Love Languages (in Leather): A Valentine's Day Gift Guide
Discover the perfect Valentine's Day leather gift based on your partner's love language. From handcrafted wallets to travel accessories, find meaningful gifts that not only say “I love you” but also “I understand you”!
If you’ve been in a relationship for longer than a few weeks and have access to the internet, you probably have at least a passing awareness of the five love languages. We all have preferences for how we give and receive love: some people hear "I love you" in a handwritten note, while others feel it in a perfectly timed gesture or a weekend getaway planned just for them. As reductive as they may seem compared to the complexity of a relationship, these love languages are a helpful reminder that the most meaningful gifts speak directly to how your partner experiences love.
This Valentine's Day, I thought it would be fun to use those languages as a lens to explore our collection, translating different gifts into the language your partner appreciates the most. Chocolate and roses are sweet but a gift that shows your partner you hear and see them for who they are is an even better investment. And when you consider that natural leather also gets better with time, could there be a better representation of true love?
Words of Affirmation
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For partners who treasure words and messages, the medium matters—and nothing says 'forever' like a well-made leather good meant to last several lifetimes. But if “words of affirmation” are your partner's love language, the literal message is paramount!
For this type, consider the monogram as the perfect way to transform a functional gift into a more personal declaration of affection. Many of our best gifts from wallets to wash kits, can be personalized with your true love's initials. Upgrade a short-lived greeting card to an engraved keychain that they can carry a daily reminder of how much you care.
Shop: Wash Kits, wallets, luggage tags, keychains
Acts of Service
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If your partner feels most loved when you fill their gas tank, pack their lunch, or handle that annoying task they've been dreading, they speak the language of acts of service. They notice when you make their life easier, smoother, better.
This language pairs naturally with our collection. Our leather goods are made to be used; they are acts of service disguised as luxury goods! A slim card wallet means they'll never fumble for their ID at airport security again. A beautiful briefcase or messenger bag protects what they need for work. A tote like our Belle or Petty enhance your daily schlep or bring some extra beauty to a diaper bag or farmer’s market haul. It’s a practical kind of romance that your partner will be reminded of every time they use their gift.
Shop: Card case, work bag, bottle tote or picnic tote
Quality Time
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Quality time lovers don't just want to be around you, they want to be fully present with you. We should all be so lucky! If they're the ones suggesting weekend trips, planning date nights, and building memories intentionally, choose a gift that will facilitate or enhance more of these adventures. Travel accessories are a great choice; a passport cover or our Smith Travel Envelope all but exclaim “pack your bags!” You could even consider a matched set: either a few items coordinated by leather or color or…even matching weekend bags? Alternatively, a journal cover gives your Quality Time partner room to record the details of each trip, stop, or stay.
Quality time people understand that the best gifts create opportunities to be together. Our leather goods will only get better the more trips you take, the scuffs and wear from overhead bins, taxis, curbside valets will be mementos of time well spent.
Shop: Weekend bag, passport covers, travel envelope, journal cover
Receiving Gifts
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Finally, my love language: little physical tokens of affection! Before you write me and my cohort as "materialistic," understand what's really happening here. For these particularly lovable folks, gifts are physical symbols of being thought about or remembered. Despite what you may think--and please, boss, don’t fire me from this gift guide!--the price tag matters far less than the evidence that you were thinking of them when they weren't around.
For gift-language lovers, presentation and meaning are everything. But similar to the Acts of Service crowd, a gift to a gift-lover is an opportunity to show them they are seen. A handsome leather tote is proof that you noticed them struggling with their current one. A slim wallet in their favorite color shows you pay attention to details. A leather-bound notebook for someone who's always jotting down ideas says, "I see your creativity and want to support it."
Shop: Totes, handbags, wallets, writing portfolio
Physical Touch
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Physical touch people experience the world through texture and presence. They're the ones who reach for your hand in the movie theater; who appreciate a good hug; who notice the softness of your sweater. Our natural leather--pebbled or smooth, velvety nubuck, soft suede, or plush shearling--speaks their language fluently.
This is a group that will notice quality craftsmanship and appreciate the way our leather changes over time: a belt gradually molding with wear, the handle of a duffel burnishing with use, or a wallet warming while riding around in your pocket. Things breaking in but never wearing out. Natural leather is an honest and responsive material and a great companion for those individuals who experience the world tactilely.
Shop: Belts, wallets, accessories case, nubuck or suede items