Exotics

#46
Another, and this time a total unknown brand even for New Yorkers. A spun off mens wear boutique Napoleon that used to be at ***** Tower and ***** Plaza, Lady Napoleon had just a few exotic bags on offer. This one is lizard (Tegu lizard, I think) with a matching belt. Lizard skin is beatiful, but kind of delicate and dries out even when well cared for so not a favourite with me. PS The belt is by Puruti. Georgio Puruti had a boutique in Beverly Hills that cared mostly for the exotics fan. Lots of made in Italy bags and belts, decent quality and affordable prices.

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#48
ExoticsOnly said:
Made by Asprey, London this train case I purchased because of the skins only. Perfecty matching skins this is English hand made at its best. Its impractical, but Asprey also make stunning bags in alligator, crocodile and lizard in their workshop on the fourth floor.

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Good choice and it is lovely! Asprey makes some amazing bags and I love that they come with their own little suede bag pillows for storage.
 
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#49
ExoticsOnly said:
Another, and this time a total unknown brand even for New Yorkers. A spun off mens wear boutique Napoleon that used to be at ***** Tower and ***** Plaza, Lady Napoleon had just a few exotic bags on offer. This one is lizard (Tegu lizard, I think) with a matching belt. Lizard skin is beatiful, but kind of delicate and dries out even when well cared for so not a favourite with me. PS The belt is by Puruti. Georgio Puruti had a boutique in Beverly Hills that cared mostly for the exotics fan. Lots of made in Italy bags and belts, decent quality and affordable prices.

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I vaguely remember Rene Mancini. . . And I think I might have a recollection of Napoleon, near the original Bloomingdales. . . A large storefront, maybe in the 1980s. . . A family owned company called Suarez also carried some exotics, but certainly not at the Lana Marks and Asprey level. Thank you for sharing your beautiful collection :smile:
 
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#50
ExoticsOnly said:
I am vary of anything «it» or «logo». Karl Lagerfeld designed the FF which for years dominated the Fendi bags. Of course the brand logo was much more subtle on the Fendi exotics, but I prefer people not to know what bag brands I carry. When Lagerfeld designed the Roll Tote in 2008 I patiently waited for an exotics version hoping it would be as plain as an exotics can be. The turqouise was a one-off I bought from their Rome studio, the cream one I asked Fendi to change the handles on for bull leather. Those straps may look tiny, but tested to 75 kilopond you can use the bag for anything heavy. It is a favourite going to the IKEA store.
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These are stunning! I have a roll tote in denim that I 1) like because of it's simplicity and lack of logo, and 2) disappointed in because the lining has fallen apart and I see that it was very poorly sewn. It's an entirely different bag in alligator. Absolutely amazing!!
 
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#51
ExoticsOnly said:
This is how a surveyor investigate when documenting shoddy workmanship. Everything is made apart. It was a first time for them, they usually do supertankers and oil rigs. And no, Armani did not honour the «not limited» warranty on their Prive bags so goodby Giorgio. Not surprisingly I did not get the usual card for xmas this year.

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I had to read this a few times. So, you bought this Armani bag, which is not made by Valextra (possibly my favorite brand), and noticed a cut, and hired a supertanker surveyor to disassemble and investigate. That is enough to make my head spin.

That cut looked familiar to me. I used to have an alligator with two similar cuts. I never knew if it was just the way it worked with that skin, or if something weird was going on in the construction.
 
#52
Sorry to be sooo chatty on this thread. I should have put it all in one to keep your phones from all the dinging. I've just found this thread to be so interesting!

880​

brought up Suarez, so I wanted to post mine here. This is my only exotic bag (I have some crock loafers). I think it's beautiful and am curious how it would compare to Lana Marks, Asprey, and others. I think Mr. S told me it was lined in pig. I recently was looking at their website and everything is on sale. What's going on? Are they going out of business??

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#53
ExoticsOnly said:
Another, and this time a total unknown brand even for New Yorkers. A spun off mens wear boutique Napoleon that used to be at ***** Tower and ***** Plaza, Lady Napoleon had just a few exotic bags on offer. This one is lizard (Tegu lizard, I think) with a matching belt. Lizard skin is beatiful, but kind of delicate and dries out even when well cared for so not a favourite with me. PS The belt is by Puruti. Georgio Puruti had a boutique in Beverly Hills that cared mostly for the exotics fan. Lots of made in Italy bags and belts, decent quality and affordable prices.

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I do agree about lizard so beautiful with its geometric pattern but so fragile.

Wonderful colour on that bag and belt too.
MidlifeFashionPrincess said:
Sorry to be sooo chatty on this thread. I should have put it all in one to keep your phones from all the dinging. I've just found this thread to be so interesting!

880​

brought up Suarez, so I wanted to post mine here. This is my only exotic bag (I have some crock loafers). I think it's beautiful and am curious how it would compare to Lana Marks, Asprey, and others. I think Mr. S told me it was lined in pig. I recently was looking at their website and everything is on sale. What's going on? Are they going out of business??

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That’s a beautiful bag too. We could probably do with an exotic skin appreciation thread in the handbags section actually. I have so many questions about croc v alligator.
 
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#54
ExoticsOnly said:
Made by Asprey, London this train case I purchased because of the skins only. Perfecty matching skins this is English hand made at its best. Its impractical, but Asprey also make stunning bags in alligator, crocodile and lizard in their workshop on the fourth floor.

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Absolutely stunning. Asprey started off as a box maker and they are top notch.

Sadly, there is no fourth floor anymore. They have moved to 36 Bruton St (where William & Son used to be).
 
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#56
I don’t know much about Suarez, but someone told me that Mauro Governa made some of their bags. Bags from Governa is decent quality and in the league of Lana Marks costing about $6000 for a medium sized bag in crocodile or alligator. Your bag btw look like made of alligator.

Asprey bags are (almost) Hermes quality. A medium sized bag in crocodile would set you back $20000, a large tote $30000. You don’t have to go to London to buy, The Beverly Hills Hotel carry Asprey or at least did so before the pandemic. Like Hermes, Asprey will repair and/or modify what they sell and special orders are welcome.

William Asprey, the 7th gen. who sold out to establish William&Son also had a bag line with a few exotics. I had a look just before they went bust, their classic day bag in shiny porosus crocodile looked very nice.
 
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#57
You are correct that Mauro Governa made some of their bags, maybe all, I don't know. You are also correct that it is alligator, but I don't know how you can see that. I only know Mr. Suarez (Mario?) confirmed it. And yes, he said that that model, in the current version, was $6k.

i agree with Jelliedfeels, we could do with an exotic skin appreciation thread and I suspect many of us have questions about croc v alligator.
 
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#59
Thank you, Nat. These boots have a history, they are actually MTO by Ralph Lauren. I saw, and tried on the more casual Lauren by Ralph Lauren (RLL) Jennison II embossed croc boots and they were perfect except they were embossed. There is nothing wrong with animal print, I just prefere genuine exotics. So I had RR make them (and a weekendbag) with matching skin color. The last and the general shape is the same, but I asked for the flap to be longer and with a curved end. If people mistake them for the $300 RRL version it is more than just fine with me. There is no one to envy me…or nicking my stuff from the locker in the gym.

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#60
MidlifeFashionPrincess said:
You are correct that Mauro Governa made some of their bags, maybe all, I don't know. You are also correct that it is alligator, but I don't know how you can see that. I only know Mr. Suarez (Mario?) confirmed it. And yes, he said that that model, in the current version, was $6k.

i agree with Jelliedfeels, we could do with an exotic skin appreciation thread and I suspect many of us have questions about croc v alligator.
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There are few in the non-brand-specific Handbags and Purses Forum.
 
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