Meet Alma/Dyeing A Louis Vuitton Alma

I think I told you that I had a few things on my wish list before my paychecks run out.
Today's deposit may be the last one.
Boo.
I also had some birthday gift cards from eBay.
Fun, fun, fun.

I found the classic Louis Vuitton Alma MM for a bargain during some late night browsing. 

This is a handbag post. You are welcome to opt out, if handbags aren't your thing.

Alma came in on a jet plane from Japan. 

I think I've said this before. Japan has strict counterfeiting laws.
The sellers I use want to sell $15,000 Hermes, Birkins and $5,000 Chanels.
They aren't going to risk their selling reputations selling fakes. 

There are other parts of Asia that are known for fakes, however.
I steer very clear of sellers from other countries.
I've done all my own authentications but there are professional authenticators available if you aren't sure what to look for and you would like to buy designer items on eBay.

Before:

After checking it over for authenticity, all the brass was cleaned up with Bar Keeper's Friend.

This girl was dirty.

Bags with Vachetta leather on the bottoms typically have issues with stains.
People will accidentally set their bag down in water and unless the bag is pre-treated with leather protector, the water will stain it.
This bag is from the 90s and it looks like it has a big water stain on the bottom.

I wiped the whole thing down with a warm, damp wash rag.
I also wiped the inside of the bag out as well. 

The stains on this bag didn't come out but that doesn't matter because I'd always planned on dyeing it.

I let it dry. 

 Nail polish remover or acetone will deglazed the leather so that it can absorb the dye.
Dip a cotton ball into the nail polish remover and gently wipe down the bag.
Let it dry.
I used Fiebing's Leather Dye in USMC Black.

The larger parts were dyed using the cotton wand that comes with the dye. 

The smaller parts needed a finer hand so I used a paint brush with a very fine tip.
One coat covered up most of the staining.
Leather dyeing is messy so be careful with the product. 

Let it dry for about an hour after each coat.

After two coats of dye and a finish coat with Angelus Brand Acrylic Finisher in High Gloss, she was ready for her debut.
This bag is stunning.
The Macassar line, black leather trim with monogram canvas, started in the men's line but it's branched into the women's collection.
There have been several Limited Edition Almas that have a similar dye treatment.

The Alma is a Louis Vuitton Icon. 

It began as a piece of luggage with compartments for clean and dirty laundry. 

It was redesigned in 1934 and became the Squire.
It was made over again during the 1950s and was renamed the Champs Elysees.
It has been a ladylike staple ever since is was redesigned and renamed in 1992.

It is a lovely, structured bag. 

Usually I like my bags slouchy and a little relaxed. 

This one, however, is not.

A few years ago, bloggers and YouTubers began dying older, worn out Almas and other bags. 

I've been dying to dye one ever since.
Pun intended.

I have to say that this exceeded my expectations. This bag is stunning. 

The brass detail is gorgeous.
I added an after market leather strap so this bag can be worn over the shoulder.

The lock can connect the two zipper pulls so that the bag is impervious to the notorious French pickpockets.

I realized as I was straightening my purse closet, that I have unknowingly been collecting the classics.

This one is a gorgeous addition to my collection.
Thanks for letting me share. 

Katie

Dishing and Digging It @ Life and Linda, 

 Show and Share @ Coastal Charm 

Tuesdays @ Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home
Amaze Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch, 

 The Scoop @ Stone Gable,

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life, 
Brag About It @ Across The Boulevard

 Wow Party @ Savvy Southern Style 

Share Your Style @ The Essence of Home, 

Share Your Cup @ Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olsen,  

Best of The Weekend @ Ms. Toody Goo Shoes  

 Share It One More Time Inspiration Party
Snickerdoodle Link Party @ Across the Boulevard

A Louis Vuitton Sent Out For Refurbishment

Good Morning.
Happy Tuesday.
I think I told you that there were a few last things that I wanted to do while I was still getting a paycheck. 

I apologize in advance if purses are not your thing. 

I love them more than shoes and almost more than coffee. 

Not really. I love my coffee!

I was giving my Speedy 25 a good cleaning. 

The 25 means 25 centimeters or about 10 inches wide.
The Speedy is a Louis Vuitton icon. It was created in 1965 as a day bag for Audrey Hepburn.
It has been created in other patterns and leathers over the years.
There are Limited Edition versions of it about twice a year. 

I guess I was a little too aggressive with my cleaning because I broke the metal zipper pull.

I decided to take it into the store for that repair but I also wanted to ask about replacing all of the leather on the bag.

A Louis Vuitton Monogram bag is made out of printed canvas. That is the LV section. 

It has Vachetta leather piping, handles, chaps, tabs on both ends and a zipper pull tab.

I'll interject at this point, that Bill was incensed to find out that the bag was made of canvas instead of all leather. Sometimes I just need to stop talking. Can I get an "amen"? 

I could have chosen to replace just the zipper pull with the leather tab but the Vachetta leather tans or oxidizes over time because it is not stained or coated leather.   

The zipper pull would have never matched the rest of the bag.
My bag is 21 years old and was very suntanned or patinated.
A too little suntanned for my preference which is why I was trying to give it a good cleaning.
If you see hand held bags with black handles, that is dirt that can be cleaned.
That is not patina. It is dirt.
My little brass bits had greenish tarnish around them. Gross. 

I could have replaced handles and chaps too but it would never have matched the piping or tabs on the ends.
I took it up to the Louis Vuitton at the Dallas Galleria. They were very nice.
I chatted with the sales associate about it.
She pointed out that there was value in refurbishing this bag because it was my first Louis and therefore a little sentimental. 

I decided to go for it and replace all of the external leather pieces. 

The internal pocket and tabs would still have the original leather but that doesn't bother me.
No one can see the inside of the bag but me and these bits show the history of the bag. 

I believe the repair was being done at the factory in California.
There is a Louis Vuitton factory in the U.S.
There are factories in Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland and the U.S.
There is a date code in every bag. Until recently the date code indicated the factory with two letters.
The four numbers indicated the week and year of production.
One of my tiny bags was made in the France during the fourth week of 2016.
The date code looks like this.

SF is a factory in France. The week is the first and third number. The year the second and last number.  So the date code on my mini bag reads - SF0146. This is not a serial number.
I've heard that they have changed the date codes again. I assume this it to foil the counterfeiters.

 My bag would take five to six weeks to redo.
As this is sort of a retirement present to myself, I thought the timing was perfect.
It would be ready around the end of school. 

I was nervous. 

I've never had to leave anything for repair. 

What if they ruined the bag while they were taking it apart?
I didn't need to worry.

Does she look 21 years old to you?

That is what I love about this brand. 

Hermes is the only other brand that takes care of older bags like this. 

Chanel will no longer refurbish anything over 5 years old and 5 years old is a baby in the world of Chanel.

I will point out that I didn't buy this bag in the Louis Vuitton boutique.
I bought it from a local reseller that is not longer in business yet they refurbished it for me anyway.  

Here are some thoughts. 

I am so glad I did this. 

This looks like a brand new bag but it has the history of my old bag.

It is a beautiful, classic and I'll carry it for years to come.
It was much less than the cost of a new bag.

It took exactly five weeks. 

I picked it up my last day of school.



Perfect. 

Thanks for letting me share.
Happy Retirement to me!
Katie 

How To Dye A Vernis Louis Vuitton Bag

I feel like I am running a center for handbag rehab over here. 

Two of my recent projects were eBay finds. 

The other was a piece in my collection that never got used. 

I'll talk about each in its own post.

I'm quitting my job.

I know I've told you but it's just so exciting to say it over and over again. 

I have exactly 9 more alarms!
I'm not a morning person. Just FYI. 

There were a few things on my bucket list before I quit and I have to become Thrifty Katie again. 

I'm always thrifty, so even though I have a wish list, I still want to snag them for the best price possible.

Louis Vuitton has a patent leather color so perfect that it has been on my wish list since I started stalking their website 8 years ago.
Amarante is a gorgeous, deep purple/red color.

The Vernis line is more expensive than the regular canvas line.
Plunking down that kind of cash for a special occasion bag was just not something I could bring myself to do.
It's not clear to me why this happens but older Vernis pieces from Louis Vuitton discolored or got color transfer.

They are a bargain on eBay.
They are quite worthless in their current state but a few savvy crafters have found an amazing fix for these old bags.
When Bill is watching some television program involving outer space or grizzly murder, I'll watch YouTube videos.
I came across an artisan that re-dyes older Louis Vuitton pieces.
I binged watched almost every clip. It gave me the impetus to plop a Vernis piece into my shopping cart over at eBay.
I chose the cheapest bag in the style I wanted.

It arrived from Japan in about two weeks.

The inside of the bag is perfect.
It has no odors which is great.
Sometimes sellers will spray stuff with Febreeze. I can't stand that smell.

 Fiebing's Burgundy and Purple leather dye were the two colors used to get the deep Amarante color.
I hoped the dye would cover up some of the deeper marks in the leather.
Reportedly the dye would not cover up the shine of the Vernis - varnish in French.

The surface was rubbed with acetone nail polish remover to deglaze it a little.

The first coat was done in the red. The second coat was done in the purple.
The process isn't like painting. It is more like staining furniture.
Long sweeping motions with the dye dauber are best.



The red looked just like the Louis Vuitton color, Pomme. It's also a sought after color in that line.
There may be a second dye job in my future.

At some point the color looked copper before it was completely dry.
It was not the look I was going for.
I used a dry cloth to remove the excess dye that seemed to be pooling in random spots.
Once dry, the copper color disappeared.

Leather dye is a different type of liquid. It's very runny. Even though I was meticulous and careful some of the dye seeped onto the tan Vachetta leather.
I went ahead and dyed all the piping Amarante.

There was no fixing that.

In 24 hours it was completely dry.
I haven't sealed this with a leather sealer, I want to see how it holds up. If it chips, I'll seal it with leather finish.

It's so pretty!
This is the Thompson Street bag.  It was made in France in the ninth week of the year 2000.
It looks good for something 17 years old.

This would have ended up black if this mixing experiment had been a fail.
I didn't really need another black purse so I'm thrilled it worked.

Just an FYI. The thread took longer to dry than the patent leather.
Keep that in mind when handling the bag. (I learned that the hard way.)

This was so much fun to do.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Katie