Thursday, January 15, 2009

What this famous "Vuitton patina" means


I'm sure you own (or have seen) a piece of furniture that is unpainted but has a beautiful natural shine. We use furniture spray or oil soap to polish the wood, but antique furniture's deep & rich color comes with age, right? Louis Vuitton leather is the same way; it just does not take decades.

Patina ~ a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use

Louis Vuitton's natural leather is just famous for its rich "patina". When the leather is new, the color is very pale beige. Over years of use, it darkens to its full patina in various stages, to deep honey (amber) brown. The tanning of the leather is caused by air, Sun, oil from hands, and DIRT. If you just store a brand new piece in the closet without use, the tanning is only caused by oxidization, so it remains light even after 10 years. Exposure to sunlight speeds up the darkening, so if you look at a strap under the buckle or a D-ring tab inside, you continue to find lighter leather spots for years. This is why I do not appraise any models by the age but by the degree of use, determined by the color. Let's take Noe, as it is a model with a lot of leather (and I handle a lot of them).

1st pic

2nd pic

The 1st picture is a brand new Noe , and the 2nd picture is a 5 year old one with NO stains. You really want to shoot for this gorgeous stage without stains, but we all know it's next to impossible. Stains give character to your own purse, so you need not go nuts to keep it clean (it's a PURSE after all!), but you definitely do not set it on the ground or any unclean surface!

This is a good comparison of how an "occasional" purse can tan a lot more slowly than an "everyday" purse. I placed an older purse on top of a newer one. The newer Noe is 8 years younger than the older one, but it already has a full patina. Although both are very clean, the occasional purse's leather is a lot lighter than the newer everyday purse.


This one has a full patina but also with lots of stains! When the leather is at the point of chocolate or black color, that's simply called DIRTY (UGLY)

What you can do to shoot for the gorgeous patina

I'm going to tell you what Louis Vuitton lovers on the EXTREME end do. This may sound humorous and silly, but some people are dead serious about this procedure. How forgiving we should be concerning stains really depends on the individual, so you decide how paranoid you want to be with your brand new Louis Vuitton.

  1. You open the package after coming home from your Louis Vuitton boutique, making sure your hands are VERY clean.

  2. Place the purse on a "carefully selected" spot in the house where no Sunlight reaches.

  3. After a couple of months of exposing the leather to the air, the leather should have very slight oxidization.

  4. Move the purse near the window where the Sun light is filtered. Leave it there for another couple of months, turning the purse once in a while for even exposure to the Sun. Don't forget turning the strap, as you want even tanning both front & back. Then the leather is very light brown, looking like real leather.

  5. Start carrying the purse, ONLY when there is no chance of rain. If in doubt, carry a Papillon (older version, with treated leather) or another model to which rain drops don't matter.

  6. Be sure to avoid all kinds of water or other stains; make sure the countertop or the vanity top where you set your purse is clean and dry. Be extra careful not to let the leather touch anything like the car exterior or the ground. Be sure that you do not hug children without setting your purse aside.

  7. After a year of very careful daily use, the leather is about the color of beech wood. Now you don't feel embarrassed about carrying a brand new Louis Vuitton. Continue for 5 years, then you'll have a stain-free gorgeous honey color Noe leather!

  8. Nuts? I think so!! BUT, just about everybody has Louis Vuitton in M'sia. If there are 5 ladies at a cash register of a grocery store, expect 3-4 of them carrying Louis Vuitton. The lady in front of you may pull the exact same wallet that's in your purse! So they think carrying a brand new purse with a brand new leather makes them look like a Louis Vuitton newbie, and they want to look like a seasoned collector!

    I do recommend to really take care of your purse, by avoiding rain & stains, and I "almost" beg you to use a pen case inside the purse (just because I hate ink stains inside!). Pale & small water stains on a newer leather are more likely to blend in and disappear as the leather continues to darken, so do enjoy your new purse without having a nervous break down ;)

    credit to the rightful owner of the article
    http://www.hisremnant.org/Vuitton/patina.html

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Salam n hi ALL....

i am leaving in Milan currently, n will b back to msia middle of nx month, insyaAllah..

i am taking orders for LV handbags/accessories. NEW and 100% AUTHENTIC! Item comes with dustbag + paperbag. Hurry! I am taking them home by next month, place your order ASAP. Good price!!!

do visit my FP at
http://lasenorita.fotopages.com
or email me at ayatpenyata@yahoo.com for pricing!!! TQ!!
~ciao~

YANI SLiM said...

wahhhh!!!! ada iklan di sini???? sapa itu senorita, masuk x beri salam ni...ngeh! ngeh! ngeh!

Nana said...

heheheh ... I pun dah terlebih guna my watercolor tu .. sigh! risau jugak dah jadi "dirty" *sob* ... susah gila nak jaga that tann leather! GERAAMMM!!! hehe!

YANI SLiM said...

eh...ada salam tu...i x prasan la...sowi missyenorita. ok sape2 nk kindly email to her straight ok ;) gud luck

Anonymous said...

eheheh i dah bg salam leeer...
yeah yeah..excuse me...tumpang advert yer cik snowiffy!!!
tq very much!!

NadiahKhair said...

yanie,
i prefer virgin vachetta than patina. dunno why..rase mcm lawa lagi ngn virgin :P thats why i prefer damier over mono. gile susah nak jaga. kalau kene air..series rase nak nangis.

Shopaholic Mama said...

oh wow tks for the tips. All along I kept my bags in the dustbag then stored in the cupboard, didnt know I should air them!

Akma M.Rudy a.k.a MrsSLuRp said...

hi sis,
i'm ur silent reader b4 dis..and not a blogger...but since i read all ur post and u give such a lovely info to the others...buat i pun nak berblogging jgk! hehehe
and now i'm a new blogger..hopefully we can keep in touch yea..;p
opsss lupa plak..slm perkenalan ;p

Nana said...

I am very angry now!!! antara benda yang i paling PANTANG is people criticizing other people's ability to speak or write in ENGLISH! PANTANG!!!!!!!!!! Who the f are you to condemn people's English.

This is the one thing I hate about Malaysians. When other people speaks/write in english you kata berlagak or even worst you kutuk their english is bad!

Come on lah! EVEN THE DAMM MAT SALEH's english pun BERTERABUR! lagi pulak we all yang bukan! So unless you have a PHD in English LIT! then stop commenting on other's writing abilities!

MAT SALLEH CELUP!

Anonymous said...

Actually, I do have a postgraduate degree in English Literary Studies. So, your valid point is?

Anonymous said...

Lagi satu, Puan Nana -- setidak-tidaknya saya tak cuba merojakkan bahasa seperti yang puan dah terang-terang buat dalam komen puan.

Perhaps leaking one language into another doesn't make you any better than I am.

Nana said...

oh please! PhD in English .. I am sure! Me merojakkan the languages! I do not see anything wrong with that particular action. It does not however, undermine the integrity of the language in any way possible. Its just my way of expressing myself.

As far as I know, the main purpose of a language is to help an individual express their inner most feelings and thoughts. If the utilization of one language limits that, I see no harm in "merojakking" it with another.

Nah! Seriously though, if you really do have a PhD in English, you must be an educator then. THEN I BELIEVE that it is YOUR DUTY to encourage others to express more in English. It is YOUR DUTY to help fix their language.

NOT CONDEMNING THEM!

Mind you .. I admit, my English is just as appalling and the atrocities of it is unimaginable. But I use it nevertheless as a form of expressing my inner most thoughts and desires. I am not ASHAMED!

I hope you are better when you're teaching your students! I SINCERELY hope so... for the sake of our younger generations. I hate to think what they are going through in your class .. being condemn for trying!

Sorry Yannie, I pantang sikit benda ni .. sorry I had to write all this in your blog! hope you don't mind!

Anonymous said...

1. I'm not an educator. Please stop pre-judging people and over-generalising them into certain categories just because.

2. You are pretty over-emotional for a 34-year old, it seems.

Anonymous said...

Salam semua....apa dah jadi dgn bangsa melayu...sorang kata org lain terlalu menyanjung bangsa dan adat org barat tapi diri sendiri menggambarkan yg die pun terpengaruh sama melalui bahasa yg keterlaluan...'f' word dah jadi makanan mulut seharian....kutuk mengutuk secara terbuka dgn bahasa yg tak melambangkan kesopanan langsung....sifat iri hati dan dengki ditunjukkan terang2...ni semua antara sifat2 manusia yg sepatutnya dielakkan bukan dipakai umpama baju.... sedihnya tengok...i understand y u r so mad nana...i truly understand....

- org kampung -

Anonymous said...

Yang minah nama Nana tu, melatah tak tentu pasal kenapa? Mana ada orang nak banding2 dengan British/American English. Org komen pasal tahap kesalahan, kalau dah banyak sangat, toksah la berlagak nak taip entri panjang berjela.

Nana said...

TEMPO,
macammana TEMPO tu boleh guna link nama dia directly to my blog??? How is that possible??? CAN PEOPLE JUST CLAIM THAT THEY ARE YOU??????????

Hmm sorrylah kalau I terover melatah. Memang betul pun.. I mengaku kesalahan I. Harap maaf Yanie ... I terover dlm your blog :D

Nana said...

Opppss sorry tempo! your tu gi terus ke blogger and terus on my dashboard. hehe! I panicked! like I said .. sorry, dah tua .. tu yang melatah sikit tu! hehehe!

Anonymous said...

hey its her blog...let her say what she wanna say ok..if u dont like it...DGN SEGALA HORMAT PLS LEAVE....x payah susah2 nk baca...its up t her nk write in english/BM/chinese/urdu etc etc etc...bad english..bad BM...ITS HER BLOG!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

"......Please stop pre-judging people and over-generalising them into certain categories....." by bagwhoresarestupid

;)

'bagwhoresarestupid',
dont u think that ur nick doesnt tally with what u preach?!?!?!

while making up the nick i bet u dont realize that YOU actualy pre-judging the bagaholics = stupid and THATS for me is "over-genaralising" ;)

sometimes, its good to spend few seconds to think back whats the consequences before saying bad things about others and retaliate...
YOU might wanna look educated and all, but YOU obviously dont want ppl to think that YOU nie "CAKAP TAK SERUPA BIKIN" jugak ;)

YANI SLiM said...

kak nana, thanks for backing me up. u truly d bagaholics. All the stupid guest tu...masuk umah i x beri salam pun pastu cari salah org. isk..sik....so pathetic la depa ni. tu dikalangan manusia bernama melayu yg busuk hati tu, bairkan la parasit2 tu dgn perangai dia yg dia ingat perfect sesangat! ya la..i pakai LV grade A+++++ i sounds silly when i speak Eng! Ada puas ati semuaaaaaa.??? huk! huk! huk! melayu melayu yg belagak terror dgn english tu...sok mati pun malaikat ckp arab soal koorang dlm kuburla bukan tanya ko tu lulusan PHD eng ke apa ke? baik pi balik umah katamkan Quran tu dulu ya ;) n kaji dulu diri tu sedalam-dalamnya. Yg hidup pasti mati....

Anonymous said...

The proper definitions of Parasite are:

1. Biology: An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.

2a. One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.
b. One who lives off and flatters the rich; a sycophant.

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/parasite .. heres the website. Just in case you claim that I make this up or worst, plagiarize it!)

The word parasite could also be used in other contexts as well, so long as it does not differ too much from the original definition.

Now lets analyze the relationship between a the blog owner and the negative commenter. Then, we will see if the actions of the commenter reflects what is defined as a parasite.

1. The commenter is increasing their popularity at the expense of the blog owner...

2. the blog owner provides them with a platform to state their claims/ideologies/idealism and so fourth.

Whilst they themselves are unable/incapable of creating their own blog. This could be due to their inability to find something interesting about their lives or maybe they're writing abilities limits them to write longer than 5 sentences.

3. The commenter is "sheltered" by his/her's anonymity, hence, his/her life is not being judged!

4. Now not only that they are habitually taking advantage of the weakness of the blog owner, they are NOT "making any useful return" to the blog owner.

Now, based on this arguments ... do you think that these negative commenter are parasites or not??

If so, please state your arguments here!

If you ask me .. they are not parasites .. they are a VIRUS or a Cancer!! An organism that is cancerous to the blog.

Spreads sickness, ill-feeling towards the blog owners. Living off the blog owner's pain and anguish!

Maybe we shall debate on that as well!

-Nobody-

Anonymous said...

what is wrong with u ppl?
snowiffy wrote her stuff..thats her right. ppl come visit her blog n comment, thats their right.

learn to take comments with a pinch of salt.

life is too short for u to squirm and squeal about these petty things.

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