Lake Effect, thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it [emoji4]
Dgphoto, stretching the leather is one of my main concerns. It’s huge on my worry list. Thanks sooo much for sharing your knowledge on that. It helps a lot [emoji16]
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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Lake Effect, thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it [emoji4]
Dgphoto, stretching the leather is one of my main concerns. It’s huge on my worry list. Thanks sooo much for sharing your knowledge on that. It helps a lot [emoji16]
The brown one with the lining is style #9210, Legacy East collection from 2000. It looks pretty clean from what I can see. I don't think I would wash it. I'd wipe down the outside using a clean microfiber cloth moistened (not wet) with white vinegar diluted with a little water. If the inside lining is dirty, you could pull it out and clean it with a spray fabric cleaner that doesn't need rinsing, or just use vinegar/water.
When it's dry, I would condition the outside with a LIGHT coat of Blackrock Leather 'n Rich, applied sparingly and evenly with your fingertips, wipe with a paper towel, let dry overnight and buff with a clean microfiber cloth.
I will definitely do what you advised. The inside is super clean. Thanks for telling me that, I’m glad I could avoid dunking that one. Thanks so much again [emoji16]
I luv navy! Nice. I don't have a Willis. Yet. I just picked up a Legacy Rambler in navy, for cheap, so I am stoked.
I am quite partial to navy blue and chocolate brown. Thanks so much, I will have to look it up to see what a legacy rambler is, but it sounds nice [emoji4] I purchased all three bags from my friend’s shop for $140. I thought that was a good deal. I do need to do more research to make sure I’m not paying too much.
The style number is 9061. We are purse kindred spirits on the chocolate brown and navy. My follow up third is British Tan, which I call BT and Brit.
Well, as far as pricing, it is how low will a seller go, how much will a buyer pay? I have stumbled onto amazing deals, some online and some in thrift shops. There are sellers out there asking much more than I want to pay, but I cannot fault some of them for asking what they do, especially for a harder to find bag (or color) in good condition. I paid $80 shipped for a Pocket bag in red in almost mint condition, which is about my upper limit. I am mulling over the bags I have now, contemplating what I would like to add to my collection. And what I want to let go of.
From another thread, I have also considered, how many times am I using this bag? That helps me put the price in perspective too. YMMV
In general a USA bag with an "A" for the plant code in the serial number was made in NYC. Study the authentication guides at the link below, written by Hyacinth and Salearea to learn how to recognize and identify vintage bags - and then get them authenticated anyway!
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/salearea-guides.983575/
@Cyanide Rose
Welcome to the world of rehab and refurbishing. I have dunked over 2 dozen bags, some more than once. My confidence comes from doing it. I do believe that the vintage leather can be forgiving , but it can depend on the leather, style, how much it was used or abused obviously and if or how much the purse was conditioned. More opinions are welcome.
I have not ruined a bag , per se, by dunking, but I try to screen my candidates carefully! I have learned alot by reading posts all over this forum and because the thrifting by me was hit of miss by me (my luck is changing in that dept!) I posted online listings here to see what others thought about rehab potential of a bag. Like a Barclay with a chewed dowel! The Would You Rehab this Bag thread can help too. Because rehabs can be unpredictable when all is said and done, personally I limit how much I spend on a bag. Your budget will vary!
I micromanage the drying process and fuss over the bag like no one's business lol. I prefer towels and old flannel for the main compartments and use paper towels for small pockets. I am not afraid of *storage squash* as I have gotten some fantastic deals with listings online due to crappy pics and a flattened bag. Edited to add, sometimes the shape is restored simply by stuffing intuitively with towels and other times a little creativity is needed. This thread can be very helpful.
I started by dunking two vintage Coach black bags I had already in good condition, just to believe I could, actually submerge a leather bag in water (and I needed to actually do that to belive it lol lol ). Then I picked up water stained Puttyand BT bags at a flea market, $10 bucks each, purely to test and see what could be done for the stains and squash. And see how the leather resonded to products.
Yes, I have dunked lined bags. Just check here first with a lined bag. There is a specialty line from Italy that may not fare well with dunking.
Lastly, read read read old posts. I love the search feature.
Good luck and let the dunking begin
I have actually given baths to at least 2 of the Italian Coach bags from the 1990s. One was a suede-lined Gramercy Zip with pics at the first link below; and the other was a fabric-lined, red Madison Domed Bristol Satchel, second link below. They both survived the dunking just fine. I hesitated to dunk the Italian bags for a long time but the Gramercy was so dirty there was nothing else to do so finally "I took the plunge!"Actually, I gave the Madison both a sink bath and then I cycled it through the washer!
I also like to stuff my bags with towels and clean rags but use paper towels for the pockets.
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/now-a-cousin-has-come-over-from-italy-to-join-the-family.717893/
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.624452/page-628#post-24816934
BTW, this looks like a genuine "Made in Italy" Madison bag on sale for $24 or make an offer. It has the wonky xxxx-xxx serial number format that scares me, but these bags were made in the 1990s and they used that format during part of that decade.
It is missing the long strap and it has signs of wear, but it is a larger bag (for one of the Italian bags) and if you wanted to practice on an Italian coach bag at a lower price - this might be an option. Be sure to get it authenticated, especially since it is listed on Poshmark.
https://poshmark.com/listing/Vintage-Coach-Purse-5b0853efa6e3ea054cb7fd66
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Beautiful bag! I love the British tan too, which is why I purchased the big lighter brown one. The color is kinda close to it.
I am trying not to buy so much, because you can never carry them all. But I fail to listen to my own advice often lol. You see something you like and it’s hard to say no [emoji4]
How do you store your handbags? I have a couple racks like this that I put together from target, but it doesn’t really help for the longer straps.
Newest rehab...carrying today. Before:
After:
It took five coats of Leather CPR before it quit looking parched. Needed some glue to patch the holes in the bottom seam. It isn’t perfect for for $12, it’s good enough for me!
After:
It took five coats of Leather CPR before it quit looking parched. Needed some glue to patch the holes in the bottom seam. It isn’t perfect for for $12, it’s good enough for me!
What a beauty, congratulations! I find that Leather Therapy Restorer and Conditioner usually works well on very dry bags.
Wow! I wouldn’t have thought that bag could turn out like that! It looks great!