The Balenciaga Thread (June 2003 - February 2009)

[Guessgirl96]

btw, here's what looks like a bargain: 6831267936 black purse for $665 BIN...

Didn't the purse style come out f/w 05, but they're using silver hardware? That doesnt look right to me...

 

[cougess]

so even tho it's an 05 metallic, it doesn't need to have the shiny silver hardware? this one has dull hardware, it seems from the pics.. this has become the thing that i'm most worried about now!
does anyone else have an 05 metallic, with dull silver hardware?

oh, here are pics from the listing...

I think that's an older metallic. I think the new ones all have the shiny silver hardware.

 

[mammab]

Really? I didn't know, I thought the new leather started with the fall collection (excluding pre fall). Is the leahter from s/s 05 considered good? Both of my bags are from that season so I dont have much to compare to.

The city size is actually smaller than I expected, it's the perfect size for day or night. I definaltey want a work bag as well, in ink

Oh yes, the bags from s/s 05 have the amazing buttery-squishy quality. All the bags after that get thinner and thinner. Some people like the thinner stuff and others dont. You are lucky that your bags are from that season!

 

[durbs_girl]

Hellooholly, the bag you snatched up was the limited edition pewter from the 2004 holiday collection. The seller may have purchased it in early 2005 because the bags were released in late winter 2004. I'm pretty sure it's authentic. I kinda had to hold myself back on that one (since I've sworn off of buying anymore B bags). You should feel content.

Guessgirl and others, the purse style isn't new to this season...it's actually come out several times before. It was first produced in 2003 with silver hardware. It was produced with bronze in 2004 for certain seasons. I've seen both authentic Eggplant and Mustard Yellow Purse bags in the past. There's a strong chance the bag is real, and, if so, it's a good deal.

 

[durbs_girl]

Okay, my words were too harsh. I do mean peeling more than anything. I have all these peelings in more than a few areas on my bag. Every time I look at my bag closely, I will see more peelings.

Don't fret, Kare. Most Balenciagas show wear like that eventually. My black and maroon bags from 2004 both have tiny flaws like that in one or two areas, and I take absolutely immaculate care of my bags. It adds to the whole distressed quality that Balenciagas are designed to embody. You shouldn't let it get you down. If the flaws really bother you, you should just take the bag to a good repair shop. They will be able to make it good as new for a minimal fee.

 

[hellooholly]

thank soo much durbsgirl!! i'm beginning to rest easy =) and look forward to it... i've always wanted a metallic!!!
and compared to my turquoise, i will consider this metallic pewter a neutral color =). i totally NEED it :9

 

[LouiseyPeasey]

helloholly - wow, that's some kind of impulse purchase! You'll post photos when you get it, yes? I really like the metallics with the matching hardware - imagine how awesome this year's bronze would've been with matching hardware... And the purse - looks like most of the wear is on the inside; otherwise it seems to be in good shape. I really like that style a lot.

Those of you who have the purse style - how do you like it?

 

[StephBina]

I just picked up a black pony First. I thought it looked really unique due to the silver hardware, but now I look at it and wonder if I'll be sick of it in a few months...thoughts? I can still return/exchange it.

Also, I'm ordering a leather City bag over the phone and would appreciate some advice on what kind of leather to look for. I like a thicker/softer/more matte leather, but does this go against the general consensus that more distressed is better? PLEASE HELP!

Thank you

 

[mammab]

so even tho it's an 05 metallic, it doesn't need to have the shiny silver hardware? this one has dull hardware, it seems from the pics.. this has become the thing that i'm most worried about now!
does anyone else have an 05 metallic, with dull silver hardware?

oh, here are pics from the listing...

Holly, no way. A 2005 metallic ONLY has super duper shiny hardware. If the seller claims its from 2005 and the hardware looks like that? DO NOT PAY. I've had both the pewter office and have seen ( my girlfriends ) bronze first and none had this hetrocious hardware your seller seems to have. Sorry !!!

 

[mammab]

Hellooholly, the bag you snatched up was the limited edition pewter from the 2004 holiday collection. The seller may have purchased it in early 2005 because the bags were released in late winter 2004. I'm pretty sure it's authentic. I kinda had to hold myself back on that one (since I've sworn off of buying anymore B bags). You should feel content.

Sorry Durbs to be a pain, but I have seen the pewter '04 IRL and the photos that H.Holly posted are no friggin way that color at all.

The 2004 pewter had absolutely no pink tones in it whatsoever. Imagine a color called GUNMETAL -- that's what it was like.

Sorry Holly. I would RUN from that auction and leave some serious neg' feedback but ONLY if they leave neg' feedback for you first.

 

[leyla m.]

for those who dont know yet.
www.cricketdesignerwear.co.uk
sells lots of b bags

 

[DaraKaye]

Sorry Durbs to be a pain, but I have seen the pewter '04 IRL and the photos that H.Holly posted are no friggin way that color at all.

The 2004 pewter had absolutely no pink tones in it whatsoever. Imagine a color called GUNMETAL -- that's what it was like.

Sorry Holly. I would RUN from that auction and leave some serious neg' feedback but ONLY if they leave neg' feedback for you first.

Again, I agree with Mammab, that is a definate fake. I have the pewter, and it looks nothing like that. You can search for it on this thread. Youll see the difference! DO not pay!!

 

[DaraKaye]

mlertpac, yeah that was me =). you mentioned you didn't want to buy it, so i thought it would be okay by you.

i just made an impulse purchase!!
PLEASE tell me if this is genuine or not, I haven't paid yet and i'd rather incur negative feedback than inadvertently buy a fake!
pleeeeease...:
6831106140, i think it's metallic grey..
seller is mamaduster..
and the hardware seems to be a dull silver... is it meant to be shiny? or is it just dull-looking in the pics?

haalp!

Okay so originally I though ti was real, but it is a fake, but a ridiciulous fake, really good. I am on the fence about it even, i mean even how the tag is attached is right, with the saftey pin and all. But the color is So off, but again that could be lighting but that looks so pink. Also the hardware is supposed to be super shiny. Mine is like wayyyy shiny, not dull like that at all. I say definatley do not pay for it. I think it is an amazing fake.

Anyone else care to help out?

 

[bicky]

hellooholly. don't panic. i'm pretty sure that pewter is authentic. i just think the lighting is off which makes the bag look pinkish. I have the same bag and it's from the 2004 holiday collection. the hardware is different from this year's metallic bags. i can send you some photos if you like.

 

[mammab]

hellooholly. don't panic. i'm pretty sure that pewter is authentic. i just think the lighting is off which makes the bag look pinkish. I have the same bag and it's from the 2004 holiday collection. the hardware is different from this year's metallic bags. i can send you some photos if you like.

Bicky, if you do infact have the PEWTER from the 04 collection I would love to see your pictures because...the photos that Holly posted from the auction she won are totally FAKE. Sorry. First of all, the pewter from 04 had no pink undertones like the one in the photos, NOR did they come with the horizontal B card (the one we have all been discussing here). Also the way the tassels are tied to the bag are another indication (of couse, the seller could have re-tied them his/her own way). Pewter back then was just PEWTER.....NO PINK whatsoever.

Sorry to be such a pain, but Holly, I KNOW how particular you are about your bags and authenticity and such and TRUST ME, from the photos I have seen, it's just not authentic.

Man, I have GOT to get a new hobby. This 'proving' authentcity to help everyone is really exhasting. To each their own. I'm done.

 

[La Vanguardia]

thanks bicky..
still unsure tho.. according to LP's excellent guide;

• 2004 metallics: hardware is same color as leather
• 2005: metallic: raised shiny silver

hmmm.......!!

Mine is a 2005 metallic with raised shiny silver

 

[spiralsnowman]

Excerpt from W Magazine's interview w/ Mary Kate Olsen on Style.com...

Some people are so relaxed w/ thier Balenciagas! I can't imagine getting to this point (yet!) ...

"...Sipping a Diet Coke in a private room at New York's Soho House, Mary-Kate Olsen, the Full House star-turned-junior tycoon, is fiddling with one of her many Balenciaga motorcycle bags. With its dangling leather lariats, signature woven handles and distressed bronze buckles, the bag is as essential to her famously derelicte style as her giant sunglasses and knee-skimming thrift store?chic sweaters. The version she's carrying today was originally mint green, but it's so dingy, covered with stains, pen marks and even a chewed-up piece of gum, that it looks almost gray.
"It explains my life," Olsen says, sighing, when asked about her beloved accessory's sorry state. Pressed to elaborate, the 19-year-old is quick to say that she was "just messing," that she simply meant she has a tendency to wear things out. But Olsen might in fact be on to something. The beat-up bag is an apt metaphor for her current condition: an oft-imitated emblem of chic that over the past year and a half has been dealt its fair share of bumps and bruises..."

 

[hellooholly]

hey all, 1st just wanna say a BIG thank you to all you guys who're helping me out with authenticating this bag...
(i'm not panicking cos i haven't paid yet, so if it is fake after all i'll just work it out with her...)
mammab, rest assured that in the dramatic issues so many of us face with finding authentic resale bags, we all totally need each other! and any help we offer each other is a lifesaver.. so, sorry my dramas have stressed you out.. but know i totally appreciate your help!

2nd: i hope i didn't make things more complicated by saying it was pewter or that it was from 2005.. - there was NO info or claim about the color / season this bag was from.. so color + year are unknown... the best clues i have so far about these, is from here =)

3rd: pleease keep your opinions coming; any info about the metallics and their hardware of the last 2 years is TOTALLY appreciated..
photos will be great too! (bicky, yes please!! btw, your inbox is full =))
I will be asking for lots more /better photos of the leather+hardware color.. (I want to be totally sure before i proceed either way).

 

[copper]

originally mint green, but it's so dingy, covered with stains, pen marks and even a chewed-up piece of gum, that it looks almost gray.

yuck

i find it obnoxious that somebody chooses to trash a $1000 + bag for the sake of it, perhaps to be 'cool' and 'boho'
the whole point of a well made designer bag is to take care of it and use it for years and years.

is it just that she can afford to buy another that she treats it like crap? so many people would have to save hard, and would love a designer bag and there are celebrity kids who are treating things like they are rubbish. what a spoiled brat

 

[chicca]

yuck

i find it obnoxious that somebody chooses to trash a $1000 + bag for the sake of it, perhaps to be 'cool' and 'boho'
the whole point of a well made designer bag is to take care of it and use it for years and years.

is it just that she can afford to buy another that she treats it like crap? so many people would have to save hard, and would love a designer bag and there are celebrity kids who are treating things like they are rubbish. what a spoiled brat

I agree with you!