In a lather over fake leather

A few decades ago, when you invested in a leather lounge suite - and it was, indeed, a hefty investment - you knew you'd be getting something that would last for decades and improve with age in that men's-club-antique kind of way. That's because leather furniture was upholstered with the "grain split" or "top grain" - the top of a hide, after it had been split in two, and it's the nicest, strongest part.