What decides it
- The material. Smooth leather takes colour best. PU and PVC are judged case by case. Suede and nubuck can be refreshed or taken darker, but a full change is limited. Patent finishes are the hardest.
- The direction. Light to dark is the straightforward one — tan to brown, beige to black. Dark to light is possible on some pieces, takes more work, and is not right for every bag.
- The condition. Colour follows the surface. Cracks, deep scratches and peeling have to be dealt with first, or the new colour simply shows them in a new shade.
Three kinds of colour work
- Spot correction — a rubbed corner, a faded handle, a stain that would not clean out.
- Colour revival — the bag goes back to the colour it was when you bought it.
- Colour change — the bag becomes a different colour altogether.
All three are recolouring. Edges are usually redone at the same time, which is edge colour.
What stays as it is
The lining, the hardware and the texture of the material do not change. Stitching thread keeps its colour unless it is coloured with the body — tell us whether you want contrast stitching kept or covered.
Before you decide
- Choose the colour in daylight, not from a phone screen
- A colour change is a decision for the life of the bag; a revival is not
- On a designer bag, a revival to the original colour keeps it closest to what it was