I cannot stop myself from sharing this with you all.

This is about couple of pieces that I love for two reasons. First, they were gifts from my husband, and second, I just absolutely adore them. That is why I simply could not give up on them. Somehow I knew they can still be as glamurous as when they were new 😉

When it comes to my amazing Kurt Geiger’s shoes, I got them and for first few month I only wore them to special occasions (placed where people would not come too close and the chances of getting my new shoes scratched were slim to none). Then I realized how silly that was and wore them everywhere. Those were one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned and it just made sense to wear them. That meant wearing them to nightclubs too thought 🙁 Let’s just say there were scratches now. Anyway, I felt they lasted a looooong time considering all the impact. Nevertheless I was not ready to let go. They got pushed aside and left for a while.

Now, when it comes to my beautiful Karen Millen bag (I know it sound as if I was talking about a puppy or a child, but I’m sure some of you will be able to relate to almost having a relationship with certain pieces or accessories in your wardrobe. It is probably comparable to the relationship that man have with their cars ;)). This bag was not only beautiful, it was super comfortable. You know what I mean when I say you can ‘operate’ it one-handed (e.g. other hand busy holding a child or busy carrying bags of shopping). Hopefully some of you will feel my pain when I say that it got permanently ruined.

Husband took me away to London on a first child-free break since our son was born and the bag was there too. We were busy going from one place to another and got squashed between people when travelling on the underground (enough for the mini hair spray in my bag to go on for about a minute and leave an ugly stain on it. How silly is that?

I tried everything to wash it; soap, washing up liquid, vinegar, olive oil, lemon, I even put it in the washing machine (twice). NOTHING! I let go of anything else in my wardrobe that no longer serves a purpose apart from these two. I left the bag aside too.

Few days ago I came across someone talking about a leather dye. I decided this will be it. I couldn’t believe my excitement. Ordered a bottle of dark brown leather dye after reading few reviews on it. It was delivered after 3 days and here is what happened next :)))

 

 

Since the bag was washed already I only wiped it with slightly damp microfibre cloth and used a baby sponge and a make up brush to apply a dye. It was super easy to apply (but make sure to use gloves and protect the surface you do it on (in spite using both, my hands got slightly dyed too ). It dried withing an hour or so and I applied another layer. I did the same with the shoes in the mean time. I let it dry and following day I did the same. I probably applied about 5 layers of the dye on the bag and 4 on the shoes. Once completely dry and I was happy with they result, I washed the hardwear of the bag with a little alcohol on a q-tip. Then I applied a little bit of olive oil all over the bag and the shoes (on a cotton wool ball) to give it a little shine and finish.

 

 

Can you believe this? I have a new upcycled bag, all to myself 😉 Christmas did come early this year 🙂 and check out the shoes now.

 

 

 

I have done no editing to the pictures (except cropping) as I wanted you to see the exact transormation. I hope some of you will find it useful. Please comment and share your opinion. I love hearing back.

Love,

Gosia