Pre-Spring v Spring 07 Leather reports/opinions?

[hmwe46]

Hey Gals,

For those of you that have either a pre-spring or a spring 07 bag and an early year, could you tell us how the 07 leather is stacking up?

I keep reading in various posts that the 07 leather is getting back to pre-06 quality (less dry and cracked).

But if you can log your collective comparative assessments of how the 07 leather is shaping up, that would be great

 

[KristyDarling]

I have a Naturel GH brief with stunning leather. It still has a bit of that new-bag shine to it, but that may be because I've only worn it for around 3 weeks total. It is SMOOOOOVE. I mean, really really smooth. And thick!

On the other hand, my anthratwiggy is very distressed throughout. Still beautiful, but not smooth and unveiny like my Naturel. I've worn this one for about 2 weeks total.

The leather on both bags is not at all dry or thin. It's interesting how they're both from the same year, yet have totally different textures (veiny vs. non-veiny).

 

[verty]

My Vert D'eau felt very 'thin' initally, but after 3 wears she felt thick & smooshy! The back appears to have a diff. "style" than the front, though (front is more crinkly, whereas the back is veiny but 'smooth'). I'd give her a 9/10

Sandstone is ammmmazing.. very thick, very silky, perfect amount of wrinkles/crinkles & veins, very very smooshy & consistent all over I give her 15/10

I returned a Truffe Twiggy and the leather was thin, extremely dry and felt exactly like plastic. It looked like it should have cost $20 at WalMart. I'd give it a 0.2/10

So with that said, I guess the leather vary ALOT. Hopefully Balenciaga will get to the point where it's more consistent

 

[Blue_Hour_Girl]

This is an interesting thread, I can't contribute though as my only bag (and the AG one on the way) are 05 bags.

I do have a question about the veins -- what produces them? Sorry to be dense in case it is very obvious! I was wondering if it is the actual goat (!) or the dye, the treatment? So, when comparing leather qualities from year to year, what causes the variations? Thanks so much!

 

[fayden]

my anthracite has pretty amazing leather. very soft, thick and smooshy. my aqua has a bit more dry leather but still pretty thick leather.

 

[rollergirl]

Much better than 2006, but hugely variable. I haven't seen a lot of really veiny bags (I define vein as a non-raised, whitish line or striation) other than some periwinkle ones. My vert d'eau bags are soft and nicely distressed and not too shiny. I have a FB work that, minus a little shine, could be a 2005 bag. The only bag I returned was a Sandstone work that looked like plastic and was too overly crinkled and shiny.

 

[diana12457]

I have a vert gazon and aqua city...the leather is very uniform and thicker than the 06 but still not as nice IMO as the 05 and 04..the 04 being the best in my book and I could sleep with my mystery green bag...all my 06 bags range from thin to the wonderful thick smooshy leather on my vif purse...I couldn't believe the difference when I got her...in any event the 07's seem to be an improvement of the 06 and as much as I love beautiful leathers it's mainly the color I go after...

 

[Bags4Bubbles]

LOL... all of the 07 leather I've gotten so far has differed from bag to bag, and even the wallets are different!! I've actually started to favor the 07 leather over leather years 05 & 06, but haven't been able to compare to anything older then that. Great thread!!

My Aqua First's leather feels thick & chewy - it has a really nice texture to it. Probably the closest to an 05 bag I had... only I actually like the leather on the Aqua better!!

The Aqua wallet on the other hand, has seemingly thick leather, a bit thinner then the bag... but it is very soft, and a bit more veiny.

My Marine City has medium thickness leather, that has smaller veins... but was very stiff when I first received it... Now after being used for less then a week - the leather is rapidly changing... and it is becoming slouchy & gorgeous!!

The Marine wallet seems to have very THIN, smooth leather. It's really interesting how different the leathers between the wallet & the bag are!! It felt broken in when it arrived at my house!

And my Sandstone PT has leather that is different from them all!! verty's description of silky, smooshy, & consistent is very accurate for mine as well!! The leather is AMAZING... it just smooshes all over itself!!

All this 07 talk is making me want another 07 bag!!

 

[hmwe46]

Awesome feedback ladies!!

I am wondering which bag to pre-order for F/W, if any. But I got spoiled with my 05 bags and am wondering if I should just focus on a pre-loved bag or risk a new one.

 

[Bags4Bubbles]

Awesome feedback ladies!!

I am wondering which bag to pre-order for F/W, if any. But I got spoiled with my 05 bags and am wondering if I should just focus on a pre-loved bag or risk a new one.

I think you should give the 07 leather a chance - especially if there is a particular color you're interested in! Out of all of the ones I have - I think if you could see the leather on my Aqua bag, you would definately consider an 07 bag!!

 

[monsoon88]

I have 4 Bal items from 07, namely:

Rouge Vermillon Money - gorgeous leather, not too thick nor thin, not too veiny, overall stunning (mind you, I've not used this baby, yet! am so used to my vintage D&B that am finding it hard to let to);
Cafe Besace Messenger - a bit thin and veiny at first, but deadly smooshy and thicker now;
Aqua Coin Purse - smooshy all around with not much veininess; thicker than my Cafe; and
Sandstone Twiggy - thick, smooshy, the best of the 4

I've not owned any 04s or 05s, so I can't speak to differences between pre-06 Bbags and those from 07. I do have an 04 Black Aviator, but it's made from camel hide, so I can't really compare them with him (yep, the Aviator's a boy). My 06s are definitely thinner and veinier than my 07s, but they're still smooshy and I love them. I guess this all boils down to preference.

 

[impasto]

Here are some before and after pics on my two 07 items. Sorry for being so picture heavy.

Vert gazon day. The first picture is brand new, the following are a little over 3 months old.

The leather is very thick, but also very stiff. It is obviously stuffed in this picture.

This is Natural lighting. As you can see the leather no longer looks stiff. It has soften upped quite a bit.

The handle has held up very nicely. No darkness.

I have pretty much used this bag constantly. Most of the tassels have split which doesn't bother me, but I do have the replacements just in case the mood strikes me.

I almost considered selling my ink day, just because it is getting no use. I decided against it, because I was afraid I would regret it!

 

[impasto]

As for my french blue coin it looks about the same. Maybe a little worn on the buckle part of the leather.

Brand New

after 3 months

Backside. The dent is from being so full. My id card case.

Hope that helps ladies!

 

[MRG]

I have a Natural Shoulder, Aqua City and I'm about to get my Sandstone Work. I REALLY wish I would have gotten a larger bag in Natural because the leather on my Shoulder is AWESOME!!!!!! My Aqua is thick but hasn't loosened up yet enough for me because I have only carried it a few times so far.

 

[tooshies]

At this point, I only have Cafe Work from 07(my AnthraCity is on her way...should be here in a few days).

The leather on Cafe was very stiff and smooth. To be honest, I was a bit dissapointed since I love distressed smooshy leather.....but after using it for less than a week, the leather changed rapidly! Now it's soft, smooshy and gorgey!!