A Hypothetical Question for Ink Alexa Owners

lola73

lola73

Member
Jan 1, 2010
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3
#1
Ok ladies, I have a question for all you Ink Alexa owners....(and Oak and Butter owners too)

I know from reading through lots of opinions on the buffalo leather on the Alexa, that there seems to be a big variation in the quality, grain and appearance of the leather.

Let's just say that (hypothetically speaking, of course) you were going to choose an Ink Alexa from a selection of different Ink Alexas - how would you choose and what would you look for?

Colour, Grain, Wrinkely or Non-Wrinkely Appearance, Consistency, Feel etc ? (The more I look at wrinkely the more I think I've spelt it wrongly)

How would you know you are getting a good one? Or is that an individual choice?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on how to choose and what to look for and any Ink photos you might be able to post.

Thanks so much!
 
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#2
Hi Lola I think it is a personal choice but for me I prefer leather that has some character so the wrinkly leather won over the smooth. The most important thing for me though was that the leather was consistent throughout the bag - I don't like both wrinkly and smooth in the same bag. Here are pics of my inky baby and I love the texture of the leather which is substantial and interesting.
Ink Alexa in shade.jpg
Ink Alexa front.jpg
 
#3
I've only ever seen my own one IRL as it was the last in store.

I'm a nightmare at choosing so it's probably just as well I didn't have a choice.

It does worry me a bit though as I normally rehome my bags at somepoint and just hope that my Alexa is one of the good ones.

She seems great to me but who knows what she is like next to another one.
 
#4
For me the smoothness does not appeal to me ,it has to have some character .Even though i got this unseen it was the best choice.
 

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#6
Leather grain is such a personal thing that it's hard to say which one is best.
When the right one is in front of you, you'll know straight away.
For me personally, i like the leather to look 'balanced'. I don't mind grainey or smooth, but it has to be one or the other and not a hotchpotch of both!
Blue and Umamaikam your Alexa's have beautiful graining :love:
 
#7
Thanks so much Bluecat. Yours is a lovely example and I can see what you mean about character. Thanks for the photos.

Thanks Tiree. I am very indecisive so I'm worried about whether I will ever be able to make an Alexa decision. Maybe no choice is better than some choice.:smile: Do you have photos in your collection of the Ink - I must go have a look.

Thanks umamanikam - that's a lovely example too. I can see the grain is so important to the look of the bag.

I agree Inem totally.

Thanks shopaholicmum - I think balance is good - and I think I'll prefer a bag which is consisent too.

Thanks for all the opions so far. Keep them coming - I have to go to a meeting for a while but I'll be back later. I have some serious Alexa thinking to do tonight so all opinions are welcome.
 
#8
Hi lola

For me I like the buffalo leather to be in between....my ink is smoother than my oak but niether is overly smooth or overly wrinkly....there is a lsight discrepancy between the flap and the front on my oak one but not enough to owrry about....fwiw the buffalo does soften up very quickly so i would say that even if you err on the side of smooth it will not stay smooth for long...my ink has a great texture now that it did not have to start with....
 
#9
Hi Lola

My Oak Alexa is more grainy on the flap than the rest of her, but I like this variation - think it gives the bag even more character personally. I did not choose her she was sent via mail order direct from Mulberry and I have to say I probably would have chosen her anyway - so overall I prefer grainy over smooth but do not mind variation on the graininess.....
 
#10
lola , I posted on another thread about the two Inks I saw this week and they looked totally different leather never mind grains. SA's agreed and tried to say the shiny one was more like goatskin, but not to my eye.

Shiny was smooth and hardly any grain. Perfectly made to my eye but had a uniform High St look. Not the classy uniform look of umas and bluecat's.

The other was matte-ish, more wrinkled on the flap than the main body. That sort of appearance is my preference as I think the smooth bits highlight the lovely wrinkly bits on any bag.

I would love to get to the bottom of why this is happening. Mainly because you ladies who are not in a position to choose personally are to a great extent at the mercy of luck. At £700 & £800 a whack that's ridiculous.

Secondly, when Alexa was issued, those who saw the shiny plasticky ones described them as such on the forum. If I were Bluecat and Uma for example ,sitting with their lovely Alexas, I'd be thinking I was going off my head hearing it described as plasticky looking. I'd wonder what I wasn't seeing that others were.
 
#11
The bags are beautiful. The leather and grains are incredible.

I don't own an Alexa (yet..hehehe...) but I think I would prefer a little wrinkly grain to mine. There are some bags that look awesome in the smooth leather, but IMO, this bag has more character with a bit of wrinkle.
 
#12
Thanks poppybagfan, figarogirl, corries and tegan for all the replies.

Corries post actually sums up exactly why I asked the question. From what I have seen and heard about the buffalo leather in the Alexas there seems to be major variation in the bags.
The big problem is that it is so difficult to compare when the stock is so slow coming out and it's rare to find more than one in any shop.

This is a lot of money for me to think about spending on a bag, and I'm terrified that I'll make the wrong decision.
Imagine if I ended up picking a plasticly pleather looking one and everywhere I went Mulberry lovers would look at me in disdain and pity?
Imagine if I did a reveal on tpf and everyone thought I'd picked a terrible one but was too polite to tell me?

Oh the shame!!! :blush::blush::blush:
 
#13
At the end of the day though Lola who are we to say someone else's bag looks bad as it is personal preference. I can remember at least one person saying she preferred smoother leather which is different to my preference but who is to say that one of us is right and one of us wrong. I agree it is best to be able to choose your own bag but at the end of the day if you love your bag that is all that matters.
 
#14
Lola- when is this bag arriving then???? It is a minefield if you cant see a bag before you buy it- but at least you know you can always send it back and keep trying-its a pain but at least you wouldnt get stuck with one that you dont fall in love with - and its not you being picky its mulberrys fault for the quality varying so much. I had a an oak alexa and sent it back the same day - its put me off the bag but the more I see these lovely beauties the more I know I will probably have one some day as the new seasons bags arrives as I do like the style- but I dont like the price- maybe I will have to wait for people to get bored and re home!!
 
#15
I'm late - well as you may know mine arrived before it should arrive and I had no choice (or idea) of the leather variations.

I think mine is similar to Figaro's, I love the subtle difference between flap & main body, my flap is more wrinkled which actually helps to hang well, whereas body is smoother and shows slouchness gorgeously.

Good luck, fingers cross for you!!
 
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