Anyone have the Luba J Panda bag?
- Thread starter bagatella
- Start date
I've been dying for a Luba J myself. I've heard good things and seen them in person but I still haven't bought one.
I don't have this particular bag, but I have the Luba J Challah Bag in Apricot. I'm torn about what to tell you. To be honest, I ordered my Luba J online because I found a crazy good deal on it (at fengjunk.com for just under $100) and hated it when I first received it, but it was non-returnable. I always loved the reddish-pink suede lining, although it does tend to get a little dirty easily and hold onto dust, etc. Initially, I didn't like it for the following reasons:
- Leather wasn't as soft as I expected upon arrival - it felt dry
- Only 1 interior zipper pocket - no open pockets for cell phone
- Bag has no shape of its own when empty
- Closure on the bag is a turnlock with 2 magnetic snaps - very annoying to get in and out of quickly
- Hardware didn't feel as solid as I would have liked (I'm a hardware nut about my bags, so I try to only buy bags with solid brass or nickel hardware. The Luba J hardware isn't metal - at least on my bag - but I've heard newer versions of the bag have nicer hardware.)
It stayed in the back of my closet for months until I just recently decided to try using it again. I discovered that the bag I initially hated, I actually kind of liked now. Here are my thoughts on the bag now:
- I used leather moisturizer on the bag a few times and the leather is much softer now, especially after some wear. It no longer feels dry. It does tend to scratch easily, however. Leather has a nice, very natural pebble grain.
- I still wish it had more pockets inside for organization.
- In a previous post on tPF, I described the hardware as "plasticy." I no longer agree with that, but the hardware still isn't the solid metal material I prefer. For the price I purchased the bag, the hardware is fine and feels relatively sturdy. If I had paid the retail price of $400-something for the bag, I'd be really pissed!
- Closure is still annoying to get in and out of easily, but I've managed to perfect a few techniques.
- Bag is still beautiful to look at
- I like the lining less than I initially did. If you are familiar with suede linings, I'm sure you know what to expect. This was my first bag with a suede lining and I wish it used canvas or something else.
Sorry for the long post. Hope I helped a little!
- Leather wasn't as soft as I expected upon arrival - it felt dry
- Only 1 interior zipper pocket - no open pockets for cell phone
- Bag has no shape of its own when empty
- Closure on the bag is a turnlock with 2 magnetic snaps - very annoying to get in and out of quickly
- Hardware didn't feel as solid as I would have liked (I'm a hardware nut about my bags, so I try to only buy bags with solid brass or nickel hardware. The Luba J hardware isn't metal - at least on my bag - but I've heard newer versions of the bag have nicer hardware.)
It stayed in the back of my closet for months until I just recently decided to try using it again. I discovered that the bag I initially hated, I actually kind of liked now. Here are my thoughts on the bag now:
- I used leather moisturizer on the bag a few times and the leather is much softer now, especially after some wear. It no longer feels dry. It does tend to scratch easily, however. Leather has a nice, very natural pebble grain.
- I still wish it had more pockets inside for organization.
- In a previous post on tPF, I described the hardware as "plasticy." I no longer agree with that, but the hardware still isn't the solid metal material I prefer. For the price I purchased the bag, the hardware is fine and feels relatively sturdy. If I had paid the retail price of $400-something for the bag, I'd be really pissed!
- Closure is still annoying to get in and out of easily, but I've managed to perfect a few techniques.
- Bag is still beautiful to look at
- I like the lining less than I initially did. If you are familiar with suede linings, I'm sure you know what to expect. This was my first bag with a suede lining and I wish it used canvas or something else.
Sorry for the long post. Hope I helped a little!
My original thread on my Luba J Challah Bag with some pics:
http://forum.purseblog.com/handbags...ed-the-luba-j-challah-bag-apricot-136299.html
Here's another Luba J thread, mostly about the Gecko bag:
http://forum.purseblog.com/handbags-and-purses/luba-j-gecko-162217.html
The above thread has a lot of pictures and other opinions about Luba J bags (post #30 on page 2, post #40 on page 3). Maybe you can PM some of the other people on there and ask them if they don't respond here.
Honestly, I really have no idea if $292 is a good price on that bag. Based strictly on the retail price of $759 for that bag, I'd say $292 is pretty good. Hopefully more people will post on here so you can get some more opinions...
http://forum.purseblog.com/handbags...ed-the-luba-j-challah-bag-apricot-136299.html
Here's another Luba J thread, mostly about the Gecko bag:
http://forum.purseblog.com/handbags-and-purses/luba-j-gecko-162217.html
The above thread has a lot of pictures and other opinions about Luba J bags (post #30 on page 2, post #40 on page 3). Maybe you can PM some of the other people on there and ask them if they don't respond here.
Honestly, I really have no idea if $292 is a good price on that bag. Based strictly on the retail price of $759 for that bag, I'd say $292 is pretty good. Hopefully more people will post on here so you can get some more opinions...
