Comparing leather by Year and Season (best, worst, characteristics)

What is THE Best Overall Year for Balenciaga Bags?

  • 2001

  • 2002

  • 2003

  • 2004

  • 2005

  • 2006

  • 2007


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Andy I think you captured the 05 leather wonderfully in your pics- you can totally see the diff b/w the 05 and 06 leather. And just the overall texture/distressing is really different from 06 and 07. BTW I always love your bal-sandwich avatars! It inspired me to take my own mini-bal sandwich. :)
 
I guess maybe it's not really dependent on what year a Bbag is made, I think it really differs from bag to bag!! I have 2 from 06 and they have the best leather in my collection, the rest are 07s, 1 from the S/S is pretty thick, but the ones from F/W, I find the leather to be too thin :sad:, they have a nice sheen and smoothness to them though,but just not thick enough IMO...and also another from F/W 07 the leather is dry and crackly.. ...as for the 05, I have yet to feel the smooshiness and yumminess I hear from all you ladies with 05s, I have a 05 on the way, wish me luck!!:yahoo:
 
05 leather is thick like no other. the distress is tight and very fine. the touch of the leather makes your fingers feel like they are in heaven because it is like velvet! sorta snags your fingers as your hands run across it.

the weight of 05 leather is something else too. it's just the slightest bit heavier becasue it's thicker. the distress is even too! like andy said- you just want to cut a piece off and chew it! it's that DIVINE
 
o5 seems to be more consistent than o6/o7and o8... when you order an o5 i think there's more of a guarantee that it's going to have smoosh-able leather, whereas with the others there's a "hmm, what am i going to get?" thought passing through ones head b/c the leather really does vary ALOT.
 
i agree with what most are saying here, EXCEPT for me - s/s 05 leather is far superior to f/w 05. it's thick and rich and puffy and the color saturation is out of this world!!!! a lot of the f/w 05's that i have come across are thinner and the wrinkles are more crinkley then puffy. i know i sound like a crazy person, but the difference between my s/s 05 bags and my f/w 05's are like night and day!

i think a lot of the 07 bags, especially the f/w like vert fonce and mogano (major :drool: for both of those babies!) are going to break in and feel just like the s/s 05 leather. my fingers are crossed...
 
Yes, 04 is good. Very even, soft and thick. There was no such thing as a thin & veiny Bbag then!!! IMO, the 07 leathers are the best yet. Some people don't like the shiny glaze on the post 2005 bags, but it offers so much more protection to the bag. 2006 was a very bad Bbag experience for me. All 2008 bags I have fondled so far have been too stiff and a little drier. I have stocked up on 2007 bags. The best leathers of my collection are 07 Anthracite & 07 Vert D'Eau.
 
Yes, 04 is good. Very even, soft and thick. There was no such thing as a thin & veiny Bbag then!!! IMO, the 07 leathers are the best yet. Some people don't like the shiny glaze on the post 2005 bags, but it offers so much more protection to the bag. 2006 was a very bad Bbag experience for me. All 2008 bags I have fondled so far have been too stiff and a little drier. I have stocked up on 2007 bags. The best leathers of my collection are 07 Anthracite & 07 Vert D'Eau.

I think all Bbags from 2005 and earlier had the best leather didnt they:confused1: sigh..I envy your anthra and vert deau!!My Vert Foret and Jaune IMO are not thick and smooshy, I agree on those 08s though, but I see some BG that look nice and thick and chewy from photos!
 
I currently have 2 05's, 2 07's and an 06. One of my 05's, a bordeaux first, was already very broken in, so it came to me very soft and literally a puddle of leather. However, it wasn't as thick as I expected/hoped. I recently acquired a mint 05 indigo day, and again the leather is so drapey, soft, smooshy...but again, not super thick. Definitely not thin, it has good thickness to it, but not super thick either. I'd say both my 07 bags have thicker leather. To compare, my 07s are more distressed/wrinkled, thicker, and slightly stiffer- but they've yet to break in. They're still smooshy and yummy, but not as drapey and silky as my 05s. Also, the 05s have "finer" more subtle distressing, while the 07s have more obvious wrinkles. I love both leathers equally- both my 07 bags have superb leather, and I don't know that my 05 is better. Just different. But maybe I've yet to experience really good 05 leather?

totally agree this is exactly my experience too, my 05 First and then 05 Day hobo are really beautiful but i think my high expectations were very high. The leather is silky drapey and soft and 'puddles' but I prefer the wrinklier thicker 2007 leather, but that's only my personal preference!! I also think i prefer the 04 leather to 05 leather.
 
I've been wondering about this for ages too. I adore that thick, wrinkled and puffy leather, although I'm not a big fan of the "drapey" leather. Veiny is lovely too, although I just can't go past those puffy bits... I can't really explain it LOL sorry if you all think I'm mad!

...so 2007 is thicker and wrinklier?

what about 2008? is it considered good leather by Bal experts? :wlae:
 
Oh, I forgot to ask - how do you break a Bal in? Is it just everyday use? Or does it have to be heavy duty, like a lot of rubbing and wrinkling and squishing? And do they lose that shine after a while? I've seen some tPFers with gorgeous matte looking bags!
 
I think some of 2007 bags have thicker wrinklier leather, my steel/plomb bag had the best wrinkly thick leather and all the other plomb bags i've seen IRL and pictured on here had gorgeous leather. Same with Mogano, Sienna and Vert Fonce, but if i'm really honest the leather on my Violet and Jaune bag wasn't as beautiful - bit more smooth and veiny but drapey - but i have seen some stunning leather on other Violet bags on here. But I think it's a matter of personal preference and how you like your leathers.

Breaking in bags takes time and use, i tend to hang my bags on a clothes hanger with a few things in it to help the process.
 
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