I hate to admit to this to myself because I have an overabundance of monogram LV's with vachetta leather, but my love does diminish as the vachetta turns darker. I bought most of LV's on impulse and loved them brand new with light colored vachetta leather. Even if there is not one stain on the leather I feel they look dirty as they age. I guess I will still wear them (not happily) because they are in perfect condition. If I could do it all over again I would not have bought so many monogram LV's with vachetta. Now that there are some options with black trim I will go for those.
As the vachetta ages, does your love of your bag start to diminish?
- Thread starter Oakfield
- Start date
I have a beautiful Galliera in DA and I tend to agree - as it has aged the darker patina - now darker than a light honey - makes the bag look a bit grubby to me - think the DA looks far better with an extremely lightly patina... I keep glancing at it in the passenger seat and although it is not dirty, it looks it - to me...
Long time ago I worked at a store that sold, among other things, handbags that I guess were all vachetta.
They were very light like the new LV vachetta of today. The bags we would have on display darkened quickly due to the hot lights shining on them in the store. Every single time a customer asked for a bag and I took it out of it's covered dark case, they would absolutely say "no, I want that bag!" (pointing to the display) and I would have to patiently explain that their bag will darken with time. Heck, I'd even go and get my own bag to show them (if it wasn't really dark yet--I had a couple in various stages).
People want what they see, and I can (and did) understand that but vachetta ain't waiting for nobody!
They were very light like the new LV vachetta of today. The bags we would have on display darkened quickly due to the hot lights shining on them in the store. Every single time a customer asked for a bag and I took it out of it's covered dark case, they would absolutely say "no, I want that bag!" (pointing to the display) and I would have to patiently explain that their bag will darken with time. Heck, I'd even go and get my own bag to show them (if it wasn't really dark yet--I had a couple in various stages).
People want what they see, and I can (and did) understand that but vachetta ain't waiting for nobody!
Very well said!
I believe this is also influenced by the thousands of hair flicking, narcissistic You Tube - tutorial instructing millennials manically showing us their vast collection of LV bags which are whisked out then hurriedly packed away again. AND DONT GET ME STARTED on the vloggers showing us all the bags in their collections that they DON’T USE. No words....
I love the darker patina with the classic monogram, always have. Makes me love it more, not less. Why do I care if my bags look used? They ARE used - that’s the fun of it! Trying to keep your bag pristine & vachetta like it just came from the factory to me = not fun.
My bags aren’t for a museum. They’re for me to enjoy & use the heck out of them & that’s what I do!
My bags aren’t for a museum. They’re for me to enjoy & use the heck out of them & that’s what I do!
I really love the darker Patina. If I get a new bag with lighter patina, I want to hurry the process of darkening up. I guess that’s why I wear my vintage LV bags more than the newer ones. I feel it gives them character, and of course not having to worry about my Golden Retriever drooling on new vachetta
I just wanted to add to my previous comment that I do like the idea of ageing vachetta, the thought of seeing the natural process on a loved and used bag is beautiful, I just really dislike the color.
No, I love a well aged vachetta and I won't even use the bag until it has aged a bit because it looks wrong to me otherwise. I hate the bone white, crisp, too new look. Sometimes I will leave it sit in a room for like 2 years and won't even use it much because I am still waiting for it to age. I die when I see all the people on the internet going to great lengths to keep their vachetta that weird untouched white as if they think their canvas bag belongs in a trophy case. You know the color of the packaging you get in the store when you buy stuff? That's what the vachetta is supposed to look like.
There is a major misunderstanding, in my humble opinion. DIRTY, dark, stained leather is awful. Aged, honey, well taken care of, is another. I saw bags 20 years old that still look good, with a darker leather, of course, but still graceful. And I saw bags 2 or 3 years old which look ugly, and it doesn’t depend on the quality of leather itself, but from the owner’s care.
I agree but dirty leather is a different story. Any color leather can be dirty & look ugly with maybe the exception of black or almost black colors which just hide it. They may look good but can actually be disgusting if we only knew...
Unfortunately stains are a fact of life & sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid or remove them, they don’t come out. Luckily, any stains I’ve had are minor & after cleaning & more aging are barely visible. Point is, that doesn’t make your bag dirty or the owner careless.
There really are some people out there who just don’t like the patina itself & those people should just buy something else. Plenty or brands & bags out there to fit all types.