This Leather Care Guide Will Help Your Luxury Goods Last A Lifetime

Luxury Handbags Need TLC Too, And These 4 Tips Will Make Yours Last a Lifetime

By Samantha Winget-Castillo

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Assuming your handbags are leather, there are some steps you should be taking to maintain and care for them to ensure they last a lifetime. Plain and simple, leather is skin (sounds kind of weird, I know) and you should be taking care of your leather just like you take care of your skin. You spend a lot of money on an item you expect to last a lifetime, so we’re here to help! From storing and stuffing to general upkeep, here’s what you need to know.

Storing Your Bags

Storing your bags when you’re not using them is important. I know we all see celebrities with luxury closets and even entire rooms to “display” their bags, but realistically it’s just not safe…I mean, they come with a dustbag and a beautiful box for a reason, right? We recommend keeping them in their dust bag when they’re not in use and if you have the space, even the box.

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You know those annoying small packs of silica gel balls you get with products sometimes? KEEP THEM. Placing these where you store your bags will help absorb any extra moisture that can ruin your bags. If you have straps on your bag that can be taken off, carefully take them off and place them inside your bag when storing. If they don’t come off but can still be turned inside, that works too. This ensures that your hardware won’t make imprints on the exterior of your bag.

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Stuffing Your Bags

We recommend filling bags — yes, even if they’re structured. This will just help with the integrity of the bag. We recommend acid free tissue. If you don’t want to go that far don’t worry, you can use old cotton t-shirts or old pillowcases too. The reason we don’t recommend normal newspaper or tissue is because of color transfer to the interior of your bag.

Regular Maintenance

Just like you have a skincare regimen, your bags should as well. Leather cleaner and conditioner are the top things we recommend having on hand. For any major uh-oh moments, we recommend seeing a specialist. Yes, there are such things as handbag specialists for cleaning and fixing your bags. There are also handbag spas out there for other needs and general rejuvenation.

For the basics, we made a list of products that are tried and true to always keep around. Keep in mind each item has a list of leathers that it can be used on.