Ten tips to make your leather apparel or handbag last a long time

I’ve done a few posts/videos on how to care for your shoes and handbags and I mainly still use the same products.  Now that it’s becoming rainy season again, it’s really important to remember to re-spray your leather and suede so that it’s protected from the weather.
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I do get a lot of questions regarding leather care and I’m really not an expert either so am always looking out for good tips.  I recently got these leather care tips from Professional Leather Cleaners Association and thought they were helpful so wanted to pass them along.  This is helpful for all your leather goods; clothes, shoes and handbags.
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Leather ages gracefully and can last a lifetime with the proper care right from the start;

  • Always hang leather garments on wide or padded hangers to maintain their shape. Use shoetrees in footwear and stuff empty handbags with tissue to help retain their shape.
  • Never store leather goods in plastic or other non-breathable covers. This will cause leather to become dry.
  • Allow wet or damp leather to air-dry naturally away from any direct heat source. Leather can be treated with a conditioner to restore flexibility while suede can be brushed with a terry towel to restore its look.
  • In winter, promptly remove salt deposits from garments and footwear by sponging with water; follow with the above treatment for wet or damp leather.
  • Avoid very humid and dry environments as well as direct sunlight.
  • Do not use waxes, silicone products or other leather preparations that will impair a garment’s ability to breathe.
  • Wrinkles should hang out. If ironing is desired, set iron on rayon setting, use heavy brown wrapping paper as a pressing cloth on right side of the garment and a quick hand to prevent overheating and shine.
  • Avoid spraying perfumes or hair sprays while wearing your garment and do not apply pins, adhesive badges or tape. Wearing a scarf at the neckline will help keep hair and body oil away from the collar.
  • Hems may be fixed with a tiny amount of rubber cement. For best results, see a leather care professional.
  • All products formulated for at-home use should be tested on an inconspicuous part of the garment.

For more information about the PLCA and to find a professional leather cleaner near you, go to their website at: www.professionalleathercleaners.org.

Go to my post here for my video on how to care for your shoes – resoling and cleaning

Hopefully some of these tips help!  I know how important it is since we tend to spend a good amount on our leather items so want to keep them looking great for a long time.

The products that I use and recommend are the Garde’ Rain & Stain Repellant which does a great job of protecting from the rain.  Just remember to re-spray your items every few months or so or depending on how bad the weather is when you took it out.  And to keep it looking like new I use the Apple Brand – Leather Conditioner Care which I’ve used on most all my bags and shoes and it definitely cleans them up and keeps them pretty looking!

I did some research on The Purse Forum and it looks like a lot of the Chanel girls recommend the Meltonian Leather Lotion.  I haven’t used it myself yet but based on TPF recommendations it definitely seems like a good one to use as well.

This post is not sponsored, just thought it would be helpful!

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  • Carol Li
    November 2, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    Some great tips there Tiffany. Here's a few more tips I've picked up.

    1. Allow 24 hours between wearing leather shoes. They need time to breath.

    2. Always store leather bags with some stuffing inside to help keep it's shape and use place in the protector case that the bag came in.

    3. Always use a suede protector on suede shoes.

    http://www.petitestyleonline.com

  • Andi of My Beautiful Adventures
    November 2, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    Such helpful tips!!!

  • Elisse
    November 3, 2012 at 11:59 pm

    Thanks for this helpful post! I just sprayed and rain-proofed my boots, and I think I should be doing this more often that just a couple times a year.

    I received compliments on my almost 10 years old Frye boots today – the person thought they were new, but because I've taken care to clean, polish and spray them, they look as good as new!

  • Kaimilla Brown
    November 5, 2012 at 7:17 am

    Thank you so much for sharing this! I have been checking on google how to preserve leather bags because I have some of them just ending up in the trash bags. Now, I will try to follow those steps so that my leather bags and shoes will last for long!- moonshineleather.com