How old is your BALbag ????
- Thread starter Gellibeans
- Start date
hi shelzbags, may I know how do you "baby" your bag??
I don't baby my bags but I don't think I abuse them either - I just use them like I'd use any other bags. I'd like to know so maybe I could do some of the "babying"
The oldest bag I have is from 08 but the one I use a lot is from 09, a Day which goes with me on my trips. I tend to load it up but I always never place them on the ground. Even in planes, I place them on other bags or in a recycle bag. It is a black which is greyish green now thanks to the strong heat in cities I visit but the bag is still holding up very well.
Do you think the newer ones will holdup as well? With this new price increase, I want some thing that will last. I also thought the leather was meant to have a slight sheen? I was in Selfridges yesterday and didn't see it on any of the black bags.
appleproject said:
There are so many variations in leather from year to year, and colour to colour. Personally, I avoid the very dry, matte leather and they tend to be too thin and papery for me as well.
My Bal collection only goes back to 2010, and I've heard often that the older leather was better...but I wouldn't know. I just buy what I can see, feel, touch etc
HTH
hi shelzbags, may I know how do you "baby" your bag??
I don't baby my bags but I don't think I abuse them either - I just use them like I'd use any other bags. I'd like to know so maybe I could do some of the "babying"
Well, I am just careful where I put them, I try not to let them sit in the sun, I keep them moisturized (very dry where I live). I rotate them fairly frequently. I don't get too wiggy about it, but I just try to watch it. They can take a little rain (some folks have had theirs rained on a lot and the bag did just fine), so you don't have to be super neurotic. I think the main issue is that the corners wear, so I keep the corners moisturized and I have very good luck.
It seems logical that any bag you spend that much for you would be careful with. I know that LV coated canvas is pretty hardy, but why would I spend that much for CANVAS when I could have Balenciaga LEATHER?
There are so many variations in leather from year to year, and colour to colour. Personally, I avoid the very dry, matte leather and they tend to be too thin and papery for me as well.
My Bal collection only goes back to 2010, and I've heard often that the older leather was better...but I wouldn't know. I just buy what I can see, feel, touch etc
HTH
This would be a first for me (no pun intended
) so I don't have much experience with Balenciaga leather, I've just seen pictures that suggest there definitely should be more of a shine.
I have one from '05, I condition it with blackrocks leather cream once a year and it fixes up the worn out corners nicely 
I have one from '05, I condition it with blackrocks leather cream once a year and it fixes up the worn out corners nicely
I've used Blackrocks before, too, and it's pretty heavy, so I'd think once a year or so with it would work. The cream Balenciaga sells is also heavy, and I use it on the corners as well, but I tend to do it more frequently. I just monitor the leather on the corners and on the buckles randomly and apply moisturizer if they look scuffed or dry.
my oldest bag is an 04 black city with pewter. it's still shiny and the leather is softer and silkier than any bag i've had before.
when it comes to BAL, the older the better in my opinion - and closet!
when it comes to BAL, the older the better in my opinion - and closet!
I have a anthracite city from 2010. It is my everyday bag, and is still as good as new, only softer. It has been trough rain and snow and still looks good.
I think with balenciaga you have to accept that the bag is not going to look new forever. If you can appritiate a bag that changes with you then go for it! The bag will hold up, but not look as the day you got it.
I think with balenciaga you have to accept that the bag is not going to look new forever. If you can appritiate a bag that changes with you then go for it! The bag will hold up, but not look as the day you got it.
My oldest is a pre-loved 05 (so you can imagine how heavily that has been carried). I don't baby it as such, but neither do I beat it up deliberately. I do rotate the 05 with three other bags regularly - not because I want to keep it new, but because I can't stay faithful to one colour! The 05 is fine... it's leather, and all kinds of leather eventually wear away (unless you buy vachetta or thick cowhide/buffalo hide), depending on ow much you carry it.
With regard to the newer bags, I've got some from 08 that have been carried often (they are a finer leather than the 08/09 Agneau, and are almost like thin, glossy Chevre) but loved and they are holding up just fine.
Of all the newer bags, I'd say the Hamilton leather (2012? 2011?) is your best bet for a bag that will easily live beyond three generations of carriers. My Bordeaux Hamilton has travelled extensively with me; and, apart from having become really supple, there is nothing to indicate it looks anything other than shop-new (no scratches, marks, tears... nothing).
Hope that helps!
With regard to the newer bags, I've got some from 08 that have been carried often (they are a finer leather than the 08/09 Agneau, and are almost like thin, glossy Chevre) but loved and they are holding up just fine.
Of all the newer bags, I'd say the Hamilton leather (2012? 2011?) is your best bet for a bag that will easily live beyond three generations of carriers. My Bordeaux Hamilton has travelled extensively with me; and, apart from having become really supple, there is nothing to indicate it looks anything other than shop-new (no scratches, marks, tears... nothing).
Hope that helps!