Tinaciouslee

While I prefer a new bag, I won’t say no to a vintage piece – especially if the design is as iconic as this Ferragamo top handle purse. This bag was designed by Ferragamo’s daughter, Fiamma and was released in the mid-90s, making the bag I got about 30 years old, more or less.

Here’s the thing tho: they still make this classic piece today and that’s part of the reason why I pulled the trigger on this one. This is what the Speedy is to the LV brand or the Saddle to Dior – it’s an instantly recognizable Ferragamo design, one of the most coveted from the brand!

Getting the Bag

It started when I was wanting to buy a bag but could not justify the cost of a new one, which is the Balenciaga Rodeo in medium. It costs over 200K, guysth. There is no way in hell I’d spend that much for a bag.

I considered getting a dupe of the Rodeo but decided against it, although I’m not ruling this out 100%. I love the design so much, it’s so rock n’ roll, I wanna dai.

Anyhoo! The itch to get a new bag was super strong so I decided to check out other bags that I’ve been meaning to get. I decided to go the vintage route because there are so many designer bags that are super affordable and are in surprisingly great condition, despite being decades old!

At first, I thought about getting something from Dior or Fendi but decided to get a vintage bag from a brand that’s missing in my collection, Ferragamo. There were several bags of the same design in my cart and I’ve been going back and forth which one to get. The one I really wanted was several thousand more expensive than the one I got because it was sold just before I was gonna get it.

This is the actual photo of the bag from the seller:

It looks so good as is!

There were several iteration of this top handle bag but this one is easily the most recognizable from the brand. Also, some of the ones I checked out were kinda clunky-looking and the size of this one is perfect for my height. As much as I adore the mini ones, those could barely fit an iPhone inside and I already had four mini bags in my collection. They’re cute but problematic, honestly.

I do see some shallow scratches near the buckle but overall, the condition is pretty good! It’s ranked AB, not the most ideal but definitely better than a B. In comparison, my vintage Dior double saddle bag was rank A and my Fendi vintage baguette was a Rank B so for the price I paid for it, this was not bad at all.

The plan is to get this bag to a spa and have some of its aging materials restored – specifically the handle edging, the buckle (electroplating) and reviving the color to make the scratches less obvious.

The bag arrived about 4 days after buying it, you can check out my unboxing on my IG here.

The Bag in Person

OMG y’all, the bag is GORGEOUS! Despite being 28 to 30 years old, this beauty was super well-maintained. The leather is supple and smooth, the structure is perfect. The hardware is a deep yellow gold.

There were several dings, which of course, it is vintage.

There is a surface area on the Gancini buckle, the bag’s main hardware, where the shallow metal part has chipped. This is a permanent damage and cannot be fixed with electroplating.

Based on the seller’s photo, I thought it was just some tarnish but apparently yeah, the buckle has a slight damage. You’ll only know the extent of the damage when you inspect the bag in person.

I’ll be honest, this would’ve been a deal-breaker if I caught the issue at first glance. But since the bag arrived, I don’t really want to go through the hassle of sending it back, you know?

I suppose owing to the fact that the bag lived a life, I can overlook this minor issue. Along with the hairline scratches near the buckle, which is a given and the main closure being the most used part of the piece. Overall, I thought it was a fabulous piece, perfectly imperfect it may be.

At the moment, I had the bag shipped for a much-needed TLC. I’ll have the color revived to blur the scratches, hardware polished to enhance its gleam, and rubber sealed redone- something I prioritized because the seal on the top handles have peeled and the material softened too much for my liking.

The bag will be away for a month, yikes. It’s okay, I don’t have immediate plans on using it anyway. I’ll post an update once the bag arrives, hopefully with a new face!