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Those of you who have used Louis
Vuitton for a while know that they can last you decades. Of course you can
try to damage purses by being abusive, but I don't believe anybody desires to
carry a beat up purse. I want my $700 purse to last me a long time, even
if I have to have some parts repaired over the years. Some people just buy
the latest & greatest, use them for a while, then move on to the next new
model. For one thing, I cannot afford to do that, and secondly I get
attached to my favorite purses so that replacing a purse with a brand new one,
even the same model, would be a major concession for me. Here are some
things I've discovered. Please take this as my personal experience and try
these methods only at your own risk.
Storage
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NEVER EVER store your
Louis Vuitton near moth repellant (beads, crystals, envelopes,
cakes, whatever). It causes the monogram canvas to wear
prematurely, resulting cracks. |
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Unbuckle straps, as
hardware leaves dents and stains. This means you shouldn't
hang it. |
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Stuff the purse with soft
breathy material, such as old T shirts. The monogram canvas is
durable, but once it gets creases, it'll take a while to get rid of
them. Unnecessary pressure by folding for a long period of
time could cause cracks on
the canvas or the varnish of older pieces, too. You want to
maintain the shape of the purse while being stored. |
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Store in
"some" cloth bags. The typical felt bag that comes
with Louis Vuitton is sufficient, but in some climates that get hot
& humid (like Japan), I feel you'll be better off using
something like a pillow case. The Louis Vuitton felt bag is
fuzzier and woven more densely than a thin pillow case. All
you want to do is avoid dust, so a cheap pillow case (definitely not
nice 220-count cotton) should do the job. Vernis in particular
should be stored in the felt bag that comes with the item (or
something very soft)! Vernis is very very sensitive, and its
color fades and transfers easily. |
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It all depends on the
climate you live in, but you should air your purses at least once a
year. You definitely do not want them to smell; a mildew (musty)
smell would be very difficult to get rid of. |
Monogram
Canvas
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Monogram canvas is
VINYL. So you need not be TOO gentle with it, but it loses its
sheen appearance. This is mainly because dust & dirt accumulates on
the surface since it's bumpy. Use a mild soap (not detergent) with a sponge
and wipe with damp soft cloth. Do not rub hard. The
monogram canvas is a print, so you could make it fade by
scrubbing. If something is stuck (like food) in the bumps,
just wet that area and let the stain absorb water so that you don't
have to scrub. Be extra careful with the leather parts when
washing the monogram canvas! You do not want water stains on
your leather, so do not get the leather wet. |
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Gentle washing is all
you need to do, but if you want extra shine, I use mink oil
spray. It smells rather strong, but the smell goes away
completely in a few days, and it also does not harm the
leather. Armor All is controversial, although it's
formulated to take care of vinyl & plastic. Armor All does
a wonderful job, but as per my husband (a car collector,
"junk" cars, I might add), unless you continuously use it, some
believe it causes dryness and cracks. As old car's dash cracks
after being exposed to the sun for many years, the monogram canvas
cracks by years of use and being exposed to harsh weather. |
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Monogram canvas does
get thin after many years of use! The print fades and becomes
dull, but there's nothing you can do about it. Time to hit the
Louis Vuitton boutique! |
Natural
Leather
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Everybody who
purchases a new Louis Vuitton purse with natural leather (most
monogram models) gets very very nervous about the leather parts, or gets real
surprised if it's their very first Louis Vuitton, because the
leather is so sensitive to water and other staining. Louis Vuitton
leather is TOP QUALITY, but it's not dyed or coated. It is
very sensitive, and ONE drop of rain leaves a light water
stain. It'll tan over the years to its very famous "Louis
Vuitton patina". I'll explain this patina business in the
"patina???" page. |
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Leather needs to
breathe. So whatever you do, do NOT store in a plastic blanket
case or a plastic tub and the like. |
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Leather needs to be
nourished; it will dry up and crack without care. Again,
depending on the climate you live in (big difference between CA and
AZ), you need to use some kind of leather conditioner/lotion once or
twice a year. I'd advise against using anything in the first
year (maybe two years), however. If you use your new purse
heavily (daily), I personally like the first year to be the natural
"breaking-in" period. I have no good explanation to
this, so it's just how I feel. We don't use a hand cream on a
baby's hand (who doesn't do dishes!) unless there's an absolutely
positively good reason to do so. I believe it (baby skin or
Vuitton leather) needs to be exposed to the air (and all the junk in
the air), moisture, and oil & dirt from hands and other
"stuff" in the environment in order to age
naturally.
As far as what to use, I recommend "Leather Care"
conditioner by Apple Polishes, although it does stain (makes it
darker) young leather somewhat. It can be obtained at
Burlington Coat if you have their store in town. Check their
web site to find out where to get one. http://www.applepolishes.com/applepolishes/dealers/default.asp
Coach leather conditioner is also known to do a wonderful job.
What's NO NO is mink oil cream. It contains animal fat
that clogs the pores of the leather that need to breathe. It
is seriously greasy, so it stains the leather big time. If you
have Japanese catalogs & magazines (Perfect such & such) and happen to read
the "care" section, many recommend mink oil cream to be
applied thinly. WRONG! Believe me, you do NOT want to use mink oil
cream.*
Mink oil spray on the other hand, does not stain
the leather and it is a fine mist, so that it can be sprayed a
little bit on the leather. I don't think this much (or little)
mink oil should harm the leather at all. But for thorough conditioning, I recommend a lotion
type, without animal fat.
Don't forget to condition the strap! |
*There
is nothing wrong with those Japanese catalogs published by Japanese
magazine companies, and I enjoy them just like you do. They provide
a lot better pictures than Le Catalogue. But if you *happen to* get
it translated, please beware that some
product information provided in those books is incorrect.
They are not Louis Vuitton's official anything; as a matter of fact, Louis
Vuitton really does not like those books providing information on their
products as they have no control over what's published outside Louis
Vuitton. So just enjoy the pictures as they're worth your time even
if you don't read a word of Japanese.
Leather
Cleaning
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As a general rule, DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CLEAN THE LEATHER YOURSELF, unless the piece is totally
beat up and you don't care what the result is. Send it to
Louis Vuitton factory for cleaning, as they know their own
leather!** Believe me, I have ruined Vuitton leather trying to
remove stains. Faint water stains, oil from hands, Sun, and
everything else in the environment will accumulate to create the
rich "Vuitton patina". |
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There
is nothing you can do to remove ink stains. If you try leather
cleaner of some sort on the leather lining, you are taking a chance
of removing the brown dye. You'll end up with a spot that
looks like bleached, and the ink stain remains!
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**I
have recently received a report that Louis Vuitton factory does not
clean/condition the leather. It was about 3 years ago I had my soft
document case condition by Louis Vuitton. So please call your local
store to find out what they currently do.
Pocket
Lining (yes, THAT problem)
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It is no exaggeration
to say that every Louis Vuitton owner in Japan has experienced a
"rotten" pocket lining. Not the cross-grain leather
lining, but the smooth lining used for pockets. It
is NOT genuine leather but synthetic! Damaged pocket linings
are described as "melted", "sticky",
"peeling", or "flaking". This is caused by
the humidity. The moisture in the air is retained inside the
pocket lining where it does not vent (naturally). The water
"rots" while being retained in the material, and this
causes the stickiness. Then the water evaporates as the
weather dries, and that causes the peeling and flaking. In the
worst case, both front & back of the pocket linings are this
synthetic leather (like inside pockets), and the pocket ends up
being shut as the material melts and dries like glue. Nothing
you can do but have them replaced by Louis Vuitton
(expensive). You really need to air & air & air the
pockets, especially in storage, to avoid this problem. |
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Louis Vuitton changed
the material a couple of years ago to supposedly take care of this
problem for their new productions, since they ended up having to
face tons of VERY UNHAPPY Japanese, who had the lining replaced one
year and have to do it again the next year. They tested this new
synthetic material in South Asia where the weather is extremely hot
and humid. It seems to have been improved, but even this new
synthetic lining isn't problem free. I've had reports that it
still rots in Japan. |
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