Variations in Distressing of the Leather

[susan-eric]

Kylie Reese asked me to post this on a Balenciaga thread--there's a discussion somewhere else about the variation in the distressing of the leather. We both got Bordeaux bags from Bluefly--she got the box bag, but it hasn't arrived yet and I got the City which arrived Friday and which is pictured below with my magenta small from the same year, but very different exterior surface of the leather--I like the variation--but I think she likes the more distressed finish less--the middle photo shows the distressing more accurately, I think--Kylie--where are you?

 

[murasaki]

Wow, that is fascinating. Is the second pic the back of the bag? I notice that the back of the bags always seem to be nicely distressed. My opinion is that I like the distressing (like in pic #2) if the bag itself is slouchy. But if the "distressing" causes those veiny things and is on the part of the bag that is more rigid like in the front of the bag, the distressing looks too contrived and doesn't look right. So I guess what I'm trying to say is:

distressing + slouch = good
distressing + rigid = not so good

The latter I could see why someone would prefer a less distressed look.

Just my .2 cents

 

[susan-eric]

I can't remember now which side I did the closeup on. It's a pretty slouchy bag overall, and also pretty distressed overall. I think I prefer that to one side looking more distressed than the other side.

 

[kylieReese]

I actually like less distressing, but I'm starting to think the darker the color the more it shows. I'm no b bag expert, but calling the experts here, ceejay?? loganz can someone help

 

[helenNZ]

is that a magenta FIRST???? hehehe!

 

[angstofgumby]

I actually like less distressing, but I'm starting to think the darker the color the more it shows. I'm no b bag expert, but calling the experts here, ceejay?? loganz can someone help

I'm a fan of less distressing myself. I definitely think the distressing is more noticable on the darker bags because the contrast between the base color of leather and the distressing is greater. The distressing looks white, so it will be more noticable on the darker colored bags. If you compare the pre-Spring ink bags with the pre-Spring rose bags, the ink bags, on first glance, appear to be more heavily distressed than the rose bags. The reason being because the contrast between the dark leather and the light distressing is greater. With the rose, the distressing blends more evenly into the lighter color of the leather. In actuality the degree of distressing can possibly be the same on both leathers, but you will notice it more on the darker leather.

In my experience, I have seen some of the darker bags with less distressing than others though. I have two ink bags that have significantly less distressing than some of the ones that I have seen. It took a lot of inspection of bags before I found a level of distressing that I was comfortable with. I think it all depends on the hide and how extensively it was distressed before it was cut for the bags.

 

[Loganz]

I am a fan of less distressing, this is what has me surfing Ebay for older season bags instead of just buying new ones.

My Twiggy has thin distressed leather and I do not like that as much as my City and Hobo, which have smooshy leather. My box (which I am selling) is a 2006 but the leather is not distressed, crinkly, I guess I just got lucky with that one.

 

[valerieb]

You actually got your bordeaux from Bluefly? You are so lucky! Was the price reduced? I rarely go to Bluefly--I guess I will have to start checking their site on a regular basis...

 

[Kat]

I've gotten a cornflower City, a rouge Twiggy, and a white Twiggy recently and have not had a problem with too much distressing. Even the rouge, which is quite dark in color, the distressing is minimal. I'll post pics so you guys can see.

 

[Kat]

 

[Kat]

 

[Kat]

 

[susan-eric]

Yep--it's the magenta first in the photo and that one came from Bluefly too. I have complained in other threads that Bluefly needs to get their pricing in order because they jack up the list price of the bags and then their discount kicks in, but it's based upon an inflated list price. That's probably because they do not get listed that often and they seem unfamiliar with the styles and the pricing. The descriptions have been off the wall. But I dithered so long over whether or not to get a b'bag that when I finally took the plunge, they were a good resource for me because I liked the colors from this season the best and wanted to maybe do something other than my usual black bag. The distressing is pretty even on this bordeaux and I don't really see that much contrast between light and dark. Maybe crinkly is a better word.

 

[spiralsnowman]

This issue is so interesting... When I got my rouge City from Barney's I got to choose from mine and one that was goin to be sent out to a woman in Philadelphia.

Mine is already pretty distressed, but hers was even more so. The surface was almost split up into "pieces" of shiny leather, w/ veins of matte leather in between. The differences were really startling...

I was wondering: Does the new, distressed leather age well? One the shininess wears off, does the bag look very different?

 

[kylieReese]

I know when I get my bag I'm going to wear it everyday so that the leather gets like the old leather. thats what this Neimans SA told me that the more you wear the bag the better the leather gets. Has anyone else heard of this??>