Question about lightweight leathers

hermes_lemming

hermes_lemming

my little etoupe
O.G.
May 5, 2006
12,364
3,635
#1
Hi all,

Can you please help suggest some lightweight (non-exotic) leathers? I have a bad arm and can't do heavy bags (unless they're the shoulder variety, of course).

I know that I was first concerned with the leather that would best show off my desired hue. But after conversing with you wonderful TPFers, I've come to realize that bag weight is actually most important.:yes:

So here's what I came up w/ so far. Please let me know if you have other suggestions/corrections.

Swift:
- slouchy
- deep color saturation
- matte
Chamonix:
- stiff
- deep color saturation
- matte
Chevre:
- stiff
- color saturation???
- slight sheen

Thank you all!:flowers:

P.S. Does anyone know if they still create chevre mysore bags? Too bad Porc is no longer in production...:girlsigh:
 
#2
^ yes, they make Chevre mysore. I've seen it in Vermillion, Potiron, turquoise, Vert Anis amoung others.
Chevre takes on colors beautifully and is the lightest H skin of them all. :smile:
 
#3
What about Vache Ligee (spelling??). Is that another lightweight leather. I was thinking it was the cowhide they stretch 8 ways, and that would certainly thin it out.
 
#6
hermes_lemming said:
I don't know... How is that leather w/ dark colors? I've ony seen Duna's beautiful birkin but it's natural. So gorgeous!
Click to expand...

Yes, vache liegee is very lightweight. MaggieD has a stunning VL indigo Bolide:

attachment.php


I'm interested in this question too - has anyone seen raisin in vache liegee? Wonder what it looks like in that leather...
 
#8
HL, you're getting confused:noggin: LOL!: I've got Vache Naturelle, not Liegee...Liegee is lightweight while Naturelle is more or less like Clemence. Another thing, I know that Swift is considered lightweight, but it isn't IMO; I weighed it and it's again, more or less, like my Clemence. I would say that al my 35 Birkins (Clemence, Swift and Vache Naturelle weigh about the same, 1.3 kg) The only one that is considerably lighter is my 35 Box Birkin which weighs around 1.0 kg. Also Courchevel is lighter than most leathers, since my 40 Birkin weighs about 1.4 kg, which is only slightly more than my 35's....

So I would say that in the available leathers, the lightest are:

Chevre
Box
Vache Liegee
Epsom

Not necessarily in this order, I just listed the lightest leathers that come to my mind.....
 
#9
oh this is such a timely thread....i was just thinking about this question the other day....:P

out of the 4 lightweight leathers, which one is most hardy?? i'm looking for a hardy & lightweight leather for my birkin.

i read in some posts that chevre tends to scruff easily on the corners.

box is prone to scratches (even tho they will eventually even out).

between epsom and VL, i would think VL is more hardy? i think they use this leather for luggages or something?

but i also read for epsom & VL, the leather will get flattened in the long term or something?? and if the corners are scuffed, the craftsman can't fix them like box?
 
#10
goofy said:
oh this is such a timely thread....i was just thinking about this question the other day....:P

out of the 4 lightweight leathers, which one is most hardy?? i'm looking for a hardy & lightweight leather for my birkin.

i read in some posts that chevre tends to scruff easily on the corners.

box is prone to scratches (even tho they will eventually even out).

between epsom and VL, i would think VL is more hardy? i think they use this leather for luggages or something?

but i also read for epsom & VL, the leather will get flattened in the long term or something?? and if the corners are scuffed, the craftsman can't fix them like box?
Click to expand...

I don't know which one between VL and epson is more hardy. Nice bet. I thought maybe epsom since it's a processed (pressed) leather whereas VL is naturally grainy, but then what you said about VL being used for luggages is true, so I personally don't know, really. What I'm sure about is that between the four leathers listed, VL and epsom are DEFINETLY the two most hardy.

I think all the grainy leathers tend to flatten in the long term, but especially and only in the areas where the leather is more tensed, such as handles and corners . As a matter of fact grany leathers already are a bit flattened in these areas when the bag is brand new. I noticed this on both my vachette ardennes and veau grainé birkins (but these leathers are both discontinued), and also on my taurillon clémence JPG birkin.

For what's regarding box, it is true that it can be refurbished to almost new, but I noticed this on dark colored leathers (and that was confirmed by my boutique). Which is to say that I don't really know how they would be able to refurbish scuffed corners on a light color box leather, and since most of the box leather items come in dark colors (especially lately)that's quite hard to say. I believe that the darker the leather, the better the refurbishment, and I think this is the case for box as well.:shrugs:
 
#12
Epsom can get a lot of corner wear, too. And some colors will be a little more pale on this leather.

What I like about chevre is that it provides debth of color, kind of multi-dimensional just a little bit, especially in some of the darker shades!
 
#13
Duna - it wouldn't be the first time.. in fact, i think all those lovely pics from paris & arcangel's bag have just fried my brain.

Trama Turgo - I totally agree about the flattened grains. You should see the side of my Trim1 that leans against my body. Flat as a pancake I tell ya. But the folks over at my H tell me that it's a love indicator.
 
#15
I seem to remember reading (in this forum) Epsom gets scuffed corners. I can vouch this does not seem to happen with Vache Liegee. Both my Kelly and Birkin look new, I think it's worth the extra money (and I am a Box leather fan).
 
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