How to spice up an old bag.

Oct 21, 2017 | 1 comment

/ I have already been flashing my beautiful vintage bag for you guys a few times on just about all my channels, so in this post I thought I’d share a few tips on how to refresh an old bag. Perhaps you have a favourite bag that you use regularly but that need to be polished a bit or maybe you’ve found a nice vintage bag in a secondhand shop like I did. No matter what, you can easily make your bag look like new or give it a little more of an exclusive look, which makes a huge difference in a rather simple and basic look.

Jeg har allerede flashet min fine vintage taske for jer et par gange på stort set alle mine sociale kanaler, så i dette indlæg tænkte jeg, at jeg ville dele et par tips til, hvordan du kan opfriske en gammel taske. Måske har du en favorit taske du flittigt bruger som trænger til, at blive shinet op eller måske har du (ligesom jeg) fundet en fin vintage taske i en genbrugsbutik. Uanset hvad, så kan du med disse simple små tricks få din taske til at se ud som ny eller give den et lidt mere eksklusivt look, hvilket gør sig rigtig godt i et simpelt og ret basic outfit.

Colour. The color of your leather products will eventually naturally fade out, and scratches will also appear on especially bags that are exposed to quite a lot of things over time. I’ve sometimes purchased a leather color from my local cobbler and it’s really affordable. It is important that you first clean the product you want to dye and then it is also very important that you protect your hands and the surface you’re working on. I usually fold out a couple of old newspapers under the bag or shoes I want to dye, and then I put on a pair of old garden or work gloves as the color is almost impossible to get off the hands again! I would also recommend you to color the product outside as it smells quite heavy. I have previously dyed my good old shopper from Adax, which I have had for almost 7 years now. I just used an old sponge to work the color into the leather. After that I filled the bag with books (to hold the shape while drying) and let it dry outside for a day. Trust me, it’s gonna look like new!

Care. There are several options here: you can make leather care yourself by mixing 2 tablespoons vinegar with 4 tablespoons of linseed oil or you can buy leather care at your local cobbler, luggage shop or the like. The one I have is a huge jar I bought several years ago in a horse shop. I like to give my shoes and bags some care regularly so that the leather looks like new and the color is refreshed. You can also use leather care to remove bad smell out of your leather products. For example, my vintage bag smelled a lot of smoke (and it just smelled pretty old and vintage-y too) and so you can rub in some leather care and put it out in fresh air for a bit – and of course you can repeat the process if it’s really bad. Besides that, I know that you can buy various types of impregnation in both bag and shoe stores, but I rarely use it. I can’t really figure out if I really think it works or if it’s just a way of making more sales…. so I’d rather take extra care of my belongings, clean them a little more often or avoid using them if the weather is very bad.

Accessories. I love bags with chain straps, and that’s why I have chosen to shine up my vintage bag up with a gold chain. It gives a super exclusive look, and I think it suits this bag so well. I also try to put the chain on other bags such as my little Marc by Marc Jacobs bag. It’s a super cool way to give your bag new life! I have bought my chain at Noir Desire (danish), but I have also linked (more affordable+international shipping) options at the bottom of the post.

Farve. Farven på dine læderprodukter vil med tiden helt naturligt fade lidt ud, og der kan også let komme skrammer og lignende på især tasker der jo udsættes for en del med tiden. Her har jeg sommetider købt en læderfarve hos min lokale skomager. Farven hedder “narvsværte” og koster ikke ret meget. Det er vigtigt, at du først rengører det produkt der skal friskes op, og derefter er det også meget vigtigt, at du beskytter både underlag og hænder. Jeg plejer at lægge et par gamle aviser under den taske eller de sko jeg nu gerne vil farve, og så tager jeg et par gamle have- eller arbejdshandsker på, da farven er stort set umulig at få af sine hænder igen! Jeg vil også anbefale dig, at farve produktet udenfor, da navsværte lugter ret stærkt. Jeg har før farvet min gode gamle shopper fra Adax, der har omkring 7 år på bagen nu. Jeg brugte bare en gammel svamp til at arbejde farven ind i læderet med. Efter det fyldte jeg tasken op med bøger (for at holde faconen), og lod den stå til tørre en dags tid udenfor. Trust me, den kommer til at se ud som ny!

Pleje. Her har du flere muligheder: du kan lave en læderpleje selv ved at blande 2 spsk eddike med 4 spsk hørfrøolie, eller du kan købe læderpleje hos din skomager, taskehandler eller lignende. Den jeg har stående er en kæmpe bøtte jeg købte for flere år siden, i en hesteforretning. Jeg giver gerne både mine sko og tasker en omgang læderpleje jævnligt, sådan at læderet ser ud som nyt igen og farven friskes op. Du kan også bruge læderpleje til, at “suge” dårlig lugt ud af dine læderprodukter. Den taske jeg købte i genbrug lugtede fx helt vildt meget af røg (og bare af genbrug), og der kan man lige give den en omgang læderpleje og stille den ud i frisk luft – man kan også gentage processen hvis det er rigtig slemt. Udover det så ved jeg, at man kan købe forskellige former for imprægnering i både taske- og skoforretninger, men jeg bruger det sjældent. Kan ikke rigtig finde ud af, om jeg egentlig synes det virker, eller om det bare er et salgstrick…. så vil jeg hellere passe ekstra godt på mine ting, rengøre dem lidt oftere eller undgå at bruge dem hvis vejret er meget dårligt.

Accessories. Jeg elsker tasker med kæderemme, og det er selvfølgelig også derfor, at jeg har valgt at peppe min vintage taske op, med en guldkæde. Det giver et super eksklusivt look, og jeg synes det klæder lige netop denne taske vildt godt. Nu havde den heller ikke en cross-body rem (den havde bare en lille hank før), så det var endnu en god grund til, at peppe den op med lige netop denne kæde. Jeg har også prøve at sætte kæden på andre tasker som fx min lille Marc by Marc Jacobs taske. Det er en super fed måde, at give tasken nyt liv på! Jeg har købt min kæderem hos Noir Desire, men har også linket (lidt billigere) alternativer nederst i indlægget.

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1 Comment

  1. laya gaga

    Wonderful tutorial to to spice up an old bag. Thanks Signe.

    Reply

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