I’m quite O.C. when it comes to my handbags. I don’t like stains, wrinkles, or scratches. But is that even possible?! Here are some tips on how to keep bags looking new.
- First, clean bag every after use with a soft dry cloth. Don’t use damp cloth, especially on leather bags. For dirt that can’t easily be removed by dry cloth, there are special cleaning solutions that can be used. Never ever use alcohol! Note though that you can’t use the same leather cleaner for all your leather bags. Some types of leather require a special cleaning solution. Extra care is needed too for dyed leather as color can be stripped off due to the wrong cleaner used. This already happened to one of my bags!
- If you need to use a cleaning solution, try it on a small portion first where it won’t be seen, in case something goes wrong. Also, it’s always best to ask the boutique where you bought your bag on how to properly clean your purse. Do some research too!
- Put your bag in a dust bag every after use. Place some dehumidifiers inside the dust bag since humidity can ruin the leather.
In case you misplace the original dust bag of your purse, worry not! You can now buy dust bags in different sizes. I recently discovered this online shop, Oh My Bag, who sells very affordable generic dust bags. They come in Black and Brown and in different sizes.
I like that it has identification slot too so I can easily find the bag I’m looking for without the need to open each dust bag in my closet.
- Use a bag stuffer when storing your bags to avoid folds, wrinkles and sagging of the leather. Some use paper stuffing, but most of the time, unequal stuffing can also ruin the shape of your bag.
Oh My Bag got that covered too since they have various bag stuffers available. They have specially designed pillow stuffers for specific designer bags to make sure that the measurements fit the bags perfectly. They also have generic ones, like the one I have. This is the bag stuffer for small bags. Just to give you an idea, the small one is quite big for the Chanel 2.55 Medium Flap bag.
without bag stuffer
with bag stuffer
with bag stuffer
- To care for your bag handles, you can also use handle wraps.
Remember, our hands are probably the dirties part of our body. Also, do you know that our lotions, perfume, and other body care products can cause damage and discoloration on leather handles? To prevent any chemical reactions of our body care products to the leather, wrap the handles of your bag. Note that darkening of the handles does not only happen on light-colored bags, take for example this red Balenciaga. Unfortunately, the handles turned a bit darker than the rest of the bag.
Thanks to Oh My Bag, again, for sending me handle wraps! I checked their website (http://www.ohmybag.com.ph/) and they have various designs and colors to choose from. I find this perfect for my red Balenciaga! It’s never too late to wrap them to avoid further discoloration.
- For bags without structure, there’s now a base shaper, which you can put inside the bag. Aside from making your bag look structured, it can help avoid accidental piercing, which can possibly happen on a bag without a hard base.
- Now if you are extremely careful and you want to go the extra mile, there’s a bag raincoat! Well for some it can be a bit exaggerated, but some leather absorbs rain drops causing water stains. And I tell you, if you’re O.C., you’ll get really irritated with those water stains! You can check how a bag raincoat looks like at Oh My Bag too.
Bags aren’t exactly cheap, so proper care is a must to keep them looking new. And with all the available bag accessories, you can surely pass on your designer bags in excellent condition to your daughter (or maybe even your grand daughter).
To know more about Oh My Bag, visit their website www.ohmybag.com.ph or follow them on Facebook (oh my Bag Ph), Twitter (ohmybagph), and Instagram (ohmybagphils).
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