Tips on Bag Cleaning and Maintenance

[mabziegurl]

nothing cleans patent leather =/
i have a marshmallow pink lv bedford bag and wallet (my first designer bag), i put it on my desk maybe and somehow the ink from the paper transferred onto the bottom of my purse and my wallet somehow has receipt transfers on it... its not big, but i know its there, no one else would... it drives me nuts... i've tried everything and louis vuitton says there's nothing you can do as its like a heat transfer... but now i've gotten over it, cuz it happens

i usually don't clean my purses or spray them, i let them dry naturally if they are in the rain...

i have a white and black spy, i throw around... i put it on the floor next to my desk at work... i don't know why, but i do... i see scratches and dirt marks, but its not absolutely dirty, just a little scratch here and there...

these things happen and the only thing u can do is take care as to not drop it in mud... its like normal wear and tear on your heels... u can try your best to take care of them, but no matter what things will get dirty, oils from your hand etc will change the handles...

if it hurts that much to see a scratch on it, maybe it should be placed in a glass case and never be used again... but where's the fun in that....

 

[jess15291]

Cleaning beige chanel leather

I have just become the owner of a vintage chanel bag and it is beige in colour. I am not sure what kind of leather it is..lambskin etc but I would like to know how to go about getting it cleaned up? Obviously it's pretty grubby, since it's been use before and I would like to get it cleaned. Would you recommend cleaning it myself? Or taking it somewhere professional?
Thanks

 

[Greendrv]

Definitely take it somewhere to have a professional do it. One of the advantages to being in Louisville is that we have a master leather craftsman in town, and I can trust him to apply cleaners that won't remove the color or do further damage to the bag (some oil based cleaners can leave a residue that professionals will have to break through in order to get to the actual stain).

 

[jun3machina]

i'd definately take it to a professional too, but i'd think you could get some of it off yourself with some leather lotion....

 

[Orochian]

I personally find Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to be really handy with cleaning light-coloured leathers, especially heavily grained ones like lambskin. You can find it in the houshold cleaner aisles in any supermarket.

 

[sputat]

Send it to Chanel. They will spruce it up for a fee.

 

[jess15291]

sputat - will chanel really clean it up?

 

[candicec]

I just called the Chanel store, I have a few bags that need to be cleaned etc. She said that they do not clean bags there, but will reglaze, repair, polish, fix hardware chips etc for a $265 fee per bag.

I hope this helps!! Im not sure if my vintage bag is worth another $265 though...

candicec

 

[*Happiness*]

Great tips from everyone. Very very very imformative.

 

[ilovepositano]

i'll add the tip i added in another thread a bit ago-if your leather bag gets scratched, you can wipe your finger on your forehead, and use your own skin oil to buff out the scratch-just rub it and it'll disappear. its what i do for scratches on my Balenciaga and it works wonders.

this is a delayed reaction, but angel- your tip is awesome. there was a miniscule scratch on my fendi spy. i did your trick, and it literally just disappeared. thanks!!

 

[candicec]

Hey everyone, Okay, so I have a vintage Chanel bag in a very light grey color. I love it! But it needs to be spruced up a little as time has made it slightly dingy.. It is lambskin Chanel. Any suggestions? I've already called my Chanel store, and they weren't very helpful...saying that they don't clean bags. Anyone know how to clean lambskin?


I did some research on the Internet, and found two sites that may help some of you guys!

http://www.hallak.com/handbag.html

and

http://www.newsole.com/handbag_cleaning.htm

I've also heard of a store in NYC specializing in cleaning designer handbags...but can't manage to remember the store name....if anyone does live in NYC and happens to know this...it would be great help!

Thanks!

candicec

 

[ilovepositano]

candicec: do you mean angelo's shoe repair? they are genius- and do all my shoes and bags. they're in midtown, near rockefeller center

 

[candicec]

Thanks ilovepositano!! I don't know if it was angelo's, but I will be sure to check it out. Are they famous? Do they know how to clean chanel bags?

thanks!

candicec

 

[Lyn2005]

I have a dark brown Fendi Spy. It rains a lot in Vancouver, I'm always afraid to get caught out in the rain with my spy. I heard that these bags are untreated goat leather? So I'm not really sure if I should apply a product like Apple guard to them. Anyone else take any steps to protect their spy? Or do you find that it's pretty hardy, say, all-weather bag?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance

 

[ilovepositano]

candicec- angelo's THE place to go--all the ladies that lunch go there. they have more blahniks and louis vuitton's there than you have ever seen in your entire life. i belief bergdorf sends all their customers there too. i have had them rework and resole all of my designer shoes and bags...it's magic what they do! because of them, my bags and shoes last years and years, and always look new.

i don't know about chanel, but the lady is very honest. she will tell you if she can or can't do it. the odd thing is i think she's cantonese, but all her workmen are italian. it's quite strange to see her yelling at them sometimes.

 

[Guessgirl96]

I have a dark brown Fendi Spy. It rains a lot in Vancouver, I'm always afraid to get caught out in the rain with my spy. I heard that these bags are untreated goat leather? So I'm not really sure if I should apply a product like Apple guard to them. Anyone else take any steps to protect their spy? Or do you find that it's pretty hardy, say, all-weather bag?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance

I sprayed my bag with apple guard and it didn't change the color or texture at all, it seems pretty safe. I dont know if it's actually helped, but I definaltey dont think it hurt.

 

[waukon73]

I have a bag that is so dirty but I can't bear to part with it. It's white, with like fake croc skin. Any tips on how to clean it up some?

 

[Madame_X]

Hi ladies! I have a dark brown suede Chanel bag that I love but rarely use because it seems so fragile. I paid almost $3,000 for it!

I was caught in the rain and it got a few rainspots on the suede... how do I get those out?

Thank you.

 

[lumy_]

Travelling with bags

How do you guys travel with your beloved handbags?
Usually I just bring one expensive-would-die-if-I-lost-it designer bag that I carry on the plane with me..as I wouldn't know what to do if I packed my bags in a suitcase and it got lost or stolen. As I've travelled a lot I have way too much experience with luggage being lost, delayed, stolen, sent to the other side of the world..and with one of my beloved bags in it I'd be a nerve wreck. Usually I've solved this with (as I didn't used to have too many designer bags too choose from) only bringing one, as carry-on, and then packing some high street bags in the luggage..

I always do this with all the things I would die if I lost, like my jewlery and somethimes even my favourites pieces of clothing---anyone else does this or am I crazy?

Now I'm staying abroad for a longer time and really want to bring more than just one precious bag and the rest cheaper ones.. How do you ladies usually solve this? Do you send yours as regular luggage or do you manage to bring more with you?

 

[morgause]

Hi therese,

yes I'm like you..I can't bear to bring more than one high end bag with me when I travel. I usually bring my Fendi Spy b/c it can double as a carryall, day and night bag. But if I have formal evening functions I will pack an evening bag in my luggage.