Happy hunting. Ask for lots of pictures, some in natural light, if possible.
That way you can have a better idea if you like the color.
Dooney FLORENTINE Clubhouse!!
- Thread starter MiaBorsa
- Start date
That way you can have a better idea if you like the color.
OK - I'm pretty tenacious (like hours of research) when it comes to investing in a bag I'm interested in, however I haven't been able to confirm if the Florentine Smith Bag 8L820 was made in orange. Does anyone know?
I've owned Smith in a variety of other colors so I know the bag very well, but apparently not well enough to know if it came in orange.
I've owned Smith in a variety of other colors so I know the bag very well, but apparently not well enough to know if it came in orange.
I don't have the Smith in orange, but I do remember seeing someone post it.OK - I'm pretty tenacious (like hours of research) when it comes to investing in a bag I'm interested in, however I haven't been able to confirm if the Florentine Smith Bag 8L820 was made in orange. Does anyone know?
I've owned Smith in a variety of other colors so I know the bag very well, but apparently not well enough to know if it came in orange.
What I can't be sure of is if it was all Flo leather or a combination of primarily
nylon with Flo leather pockets and trim/handles.
So, if you are buying preloved, be sure to verify.
Thanks for your kind reply
Just to follow up on this compelling question,
I am the proud owner of a Florentine Smith Bag in Orange. Here’s a shot of her next to Natural for comparison.
D
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Thanks for sharing your pics. That's a beautiful handbag.
Now we all know that Dooney did do an orange Florentine
Smith handbag. Back in 'the day' Dooney did a lot of different Florentine colors
in many of their most popular Flo styles.... small satchel, medium satchel, Smith,
and several other styles. I wish they would bring back all the beautiful colors....
lots of purples/lavenders, many shades of green and blue, and a lovely yellow too.
Now we all know that Dooney did do an orange Florentine
Smith handbag. Back in 'the day' Dooney did a lot of different Florentine colors
in many of their most popular Flo styles.... small satchel, medium satchel, Smith,
and several other styles. I wish they would bring back all the beautiful colors....
lots of purples/lavenders, many shades of green and blue, and a lovely yellow too.
PF: it's hard to answer the question because the color names and resulting handbags aren't always consistent.... either year to year or batch to batch. This is especially true for Florentine leather because the dyes used are vegetable not chemical. So it's my
understanding that there is some natural variation from batch to batch.
In general, I would say that Dooney navy Flo is slightly darker and marine
has 1 drop more green in the dye. Side by side, you can probably see a difference,
in natural light. But in artificial light, they might look the same.
Dooney also uses different name in different collections.... so a very dark blue might be
called midnight in pebbled leather and navy in Flo and marine in another collection.
Sometimes that dark blue is the 'same' across all the collections, allowing for differences
in the leathers and tanning processes. Sometimes the different name might denote
different trim or other collection details.
In the 'old days' it seemed important to have a handbag with the exact color tone and
depth of the color in your clothing. These days, varying tone and shades of colors
are paired together and even seem more interesting to look at. So why did I need to
buy every shade of every color to match every imaginable color in my outfits?
Why wasn't 1 light blue and 1 dark blue enough? 1 bright pink and 1 pale pink?
1 bright green and 1 deep green? Need I go on? My handbag collection is like
a color wheel that has exploded into an infinity of shades and tones.... just not as
well organized.
It doesn't surprise me. Could be a combination of factors.... lighter weight leather to
respond to customer requests or use of thinner leathers for business reasons (supply or cost). I really don't know if the thinner leathers are less costly for a manufacturer, or if it's a supply issue, or intentional. People rave about thin glove leathers, even tho those
aren't the best for handbags. But.... a soft, pliable leather is very much adored by
many.
Another possibility is that the leather is tumbled during the processing. This will make it
much softer and it might also affect the thickness. The opposite was true of the original
Dooney pebbled leather which was shrunken to enhance its water resistance. That process thickened the leather quite substantially and made it much heavier.
A number of years ago, when Sue Clifton was still on QVC representing Dooney,
she talked about the newer Florentine handbags being lighter because customers
had complained about the weight of the original Florentine handbags. I think she mentioned the tumbling during the discussion.
And if you look at very high end handbags, like Hermes or Coach, you will find a number
of different leathers being used. I'm fascinated by all the different leathers that Hermes
uses, but I'm a total novice and I haven't yet begun to understand them.
Bottom line, we are all entitled to our preferences. And sometimes, we don't appreciate
what we had until it's gone. I felt that way about the green suede used on the inside
of the original Florentine handbags. Never loved the green color with the red lining.
But now that fewer Florentine handbags have the green suede, I miss it. It was a symbol of 'quality' or craftsmanship or something, and now it feels like the bags
without the green suede aren't as good. I can say I also miss the few styles
with all leather linings. I always appreciated their elegance, but was concerned
about keeping the light color leather lining clean and pristine. Now I wish more
bags had leather linings.
PF: I'm keeping my older Flos also.... even the big and heavy ones I can't lift.
They are so beautiful.