will be able to do *something * with it. The consolation is that since its already a very imperfect-looking finish by design, the repair shouldn't stick out as being obvious. I am a little afraid he'll shake his head at me when I take it in, but I'm prepared to beg him to try whatever he can to make it work.
Years ago my husband got a similarly soft leather jacket, and a mystery rip showed up right on the front of the shoulder -- it was like a flap of the leather had just been torn down. He donated the jacket since repairs were not feasible. Then about 3 years ago, he had another leather jacket -- gray, with a dark, distressed finish. His son borrowed it and wore it to a party, where it got dirty, so hubs took it to the cleaner. Well, they did such a great job, they took the dark finish off the jacket and turned it light gray! Not what he wanted. So now he has an indestructible Belstaff moto jacket.
Zap, I'm sorry about your jacket -- that sounds trickier! I hope it can be repaired too.
