Ever since I started investing in luxury designer bags, I knew it was important for me to take care of them. But before starting my luxury resale business, I didn’t really know how to care for your luxury designer bags. I wasn’t aware of all the products available nor did I know which ones were good to use on my leather and coated canvas bags. I was scared to use any product on them for fear it would ruin my bags I worked hard to obtain. Thanks to my first wholesale supplier rep for sharing their product recommendations with me so that I could confidently clean the bags I was brining into my inventory to get them looking in the best condition possible before reselling.
While the bags I initially purchased for myself, I never went in with the intention to sell later down the road, there was no reason not to care for them to keep them looking as pristine as possible. After cleaning many bags for my business I also went in with the same products to clean and protect my own luxury designer bags. Below is a list of my tried and true products to use to care for your luxury designer bags.
How To Care For Your Luxury Designer Bags:
1. Use a leather cleaner on the exterior of your designer handbags to keep them looking their best. I recommend using Cadillac Leather Cleaner. You can use this product to deep clean all smooth leathers, patent and vinyl. That includes Louis Vuitton coated canvas. This cleaner is good to use on all leather colors too. It’s not appropriate to use on suede or nubuck.
I apply a small amount onto a clean soft cloth (I like these bamboo cloths) and work the product into the leather in a circular motion. If there is any excess residue on the leather after fully cleaning, I wipe it off with a dry section of the same cloth. Leave your bag for about 30 minutes to fully dry.
2. After cleaning the leather you should always go back over it with leather conditioner. I recommend using Leather Care Leather Conditioner from Apple Brand.
Pro Tip: A little bit of product goes a long way!
Leather cleaners are great but they can dry out the leather if you don’t condition the leather. Same as above, I take a small amount onto a clean soft cloth and apply it to the leather in a circular motion. Don’t oversaturate the leather with the leather conditioner, make sure to move the product around the full surface of the leather as evenly as possible. Allow your bag to fully dry before storing it back in its dustbag.
3. For untreated leather, like Vachetta, I recommend using a water and stain repellent, like Apple Guard, to protect it from getting watermarks and or stains. This doesn’t prevent the vachetta from naturally patina’ing but it does slow down the process keeping your new Vachetta looking amazing. It will also help your Vachetta patina evenly over time. It is recommended to spray your Vachetta every six months or so.
4. If you happen to get a stain on the interior fabric of your bag, I recommend using a stain removing spray. My secret weapon, that’s not so secret anymore, is using Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater Stain Treater Spray. I use this on any and all stains. This literally is the only thing that get’s berry stains out of my kids t-shirts. One day I tried it on the inside of a Neverfull MM bag that had some staining and it was a miracle worker!
Pro Tip: If you can turn your bags inside out I definitely recommend doing so only because it makes it easier to get to the stain you are needing to work on.
Start by spraying the stain with a bit of the stain treater then take an old toothbrush with a little bit of water and one drop of dawn dish soap and lightly scrub the stain in a circular motion. After working on the area and going slightly outside of the stain I go back in with a clean toothbrush with only water to clean the soap off the fabric. Let that dry and repeat as necessary to get the stain fully removed.
