My Louis Vuitton

Well, here she is:  my little vintage Louis Vuitton bag, a Speedy 25.

Kudos to the vendor for selling me a bag with REALLY excellent "bones."  She arrived in far better condition than I had even imagined she would ~ and the "restoration" process was little more than cleaning the monogram canvas, conditioning the leather, and polishing the brass.  For an older, used handbag, this LV even had a very nice deep honey patina {no yucky, black oil from years of being mistreated}.  I cannot complain!  {then again, who would complain about a Louis Vuitton bag in their grasp for approximately 18% of the price of a new Speedy 25 ?!?}

For those of you who appreciate this sort of thing, I took some photographs of the miniature restoration process so you can see the classic beauty of my new handbag ~ one which with never go out of style!  I am just SO excited!

Enjoy!

This is what I mean by excellent "bones."  This is her directly out of the parcel box.

And here as well - prior to any cleaning.

But here's that same brass fastener after some Wright's brass polish.

Nothing that a little elbow grease and some awesome cleaners can't handle.  After doing some research, I ordered this 100% natural cleanser from Green Wyre that has proven safe for Louis Vuitton handbags and has been featured on several other fashion blogs.

I used Apple leather conditioner for the vachetta.

And buffed with a make-up sponge.

And now what you've been waiting for ... some "after" photos of my girl {alright, I know the lingo is ridiculous}.

***

In today's mail came my Louis Vuitton padlock to complete the ensemble!  I got VERY lucky with my #300 padlock as well.  It had NO scratches and only moderate tarnishing.  Again, with my Wright's brass polish, it looks BRAND NEW!  Boy!  Take a look at these "before" and "after" images of the LV padlock!

Before:

After:

And the final look is QUITE a "Voila"!

And a "Ta Da"!

I am so impressed!

This final product.

Watch out Rodeo Drive ... here I come!

{I wish}