Tips on How To Store and Protect Your Leather Bags

Happy Friday! A few people asked me to write a post on how to care for your leather bags. Just for some background, I've been collecting bags since 2003. Which will mark 23 years this year. Crazy how time flies. My first bag was  a Icon messenger bag that I bought for $400 and back in the day this was a lot of money for me. Out of curiosity, that's about $705 in 2026. I thought it was the coolest looking bag I've ever seen. 

The Navigator by Icon

I still have the bag. I haven't used it in a long, long time. The leather has held up decently, I should probably condition it, otherwise leather can crack if it's dried out. I generally do not condition my bags unless they feel dry. Most brand new bags are ready to use without having to condition them. That said, my most recent purchase from Go Forth Goods needed conditioning right away. It just felt super dry. 

Before conditioning. It needed a drink badly.

After a second conditioning.

See how it looks so much better? The color also looks a little darker, and that's because I took these photos right after. The color will eventually lighten up again. I think this particular hide will need conditioning every couple of months. Go Forth Goods uses full grain leather, which is the best quality leather you can get and Go Forth Goods' leather has very minimal processing on the hide which I love. However, because of the minimal processing, there will be some imperfections on the hide. I've grown to really embrace it. For me it's a way of respecting the animal that gave up its life and I realize that no human or animal has perfect skin. The leather bags that have that blemish free finish have gone through heavy processing. This is something I learned this year. I never realized it even though it makes perfect sense. 

Sorry I went off tangent a bit there. There's definitely no harm in conditioning a bag even if it doesn't need it. In some cases the conditioner will even protect the leather from light stains. In a previous blog post, I mentioned that I spilled some green tea on this Go Forth Goods bag and I conditioned it again and the stain was completely gone. Even I was surprised at how well it came out. Conditioning will also buff out most scratches as well. 

I think I've convinced you by now to condition your bags! Here are the products I have used. Apple Guard products are amazing. I've used this brand for years and they have conditioned many of my Balenciaga bags. 

Apple Conditioner

The secret to keeping your suede in good condition is to protect it before using the bag. I spray my suede bags once a year, usually before the fall season starts. Make sure to brush the suede before spraying. I would also make sure to use this outdoors only. It is very smelly. Leave it outside for 30 minutes and once it's completely dry, I would spray it a second time. 

Apple Spray Guard

Suede brush

A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to try Leather CPR. One of my bag friends was absolutely raving about it. So of course I had to give it a go.

Leather CPR

She was 100% right. This is actually the conditioner I used on my Go Forth Goods bag. What's different about Leather CPR, is it's a cleaner and a conditioner. Which is why my Go Forth Goods bag came out looking brand new even after I spilled tea on it. Absolutely love this conditioner. I've gone through a few bottles of it already. I also use these microfiber towels to apply the product. 

Microfiber Applicator

Before I forget, always, ALWAYS spot test! Pick an area on the bag to test the product to see how it reacts with the leather. Sometimes if the dye is not fixed on the leather, there will be color transfer. I've seen this happen mainly with red leather bags. There's always some color that will come off onto the towel or pad that you use. Red is usually the color that rubs off the most. If you see some color come off, don't panic. It's pretty normal. When you're testing the spot on your bag, you're looking to see if the conditioner dries without leaving a stain. If it dries clear, you're good to go. 

How to store your bags

This can be a controversial topic for purse collectors. Some swear you have to keep them in a dust bag. I'm not great about doing that. There's maybe a handful of bags that I do keep in their dust bags and those are my Hermès Picotin 18 (because it's Hermès 😅) My Mila Jito Mirus Puffy, Louis Vuitton Catogram Speedy, Louis Vuitton Millesime Speedy, and all of my suede bags. I think it's more important to keep the bags in the dark, without any sunlight (sunlight will fade the color, I have a really good example of this).

Balenciaga Violet Work 2007 - Picture taken in 2012.

I absolutely LOVED this Balenciaga Violet bag I bought in 2007. This is how she looked after 5 years of heavy use. See the mirror in the middle of the bag? That dark purple color? That was the original color of the bag. The sun faded this bag so much, it made me sad. Look at how beautiful she was when I first got her. 

Baby me. Look at that hair!

Sorry, went off in another tangent! Going back to storing your bags, generally I would keep the bags in a dark closet with no sunlight and make sure the humidity is not too high and not too low. Somewhere between 40 to 60% humidity is optimal. I have always kept my bags in a closet and mostly stored on shelves. I laid all my Balenciaga first and cities flat and other bags depending on the style were upright. If the handles folded down, I would make sure to either keep the handles up if possible or if not, I made sure the handles were protected with something soft. This keeps the handles from indenting and leaving marks on the bag. For example, if the handles laid down onto the bag, your bag will end up with handle marks on the body, which I really hate. Improper storage can really damage a bag. See below example. This is my poor Louis Vuitton Millesime Alma. I have not reviewed this bag yet. The leather is super soft and supple, but also very delicate. I bought it pre-owned on Ebay and it was not properly stored.

See that curve that's on the middle of the bag? That's from the handles laying down. The original owner should have wrapped the handles in soft cloth or tie the handles together with soft cloth so they stay up. Really makes me sad to see this on any bag, but for it to be on this Millesime leather? Ugh, it breaks my heart, but I still love the bag. I'll take good care of her from now on. 

Last thing I'll add is to NEVER store your bags in sealed or closed plastic bins. Leather does need to breathe.

My Studio Update

It's delayed, but it will eventually happen. I will have a bag display case in the studio. There are windows, but I'm going to replace the windows with UV protection and also have curtains as well. Hopefully that extra precaution will keep my bags protected from sun. 

If I missed something, let me know in the comments! Happy to answer any questions. That's it for me, hope you all have a fantastic weekend!