leather choice for wishlist Birkin

[maxroxxherhandbags]

So I've decided to bite the bullet take my SA's advice and put in a wishlist request when the stores reopen.
After all as my SA says, if the bag comes and I am unable to buy it then someone else will take it.
Nothing ventured nothing gained...
I took notes when I last saw him after going through the box with leather samples and colours and I just wanted everyones opinion on the best leather to suit my requirements.
I want a Birkin 35.
My colour choices are;
Ebene, Vert Cypress, Dark Prune (I think that was the name not prunoir) Bordeaux, or black.
Leather choices are;
Sombrero Calfskin
Swift Calfskin.
and Evercolour Calfskin.
(I love Barenia but know it isn't offered in black)
What would be the leather most likely to be good in rain, and not show scratches too badly (or one that the scratches would eventually fade in with the leather)
I LOVE box calf and have some beautiful vintage box calf bags but I have ruined them by getting caught in rain showers with unsightly bubbles appearing on the surface .
Likewise I have a beautiful celine Calf Classic bag and the Edge that are covered in scratches and so I now dont like to use them
So although I love the idea of a box Birkin I'm not putting that on the list because I know It'll get damaged in some way on first outing and I couldn't take the stress and guilt.
I'm looking for a smooth leather that is relatively carefree.
Any advice gratefully received especially if you already own bags in one of these leathers.
Also I dont mind slouch-I love slouchy Birkins so structure isn't a factor in this
but durability in other ways is.

 

[Rockerchic]

Understand if you are set on boutique new, but have you thought of vintage? I had a gulliver birkin in black and I think it would have fit your bill. To me the old gulliver is similar to swift but a bit thicker and felt like it would wear better. I ended up selling my bag as I had two 35s in black and couldn't justify keeping.
Here is one I found on ebay

Edited to say that my bag was obviously vintage and it looked amazing...I really do think Gulliver must wear well.

 

[acrowcounted]

Do they make B35s in sombrero?
Regardless, I’m going to have to agree with Rockerchic and suggest you strongly consider the resale market, not just vintage but even new. The size and leathers you’ve keyed in on are among the highest priced retail and hold their value the worst. With cost being an important factor here, I would think you could find an excellent condition bag in the specs you seek at wayyy under retail price.

Otherwise, I’m a big fan of Evercolor leather. I’d never buy it in a B35 because slouch isn’t for me, but if you like that look then it would work well.

 

[maxroxxherhandbags]

Understand if you are set on boutique new, but have you thought of vintage? I had a gulliver birkin in black and I think it would have fit your bill. To me the old gulliver is similar to swift but a bit thicker and felt like it would wear better. I ended up selling my bag as I had two 35s in black and couldn't justify keeping.
Here is one I found on ebay

Edited to say that my bag was obviously vintage and it looked amazing...I really do think Gulliver must wear well.
View attachment 4908034

Thank you for your thoughtful response.
I am far from set on boutique new...in fact if I'm honest the thought of spending this much on a new bag actually makes me feel quite ill! (especially as i recently let go a chance to buy a dream spec bag -Hac 32 in Ardennes leather at a really great price that I could afford on the resale market because of job uncertainty in the current pandemic)
Truth be told I would probably prefer preloved and feel much more comfortable using it-BUT I just today thought what the heck?
In a years time (or however long it takes to maybe get an offer) perhaps my feelings and sense of financial stability will have changed
and since I am still selling items to fund the purchase I may as well go on the list and see what happens?
I do agree that the older leathers like Ardennes and Gulliver do seem to wear better than their newer counterparts.

 

[maxroxxherhandbags]

Do they make B35s in sombrero?
Regardless, I’m going to have to agree with Rockerchic and suggest you strongly consider the resale market, not just vintage but even new. The size and leathers you’ve keyed in on are among the highest priced retail and hold their value the worst. With cost being an important factor here, I would think you could find an excellent condition bag in the specs you seek at wayyy under retail price.

Otherwise, I’m a big fan of Evercolor leather. I’d never buy it in a B35 because slouch isn’t for me, but if you like that look then it would work well.

I'm pretty sure that when I took notes my SA presented Sombrero as one of the leather options.
In a way my post is somewhat hypothetical because although I plan to put in the wishlist request when the shops here reopen If I did get an offer I probably wouldn't have the guts to pull the trigger and spend that much on a brand new bag.
I cant help being in love with the idea of having a bag still smelling of leather in its beautiful box (the Hermes bags I currently own were brought pre-loved and are over 10years old) BUT when push come to shove I dont know if I can stomach paying the extra for the BNIB boutique experience.
For that reason If I was buying new it would be through the boutique and not via a reseller.
but new or preloved I have a dilemma over the best smooth leather to meet my needs because I know thats what I want.
Thank you for your reply-I'll take it as a vote for Evercolour !

 

[Rockerchic]

Thank you for your thoughtful response.
I am far from set on boutique new...in fact if I'm honest the thought of spending this much on a new bag actually makes me feel quite ill! (especially as i recently let go a chance to buy a dream spec bag -Hac 32 in Ardennes leather at a really great price that I could afford on the resale market because of job uncertainty in the current pandemic)
Truth be told I would probably prefer preloved and feel much more comfortable using it-BUT I just today thought what the heck?
In a years time (or however long it takes to maybe get an offer) perhaps my feelings and sense of financial stability will have changed
and since I am still selling items to fund the purchase I may as well go on the list and see what happens?
I do agree that the older leathers like Ardennes and Gulliver do seem to wear better than their newer counterparts.

I'll be interested to see what the vote ends up being! I don't have longstanding experience with the leathers you have mentioned so I'm interested to see what others chime in!

 

[maxroxxherhandbags]

I'll be interested to see what the vote ends up being! I don't have longstanding experience with the leathers you have mentioned so I'm interested to see what others chime in!

I should have done a poll really shouldn't I?
Doh

 

[labelo]

I feel like I’ve seen noir Bs coming out in Jonathan recently, it’s a newer Swift-like leather. Other than that I can’t think of much that would be smooth.

If you love Barenia, I think it’s possible to find Barenia in Noir, definitely in Ebene, though only on the preloved market, I think.

 

[HKsai]

I have both vert cypress and ebene (I just recently purchased). They are both in Togo though. I don’t think I’ve seen any of those colors in the leather that you listed for the size that you want.

 

[DB8]

I don't have much to add in regards to your leather choices - my B35's are in Togo (which I love)

Don't be surprised if you get an offer quite fast after submitting your wish list - as small bags are all the rage now, B35's seem to be very available (and SA's are eager to unload them).

With that being said, it's a ripe opportunity to peruse the secondary market for a B35. Take advantage of lowered prices before the trend (inevitably) goes the other direction, in which case prices/demand will pick back up.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I've said it before but I wouldn't buy heritage leathers new as a first choice unless 1) it was a unicorn (Box mini Kelly, K25 Barenia) or 2) I wanted it perfect. Box especially doesn't hold value at resale and I kind of think Sombrero is the same.

Are you ok with a very soft bag? Swift in a B35 will puddle. I have a TB26 in Swift and it's completely puddly, which I love, but you must be ok with that.

I think you should go ahead and request a bag, but as others have said the bag may come fast. Your SA was very specific and let's be honest, this is not the most popular size nor the most popular colors and leathers. This makes me suspect your SA knows one of these will come in. Can you ask for a bag that you KNOW you will want and be willing to pay for?

If you really don't think you'll bite the bullet (and I can't blame you, these are huge purchases), I would look at preloved. It is a GREAT time to buy a B35 at resale.....and you can even look for noir Barenia. If I saw a noir Barenia B35 at a price close to what I could get for my noir B35 Togo, I would be swapping out in a heartbeat.
Note: I was talking to a consignment director at TheRealReal yesterday and she told me Birkins are NOT selling well, especially 35s. So....again....take the moment. It will not last

 

[Lilikay]

I would totally go for a swift B35 in any of th colors. It’s an amazing leather, very resilient and resistant and it tends to show less corner wear than Togo IMHO.
One of these days I’ve spilt a fair amount of hand sanitizer on the front panel of my Rouge H Swift B and didn’t have a wipe, only my hand and sleeves to wipe it off. Anyway, absolutely nothing happened and my bag is perfectly fine
I have orange, Azalee and Rouge H bags in swift and they are my most well preserved bags by far.

 

[papertiger]

Swift, for tactile qualities (which you seem to like) it's smooth even though it still has grain. Easily spa'd.

Evorcolor would be the most durable (stamped leather) but then you like the smooth and heritage leathers

I have no experience with Sombrero though, I'd actually have to read.

 

[papertiger]

I would totally go for a swift B35 in any of th colors. It’s an amazing leather, very resilient and resistant and it tends to show less corner wear than Togo IMHO.
One of these days I’ve spilt a fair amount of hand sanitizer on the front panel of my Rouge H Swift B and didn’t have a wipe, only my hand and sleeves to wipe it off. Anyway, absolutely nothing happened and my bag is perfectly fine
I have orange, Azalee and Rouge H bags in swift and they are my most well preserved bags by far.

In ye olde days I feel like everybody who never owned Swift wrote about it, so glad to hear form you, @QuelleFromage and others busting out the myths

 

[Lilikay]

In ye olde days I feel like everybody who never owned Swift wrote about it, so glad to hear form you, @QuelleFromage and others busting out the myths