I recently purchased a vintage Coach bag at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. The bag was in pretty good shape but it was an odd, dull, red color which I called "maroon". Hyacinth and DemRam kindly authenticated the bag as a Court bag and said that was made in the late 1980s or early 1990s; but they told me that although this bag had been made in a "Red" color it had never been made in a "Maroon" shade. 
Intriqued by my mystery bag I set about rehabbing it. First I gave it a bath in Woolite and warm water. As soon as it got wet I was astonished to see it had turned into a rich, dark brown color with reddish undertones! What a surprise!
After it dried (although it looked cleaner and brighter) it changed back to the dull reddish maroon color. I wondered if it had faded due to sun exposure but then I noticed that even the inside of the bag was maroon so that couldn't be the problem.
But after 2 applications of Leather Therapy oil the bag was magically restored to its beautiful, original mahagony brown color!
I can't believe the difference! No dyes or polishes were used but the color is so much nicer now. I think that the leather was so dried out - it just looked dull and red - but after the leather had the opportunity to drink in some therapy oil - it's almost like new again!
I'm not a great photographer so I haven't captured the colors perfectly but hopefully you will be able to see the difference. Here are the before (maroon) pictures and I will post the after (mahagony) pics attached to a separate message. I'm really pleased with my new (brown!) bag!
Intriqued by my mystery bag I set about rehabbing it. First I gave it a bath in Woolite and warm water. As soon as it got wet I was astonished to see it had turned into a rich, dark brown color with reddish undertones! What a surprise!
After it dried (although it looked cleaner and brighter) it changed back to the dull reddish maroon color. I wondered if it had faded due to sun exposure but then I noticed that even the inside of the bag was maroon so that couldn't be the problem.
But after 2 applications of Leather Therapy oil the bag was magically restored to its beautiful, original mahagony brown color!
I can't believe the difference! No dyes or polishes were used but the color is so much nicer now. I think that the leather was so dried out - it just looked dull and red - but after the leather had the opportunity to drink in some therapy oil - it's almost like new again!
I'm not a great photographer so I haven't captured the colors perfectly but hopefully you will be able to see the difference. Here are the before (maroon) pictures and I will post the after (mahagony) pics attached to a separate message. I'm really pleased with my new (brown!) bag!
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