Sunday, June 9, 2013

The British Tan Musette that Wasn't British Tan

In getting started with learning how to restore leather, and in particular seeing the work of several people who have been working on Coach leather bags for sometime, I couldn't help but fall in love with the Musette.  The Musette is the classic 1970s Coach leather bag.  It's made of high-qualify glove-tanned leather, and the style is timelessly fashionable.  (Coach just brought back the style in their Legacy line.)  Size-wise, it is smaller than a typical briefcase, but large enough for a few files, an iPad, and all the stuff I would normally carry in my bag to work.

I really wanted to find a British Tan Musette to restore and started looking for one.  I saw one on eBay, but was outbid by someone willing to pay more than I was.  I shortly thereafter found one on Etsy in my price range.  I haven't been doing this long, so when I saw the pictures online and when I received it, I just assumed it would be British Tan.

It was very, very dirty, and very, very dry.  So dry that parts of the bag almost felt like suede.  I was actually a little worried about how dry it was.  This bag hadn't seen a conditioning in years.

   
I immediately bathed it, and immediately realized this bag was definitely not British Tan.  The bag released quite a bit of very dark dye, and it was obvious the bag was a much darker color. 

The restoration process was quite lengthy.  Through much of the process I wasn't sure if the bag would be more red or a dark brown chocolate color.  Here's a picture midway through the restoration:


I used so many coats of Leather Therapy that I lost track.  Eventually, the natural oils of the leather were restored, and the bag turned into a beautiful, deep reddish brown tobacco color.  


I polished the brass and tacked down some loose pieces in the bottom, and it is now almost-new.  The leather is super soft.  There is one place where the piping is worn through near one of the buckles, but the bag is in overall great shape.   

I'm still looking for a British Tan to restore.  I think my wardrobe can handle multiple Musettes. 

3 comments:

  1. Really cool hobby, and great looking bags. Do any work on Michael Kors bags?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I actually have a musette very similar to yours. I think mine might be a big larger, perhaps a swagger or carrier. What do you charge for a restoration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi. I've only restored bags for myself. If you are looking for someone to restore a bag, I'd recommend trying sacsmagnifiques.com

      Delete