How I take care of my Louis Vuitton Vachetta bags

Vachetta - some people love it, some people hate it. I am personally a big fan of the look - especially as the leather ages and takes on a beautiful darker honey brown color. However, Vachetta bags do require some maintenance: the untreated cowhide leather parts that most Louis Vuitton Monogram bags come with are more sensitive than treated leather. They take on water spots easily and once these spots are there - they are nearly impossible to get rid of! That's the downside of Vachetta, and the reason some people avoid it altogether. But the upside, and the reason a lot of people love it is that a well taken care of bag can get even more beautiful with time as it develops it's own unique patina! Patina is a darkening of the leather from exposure to sunlight and also your own skin's oils. And since each bag's exposure is different than the next's, every bag will have a unique, individual patina, and your bag will look like no one else's! LV refers to this phenomenon as your individual "patina journey". But how do you best achieve this beautiful honey color? And what's the best way to keep the dreaded waterspots away?

First let's talk about the patina. Wile some people prefer the look of a brand new LV bag, I personally love a light honey golden color on my Vachetta bags. It will develop naturally over time as you carry your bag- but you can also accelerate this process! The way you can do this might sound a little ridiculous at first- and maybe it is- but since you are still reading I'm going to assume that you are ready for this: You can let your bags "sunbathe" and they will actually tan similar to our skin! I have first seen someone do this back in highschool when my bestfriend's mom put her LV bags out on her lawn. I wasn't understanding at the time what she was doing. Now, a lot of years later, I do the EXACT same thing! I simply put my bags outside when it's sunny, and just let the sunlight do it's job for a few hours. After maybe 10 such "tanning sessions" my Speedy had developed a light patina that I thought was perfect! And honestly the act of taking care of my bag in this way has made me appreciate them even more. This is an actual known psychological phenomenon: The more we take time caring about something, the more we like it.

Now that we know how to get the patina, what can we do about the water spots? Louis Vuitton recommends not exposing the Vachetta to water at all. That's why a lot of people chose to not use their Monogram bags when it rains. I think if you really don't want any water spots, that's probably the safest move, and it's definitely what I have been doing too.

However, even if you always avoid the rain - water is likely going to get on your bag at some point! Let's be real: someday, somebody most likely WILL spill something on it - especially if you carry your bag a lot. This hasn't yet happened with either of my Vachetta bags - but I know it is only a matter of time. For this reason I always carry tissue paper with me, so I can wipe the Vachetta dry quickly if need be. And I also LOVE to use Apple Guard on my bags!

light patina on my Speedy 30 monogram after 1 year of minimal use, and one week of "tanning" in the backyard

Apple Guard is a spray that helps protect leather and other materials from water spots and other stains! It is a form of treating the leather, but not to the point where it wouldn't be developing a patina still! My own LV bag (the Speedy 30) has developed a patina, even though I treated the Vachetta with Apple Guard last year when it was still brand new! I am personally a big fan and have treated all of my Vachetta bags with it. I personally love it, because I know if water were to get on my Vachetta, spots will be a lot less noticeable than without Apple Guard. This makes me worry less, and enjoy my bags more - rather than having to baby them to the max!

So how exactly do you treat your Vachetta with Apple Guard? Some people like to only treat the Vachetta, but not the canvas, while others prefer to just treat the whole bag. If you prefer to not treat the canvas, you can use a towel to cover it while you spray your Vachetta. Some people also recommend covering metal parts with a towel or even tape. I personally decided to not spray the canvas of my Speedy 30 Monogram, because the canvas is dark and less likely to color transfer. However, I decided to spray the canvas of my white Multicolor Pouchette Accessoires, since I have heard other people mention that the white canvas can be somewhat delicate and take on stains too!

Application of the product: Apple Guard recommends applying the product either outside or in a well-ventilated area. They recommend to spray evenly, 6-9 inches away from your product with a sweeping motion. They recommend applying 2-3 thin coats, rather than one heavy coat and to wait 30 minutes between each coat. What I personally noticed with using Apple Guard on my LV Vachetta is that sometimes, despite my best efforts to spray evenly, some part of a strap was rather soaked, while the other part of the strap was not. Usually it would be the edges of a leather strap that took on more product than the middle of the strap. What worked for me in those instances was using gravity to help the product spread to the parts where it hadn't initially absorbed the product, and just sort of let it bleed over! In a few minutes I ended up with an even coat! However, this didn't happen with every strap, but it definitely happened with my Pouchette Accessoires, and I had to hold her upside down for a few minutes to end up with an even result!

While spraying it can be a bit nerve-wracking, I believe it is definitely worth it, and the look of the patina is worth all the trouble.

For those people who appreciate convenience over everything there's good news: LV has started to come out with a few Monogram bags where the light brown leather has already been treated - such as my LV Boulogne, or the LV Carryall East -West! Both beautiful bags with leather trimmings that I think are just the perfect shade of brown!

I like to put the Vachetta straps on a towel and cover the medal part with it where it's convenient, but i don't obsess over it!

Apple Guard, my favorite Vachetta protectant spray!

This is how I covered my canvas while I sprayed the handles! I didn't cover the metal parts here, but it is possible to use tape

The LV Boulogne in Monogram with pre-treated leather!