The Original Balenciaga Bag

[NANCYNISE]

found this one on ebay - but mine is much simpler than this:
mine is staight across - very square and doesnt have the fecor/flap under the front zipper!

Do we still think mine could be a real "original" version?

 

[roey]

Nancy, I have one of those Loehmans Balenciaga bags too! It's not the one I originally posted about here, but I have exactly the one you described in a tan color. I was told it's a fake and that Loehmans purchased them off the grey market without knowing they are fakes and were asked to pull them off the shelves years back. They were all over ebay a couple of years ago. I really don't know if the fake thing is true or not; the info came from a journalist I was corresponding with for a time who sold authentic bags on ebay.

Does the dustbag have two capital B's, one backwards and one forward, and the bag has Balenciaga written on the front? The leather is not as soft (tassles almost feel like plastic). Did Balenciaga change their logo since then?

I would be really excited to know it is a real Balenciaga. When I heard it was fake I stopped using it. Can anyone else shed light on this sujbect?

​

 

[roey]

Addendum to my last post.

I also called the Balenciaga Boutique in NYC about the Loehmans bag and was told it was fake. Perhaps it is a really old style. Mine has a shoulder strap too. I gave a larger, chocolate brown one to my sister in law. If it is real, I'm gonna be bummed cause the color is gorgeous.

 

[kimair]

can you both take pics of your bags? i'd be interested in seeing what they look like...

 

[NANCYNISE]

Hi All -- here are some photos of my bag:

 

[roey]

And that's what mine looks like, only it is tan with an attached shoulder strap. The logo is different from the current Balenciaga which is what makes me wonder if it is indeed a fake. The journalist I was writing to said a lawsuit was in progress a few years back, initiated by Balenciaga against Loehmans. I was never able to find any information about it though upon doing some investigation.

 

[NANCYNISE]

Roey -- very interesting. I wonder h ow we go about finding out?? I have a few freinds who also have these very same bags, so we are all looking to find out for sure!

 

[roey]

I really don't know Nancy, but I am hoping someone in the UK who is more familiar with the Balenciaga name can shed some light. It's that double B logo I am curious about - was it once the logo for Balenciaga? My bag has smoother leather than yours, no "cracking" throughout. Honestly, the quality does not seem up to par for the Balenciaga name, but if these are bags from a very early collection then perhaps the quality has much improved over time. The lining of mine is not cloth either; it's a cheap material (the actual name of it escapes me at the moment).

Leyla replied a page back about it being the original Balenciaga bag that started it all off, but I am not sure if she was replying to your post above hers, or my original post.

 

[NANCYNISE]

Boy - I am totally unsure at this point. I'd love to know! To be honest, I always get great compliments on the one that I do have and even some of my friends who are avid collectors cant tell one way or another, but sure would be nice to just know one way or another!

 

[kimair]

there was a woman in neiman marcus a few weeks ago with that bag nancynise, and she said it was the original bag, but the sa rolled her eyes at her... she said she got it in new york...

so does anyone know if the bag i posted (the tan suede one) is a real balenciaga style? that's the one you have in black leather, right roey?

 

[LouiseyPeasey]

The BB logo is the original Balenciaga logo. I don't know when they stopped using it.

 

[roey]

there was a woman in neiman marcus a few weeks ago with that bag nancynise, and she said it was the original bag, but the sa rolled her eyes at her... she said she got it in new york...

so does anyone know if the bag i posted (the tan suede one) is a real balenciaga style? that's the one you have in black leather, right roey?

First of all, I have been buying designer bags for years and feel it is safe to say that most s/a's are cluless about the merchandise they are selling. I am so picky that I know every little nuance of the each bag I purchase in my sleep. Many times I will order sevreal of the same style bag to pick the best one of the bunch and return the others (since the same bag can look so different when it's handmade). Most s/a's (in any designer line) are only up on current events of the designer, if that, and have no idea about previous styles and trends.

Regarding the tan suede, yes, that is real Balenciaga style. I have since sold my black leather bag but it was purchased at Neiman Marcus in Tysons, VA back in 2004. Balenciaga was just phasing out of the design back then and the bags were placed on sale. Mine was $1200 marked down to $860 at the time.

 

[roey]

The BB logo is the original Balenciaga logo. I don't know when they stopped using it.

Hey Lousey, that's cool how you pasted the logo in!

So it seems like the bags are for real. They must have been from a very old collection that Loehmanns got a hold of. Do you work in the fashoin industry?

 

[kimair]

First of all, I have been buying designer bags for years and feel it is safe to say that most s/a's are cluless about the merchandise they are selling. I am so picky that I know every little nuance of the each bag I purchase in my sleep. Many times I will order sevreal of the same style bag to pick the best one of the bunch and return the others (since the same bag can look so different when it's handmade). Most s/a's (in any designer line) are only up on current events of the designer, if that, and have no idea about previous styles and trends.

Regarding the tan suede, yes, that is real Balenciaga style. I have since sold my black leather bag but it was purchased at Neiman Marcus in Tysons, VA back in 2004. Balenciaga was just phasing out of the design back then and the bags were placed on sale. Mine was $1200 marked down to $860 at the time.

you're so right roey...i thought it was so rude that the s/a did that, in plain view of the customer and other customers...it was obvious that the woman knew alot about the bags and knew what she was looking for...

thanks for the info on the suede bag...much appreciated!

 

[LouiseyPeasey]

Hey Lousey, that's cool how you pasted the logo in!

So it seems like the bags are for real. They must have been from a very old collection that Loehmanns got a hold of. Do you work in the fashoin industry?

Me?? Goodness, no. I'm just really old and used to wear Le Dix perfume.

 

[bagqueen]

I would put it on Ebay and put a reserve on it. If it meets your reserve you sell it if not then you keep it.

 

[roey]

you're so right roey...i thought it was so rude that the s/a did that, in plain view of the customer and other customers...it was obvious that the woman knew alot about the bags and knew what she was looking for...

thanks for the info on the suede bag...much appreciated!

Kimair, was she an older woman? I don't mean that with disrespect (I'm 45 after all!), but I am thinking that if the woman with the "original" Balenciaga was not very young, then she would have purchased the bag at a time when it was not on the shelves at Loehmans but perhaps in a higher end department store or boutique. And if she was browsing NM like she knew the merchandise... hmm, that's a positive thing!

 

[kimair]

Kimair, was she an older woman? I don't mean that with disrespect (I'm 45 after all!), but I am thinking that if the woman with the "original" Balenciaga was not very young, then she would have purchased the bag at a time when it was not on the shelves at Loehmans but perhaps in a higher end department store or boutique. And if she was browsing NM like she knew the merchandise... hmm, that's a positive thing!

she was about 40 i think, and she was asking questions about when they would get certain bags in, if they had any in backstock, etc. she was debating getting the hobo i believe, and she mentioned having a few other b-bags... my thinking was that she got it at barneys or someplace similar, since the balenciaga boutique in nyc hasn't been open for long...

 

[roey]

she was about 40 i think, and she was asking questions about when they would get certain bags in, if they had any in backstock, etc. she was debating getting the hobo i believe, and she mentioned having a few other b-bags... my thinking was that she got it at barneys or someplace similar, since the balenciaga boutique in nyc hasn't been open for long...

Thanks! Sounds like she knew what she was talking about. Pooh on that s/a.

 

[LouiseyPeasey]

Is this related to the original bag? It just showed up on eBay (6798784021) - I'm not sure if it's totally fake, or an old original, or what.