For the really serious Chanel lovers out there, you may have noticed that Chanel produces a lot of different caviar leathers. Which ones are softer; which ones are the most durable? See all sorts of caviar leathers with this reference guide.
The Classics
While Chanel has released many types of caviar leather now, the classic caviar leathers, as seen above, are still the most common. Not all classic caviar leather have the same texture or hardness. However, all classic caviar leather is very durable compared to most leathers. They are quite resistant to staining, marks, scratches and tears.
Prior to 2000, Chanel classic caviar leather tended to always be a bit harder. After 2000, caviar leather can greatly vary depending on the season and style of bag.
Soft Caviar
As the name implies, soft caviar is softer than the traditional caviar leather. The leather is not as durable as traditional caviar, but much more so than smooth calfskin or lambskin.
Some prefer the look and feel of soft caviar to classic caviar, describing it as less plastic-like. It really depends on your own tastes. Hopefully, all the pictures in this guide help you decide your personal preference.
Be careful especially with light-colored suede caviar as it is the least durable of the caviar leathers.
Special Finishes
Glazed, patent, and pearly caviar all have a noticeable glossed effect. These bags share similar durability to the classic caviar leathers.
The Chanel double flap is arguably the most iconic designer bag. Its popularity has never waned, and it continues to not only be timeless but one of the best-looking bags out there. With its price increasing every year, getting this bag earlier rather than later has proven to be a smart decision. When shopping for this investment bag, there are 2 difficult choices to be made: size and hardware color. Here are some tips.
In this post, we'll be referencing to the small size (9 inches long) and the medium size (10 inches long) double flap bags. These are the most photographed and well-known Chanel bags. These bags are so close in size that it is difficult to decide what bag might be right for you. This post is not in reference to the mini, jumbo, and maxi which have very distinct size differences.
Size: Small vs Medium
As you can see, if these bags, were not side by side, it would be challenging to know the difference between a small and medium classic flap. But, there is a difference, and the above comparison shows how each bag looks on my very average height of 5 feet and 5 inches.
Personally, I prefer the size medium on myself. But, it's subjective. For instance, the hubby prefers the size small better on my frame.
How much the bag can hold should also be considered before investing in this gorgeous bag. The pink wallet in the picture is a standard long wallet measuring 8 inches long.
The long wallet fits in the small double flap, but it leaves room for only a few more essential items like keys, a phone and lipstick. Meanwhile the medium has slightly more room allowing for a couple extras.
The size difference between the small and medium is really only 2-3 small items. And, of course, if a compact wallet is used instead, there will be much more room for other things.
Color: Silver vs Gold
The other characteristic that people have a hard time deciding on is hardware color. While it may seem insignificant, hardware color impacts the entire look of a bag.
Silver is often described as more modern and younger looking, whereas gold is often described as classic and luxurious.
I personally adore the look of black leather with shiny gold.
Silver hardware on Chanel double flaps is less common. Silver hardware is also less susceptible to color change and chipping.
Gold hardware, while the color can slowly become silver over time, or even bronze (uncommon), is still more popular.
One thing to consider is the metal color of your jewelry. Not only will that hardware color complement your skin-tone, your bag will match your jewelry.
It's time for one of our fun authentication quizzes. This time, we'll be focusing on SHOES! Can you tell which of these Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Valentino and Prada shoes are authentic?
Answers located at the bottom.
Answers: 1. Authentic 2. Fake 3. Fake 4. Authentic 5. Fake
When the weather's hot, it's time for a cute summer dress or a top with shorts outfit. Outfits with shorts and a top can easily look blah. To avoid this, make sure that the bag and shoes are sexy.
This top is a pretty unique find. Most off-the-shoulder tops slide and move around on the shoulders. This top stayed in place perfectly no matter what. Plus, I really love how the top is very fitted. Have you noticed that almost all off-the-shoulder tops are billowy and have ruffles?
This top goes with nearly everything and is one of the few things that don't look weird on me tucked into a high-waisted anything.
To add a little spice to the outfit, I paired it with some matching black cutout booties and a beautiful fire-engine red vintage Chanel bag. Simple. Easy. Body-conscious. All things that I love.
One of the distinct features of Hermes bags is its blind stamp. This stamp denotes the year of manufacture and the location in the atelier (workshop) that the bag was made. Read on for more details about Hermes blind stamps and how to decipher their meaning.
Most Hermes handbags will come with a blind stamp, also commonly referred to as a date and craftsmen stamp. However, it's important to mention that many vintage bags can lack one. And, while quite uncommon, newer Hermes bags may also be missing this stamp.
This stamp can include numbers, symbols, letters and shapes. The most notable part of the blind stamp is the year stamp, because it reveals the age of the bag.
Hermes Date and Year Stamp Guide
No shape
1945- A
1946- B
1947- C
1948- D
1949- E
1950- F
1951- G
1952- H
1953- I
1954- J
1955- K
1956- L
1957- M
1958- N
1959- O
1960- P
1961- Q
1962- R
1963- S
1964- T
1965- U
1966- V
1967- W
1968- X
1969- Y
1970- Z
Within a Circle
1971- A
1972- B
1973- C
1974- D
1975- E
1976- F
1977- G
1978- H
1979- I
1980- J
1981- K
1982- L
1983- M
1984- N
1985- O
1986- P
1987- Q
1988- R
1989- S
1990- T
1991- U
1992- V
1993- W
1994- X
1995- Y
1996- Z
Within a Square
1997- A
1998- B
1999- C
2000- D
2001- E
2002- F
2003- G
2004- H
2005- I
2006- J
2007- K
2008- L
2009- M
2010- N
2011- O
2012- P
2013- Q
2014- R
No Shape
2015- T
2016- X
2017- A
2018- C
2019- D
2020- Y
2021- Z
2022- U
2023- B
2024- W
Recently, I've been having a lot of fun dressing young. And, what could possibly suggest youth more than a pair of overalls?
This is a super casual outfit, so I paired my unfailing classic Chanel double flap to glam it up a bit. I've had this bag for many years now, and I love this bag just as much as the day I got it.
It's one of those rare loves where the sparks never fade.
To keep the shortalls from looking too childish, a sexy tight crop top and some wedges with height were added.
These stories of 2 shoplifters with a taste for designer fashion are jaw-dropping. The quantity of bags stolen is astonishing. Read on to hear their stories and just how much they stole.
Jayne Rand
Looking at this image, Jayne Rand appears to be just another average nice lady. Shockingly, this sweet-looking person stole 905 handbags over the course of 3 years!
When her property business ran into financial straits, she turned to shoplifting high-end designer bags to maintain her lifestyle. Traveling throughout the UK, she stole a bag almost daily. Her preferred bags included Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci.
Jayne Rand regrets her actions and was jailed for 18 months and ordered to pay back over £117,000. For a full story, head on over to BBC.
Kim Farry
This lady might be the most shameless shoplifter. Kim Farry refers to her shoplifting as a "business" and brags that she has made £2million from her "hard work."
She's very proud of the 44 years of her life that shoplifting was a part of. So much so, that she even started training her own children at the start of 12 to steal as well.
She currently resides in a rent-free council home and receives £556 a month in benefits.
As deeply misguided as this woman is now, her shoplifting crime began under heart-wrenching circumstances. At just nine, she saw her single mother crying over an egg that was all of the food they had left for that week. Shortly thereafter, the youth went to the grocery store and filled a cart with everything that they needed and simply walked out. Soon, she was stealing weekly for the family, and this habit obviously and quickly snow-balled.
She has had 50 charges and numerous jailings. Read the full story at Mirror.
Crime and stealing is wrong and impacts more than just the businesses and stores. An individual should strive to be a fair and honest contributor in society. My heart goes out to the 9-year-old Kim Farry who supported her family with crime, but wished that she had seized an opportunity to take a different route later in life. No matter how much she wants to believe shoplifting is "work," it's nothing like a real job.
While uncommon, cracks on Louis Vuitton canvas are horrifying. Here's how to possibly prevent this damage, why these cracks may appear, and which monogram and damier bags are more likely to get cracks.
To start off, it's important to mention that cracks on Louis Vuitton canvas are uncommon. Even the majority of 35+ year-old vintage Louis Vuitton do not have any cracks on the canvas. Louis Vuitton canvas, whether it be monogram, damier azur, or damier ebene, is typically very durable and low-maintenance.
But, we wanted to dedicate an entire post to canvas cracks, because this type of damage, unlike most damage, cannot really be fixed, and Louis Vuitton stores will refuse to service any bags with any canvas cracks. So, while uncommon, when cracks do happen, it's horrific!
How Do Cracks Happen?
Cracks can happen for a number of reasons.
First, certain bags seem to be more prone to cracks than others. Any bags with openings that are not lined with vachetta leather or a zipper will flex and fold more often. This seems to result in a higher likelihood of canvas cracking.
The care of a bag can also contribute to the likelihood of this dreaded damage. Prolonged exposure to sun and dryness, folding of the bag, overloading a bag, and any sharp jabs at the bag can contribute to cracking.
How to Avoid Canvas Cracks?
-Don't fold the bag, especially during storage. While canvas is very strong, this greatly increases the chances of cracking.
-Store the bag properly in a dark cool place. For unstructured bags that tend to flop over, place some tissue or clothing inside the bag.
-Care for the bag reasonably. Obviously, do not jab at it, but more related, do not over-stuff the bag or carry extremely heavy items inside the bag.
-Most bags don't need this. But, if you feel that your bag has gotten really dry because it has not been used for a long time or because of where it has been stored, apply a little conditioner to the canvas every half a year or so. We recommend Cadillac boot & shoe care leather conditioner.
Cracking is uncommon. For those that are terrified of cracking, certain bags seem to be much more resistant to cracking. While it can occur on the main body, bottom, or corners of the bag, it is most common at the opening of the bag.
The bags that are least likely to crack are structured handbags with a lining at the edges. Rigid bags, like the Nolita and Alma resist bending and folding, and bags with a zipper or vachetta leather on the edges have additional support when they are being flexed.
The above picture shows the opening of 3 different bags. The top-most bag, the Nolita, has a very low possibility of cracking, because it is both a rigid structured bag, and the opening is lined. In this case, the lining is the zipper. The bottom-most bag, the Artsy, is more likely to experience cracking than the Nolita and Neverfull, because the opening is not lined and the bag's shape also bends a lot.
I've Already Got Cracks, so What Now? 🙁
If you got to this page from a google search, because your Louis Vuitton bag already has cracks, our sincere sympathies are with you!
The consolation is that with reasonable care, the cracks will not spread much, and most cracks are very very minor and probably more noticeable to the owner than anyone else.
Similar to how one would go about avoiding cracks, condition the canvas every once in a while to ensure that the canvas has some moisture and is pliable rather than brittle. And, avoid improper care like over-loading the bag, or folding the bag. And, be sure to store that bag in a cool dark place!
Because resale prices can be so discounted, getting repairs done by the designer store can cost close to the cost of the bag itself! Plus, the time it takes for repair can be very long. This tutorial, using a Louis Vuitton bag, shows how to fix a broken strap quickly and easily.
This adorable Louis Vuitton Blois bag has an unfortunate torn shoulder strap.
When straps tear, it's usually near a bottom loop. Thankfully, this can fixed easily with just a few items.
Materials Needed to Fix a Torn Leather Strap
1. A small thin leather strip
2. Gorilla super glue- This stuff is amazing. Super strong. This is also my new favorite glue for strassing. It is way better than E-6000 or Gem-tac glue.
3. Scissors
4. A small clamp
Steps
1. First, ensure that the small leather strip is the correct size and length. Then, fold it where the strap should re-attach.
2. Apply the Gorilla super glue all over the inside of the loop of the broken strap. Make sure that the torn edge also receives some glue.
3. Then, wrap the broken strap loop around the small leather piece as seen in the above picture. The small leather piece should fold where the original tear is, so it creates a closed loop.
4. Clamp the area for 24 hours.
And, then, it's fixed! The repair is quite unnoticeable and very sturdy! Time to take this pretty little bag out for another whirl! 🙂
One of my favorite wardrobe items is a great wide cincher belt. It can change the look of an outfit, expand a closet, and enhance the waistline.
This shirt dress is really cute by itself, but I wanted to emphasize the waistline. A wide stretch belt does just that. It pulls in the waist, and instantly makes the outfit look more polished.
And, this belt looks great with so many different dresses, including some dresses that I haven't worn in a while.
As many of you know, I love Herve Leger belts. So, how does this BCBG belt compare?
The quality of the BCBG belt is nowhere near the quality of a Herve Leger belt. Instead of leather, it's faux leather. This will undoubtedly flake over time. And, gone are the nice little stitches to make the belt last for many many years.
However, the timelessness and simplicity of design of the BCBG belt is hard to beat, and it pulls in the waist quite well! Now, if only my waist can look that small without help. 😉
