I'm thinking of buying a white leather handbag...

[AprillaCourt]

Am I insane?!

I wear a lot of white in spring/summer - dresses with a white base, white ballet flats, white pearls etc - and I'm thinking a white handbag would be useful.

I'm Autistic (diagnosed) and really struggle to mix colours up, so for instance I couldn't wear a pink and white dress with white shoes and then carry a black bag. It's at the stage where if, for example, I see a nice green and white dress that I really like, I don't buy it because I wouldn't have a bag to match. I don't want to have loads and loads of bags, I like only having a few quality bags (the one I'm looking at is Launer.) And in any case if I got a green bag it wouldn't be the exact same shade of green as any clothing I bought and I'd struggle with that too. I know this probably sounds silly to NT people but it's a real issue for me. I can see super subtle shades within colours and to my eyes they just clash and jar.

How easy is it to keep a white leather bag white?! I gather there are products you can buy these days which might help, but would it get grubby no matter what I did? It probably wouldn't get tons of use - perhaps a total of 4-6 weeks each year - which might make it a more realistic proposition.

Any advice greatly appreciated 🙂

Oh wow the Launer...I didn't know they were customizable you have great taste! 😍

Purseforum/purseblog has a massive forum sorted by brands worth a look for sure.

My black one is what's now known as "classic" with the interlocking C's (hence the slight discomfort)...bought prior to the 2.55 reissue and was known then as the 2.55! I used to buy a lot of clothes there and got the opportunity to buy a medium/silver/lamb which was in really short supply at the time....I remember complaining what a rip off it was but the sales assistant told me to do it because they were about to massively hike prices. £680 in 2001...My dyed one is also a CC but less obvious because it's (now) chocolate with antiqued hardware (also over 20 years old and looks better with age ...unlike me!).

£680? <faints>

Ah yes if it's that old it will pre-date the re-issue! The single flap I have is 26 years old - it's a 1997 vintage - & is still beautiful. If you look after them (& don't use them every day) they really are a lifetime purchase.

Thank you re: my taste! I have a Launer key holder & it's lovely. I originally wanted a Chanel one but it had gone out of stock & my SA didn't know when/if it would come back. I'm lucky in that I am in London regularly & can get to Manchester so I'm always popping in to see what's available! I'd fancied something from Launer for a while so bought theirs instead. They had a lead time of around 6 weeks then (it's 7-8 now, they've had a surge in popularity due to the Platinum jubilee & Camilla & Kate carrying their wares) but as it was only an SLG they made it for me within a couple of days & shipped it straight out! I can't fault their customer service. They also sent me some great leather samples when I was toying with the idea of a navy bag. I think I'm going to ring them & ask for advice on their white leathers too.

I am VERY similar to you with colours (never come across anyone else like it!), also want a white bag (but has to be WHITE white…) but generally go with tan accessories with white as a PP suggested

<waves to fellow colour-conflicted person> 👋🏻 😀

When I bought my kitchen 12 years ago grey colours were just coming in & I was clear I wanted a blue based grey not a brown based grey. People in kitchen showrooms kept offering me what they thought was just grey but I could immediately see the difference & rejected colour scheme after colour scheme. I was once employed as a diamond colour grader as my colour sense is so acute I can see across the colour grades of E, F etc & identify a top, middle & bottom colour within a grade. Which is a rare & interesting skill, but it drives me mad at times!

That's a lovely bag.

Funnily enough, I been looking at Dior Bobby bag (in white). It's a similar shape but your Launer is a much nicer alternative.

Bar a WOC purchased in 2015, all my Chanel's are my mother's from the 80s and 90s, back when their hardware was plated in 24k gold. I hope you do keep hold of yours, it will only rise in value and I have no doubt that should you sell, you will regret it, not least because of a) how their prices are increasing and b) the quality isn't the same.

@highfidelity Oh I love the thought of it being my Launer!

How wonderful to have your mother's Chanels. I think you're right about my single flap. I've had a rule for a while that I'll only sell it if I'm putting the money directly into another Chanel bag!

I'm not generally a Dior fan but I'll have a look at the bag you mention. I love a bit of vintage YSL from the eighties though.

Just wanted to add that my WOC has the 2.55 lock and I purchased it for exactly the same reasons as you. Add in the fact it is denim, and few people even realise it's a Chanel bag.

Am not a Dior fan either, it was more the shape - I want something similar to my Prada saddle bag (mine is a bordeaux colour) but in white leather, and there is very little out there. (Hence both the Mulberry Lily and Dior contemplation). Had Phoebe Philo still been at Cèline, I probably would have bought a white box bag, but she's not, and the ones that turn up on resale sites are not in great condition.

Am terrible at procrastinating about bags and not buying anything. My bank account, however, is more than grateful!

Be careful using it when you’re wearing dark coloured clothes, particularly denim. The dye will transfer onto the bag. I speak from experience!

@highfidelity The comment about your bank account made me laugh 😀 A denim Chanel sounds delightful. I've been saving & suspect I'll buy another Chanel at some point. I love the idea of it being mine from the start, & having an account with Chanel which shows all I've bought over the years. I love Chanel scarves too & have several. Justine Picardie's book is a great read if you haven't seen it yet.

I've always been more of a jewellery fan, it's only relatively recently that I've got into bags. I'll look up the bags you mention 🙂

Yes someone else mentioned this upthread & it's good advice which I'll remember, thank you @Helenahandkart 🙂

I personally wouldn't buy any pale coloured bag without studs on the base (have travelled in South America where it's considered unlucky to place your bag or purse in the floor and they will rush to bring you a teeny tiny stool especially for your bag, when I first saw the teeny tiny stools I wondered who could have such an unfeasably skinny arse to fit on them)

But until that becomes a custom here I'd always go for studs on the base!

That made me laugh 😀

I've been thinking how I'd wash my hands a lot when carrying it, & only put it on my lap or the back of my chair (when safe) in restaurants. I treat my 2.55 better than my own self so...😉

Tan bags for me during summer, I've had a few white ones and they always look scatty by the end of summer, tried wipes etc to keep them clean but no luck.

Nice to find a benefit in it! I find it very stressful, almost debilitating to a degree. Like also, there are different shades of black, white, gold…

oh and with handbags, the hardware needs to be either gold or silver to match the jewellery I would wear… so I’d need a white bag with silver hardware not gold, and one black bag with each 🤦‍♀️

Do it op. I have a lv azure and c19 both in light colours. I have carbon pro I'll spray them with the prevent colour transfer. Light bags are gorgeous in summer and also winter ( if not raining)

Oh @dinmin I hear you. I seem to be largely ok with different shades of black & white, I can sort of see past it, I think somewhere my brain thinks there is only one black & only one white! But different shades of blue are terrible. Finding dark jeans that match a navy jumper? Horrendous.

I didn't know it was a Spectrum feature till I was diagnosed, my kids (also diagnosed) don't have it but my mother (clearly Autistic but undiagnosed) does. I have memories from being a child of her debating paint colours for weeks before re-decorating, & coming home to find the paint she'd eventually chosen on the walls & seeing her burst into tears because it wasn't right. She'd put off decorating or replacing a kitchen etc until the place was falling apart (despite being a very smart woman herself) because of the stress of selecting colours, paying the money & knowing it might not be right & she would have to live with it & it would drive her insane.

I generally wear white metals & go for silver fastenings. I do however have a golden south sea pearl necklace, earrings & ring all set in yellow gold for those times when I'm wearing a bag with gold hardware!

The struggle is real!

That's brilliant, thank you @superplumb 🙂

Another vote for tan, thank you @LondonQueen 😀

I wouldn't buy a light coloured designer handbag again as I can't manage it. I bought a yellow mulberry alexa for summer a few years ago and had colour transfer after a couple of wears from jeans. Have not been able to get it out. Lesson learned but very annoying. If I really had to , would get something at a much cheaper price point

Check out the purse forum though I spend a too much time on there and if you like chanel, there is alot on there. Also a great place to check out other cheaper brands. I found polene on there. Goodluck!

Thanks @Ireolu I'll check it out 👍🏻

I imagine I'll only use this white bag when I'm wearing white, or possibly something like a white & pink cotton dress, which I think should be ok, but I'll take extra care 🙂