Here at Deluxe Consignment, we extend our consignment business services well beyond the point of sale. What does that mean? It means that we are always happy to address questions and inquiries even after you purchased and received your items from us. 

Owning a high-end, designer item also comes hand-in-hand with being able to maintain it, preserve its quality, and extending its resale value. Therefore, our clients are always interested in finding out how to properly care for these designer goodies. This blog post is an introductory guide to taking care of your items: 

Storage. Of course, it goes without saying that most items should be stored in their respective dust bags (and boxes, if available). However, it should also be noted that how and where they are stored are also important. For example, for patent finished bags, you should be careful not to lay them against anything of colour. This is especially important for Chanel patent bags. Colours are known to bleed into the patent finish, and there is absolutely no spa in the world that can get out a colour transfer that's been seeped into the patent seal. 

One thing to note during storage is that most bags (shapeless hobos included) have some type of "structure" imposed on their conception and design. As such, resale value and maintenance should consider preserving this shape. I've seen clients, for the sake of saving room, cramp many bags together stacked on top of one another, with nothing stuffed inside. In doing so, not only are you ensuring these items to lose their shape, but you are also possibly imposing other, artificial shapes onto these items. Therefore, it's recommended that when storing your bags, stuff the inside to maintain the natural shape of the bags. Don't overdose on the stuffing, but moderation is key for maintaining the shape and integrity of your beloved bags! 

Another factor to keep in mind is the moisture level of your storage area. Try not to store bags in very moist or humid areas, if possible. Instead, opt for a cooler, dry-er area to store designer goodies. Moisture can seep into the dustbags and sometimes even become trapped in storage boxes. This can affect the aging of hardwares, smell of your bags, and finally, cause some details, such as the hologram stickers on Chanels, to lose their adhesive. 

So long as we are talking about moisture, it's also important to remember that hand lotions, rain drops, sweat, and other excessive moisture can sometimes get trapped in the crevices of hardwares, causing some hardware to rust or age prematurely if you do not wipe them clean prior to putting it away for a longer period of time. 

Cleaning and Maintenance. Leather bags are made out of animal skin. Just like our skin, a certain level of moisture is or treatment are needed to keep them in their tip top shape. However, designer items are also specially treated, and using the wrong types of products can temporarily or permanently ruin some of these specialty finishes. The following are general rule-of-thumbs to keep in mind when cleaning and maintaining your leather items. Proceed with caution, and when in doubt, double check with an expert (or an attentive SA)!

For top grain skins (most Hermes/celine leather), low grain pressed skins (Epsom or Saffiano), calfskin, lambskin (or sheep), or caviar (a.k.a grained calfskins): For these types of leathers, they are relatively easy to take care of. Most imperfections, such as very minor hairline markings, corner rubs, slight fuzzying of corners, or even just some dull looking overall appearance from prolonged use or storage can be taken care of by simply massaging leather balm into the surface. Some brands have their own branded leather care products, while others outsource this care to experts. One product we like to use on the products in our store, and recommend to all our clients is the line of leather balm from Tarrago (pictured below in neutral colour). 

This leather balm is like a reliable moisturizer for your skin, with a kick of Polysporin for the little cuts and bruises. It comes in three colours: neutral (pictured), brown, or black. The neutral goes on white, but dries clearly. To apply, squeeze a small pea-sized bit onto a microfibre cloth (read: very important that it's microfibre, as regular cloth might damage your item if leather is delicate like lambskin). Our favourite is of course, the lovely microfibre polishing cloth that comes with Chanel bag purchases. However, if you can't get your hands on one, go to the automobile section of your local Wal-Mart, they have tons of microfibre polishing pads used for cars. Once you squeeze a dab onto the cloth, test it out by gently massaging a small bit of it onto a corner in a circular motion. Start with a small area to test it out until you find your rhythm. We recommend doing this every now and then to re-condition bags that are heavily used, or polish those that have been in storage. As for the coloured versions, use with caution. They are great for reconditioning and tinting the corner of black bags (read: Chanel black lambskin anyone), but be careful as they do leave a bit of residue while drying. 

For local Torontonians, you can buy this at Walk & Wear locations (one somewhere in Scarborough, another in Yorkdale Mall). For others, you can purchase via Amazon here.  

Louis Vuitton Vachetta: One leather that I don't recommend using leather balm on is the vachetta on Louis Vuitton. Although the use of a leather balm will certainly recondition dried-out vachetta, it will also unevenly colour and patina your beautiful vachetta. There are many articles online that specialize on how to maintain or lighten your vachetta, so I won't go into that here. However, for general care and maintenance, we recommend the use of a simple white eraser (photo'd below). Vachetta are prone to have water marks and small imperfections from dusts. In order to get rid of these, gently rub a white eraser (very gently, as you don't want to take off the seal on top). This will take care of most small imperfections! The white eraser is also useful on Chane's matte caviar, some patent bags (be very careful with this one as the seal is delicate), and some smooth calfskin Celines. 

Suede: This one is tricky. Suede shoes, suede wings on Celine Trapeze, or suede bags overall are prone to uneven colouration, collection of dust and dirt, and colour transfers. For dust and uneven coloured suede, we strongly recommend a professional spa. I've seen them do wonders clients' trapezes that went from a zero to a hero real quick. However, for smaller imperfections, my SA at David's recommend using these common nylong socks, and rub them against the suede to make them fluffy again, and hence redistribute the suede fuzzies in an even manner across the surface area. I've tried it on a few pairs of suede Manolos, and it seemed to have done the trick. I also imagine using a soft bristled toothbrush would have similar results. 

The above pretty much sums up basic details of how to care for your bags, maintain their value, and extend their life. That's it for now! 

Toodles and happy shopping! 

Xoxo, 

Deluxe