Nicole!! Thanks so much for the shoutout! :-D You have definitely put my mind at ease about conditioning my Florentines. SO much so that, right after watching this, I pulled out my Apple Brand conditioner and jumped on my first bag - natural! I purchased it REALLY pre-loved, and it had a number of scratches, and mainly, what I NOW know is, very dry leather. After the first coat, it looked and felt so, so much better! I applied a second coat tonight and will apply another tomorrow. I've conditioned NUMEROUS bags before, but not really any special leather. It was so cool to experience the bag "come back to life!" I'm so excited to condition my other bags now! Thank you for the very detailed tutorial!
Thrifter By Design so glad you started working on your natural flo! I can't wait to see the results! I also can't wait to see the results after you work on that gorgeous royal blue one. I bet that one will be extra shiny and bright after conditioning! Thanks for watching and for giving me the idea to do this video!
The royal blue is one of the reasons why I began to seriously consider conditioning lol. It's so beautiful and I want to make sure I maintain it as well as possible. :-)
I meant to say I agree about conditioning. You can so tell when leather is dry and it will crack, especially where you bend your leather lots, flaps etc. :). Conditioning is so so important.
A great and very helpful video...I use these apple products on my Flo bags and it works great...even the rain repellant spray...that saved my natural bags a few times :-) Namaste!
GoGoGirl Mandy good to know the spray works! I always spray my bags but so far I haven't had a unexpected sprinkle or anything come up to actually test it. Namaste to you too!
I treat my Florentine leather just like any other leather, I clean it, condition it and spray it...nothing has ever happened to it because of this. I use regular Coach cleaner, conditions and Aldo spray protector. :-).
Tracy Nastiuk I have heard good things from others about the Coach products too. Never heard of the Aldo products but I'll have to take a look. Thanks for sharing!
Mama Beech Aldo might be Canadian? If so, I"m sorry. But I don't buy special anything, Coach has amazing cleaners, conditioners etc...Aldo here is boots, shoes, purses, leather jackets etc....very trustworthy! I'm new to this some leather can't have treatents.....HUH? I would never not treat my leather as I do my skin....just saying. I hope everyone treats and conditions their leather no matter what they hear, it will last forever that way. XOXOXOX
Mama Beech, thank you for such an informative video. I understand that Florentine leather gets a bit darker with age. While I can see how that would be attractive for the darker colors, what happens to a color like Pale Blue as it ages? Does it get a dark patina? Does the Pale Blue lose its light and brightness or look like a different blue? Thanks!
Sorry to say, pale blue (dusty blue, specifically) actually ages the worst out of all the colors. It develops a yellow patina over time that makes the leather look dirty and gross. Usually this is concentrated on the corners, handles, and around the zipper where it receives the most handling and exposure to air. I suggest storing this color in a white pillow case to keep air away from it whenever it’s not in use.
@@MamaBeech Oh I'm so glad you told me that. I was going to buy a pale blue, but something told me that it wouldn't age well. Thank you for responding and saving me lots of money! :)
I have been buying Native American ( doeskin),German (vegetable),Italian (vegetable )leather bags for years. I have been too scared to put any chemicals on my bags.
Buy a suede brush! You can find them on Amazon. Brushing the suede will help the nap and remove quite a bit of dirt. If it’s still dirty, there are special suede cleaners you can but also on Amazon.
Debby Stratman nope! The conditioner doesn't have an odor and it won't take away from the Florentine smell. I will say, if you use the protectant spray I talk about in a lot of my videos, that does have a strong chemical odor that will mask the smell of Florentine for 1-2 days.
Bickmore and Apple Brand will work for any leather. No issues with either one for Coach leather. Just make sure if you go the Bickmore route you get Bick 1 and 4.
Depends how often you use it! If it’s your daily use bag I’d condition it quarterly. If you use it infrequently maybe only once a year. Conditioning will help keep the scratches and corner wear from happening as much and also camouflage them when they do happen.
I just got my DB Florentine satchel not two days ago and I had a mishap this afternoon and spilled coffee on a front of the bag. Any advice on how to spot clean it now? I just ordered all the products mentioned in this video. Thanks! (oh and it's the natural color... my luck :(
Nicolle Jansson ohhh no this could be tragic! Try the products mentioned here but something tells me it won’t do the trick. When you use the cleaner, do not rub too hard or you will take the leather dye out. If the stain doesn’t budge after a little gentle rubbing, just leave it. In extreme cases I know a few friends who have had luck using a tiny bit of ivory soap and distilled water rubbed very gently. Rub again with plain distilled water to rinse. Let dry completely! If you try that and it makes one area darker permanently but does remove the coffee, you may need to bathe the whole bag in this way to make the color match all over. It will be darker all over but at least you won’t see a stain. Good luck!
thanks for such a quick reply! I am going to be very gentle and follow your tips in the order your gave. It's not a "big-ole round coffee spot"... it's kind of an outline of a coffee spot, it that makes sense. I will let you know how it turns out, for sure! Thanks again!! Glad I found your videos - they full of info fun to see all the bags you own :):)
I just got some dye transfer on my pumpkin Belvedere Ambler. Do you have any experience with cleaning that type of leather? Do you think the apple cleaner and conditioner would work?
D you can try the cleaner, but be careful not to rub too hard in one concentrated area as you can remove the dye from the leather itself. Unfortunately dye transfer can be super hard to remove. Luckily Belvedere leather is pebbled so you have a better chance of being able to clean it. Hope it comes out!
Just bought a brand new Florentine off the Dooney website. Do I need to clean/condition it right now as it’s brand new? Or do I wait till I’ve used it awhile? From what I’ve read if it gets wet the spot will disappear from the Florentine once it dries. Also, I live in Arizona so it doesn’t rain that often.
tailsof1Leo I would wait to clean and condition it until after you use it for awhile. In my experience, any kind of wet substance, even water, leaves permanent spots on Florentine. I would say the exception to this are dark colors like black and t-Moro brown. Please be careful when carrying your new bag in the elements and I would even suggest spraying it with a protectant spray before using it like Apple Brand Rain and Stain Repellant
iheartcheesepuffs condition any leather you can get to. This includes the handles, tassels, and strap. It will help the leather age more uniformly if you treat it all the same