Gucci Vintage Information Thread

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#453
amstevens714 said:
Hi Papertiger,

I hope all is well! I'm sorry, in advance, if this is a stupid question.

In all of my recent bag purchases (thanks to you :hugs:) I found so many differentiating aspects of bags that were very similar to each other and from the same line. I was just curious if the crafters were given creative autonomy to add and subtract details as they saw fit. I find it intriguing because I feel like nowadays, the bags are the same unless they are a special edition. I think its cool and was just curious. I have included a few pictures below to show what I mean.

So the big bag below has exactly the same hardware as the smaller ones - the smaller ones differ because one has the gold hardware but not the webbing on the sides (white), the other two have the same webbing and serial number but one has the gold hardware (mine :love:) and the other one doesn't. Then there is a blue one that is exactly like my brown one, but the rivets that the pull goes through are different than mine (more round and don't say gucci). Lol I'm just so amazed...How did differences like that happen? Any idea or am I just crazy (which is a definite possibility at this point lol)

Thank you!
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Not officially :giggles:

Gucci craftspeople either work directly for the company (now with exotics or R&D) or the work-shops under a Gucci/Gucci Group contract. Gucci will supply every last rivet, so it will never be a case of popping to the local rivet shop for spares if run out :D.

Away from vintage Gucci there are still plenty of variations that confuse people. I remember people having kittens over whether a Sukey should have Guccissima leather trim (they had it for the first season) and all the variations of lining, zip tags, the size of mobile pockets etc, some literally change by the season never mind the year.

With vintage bags, people often repair with non-Gucci crafts-people too, I have often seen things 'non-authentic' on a authentic Gucci bags (not that this applies to yours). If I do spot these I try to point them out.

You are certainly not going crazy ;)
 
#455
papertiger said:
Not officially :giggles:

Gucci craftspeople either work directly for the company (now with exotics or R&D) or the work-shops under a Gucci/Gucci Group contract. Gucci will supply every last rivet, so it will never be a case of popping to the local rivet shop for spares if run out :D.

Away from vintage Gucci there are still plenty of variations that confuse people. I remember people having kittens over whether a Sukey should have Guccissima leather trim (they had it for the first season) and all the variations of lining, zip tags, the size of mobile pockets etc, some literally change by the season never mind the year.

With vintage bags, people often repair with non-Gucci crafts-people too, I have often seen things 'non-authentic' on a authentic Gucci bags (not that this applies to yours). If I do spot these I try to point them out.

You are certainly not going crazy ;)
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Hello!

Thanks so much for this! I literally rolled over laughing at the "people having kittens" :roflmfao:

I didn't realize that about current Gucci also.

So why are they are all so darn different? It's confusing lol! For example, why the different rivets? Just made at different times when they were using different rivets? I'm so confused by this!

Thanks for your patience with me papertiger, I just really love vintage gucci and I want to educate myself :D
 
#456
papertiger - THANK YOU for the Master's Class in Vintage Gucci! I bought my very first (super-thrifted) Gucci yesterday and posted it on the authentication thread this morning. Now after reading 31 pages of your amazing info, my fingers are still crossed, just not as tightly! Though I'm usually on the Coach side of tpf, this is a thread I'll keep an eye on - Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
 
#457
amstevens714 said:
Hello!

Thanks so much for this! I literally rolled over laughing at the "people having kittens" :roflmfao:

I didn't realize that about current Gucci also.

So why are they are all so darn different? It's confusing lol! For example, why the different rivets? Just made at different times when they were using different rivets? I'm so confused by this!

Thanks for your patience with me papertiger, I just really love vintage gucci and I want to educate myself :D
Click to expand...

No problem, you prob ask questions others would like answered too.

Most people compare Gucci to LV. Gucci is sooooo different to LV, from what I know about LV (very little) everything has a template with a certain bag and that's how it is until they stop producing years and years later.

Gucci design new bags, innovate, variate, re-issue in new variations and change things all the time. The archive collection and the archive files for the Gucci Museum has taken decades to collect and research. Guccio Gucci in business 1921-53, kept everything in-house but loved to innovate old designs with new materials (bit like Chanel).

After Guccio's death, his family took over the business and expanded, helped by Italy's great reputation for superior leather work (Tuscany esp) silk (the lakes in the North) and Modern design style. Bigger factories had to found, rather than making hundreds of the same bag (very risky) Gucci made small runs of bags and 'tweaked' designs for whatever reasons, this ensured that some ladies would buy many variations of the bag they like best (much as they do today) and not just different colours, a model that other accessories still use. At this point very few pieces of hardware are specifically 'Gucci' except for the shopping-Knight charm clipped on afterwards, just a stamp inside.

Fashion dated quickly and by the early 1970s, 'classic' meant Victorian, and logos, typeface, shapes etc could never appear old-fashioned, what looked cool and funky in 1974 had to look sharp and linear in '76. Mid-70s the G House became associated with glamour, Disco but it also became a lifestyle as well as just bags which meant many licenses (watches, perfumes, sportswear etc). Fakes made everywhere became a problem but most were very poorly made. To keep up with trends, and keep coordinated Gucci would have to make broader changes. Some of the little handy-work details go 'missing' towards the late 1970s but ready to fit logo details in hardware become more important.

Throughout the 1980s Gucci tried capture its glory days from a few years earlier. Much of 1980s fashion was for classics, work-ethic and power dressing, something that didn't really suit the sexy, holiday style of Gucci. Gucci tried to reinvent it's overall brand image many times, it also was fractured between very expensive, high-end creations and relatively affordable logo products from dept stores and airports etc (GAC). I think that is why there are so many variations of 1980s Gucci, almost every season there was some big change (perhaps for cost-effectiveness too).

1987 there was a Gucci revolution , again 1990, again '96, again 2002 when Frida took over designing bags. Each re-issue makes a Gucci classic for different generation, each season there are tweaks and changes. E.g. the first Large New Jackies were reduced in size a few seasons after they were introduced, so that the Large now, although still big (and bigger than the Med) is not as large. People buying Gucci and comparing one to another or their friend's get understandably worried.
 
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#458
JOODLZ said:
papertiger - THANK YOU for the Master's Class in Vintage Gucci! I bought my very first (super-thrifted) Gucci yesterday and posted it on the authentication thread this morning. Now after reading 31 pages of your amazing info, my fingers are still crossed, just not as tightly! Though I'm usually on the Coach side of tpf, this is a thread I'll keep an eye on - Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
Click to expand...

Thanks you, I hope you become a Gucci regular :smile1:
 
#459
Wow!! Thank you soooo much for that amazing breakdown of the changing methods! You are so sweet to share your incredible knowledge with us!




papertiger said:
No problem, you prob ask questions others would like answered too.

Most people compare Gucci to LV. Gucci is sooooo different to LV, from what I know about LV (very little) everything has a template with a certain bag and that's how it is until they stop producing years and years later.

Gucci design new bags, innovate, variate, re-issue in new variations and change things all the time. The archive collection and the archive files for the Gucci Museum has taken decades to collect and research. Guccio Gucci in business 1921-53, kept everything in-house but loved to innovate old designs with new materials (bit like Chanel).

After Guccio's death, his family took over the business and expanded, helped by Italy's great reputation for superior leather work (Tuscany esp) silk (the lakes in the North) and Modern design style. Bigger factories had to found, rather than making hundreds of the same bag (very risky) Gucci made small runs of bags and 'tweaked' designs for whatever reasons, this ensured that some ladies would buy many variations of the bag they like best (much as they do today) and not just different colours, a model that other accessories still use. At this point very few pieces of hardware are specifically 'Gucci' except for the shopping-Knight charm clipped on afterwards, just a stamp inside.

Fashion dated quickly and by the early 1970s, 'classic' meant Victorian, and logos, typeface, shapes etc could never appear old-fashioned, what looked cool and funky in 1974 had to look sharp and linear in '76. Mid-70s the G House became associated with glamour, Disco but it also became a lifestyle as well as just bags which meant many licenses (watches, perfumes, sportswear etc). Fakes made everywhere became a problem but most were very poorly made. To keep up with trends, and keep coordinated Gucci would have to make broader changes. Some of the little handy-work details go 'missing' towards the late 1970s but ready to fit logo details in hardware become more important.

Throughout the 1980s Gucci tried capture its glory days from a few years earlier. Much of 1980s fashion was for classics, work-ethic and power dressing, something that didn't really suit the sexy, holiday style of Gucci. Gucci tried to reinvent it's overall brand image many times, it also was fractured between very expensive, high-end creations and relatively affordable logo products from dept stores and airports etc (GAC). I think that is why there are so many variations of 1980s Gucci, almost every season there was some big change (perhaps for cost-effectiveness too).

1987 there was a Gucci revolution , again 1990, again '96, again 2002 when Frida took over designing bags. Each re-issue makes a Gucci classic for different generation, each season there are tweaks and changes. E.g. the first Large New Jackies were reduced in size a few seasons after they were introduced, so that the Large now, although still big (and bigger than the Med) is not as large. People buying Gucci and comparing one to another or their friend's get understandably worried.
Click to expand...
 
#461
JOODLZ said:
I expect I will become a regular...now that I'm also a Gucci OWNER!
YAY, YIPPEE, YAHOO :)
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Congrats on your new purchase! I saw it in the authentication page and it's lovely! Be careful though, they can be addictive!! :D


EDIT - I just saw you got it for 25 cents - wow you win the best deal for this forum I bet!! That's amazing!
 
#463
amstevens714 said:
Congrats on your new purchase! I saw it in the authentication page and it's lovely! Be careful though, they can be addictive!! :D


EDIT - I just saw you got it for 25 cents - wow you win the best deal for this forum I bet!! That's amazing!
Click to expand...

Thanks - it's probably the "deal of the year"...so timeless! As far as addiction goes, I completely understand. It's the thrill of the hunt, for me.

Initially I was worried about the condition of the lining of my bag, as it was badly - nearly completely - de-laminating and powder-y. I gently "stroked" the entire lining with a nylon-bristled suede brush, then vigorously vacuumed it! No more powder, just gray, fuzzy fabric. Hope this is helpful to others.
 
#464
JOODLZ said:
Thanks - it's probably the "deal of the year"...so timeless! As far as addiction goes, I completely understand. It's the thrill of the hunt, for me.

Initially I was worried about the condition of the lining of my bag, as it was badly - nearly completely - de-laminating and powder-y. I gently "stroked" the entire lining with a nylon-bristled suede brush, then vigorously vacuumed it! No more powder, just gray, fuzzy fabric. Hope this is helpful to others.
Click to expand...

Wow! I just saw your Gucci, Its lovely! Congratulations!!!:roflmfao:
 
#465
JOODLZ said:
Thanks - it's probably the "deal of the year"...so timeless! As far as addiction goes, I completely understand. It's the thrill of the hunt, for me.

Initially I was worried about the condition of the lining of my bag, as it was badly - nearly completely - de-laminating and powder-y. I gently "stroked" the entire lining with a nylon-bristled suede brush, then vigorously vacuumed it! No more powder, just gray, fuzzy fabric. Hope this is helpful to others.
Click to expand...


This is super common with these vintages items. Most of mine look very similar to yours. With the ones that were really bad I just removed the coating completely (so that all you see is the fuzzy inside). It's kinda nice when you need to reach in and grab something lol.

Congrats again!!
 
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