i have a laruen merkin bag similar to this one in a blue/grey, sort of denim color. it was faded and absolutely filthy after living in highly-polluted cairo for two yrs so i took it to have it cleaned. i was told by two leather places that it would have to be redyed, but they would try to match the original color as much as possible. you could still see a bit of the original color in certain places (under piping, etc.), but the bag is hideous. i picked it up yesterday and it is turquoise!! not at all like the original color.
i complained and they said they would mute down the color to more of a grey, which i hope will help. but what i am really upset about is that the texture is shiny and sort of painted looking, not soft and natural/worn like before. i may ask if they can just remove all of the dye, but i don't know.
any advice??? i'm so bummed - it looks cheap now, and i used to get so many compliments on it.
BOO colored leather is so beautiful but always stains. ALWAYS!
Is it possible that the color is nice but you were so used to the old one that you want an exact match? I'd worry that the dying/undying would affect the quality of the bag.
That sucks! I would probably keep the new color and not let them do anything more to the bag, personally. It sounds like they've already made the leather stiff and I'd be a afraid they'd ruin it even more if they stripped it or redyed it.
I'd also ask for a manager when I spoke with them again and would try to make them give me a discount for my trouble. Good luck!
thanks, girls, for the help/replies. xtina - yes, it is possible that is doesn't look as bad as it think it does and i probably should have taken a pic, but i already asked them to un-dye it so i don't have it with me. they said they will try to get all the dye off and if i didn't like the result, they would dye it a charcoal grey for me at half price ($22 verses $45), so i agreed to that. not the best deal but they were nice about it and i think that's the best i can get at this point. they didn't admit they made a mistake though, they keep saying that that is the original color of the bag!
so, bellaluna - i'm pretty sure there is no way they'd replace the bag, but thanks for the suggestion. and welcome, btw!! glad to have you around!
eta - boots, thanks i didn't see your reply earlier. thanks for the tip, though i really hate how it looks so it would be a total waste for me. we'll see what happens. i'm really hoping it won't ruin it further - but i hated the dye look. it looked all cheap and shiny. i just want my bag back!
-- Edited by alb on Tuesday 5th of May 2009 02:54:22 PM