A few months ago, I helped a friend pick out her first premier designer handbag. After much debate, she ended up purchasing a beautiful Damier Azur Neverfull from Louis Vuitton. Despite being made of Louis Vuitton’s durable coated canvas material, the Damier Azur color is very light and subsequently more prone to wear and tear. My friend and I went to lunch a few weeks ago and she was excited to show me the bag. When I arrived, I was shocked to see she had her tennis shoes inside the bag against the cream lining…I’m talking sole of the shoe up rubbing right against the cotton lining. The sight of this obviously shocked my germaphobic tendencies, but the black scuffs from the sole of sneakers that have touched the streets of DC on the cream lining shocked me more.
I realized at that moment that even though I don’t go to great lengths to baby my bags, I do make a conscious effort to take as best care of them as possible. When I buy a bag, whether it be brand new or pre-loved, I want it to stay in excellent condition. I have some tips and tricks I use to keep my bags as clean and well maintained as possible and I hope you will find them helpful too!
Purses Do Not Belong on the Floor
I never let my bag touch the ground. Not only is this a best practice from a hygiene perspective, but it also keeps the corners of my bag nice and clean. For me personally, my ultimate handbag pet peeve is worn corners. I simply cannot wear a bag with worn corners—it ruins the entire look and feel of wearing a bag for me. I carry a bag hook with me at all times, but if I’m really in a pinch, I will rest the bag on top of my thighs while sitting down.
Squeaky Clean
I regularly clean and condition my leather bags. I have been using Apple Brand Garde for years after learning about it on the PurseForum back in the OG days. I swear by this stuff, it keeps my leather bags in their best possible condition. Always spot test the bottom of your bag before going to town and applying everywhere, but I have to say, I haven’t had any issues with application. Each of my bags has reacted well to this product.
The interior lining of my bags is my downfall in handbag maintenance. I am always finding random crumbs, dust, or marks inside of my bags. I try to be more mindful and keep my items in pouches, but inevitably, the inside of my bags aren’t perfect. The rose ballerine lining of my Louis Vuitton bags are particularly difficult to keep clean, but I have tried to clean marks when I find them. I haven’t discovered a miracle product (if you know of one, please let me know), but I use dawn dish soap and a child’s toothbrush. This method certainly isn’t for the faint of heart, but it has worked well for me. I put a teeny tiny drop of dish soap on a damp children’s toothbrush head and scrub very lightly over stains. Thus far, this method has successfully removed stains for me, so I will continue doing it. I’m sure something more official exists on the market, but this at-home hack has worked for me over the last decade.
Use a Barrier
If I have to put an item that could potentially damage or be unhygienic inside of my bag, I always put a barrier between the item and the interior lining. Whether it be food, liquids, or even shoes like I mentioned above, I always put them inside of a washable canvas tote before putting that item inside of my bag. I used to use plastic bags, but I have been trying to eliminate my use of plastic as much as possible and the canvas tote has worked well for me. Again, I try to avoid putting anything potentially damaging inside of my luxury bags, but sometimes it’s inevitable.
Hanging is a No-No
I never hang my bags by their handles, especially when they’re full. I remember a thread on the PurseForum from years ago on how to “break in” a stiff leather Rebecca Minkoff bag. The suggestion was to stuff the bag with heavy items and then let it hang on a doorknob overnight. I tried this method on my first Morning After Bag, and it worked! However, I got into the habit of hanging my bags, and it really stretched out some of my handles and warped the shape of some of my bags. I’ve stopped hanging my bags as a result, although I think a crossbody would probably be fine, but I still keep all my bags in their dustbags just in case.
Get Stuffy
I try to be diligent about keeping my bags stuffed with tissue paper and in their dustbags. I have tried many ways of storing my bags, but my most recent method has been the most effective. I bought some cubbies off amazon for my closet to store my bags in, which gives me easier access to my bags than keeping them in the boxes they came in. The cubbies I bought are plastic panels put together into the shape of a cube shelf, but I bought this product knowing I was moving in the near future. Once I settle into my new house, I plan to buy something a little more substantial. The cubes I bought were a pain to assemble, but once I got them locked in, they got the job done. Each of my bags has its own cube and I store them in their dustbag. I still like to display the boxes my bags came in, so I put the boxes on the upper shelves of my closet as a decoration. At 5’3 I can’t store anything up there anyway, so the boxes are a cute use of space that would otherwise go unused.
Waterproof It
Another way to protect your bag is by spraying it with a waterproof spray. Admittedly I have not done this since 2011, but it is certainly is an added way to protect your handbag from bad weather. You could also get a handbag umbrella if you are more dedicated than I am from protecting your bag from water. As always, you should spot check before spraying your bag with any sort of treatment.
Do you have any tips for handbag maintenance? I’d love to hear what you do to keep your bags in their best condition.
very informative, Thank you
I use the dustbags, moisturize the leather, and keep them sitting up right to avoid creasing. I always use a lysol wipe on the bottom of my bags and handles to keep them germ free.
When I’m putting my bag in the closet I usually remove the long leather strap, wrap it and store it inside the bag. That way the strap won’t get crooked and the bag won’t have any pressure marks from the metal parts. I wrap chain handles in a scarf or other fabric and make sure the handles won’t press into the leather to avoid marks. I always turn the bag upside down and shake it to remove any loose dirt and small trash inside and also see it there are any visible stains on the bag and wipe with a damp cloth if necessary. I store my bags in their dustbags (or old pillow cases if they miss a dustbag) and I also try to make sure the handles are in the best possible position so the bag oor the handles won’t bend.
I’m a bit OCD but I have no intention to re-buy bags or have their resale value plummet because of careless handling.
Love the way you think. I’m not quite as particular, but I appreciate your habits and desire to keep bags pristine. I invariably end up selling each one I buy within a year or two, and it doesn’t take a huge amount of effort to keep them looking good. Makes a difference when it’s time to let them go.
I wipe my handbags down with Huggies Natural Care wipes as they are 99% water. I stuff them, take off the removable straps (put them inside of the bag), put them in the dust bag, and sit them upright.
Would a slightly damp washcloth do?
That’s what I use. I wring out as much water as I can and then use the cloth. Then I dry it with a dry towel right after.
🙂 I do the same thing! And it works well for my bags and me 🙂
I live in a humid climate and mold has always been a problem here for leather bags. Does waterproof spray also help to avoid mold from growing?
Dehumidifier from Daiso is $1.50 it is great for preventing mold in a small closet for a couple of months.
These are all great ideas! Thanks to everyone!
I buy inexpensive white cotton fabric, poly fiberfill, and sew pillows to fit inside each bag. Keeps the shape.
This is just a whole other level
I can’t even sew on a button, but I admire Bagperson for going the extra mile!
I try to find uses for all the plastic that comes in all the amazon packages I get or from my dry cleaning, sometimes for poo bags for my dog, or trash bags for my home, but one thing all that plastic is always good for us stuffing inside a handbag to keep its shape. I like to see my bags to I stuff the dust bags with my extra plastic and put the dust bag inside the handbag.
I have handbags from many years ago, that look brand new. Because I have so many, they’re not worn out. I keep them filled with tissue paper and some are still in their dust cover e.g. my 2 Chanel’s. Also, I have a duster and dust them weekly, usually Sunday’s. I especially pay attention to corner dents, by keeping extra ball-up tissues in all corners. I have a Gucci bag, purchase in Florence in 1972 with the old canvas fabric, looks fabulous! My late best friend gifted to me, will always keep.
I’ve been keeping my bags in the dust bags and in the boxes they came in because it’s easier to stack them when they are in boxes. They also have issue inside them to keep their shape. However, I don’t know if having them lie on their sides would be good in the future.
Keeping them in boxes is not good for the leather. The leather needs to breathe. I would suggest doing your research on that! 🙂
🙂 I keep my bags in their dust bags and in their boxes. Have done so for many years and it has worked for me.
This way my purple LV vernis Thompson Street remained the same shade of purple as it was 20 years ago!
And like Amazona I make sure that the handles and straps aren’t crushed or affect parts of the bags.
I keep a some Kleenex or other paper tissues, a retractable pencil and a couple of business cards in each bag, so that when I grab it in a rush, I’m more or less all set to go…
A very few bags I stuff with paper so that they won#t loose their shape. But most of them are fine without.
And yes, I use bag shapers, i.e. Samorga, to a) keep the insides of my bags tidy and b) to keep them in shape is well.
Thanks to Lucy for the great article! 🙂
Great article. I would love to hear more about waterproofing. Why did you stop? Does it help stop color transfer?