I would send the bag to Leather Surgeons, they are great. After having a Chanel bag destroyed by another service (popular @ Chanel forum), LS are the only people I trust with my bags. They have provided excellent spa service for several of my bags over the years, including one from Gucci.
I’m going to see what the interior is like after fully brushing it out and vacuuming. I do have an extra (not same era) dust bag but I don’t want to compromise the bag entirely. Mine doesn’t hold sentimental value, I am a (very very small) reseller. I only do a few at a time because it takes a lot of elbow grease to get them into the condition I want. I have seen a few people talk about sealing or re-coating the interior after brushing it out. I have yet to do this and am hesitant to even try. It’s gorgeous regardless, and if I can get the interior to a point that it is not sticky, I will be more than thrilled!
I sent you a message with Gerry's email, I would contact him directly to make sure you have the same people.
I’m leaning that way. Here is the start of the process, which will take several hours:
It was flaking anytime I touched it, to the point it wasn’t really usable even with an insert. The opening is the worst, so I may not scrape all of it off and look at trying to maintain the rest of the brown interior. It definitely looks better than it is in person, and I get the feeling it was just sitting in storage for a while and it dried out. The exterior of the bag has hardly any signs of use and feels like butter!
