Old balenciaga

[l_b]

I found this bag in my mother's closet.. It's from 1990

 

[ranskimmie]

Interresting. I've never seen this style before. Congrats on the find.

 

[jag]

Wow! Thanks for posting!!!

 

[roey]

That's the logo that's on the Loehmann's Balenciaga bags! The motorcycle bags that were sold on ebay years ago (I have one) which were deemed fakes. There was a huge ta-doo with the Chloe boutiques insisting they were fakes and that Balenciaga had a lawsuit against Loehmann's for selling them. I always thought they were older style bags and not fakes, and the logo on this bag has me convinced I didn't buy a fake B bag, only an old one.

 

[snowwhite]

It's really cool to see part of the history of Balenciaga. Thanks for sharing!

 

[mimz]

Oooh! I have a few vintage Balenciaga's, my favorite is a speedy/doctor style 'butterfly logo' (I like to call it that, since it looks like a butterfly!) bag.... and then another that my grandma gave me that is a pretty crescent shape.

I also have one of those Loehmanns bags, and my take is - the 'bb' line is a bridge line that Balenciaga experimented with (when they still called the motorcycle style 'balenciaga le dix'), and the Loehmanns Balenciaga's are a less expensive version of the original motorcycle, I think it came out when or a year or two before the original motorcycle le dix style came out. I don't have the strap to mine, do you have the strap to yours? If you do, a photo would be a great way to add another element to form a conclusion on if it is authentic. Also, it has the smooth metal zipper and the plastic black interior zipper that was on earlier bbags. I would love if anyone had some real information or articles regarding the Loehmanns/Balenciaga controversy!

 

[l_b]

I haven't the strap.. i post a better pic of tel BB

 

[mimz]

^ oh yeah, that's fine - I was talking to roey who said she had the Loehmanns controversial bbags. hehe, sorry!

 

[roey]

Oooh! I have a few vintage Balenciaga's, my favorite is a speedy/doctor style 'butterfly logo' (I like to call it that, since it looks like a butterfly!) bag.... and then another that my grandma gave me that is a pretty crescent shape.

I also have one of those Loehmanns bags, and my take is - the 'bb' line is a bridge line that Balenciaga experimented with (when they still called the motorcycle style 'balenciaga le dix'), and the Loehmanns Balenciaga's are a less expensive version of the original motorcycle, I think it came out when or a year or two before the original motorcycle le dix style came out. I don't have the strap to mine, do you have the strap to yours? If you do, a photo would be a great way to add another element to form a conclusion on if it is authentic. Also, it has the smooth metal zipper and the plastic black interior zipper that was on earlier bbags. I would love if anyone had some real information or articles regarding the Loehmanns/Balenciaga controversy!

They started popping up on ebay around the time the Le Dix bags were becoming popular. I got mine in 2003 when the Balenciaga bag was "calling to me" from the tabloids. I had two of the "bb" bags, a large chocolate and a small camel, and gave the chocolate to my sister-in-law. The tassles on mine feel kind of plasticy and the whole bag has kind of a cheesy look/feel, but when I had no frame of reference (the real deal) to compare it to, I thought it was gorgeous. The bag came in different types of leather; mine is more smooth than textured/pebbled. Oh, and it has the shoulder strap.

I'll try to get some pics up soon. I remember sellers on ebay profting big-time on these bags!!

 

[mimz]

^ yours sounds exactly like mine, I'm keeping it because I like controversial things! LOL. It's definitely a controversial bag, and I'd love to know the "real story" behind the mayhem!

Can't wait to see photo's!

 

[ThriftyOldBag]

Hi, wondering if anyone knows anything about this old bag? Bought in a charity shop about six years ago. ... Thanks!

 

[doni]

These Balenciaga bags are from the time when Balenciaga, along with many other French brands (Pierre Cardin or Paco Rabanne come to mind) had gone on the licensing route. Basically, they licencesed the use of the brand and the logo to other companies and kept very little control on the product. In Spain, Puig for example held many of these licenses. The goods (bags, wallets, scarves and other accessories) were very common in the day, of reasonably good but not premium quality, certainly not focused on original design and typically sold in department stores and airports. When they started the operation to relaunch the brand they had to first buy back the licenses, and they would not manage to buy all them back at once. This was the situation when Ghesquiere was hired and the first Moto bags launched. The Lohemanns situation was interesting from a legal point of view because they were entitled to use the Balenciaga brand, but Balenciaga argued they could not use Ghesquiere’s design.

I find it interesting that Gvasilia, in typical tongue-in-cheek manner, is now bringing back the licensed logo of the two Bs, which Ghesquiere never used.

 

[ThriftyOldBag]

Many thanks for that - so 1980s/90s? Again, thanks for all the info ...

 

[LostInBal]

These Balenciaga bags are from the time when Balenciaga, along with many other French brands (Pierre Cardin or Paco Rabanne come to mind) had gone on the licensing route. Basically, they licencesed the use of the brand and the logo to other companies and kept very little control on the product. In Spain, Puig for example held many of these licenses. The goods (bags, wallets, scarves and other accessories) were very common in the day, of reasonably good but not premium quality, certainly not focused on original design and typically sold in department stores and airports. When they started the operation to relaunch the brand they had to first buy back the licenses, and they would not manage to buy all them back at once. This was the situation when Ghesquiere was hired and the first Moto bags launched. The Lohemanns situation was interesting from a legal point of view because they were entitled to use the Balenciaga brand, but Balenciaga argued they could not use Ghesquiere’s design.

I find it interesting that Gvasilia, in typical tongue-in-cheek manner, is now bringing back the licensed logo of the two Bs, which Ghesquiere never used.

Puig? The one who produced perfumes?

 

[jeanstohandbags]

These Balenciaga bags are from the time when Balenciaga, along with many other French brands (Pierre Cardin or Paco Rabanne come to mind) had gone on the licensing route. Basically, they licencesed the use of the brand and the logo to other companies and kept very little control on the product. In Spain, Puig for example held many of these licenses. The goods (bags, wallets, scarves and other accessories) were very common in the day, of reasonably good but not premium quality, certainly not focused on original design and typically sold in department stores and airports. When they started the operation to relaunch the brand they had to first buy back the licenses, and they would not manage to buy all them back at once. This was the situation when Ghesquiere was hired and the first Moto bags launched. The Lohemanns situation was interesting from a legal point of view because they were entitled to use the Balenciaga brand, but Balenciaga argued they could not use Ghesquiere’s design.

I find it interesting that Gvasilia, in typical tongue-in-cheek manner, is now bringing back the licensed logo of the two Bs, which Ghesquiere never used.

Doni you always have great historical information on Balenciaga, this post is especially interesting to me at the moment since I am recently taking a closer look at the older pre-moto Bals, thank you