A headwaiter in a forest green uniform trimmed with brown leather piping ushered them into an oak-paneled room with a low, vaulted ceiling of natural, rough-cut brick.

The seats, buckets in front and a bucket-molded bench in back, were outlined in red leather piping, and all were electrically adjustable, with a rare reclining feature for those in the rear.

White jogging socks, with tasteful blue stripes that matched the blue leather piping on my white Nikes, completed the outfit.

This time, it was a thin leather buckle on sleeves or at the sides of jackets, or leather piping around skirts.

Laura Yaggy, 31, makes high-end pieces for high-end households, like a python skin side table and coffee tables covered in finishes like grass cloth with leather piping.

Although an ordinary ladies' striped sweater in merino wool sells for $490, Beene's wool gloves start at $90, either with leather piping or trimmed with synthetic curly-lamb fur.

In US and Canadian markets, commemorative versions were produced for 1994 featuring special charcoal metallic "Nova Black" paint, a wood dash, black leather piping on the seats and higher-performing engines.

Interior includes aluminum tread plates, brushed aluminum trim and glossy black painted frames around the air vents, red borders floor mats, sport seats with outer black nappa and side flash red nappa with light "Berry White" leather piping.

Juicy Couture's houndstooth spaghetti-strap dress ($220 at Saks Fifth Avenue) and matching jacket ($350 at Bloomingdale's in New York, 212-705-2000) are sweetly embellished with white leather piping and bows.

Sofield has been using a lot of industrially based materials in his work, like steel mesh used in bakery conveyor belts for floor covering, and rubber upholstery - on which he puts leather piping to add a touch of luxury to an otherwise lowly material.