[LONDON] Handbag repair/restoration experience and recommendations?

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Lwy

Lwy

Member
Sep 20, 2015
318
337
#1
Hi everyone,

My beloved Balenciga City desperately require some TLC as I have been using it everyday for work for the past 2 years.

I know 2 very popular companies in London ie. The Handbag Clinic and The Handbag Spa. Would love to see if anyone can share their experience or recommend other companies for handbag repair/restoration.

Thank you!
 
#2
Here for recommendations too! In need of a little tidy up and a travel tag replacement, although I'm not sure if repair services will cover this :/ The Handbag Clinic look really good and are very reputable, so I'm tempted to go with them.

I'll sit back with you and patiently await a qualified recommendation :)
 
#3
goldendeelish said:
Here for recommendations too! In need of a little tidy up and a travel tag replacement, although I'm not sure if repair services will cover this :/ The Handbag Clinic look really good and are very reputable, so I'm tempted to go with them.

I'll sit back with you and patiently await a qualified recommendation :smile:
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I recently saw The Restory featured in a mag, they have a counter in Selfridges and I think I will bring my bag in to get a quote. Both Handbag Clinic and Handbag Spa look good so I think I will decide base on the price haha x
 
#4
Oh that's a good idea, I think I'd prefer to visit in person so will try that too. I'm sure all these places are rather pricey but it would be good to save a little if possible! Let me know how you get on :D x
 
#6
goldendeelish said:
Oh that's a good idea, I think I'd prefer to visit in person so will try that too. I'm sure all these places are rather pricey but it would be good to save a little if possible! Let me know how you get on :biggrin: x
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I went to Selfridges London on Sunday to drop off my YSL bag (not the Balenciaga originally mentioned) as there's colour transfer on the back of it (SO SAD:sad:). Recieved a quote this morning (Tue) and I'm impressed by the quick response. I've also asked 3 other companies so I will list them below (these are all quotes for a colour restoration and re-edging, not every bag will be the same).
  • The Handbag Clinic £249.99
  • The Restory £210 (a small discount if you pay 100% upfront)
  • The Handbag Restoration Company £179
I decided to go for Restory because the turnaround time is reasonable and it's really convenient that I can pick it up from Selfridges once it's done. There are quite a few negative feedbacks on Trustpilot and here about Handbag Clinic, and it's the most expensive one out of the 3. The sole reason I didn't go for Handbag Restoration Company is the turnaround is longer than expected (it's a small business) but I've seen great reviews and the price is so competitive!

I will post an update once I have my bag back and I hope this can help the ladies (or gents) out there if they need to repair their well-loved bags:heart:
 
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#8
ChannellingChanel said:
View attachment 4584626 View attachment 4584627 View attachment 4584628 View attachment 4584630

I just got my oxblood Chanel bag back from The Restory and I am absolutely delighted with the results. The corners were very worn with exposed piping and they have done a great job.

I’ve attached some photos which I think show the best before and after comparisons.

The light is different in the photos but the colour is the same.
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I think they've done a great job and your bag looks new! It doesn't look like it has been repaired tbh, the colour match was done really well. How long did you wait for yours to come back? I can't wait to get mine back and hopefully I will before Christmas.
 
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#9
So with mine they said 8 weeks - I have only shown a bit of the wear on my bag above; there was a lot more than that! They let me know in advance of the 8 week point that they would need a few days more and then sent it back looking amazing.

I am still so impressed. I let the corners get into a really bad state - it should have been sent to a bag spa way before and I was quite prepared to get it back, not be happy and throw the bag away so my expectations were that it was unfixable. I have a few more things to send them now!
 
#10
ChannellingChanel said:
So with mine they said 8 weeks - I have only shown a bit of the wear on my bag above; there was a lot more than that! They let me know in advance of the 8 week point that they would need a few days more and then sent it back looking amazing.

I am still so impressed. I let the corners get into a really bad state - it should have been sent to a bag spa way before and I was quite prepared to get it back, not be happy and throw the bag away so my expectations were that it was unfixable. I have a few more things to send them now!
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That's really reassuring because I couldn't find many reviews online, only from media/Instagram and I don't always trust those.

They said mine will take 8 weeks too. I asked for a quote to change the colour of the bag completely , thinking I don't have to worry about colour transfer in the future. But they actually came back and said they don't advise that, so I am quite pleased that they do not just take your money.
 
#11
I also couldn’t find many reviews - the option doesn’t seem to be there. I guess there will always be one or two people who don’t get the experience they’re expecting and are very vocal about it. I know I take more notice of one bad review than 20 good ones so perhaps they made the decision to rely on their own case studies and not be on trustpilot. I wanted to leave them a positive review but settled for emailing them instead!

Do post before and afters when you get your bag back and I hope your experience is as good as mine!
 
#12
ChannellingChanel said:
I also couldn’t find many reviews - the option doesn’t seem to be there. I guess there will always be one or two people who don’t get the experience they’re expecting and are very vocal about it. I know I take more notice of one bad review than 20 good ones so perhaps they made the decision to rely on their own case studies and not be on trustpilot. I wanted to leave them a positive review but settled for emailing them instead!

Do post before and afters when you get your bag back and I hope your experience is as good as mine!
Click to expand...
You're definitely right about that haha. People tend to focus on the negative reviews a lot more (myself included). I hope they will do a great job on mine, and I will keep this updated!
 
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#14
I picked up my YSL from Selfridges London last Saturday! It was quicker than I thought as they originally quoted 7-8 weeks, it was done in 6 weeks. I am quite pleased with the results.

As I mentioned previously in the thread, there was colour transfer and the edging on the handles were cracked. They did a good job of re-edging, removing & covering the stains. It would be perfect if some sections of the edging is smoother. I will definitely consider sending bags to The Restory for some TLC in the future as their prices are very reasonable, great communication during the whole process, and I love the convenience of being able to drop them off/pick up from Selfridges (this is also available at Harvey Nicholas).

The first photo is the BEFORE, rest of them are AFTER (sorry they were taken in different lights).IMG_5772.jpeg IMG_6195.jpeg IMG_6196.jpeg IMG_6197.jpeg
 
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