Berkeley in Azur Patina?

M

MillerRocks

O.G.
Aug 17, 2008
422
316
#1
Hello Fellow TPF peeps,

I'm in the market for a new Lv, my second. My first is the modest Pochette in mono bought back in 2001! I have my eye on a few bags (BTW in 5'1 110ish lbs):

Berkeley, Azur or Ebony
Stresa PM, mono or Azur
Tivoli either size (afraid of the curling end straps with time)

In that ^^^ order :smile:. I love the berk in Azur but I worry how it will patina and about the vancheta on the bottom sides, it reminds me of the mono Almas and how hard it is to keep them nice.

I need an everyday bag. I have a Gucci Sukey Boston w/ pleats and I hardly use it bcz I'm afraid to stain/wear the gg fabric with everyday use. I'de like to have another bag which I can interchange so not to wear them out. (So far in using my LV pochette I've had since 2001. Back then it was made with the vanchetta strap. And its darkened to an almost dark caramel color. It hasn't been cared for very well, and has been used constantly for the last month or so.) So I'm going to add an Lv to interchange with. Some things to keep in mind about my situation is that I have a 3 year old girl that likes to carry sippy cups or have snacks; I run many errands during the day sometimes and there is lots of getting in and out of the car while carrying my 3 year old accross the parking lots; I also live in HOT HUMID Houton TX and my hands tend to get sweaty from going in and out of the A/c; And lastly for summer i usually wear dressy shorts, summer dresses, and jeans very rarely, in the winter I wear all jeans. I worry about Color transfur and ruining the vanchetta straps with sweaty hands from the heat down here. I really like the mono from my pochette, I admire it all the time. So the Mono canvas is something I would prefer over the Azur or Ebony, I'm just afraid of the vanchetta.

I'm super stressing about getting an LV with vanchetta. I'm not very hot on the ebony, but I have not seen IRL either. So here I am, like many of you have been before, stuck-confused-undecided. Please help me with your opinions and wise advice.

I was wondering if anyone had a photo of the Berkeley Azur or the Stresa that has patina'd they could share?
OXOXOs
 
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#3
Great thread thanks! I did a Berkeley search but so many threads came up it was hard t sift through all of them. The patina looks really nice especially since the privious owner wasn't 'gentle' with it.

Great help thanks
 
#4
I really think you should go for ebene.
-it is stunning and practical
-it is an all year around bag
-you dont have to worry about sweat or staining the vechetta
-no color transfer
-it goes with all colors and styles of outfits.

You need to decide if you want a bag for EVERYTHING or for certain duties ie daily jobs or for dressing up. Maybe think of getting two different bags???

This is your second LV and you want it to be practical and carefree esp if you have a small child otherwise you end up looking after your bag more and it can become a nuisance. If you have the luxury of owning quite a few lv then you can afford to have more variety of styles like azur and vachetta bags. Sounds like this one will be your everyday bag so be PRACTICAL!

My neverful mm ebene and trevi pm are my go-to bags. Trevi can be heavy though with a small child to carry around. Neverful might be best for you. Definetly look in real life though, and you will love ebene! It is gorgeous!! The Hampstead would be perfect for you in my opinion or check out the new Verona. Berkely in Ebene is cute too!!

Ebene is a no worry style!! hope this helps
 
#8
I see what you mean. I agree that it would be difficult to keep the azur bottom nice especially in texas where its so humid and sunny. But on the otherhand, azur bags look so much better in the summer time. Azur is very much a year round color, whereas ebene works better for the winter. Personally, of those three I'd probably pic azur stresa.
 
#9
Thanks for all the input! I really agree with VTluvLV, I do need a practical bag for everyday. I only get 1 luxury bag a year so it needs to count. My DH always brings up the fact that I buy expensive bags and not use them very much. so my goal is to show him that I can spend $1600 on a bag and use it all the time. I am afraid of the color transfer, so I'm now shying away from the azur.
Sometime in the next two weeks I will be going to the Houston Galleria to try on all the bags IFL. I know it will make a huge difference once I'm there. One way of anpther I will be leaving with something in hand!

I wish they made the Berkeley in mono. I can't wait to try on the Stresa and the Tivoli. I will try the NF. I have no clue what the Verona looks like, did a search on the LV site but nothing came up. I will do more research on this forum on this new bag. When is the release date?
 
#10
in england verona is released today!
i dont think tivoli will be good everyday bag, esp pm. Maybe gm but i dont like how the edges start to curl where the adjustable strap is.
Trevi would be bestest but it is heavy...
With any mono bag spray the vachetta with kiwi protector spray, it is amazing!! i carried my month old speedy 30 and it rained heavily....not a single mark on the leather! I was soooo happy and now sprayed all my new vachetta bags. I not sure how it will help with sweat and dirt scuffs but definetly helps with the rain :biggrin:
 
#12
I have looked into the artsy, when it came out I was like "wow!". But I've been keeping up with the artsy club and there are lots of complaints about the strap and about the size. I'm 5'1 and a large bag on me tend to swallow me.

I've started to read up on the spray leather protectants. I was wondering whether the sprays help the patina slow down and if it does, does it considerably slow down the patina process and by how long. I personally like the light vanchetta, mainly because they make the bag the look new. But I've been some realy like yummy patina out there and look forward to seeing it patina with my own eyes.
You see when I got the pochette back in 2001, it was a gift and I didn't know very much about LV, I was about 18 yrs old. Back then my older daughter had just been born and I used a diaper bag so the Pochette went from closet to closet through the years without a dust bag. Until just recently I kicked myself for taking it for granted and not knowing how wonderful it was. But by this time the leather strap had already patina'd and I didn't get to enjoy it. It's kinda dark, but it doesn't look bad. There is no other vanchetta on the pochette so maybe I can get the strap replaced (it comes off completely) and make it look new!

Thanks everyone.
 
#13
definetly can get new strap, is it the accessory pochette? because i just bought new strap and also got the small tab of leather on the zip changed , it is all brand new now!!
 
#14
Yes, Here are some quick pictures I took of it. I didn't know you could get the vanchetta from the ziper pull replaced too! Thats great! I am most certainly going to do this. Thanks vtluvLV

<a href="http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j26/BullMiller/?action=view&current=IMG_2240.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j26/BullMiller/IMG_2240.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
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