A hide that isn't kept dry? Washable suede has its share of skeptics. But they're buying anyway.

"I love the idea of being able to throw it in the wash and go," said Mary Conrad, an advertising consultant who was shopping at Nordstrom in Chicago recently. "Typically -- and I own a couple of real suede jackets -- you take it to the cleaners, it's gone for weeks, it's very expensive, and then it comes back and doesn't even feel the same."

Washable suede -- and we're talking real leather, not Ultrasuede -- has been around for a few seasons at Eddie Bauer, said Engle Saez, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. But it has blown out of stores this year.

"We're doing tremendously well with the shirt jackets," said Gregg Andrews, Nordstrom's fashion director for eastern regions. "Everyone always thought suede was something fragile that we couldn't wear every day because it required a high amount of care. It's not delicate any longer."

The reason people are suspicious, Andrews said, is that you can't feel the difference between it and the original.

Exactly, said Stuart Pollack, CEO of Bernardo, a manufacturer in New York that set to work perfecting washable suede about three years ago. Other manufacturers' processes and washing instructions vary. But the magic lies in retaining the oil in the hide after washing, Pollack said.

He wouldn't detail Bernardo's methods but mentioned German chemicals in the tanning process and machine drying as critical on the tail end for suppleness. His company also specifically recommends Woolite for its washable suede pants, jackets and skirts. "We needed something that had no bleach and no enzymes," he said.