Thank you for your response. Wow what made you buy three of the same style? In what way does it get wonky? Does it stretch down the road? I think the Arco's design is quite unique and I don't mind the leather getting scratched as that is bound to happen in all smooth calf leathers. Plus i like the worn look and hopefully down the road once it has a nice patina those scratches won't look too visible? I don't like the maxi size however i wish the medium sized came in Rust and Wood colors with the same crinkled paper calf leather that the maxis come in. I think they only have the green and yellow in paper calf slouch. The yellow isn't that bad either but i love the wood and rust more.
I actually got the small and medium as gifts! The maxi slouch was the only one I proactively bought earlier last year and it was due to the color (Racing Green) and because I just felt that the slouchier version suited this specific design better.
So, the handles are supposed to be straight and look like a swing’s ropes, thus having a longer drop. However, they just move to the sides a lot and make the drop shorter, especially when the bags are not being used. They just look and feel like spaghetti or like long curly hair.
As for the bag’s body and flap, they do stretch and my medium has a huge crease where the arm falls both on the flap and the body, which I hate because it looks like a bag that was once structured and has seen better days overall vs the maxi slouch, which looks like it has always been that way. That is another reason why I do not like the smooth leather with scratches on the medium one — it just makes it look even more beaten up, but not naturally as on the maxi or a PS1, a City (or any other Balenciaga), etc. This is personal opinion of course.
And talking about care, storage, et cetera, I just feel like this is a really high maintenance bag, which is strange even for me (I even baby my canvas LVs). Regarding the patina, I am sure it will definitely blend a lot of the scratches, but my bag looks so beaten up right now that I do not even want to take it out to get some fresh air and sun, so I really can’t tell you much about my experience on that.
As for the colors, there are some really lovely ones for the regular medium and I think you cannot go wrong with any, even if the ones you like are only available on the slouch.
Anyways, sorry for the bible, but I did not want to miss any of your points. HTH!
