Botkier [in] Grey Question!

Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn

Member
Aug 8, 2008
56
0
#1
I've heard that certain materials (such as coats, jeans etc.) will actually rub off on/rub the color off of the grey Botkier bags but seeing as how I've never had one I'm not sure if this was one incident or if it's a common thing. I'm absolutely in looooooooooovvveeee with grey leather and there are SO many grey Botkier bags I would LOVE, but I'm hesitant about purchasing them because of this one thing I read. Can anyone with experience shed some light on the matter?

Thanks so much!
 
#2
I only just received my Ash Uma and haven't worn her yet, but I have had this happen with cream coloured bags before and was terrified. However, there are leather wipes you can get at the supermarket (in the UK anyway) and they took it right off whenever it happened. It was dark denim stains, and they came off no problem. With suede it won't come off easily or at all, but leather has been successful so far.
 
#3
^^^Hi Hessefan, this may be a bit off topic, but what's the brand of leather wipes you mentioned?
I may be heading off to London in a couple of months and plan to grab some leather care products that are meant for/tried & tested on handbags.

Over at the Bal and Rebecca Minkoff forums, AppleGuard and Luvin My Bag products are highly recommended. Do you know if I can buy these or other brands in London? They're not sold where I live. Thanks in advance!
 
#4
My jeans don't rub off on my light purse when using it. My suggestion is if you're going to wear something new to throw it in the wash a couple of times. Hopefully this might help.
 
#5
Gwendolyn said:
I've heard that certain materials (such as coats, jeans etc.) will actually rub off on/rub the color off of the grey Botkier bags but seeing as how I've never had one I'm not sure if this was one incident or if it's a common thing. I'm absolutely in looooooooooovvveeee with grey leather and there are SO many grey Botkier bags I would LOVE, but I'm hesitant about purchasing them because of this one thing I read. Can anyone with experience shed some light on the matter?

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

This is true of most light-coloured leathers, actually, particularly for ones that are more matte/naked (i.e. without any coating like a glaze that helps protect the leather), and particularly where you're wearing the bag with a dark article of clothing that is new or hasn't been washed too many times.

If you do a general search, I'm pretty sure you can find threads on how to help protect a light-coloured leather, e.g. spraying it with a leather protectant spray, as well as tips on how to avoid colour rub-off in general. (Washing a dark item of clothing a few times, like Miss YVR said, is one of the more common tips.) HTH!
 
#6
Unfortunately I have not been able to find either AppleGuard or Luvin My Bags where I live, not online or in actual stores.
The wipes I buy are from Sainsbury's or Asda (big superstore chains) and they all have different brands. I have tried three so far and all of them have worked on my leather jackets and bags, but I don't know about lambs leather or really delicate bags.
They are in the same aisle as the cleaning cupplies/silver polish adn I believe are actually meant for leather furniture and bags. I wouldn't want to guess if they're suitable for delicate leather though, but I haven't had a problem yet.


lilevilmonster said:
^^^Hi Hessefan, this may be a bit off topic, but what's the brand of leather wipes you mentioned?
I may be heading off to London in a couple of months and plan to grab some leather care products that are meant for/tried & tested on handbags.

Over at the Bal and Rebecca Minkoff forums, AppleGuard and Luvin My Bag products are highly recommended. Do you know if I can buy these or other brands in London? They're not sold where I live. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
 
#7
Hessefan said:
Unfortunately I have not been able to find either AppleGuard or Luvin My Bags where I live, not online or in actual stores.
The wipes I buy are from Sainsbury's or Asda (big superstore chains) and they all have different brands. I have tried three so far and all of them have worked on my leather jackets and bags, but I don't know about lambs leather or really delicate bags.
They are in the same aisle as the cleaning cupplies/silver polish adn I believe are actually meant for leather furniture and bags. I wouldn't want to guess if they're suitable for delicate leather though, but I haven't had a problem yet.
Click to expand...

Thi is good to know as my Botkier Uma in Ash is being deliveried this week (currently in customs!) so if I do have a problem with colour transfer I can
pretty much sort it out cheaply from Asda
 
#9
Hi - I think it's pretty leather and clothing dependent. My sasha in grey (pewter) snakeskin is indestructable. My sasha in silver leather hasn't had any problems, but the ones I see on ebay often have denim transfer or other marks, which is likely both the leather and the clothing.

Jeans seem to be a particular problem - if the manufacturers don't go a great job of fasting the dye, they tend to bleed more - I find this happens more with niche brands / designer denim than the more longstanding brands.

I also think the color transfer happens more with mid-tier designer purses, and I'll second the thought that it happens more with less treated leathers. Hope this helps!
 
#10
Many of the dyes (especially Indigo) in denim will NEVER set completely. This is evident in the fact that they fade as you wash them. I have heard that adding a cup or so of vinegar in the wash will help to set it but "help" is the key word here.

Color transfer can occur on a cheap handbag as easily as it can on a Chanel handbag. The notion that this is a Botkier problem is ridiculous. Any light color bag is susceptible.

In addition to treating certain fabrics with vinegar, I can tell you first hand, that if you treat it with a water repellent spray when it is new, give it two or three coats, your chances of cleaning it if you catch it quickly goes way up. I treat all of my white bags in our store the day they come in.

I recommend and use Cadillac "Shield". It does not alter the color or clog the leather pores in any way because it is a non-silicone product. The leather stays soft too.
after you bag has been sprayed with 2 or three coats, I have found that many times the color comes off using Cadillac "Leather Balm" (which cleans and moisturizes the leather). Use a soft, natural, clean cloth. While this treatment comes with no guarantees, I personally have found it to be the best.

Spray your light colored bag again every month or so and , again, after each time you clean the bag. This will go a long way to keep your bag looking new the longest.

Hope this helps!
 
#12
simurgh said:
Hi - I think it's pretty leather and clothing dependent. My sasha in grey (pewter) snakeskin is indestructable. My sasha in silver leather hasn't had any problems, but the ones I see on ebay often have denim transfer or other marks, which is likely both the leather and the clothing.

Jeans seem to be a particular problem - if the manufacturers don't go a great job of fasting the dye, they tend to bleed more - I find this happens more with niche brands / designer denim than the more longstanding brands.

I also think the color transfer happens more with mid-tier designer purses, and I'll second the thought that it happens more with less treated leathers. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Based on what I've read around tPF, I think this definitely isn't the case. Any light-coloured, matte/naked leather is just as prone to getting colour transfer as the next light-coloured, matte/naked leather, regardless of the brand/price range. It's just about the nature of the leather itself, not about the quality (perceived or otherwise) or the price.
 
#13
Thanks everyone for replying! You've all been greatly informative. :biggrin:

I was curious if this was a common problem with Botkier bags (according to what this woman said she researched and not having much experience with light colored leather anyway) but it seems like it's something that typically happens with light colored leather in general. That makes me somewhat glad since --- like I said --- I'm in LOVE with some of Botkier's grey leather bags and I was saddened to hear that there were possible color / leather problems. Now that I know you can simply treat the bag in the beginning and it's not designer specific I'm most definitely going to go back into looking at these grey leathers. :yahoo:

Thanks again to everyone who replied!
 
#14
I have a smoke gray Ziggy hobo and the color tends to rub off easily in the high rub areas. The leather is very buttery soft and a bit more delicate compared to the other Ziggy hobo colors (black, green, etc). My jeans have rubbed off onto the back of the bag, but is hardly noticeable. I also wore a red wool jacket out in the rain a few weeks ago and the red color transferred onto the bag :sad: The color came out using baby wipes.

Please note that I never treated my bag with protectant since I never anticipated this problem, but I will be sure to with future bags. Good luck with your grey Botkier and let us know what you end up getting!
 
#15
This not Bokier that has a problem, it is your jeans that you're wearing. I was told to wash your jeans in cold water a couple of times before wearing them if you're worried about color transfer. Blue dyes tend to be very unstable- thus color transfers and fading occurs a lot. If you do spray and protect your bag- denim transfer usually comes out easily with soap and water (or lexol).
 
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