Which leather would you pick ?

May 13, 2009
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Hi Everyone,
I'm looking at a couple of Kelly 35 as a travel/workhorse bag and weighing the pros and cons of Vache Liegee and Clemence. Clemence, as we all know, is heavier and quite slouchy but I've no idea how Vache Liegee is like in terms of wear and tear. Is it a heavy leather like Ardennes ?

Would appreciate your comments. TIA.
 
If you are looking for a workhorse bag, you are better off getting a vache liegee Kelly. The leather is really durable, holds its shape well, and is quite scratch resistant. It will probably have the same weight as Ardennes, but a 35 Clemence will feel heavy, too.
 
If you are looking for a workhorse bag, you are better off getting a vache liegee Kelly. The leather is really durable, holds its shape well, and is quite scratch resistant. It will probably have the same weight as Ardennes, but a 35 Clemence will feel heavy, too.

Thanks Sappho. Weight is one of my concerns too due to its size and I've to be careful not to stuff it too much to add pressure on the handle. Tough decision but I'm leaning more on the Vache Liegee.
 
Hi Everyone,
I'm looking at a couple of Kelly 35 as a travel/workhorse bag and weighing the pros and cons of Vache Liegee and Clemence. Clemence, as we all know, is heavier and quite slouchy but I've no idea how Vache Liegee is like in terms of wear and tear. Is it a heavy leather like Ardennes ?

Would appreciate your comments. TIA.
For travel, I would say clemence for a kelly. It is soft and can hold a lot of stuff. It will only work though, if you like the unstructured/slouchy look.

I had a Vache Liegee kelly 32 that I rehomed because it was SOOOO hard to get in and out of. In fairness, my bag was sillier but it was VERY stiff. I would never want to travel with it.
 
For travel, I would say clemence for a kelly. It is soft and can hold a lot of stuff. It will only work though, if you like the unstructured/slouchy look.

I had a Vache Liegee kelly 32 that I rehomed because it was SOOOO hard to get in and out of. In fairness, my bag was sillier but it was VERY stiff. I would never want to travel with it.
Good to know about the stiffness. I had a vintage Ostrich K before and it was quite stiff to open the flap. I rehomed it as well and wouldn't want to deal with another one like this. Actually the slouchy look would make the bag a little smaller. Thanks for chiming in.
 
I'm a big Clemence fan and would choose that for travel - it's indestructible, and the squishiness I think would make it more comfortable to carry.
absolutely agree, I love clemence, my Birkin is clemence and I love how it can look casual with jeans and sweatshirts but classy with a suit. It's very versatile. Stiff leather is very classy but if you like casual wear, clemence is the best of both worlds.
 
Good to see you at the H forum :hugs:

Think about what you most need from the bag generally

More specifically:

Kellys look good slouchy or stiff but quite different, just think of your own style. Look at your wardrobe and look at the bags you wear most often and/or love.

I don't carry some bags very often because of the weight issue. It's a deal breaker altogether for some.

I like stiff, structured bags, but if you sold one because it was such a pain maybe don't go there again
 
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I highly recommend Vache Liege for a workhorse bag! I have a 7 yo VL B30, and it's my workhorse bag but still looks almost new. For this reason alone, I love it! I don't have anything in Ardennes, but compared to my Barenia B30 it is roughly the same weight and both are heavier than my chèvre B30. It is a relatively rigid leather and holds it's shape beautifully, but for this reason I prefer it for a Birkin. As others have already pointed out, I think these qualities might make the Kelly more difficult to access.
 
Hi Everyone,
I'm looking at a couple of Kelly 35 as a travel/workhorse bag and weighing the pros and cons of Vache Liegee and Clemence. Clemence, as we all know, is heavier and quite slouchy but I've no idea how Vache Liegee is like in terms of wear and tear. Is it a heavy leather like Ardennes ?

Would appreciate your comments. TIA.

Vache Liegee. After the same number of years the VL will look much better than the Clemence. I assume you are looking at Retourne Kelly's.
 
For travel, I would say clemence for a kelly. It is soft and can hold a lot of stuff. It will only work though, if you like the unstructured/slouchy look.

I had a Vache Liegee kelly 32 that I rehomed because it was SOOOO hard to get in and out of. In fairness, my bag was sillier but it was VERY stiff. I would never want to travel with it.

That's so funny, I had the same EXACT experience!!! [emoji33][emoji33]

But I didn't find Vache Liegèe so great at all. It scratches MUCH more easily than clemence. I had waited a long time for VL and was rather disappointed in it. It is indeed lighter, but the only downside for clemence is the slouch, which is a matter of taste. I don't mind a bit of puddling for a large workhorse bag, for me that's part of the charm. Being more stiff and formal is better for smaller bags.
 
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I had a k32 sellier in ardennes and own a constance 25 in VL and k35 in clemence.

Ardennes is rock-hard.. wouldn't recommend for a 35 in any bag at all and yes solid therefore heavy. I don't like it coz it is really solid like a stone..too rigid for me.

Vache liegee is same as epsom as far as i can tell. Wears and scratches like epsom. Do you like epsom?

And yes clemence you are familiar with. I would take this over the other two. It is pliable and just feels and looks like how leather is supposed to look..

However if you are going pre-owned have you considered boxcalf? Lightest and vintage would have developed resistance to water.. I have tried many H bags in many leathers over the years and ultimately to me boxcalf ages the best out of them all with use - hands down scratches and all.
 
I agree with Bababebi. I have Kelly 32 Vache Liegeè returne. It was built to last, not stiff but leather is substantial, not cheap looking. It has been looking great for years. I own Clemence bags too and love Clemence leather but this leather looks rather sad after a few years of uses.
 
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Vache Liegee! I have a Paris Bombay in Vache Liegee. I spilled a cup of lemonade all over the top and inside of it. Grabbed a whole bunch of napkins to get most of the liquid then I wiped everything down with baby wipes. It still looks brand new! I :heart: Vache Liegee.
 
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