lady bag
The History of the Iconic Lady Dior Handbag
The Lady Dior handbag as it is now famously known, made by designer
Christian Dior dates back to September 1995. At the Cezanne Art
Exhibition, Paris, sponsored by Dior, this beautiful new, petite black
leather grab bag was presented by France's first lady, Bernadette Chirac
to Diana, Princess of Wales. The bag became a favourite of Diana's and
as one of the most photographed women in the world the bag featured with
the Princess of Wales on many of her royal official engagements in the
UK and all over the World. It soon became the must have bag for many and
is one of the most successful bags in the history of fashion, selling
over 200,000 over the next 2 years. Dior decided to name it and the Lady
Dior, as the Princess of Wales was affectionately known was born.
Gianfranco Ferre designed the grab bag that evokes sophistication, with
it's elegant rattan pattern stitched detailed leather, round top handles
and gold charms. Each bag takes several craftsmen with individual
skills many hours to construct. It is made of 130 pieces of the finest
lambskin leather, that are sanded, dyed and hand stitched and then hand
cut by artisans around wooden moulds. The beautiful cannage stitching is
said to be inspired by Napoleon III rattan style chairs. The capital
letter D.I.O.R. charm letters, with the distinctive larger O, that hang
from the handle are galvanised to ensure their luster, as are the metal
rings that attach the handle to the body of the bag and the protective
stud feet. The handbag also comes in a variety of sizes, from mini for
evenings, to a large shopper for every day. Essentially the bag has not
changed over the years, each season different types of leather, beading
and materials such as denim and vivid colours are introduced. These
limited edition can just involve the charm letters being changed by
adding crystals or in different materials such as bamboo, faux tortoise
shell or more extensively the whole of the bag covered in intricate
beading or embroidery.
The expense makes the Chistian Dior Lady Dior, an exclusive bag only a few can afford. But do not despair as there are many reputable designers who make high quality bags that have been inspired by the classic lines of the Lady Dior, but do be aware of fakes, that are illegally stamped and copied which are poorly made in inferior materials from the Far East.
This iconic handbag with its royal destiny and the Princess who gave
it its name, the Lady Dior has become a legend. A bag that today has
continued it's celebrity status and worn by the famous and the rich.
Hello there, Lady Dior.
Welcome back to my blog guys! Today I’ll be sharing with you one of my favourite pre-loved purchase to date, and that is the amazing LADY DIOR! If you’ve come here from my YouTube channel – welcome! But if you’ve come here through google or elsewhere you’re probably wondering HOW I managed to score this gorgeous piece for THOUSANDS less than retail!
I know that buying secondhand is not for everyone, and if you want me to do a more step-by-step process on how to buy second-hand or how to authenticate bags, let me know.But today I just wanted to supplement my YouTube video with some detailed pictures on this bag just to show you that preowned/second-hand bags DO NOT have to be in rubbish condition or very worn condition to still be sold at a great price point.
The process
As you guys know I’m a massive fan of pre-owned bags, and when I browse preowned websites I have previously noticed how poorly Dior bags resale for. For that reason alone, I had never really thought about adding it to my collection. Until that is, I tried it on in store. Its was gorgeous. At the time I tried on the new model in the new size and wide strap. I loved it, but when I went to enquire about it I was told it was $7000+ AUD! That was crazy to me, and for that price I would much rather buy a chanel! I remembered then that Diors sold for crazy less on the second-hand market so I did proceed to my favourite online consignment seller – Ebay. I basically stalked this bag until I found one that I wanted and then made the purchase!
The condition.
As you guys know with vintage pieces you do need to be wary of the wear and tear. The bag was almost 20 years old and to be honest the condition is AMAZING. Granted the cannage quilts aren’t as puffy as a brand new one – but everything else was great! It was clean, no musty odour, the gold hardware was still a bright yellow gold, and it was still in great shape! You do have to be careful when buying lady diors second-hand I have found that there are some older pieces in terrible condition!Obviously it’s completely up to you with what you can afford, but I felt like one of the selling points of this dior bag was structure so I knew that this was something I didn’t want to compromise on. I should note that my bag also didn’t come with a dust bag/box/authenticity. For me this dior wasn’t a holy grail and really I just wanted to try it out. For that reason I was happy to trade the extras (such as box, dustbag, cards) for some savings on the bag. There was another bag in similar condition with all the extras for $500AUD more – I decided paying $500 for a cardboard box was not worth it and skipped on it.
The first impression.
If you couldn’t tell already, I’m pretty much over the moon about this bag. It is the exact reason I stress to everyone how amazing buying second-hand can be! I just saved myself THOUSANDS of dollars going pre-owned route, and I have this amazing vintage bag to show for it. Now not only have I not splurge money that I can now save for something else, having a “used” piece means I can wear it without being too worried about wear & tear or damaging the bag. I can just enjoy it, and brag to everyone at how I was able to score this for an amazing price!
About Greece: What the Bag Lady learned this time
I've been home for six days. I try to allow myself a little time to
reflect before I write the final post in a travel experience. Here's
what I learned:
1. I don't pay attention to where I'm going if someone else is driving. I
have been to the village of Dilesi five times in the last two years,
for a total of about ten weeks. But on the day I drove to the team house
from the community center, I got lost. There are no street signs, and I
could not find the right turn to the street leading to our house. I
turned around and came back the other way. I still couldn't find it. I
had to drive about five miles up the road, toward the camp at Oinofyta,
and turn the car around, to find a street that looked familiar.
See, when I'm just the passenger I don't pay attention to landmarks. Now
I know the street going to the team house is right after the butcher
shop, and the street coming from the team house is right before the
butcher shop. It was really kind of scary to be so lost. I wondered if I
was losing it.
2. I love an excuse to eat fresh bread and feta cheese. When I travel I
don't maintain my Weight Watchers discipline. It's a nice break. I think
the perfect lunch in Greece is bread and cheese and fresh fruit. Really
fresh fruit, bought from the produce stand across the street from the
bakery and the coffee place. Like grapes and peaches. So good!
3. I am not a seafood fan, but I have learned to love fried calamari. Especially when I'm eating it at a little table ten feet from the Aegean Sea. And I have identified my perfect Greek salad: fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, oil, olives, and feta. No peppers, no onions. I think I had a Greek salad more than half a dozen times in my two weeks there - usually with a skewer or two of chicken.
4. In my neighborhood at home, dogs are required to be leashed when
they're on the street. Not so in Dilesi. Dogs run singly or in packs,
and some of them chase cars or people. One of the Do Your Part
volunteers, Sara, went for a run one morning. She was approached and
harassed by three dogs, one of which bit her. She found out later that
people do run for exercise, but they're mostly tourists, because the
residents know better. I also heard that if you're going to run, you
should carry rocks and throw them toward the dogs. Quite a wild way to
get exercise, I'd say.
5. On this trip my work was much easier. Do Your Part is in a community
center five miles from the camp, and residents come in our van to the
community center. Whether they're coming for food distribution, or
clothes for babies, or to see the medical team, or just for some respite
time, there are rarely more than 20 people visiting.
When we worked inside the Oinofyta camp last year, it was among several
hundred residents. Outside the container we used as an office there were
often people waiting to see the camp manager. Maybe they needed to make
a copy of their ID card, or maybe they wanted a cooking pot as large as
their neighbor since they had more people in their family than their
neighbor did. If we had administrative things to attend to - like the
accounting, in my case - we had very little uninterrupted time.
6. The camp residents this time were mostly Kurds from Syria. The
language was a challenge because they speak Kurdish and we had only a
couple of people who could translate for us. Last year, nearly everyone
was Afghan, and there were a number of residents who could translate
from Farsi. Sometimes body language just isn't enough. There were a few
times I had to shake my head and shrug my shoulders; I didn't have any
idea what was being said to me.
7. If you hold a baby for half an hour while their mother is choosing
baby clothes, your arms get tired. At least mine did. Still, it was a
lovely, lovely experience.
8. The Greek friends you made last year give you a hug when they see
you: the Pakistani guy, the pharmacist, the restaurant owner. Sometimes
they say, "Hello. Did you bring your husband with you?" Art says that's
because Greek is a patriarchal culture, but I'm pretty sure it's because
he's a nice guy. And one of your Greek friends calls a friend who
drives a taxi, who calls another friend who drives a taxi, to pick me up
at 3:30 a.m. for an hour-long trip to the airport. And checks to make
sure the taxi arrives. Maria, you rock!
9. If you take the train to Athens to visit your friend Nasar, and he
tells you to "Get off at Larisa Station", and the end of the line says
"Athens", and you get off. And Nasar is not there, and you don't have
any internet service to find him, and you wonder if you should just get
on the next train and go home. But then he shows up, and you have a
great afternoon. And the meal Nasar serves you was prepared by a friend
of his in his camp, and the friend used to be the chef for the President
of Afghanistan. And you meet that friend and another friend, and you
feel honored that Nasar has asked you to spend time with him.
Comments
Post a Comment