I’ve rediscovered Dooney just recently after two decades, and I cannot get enough! I just recently picked up two florentine satchels from this sale - I somehow (luckily!) snagged a Fuschia and also bought the Elephant. When the these arrived, I noticed a few details that weren’t the same.
- First of all and most obviously, the size. The Elephant bag was 12” in length, whereas the Fuschia was 13” long.
- The bottom panel. Elephant had a completely different bottom panel. The feet were placed much wider apart and they didn’t have the leather strips underneath the feet. (Seemed cheaper imo? This is ultimately why I sent this one back).
- The tags inside. Elephant was missing the red/white D&B tag and only had the Made in Mexico tag inside. Fuschia had both tags, but made in Vietnam.
What gives? I’m an newbie again lol. Can anyone explain why the differences?
I can't explain the differences in design between your handbag. Over the years, Dooney has altered the design of the Florentine satchel. Originally, the bottom had a center seam
and no rectangular panel across the entire base. So, older inventory took a while to
move out and an order could be either design.
As for size, they re-sized the Florentine satchels a while ago. It was very confusing labeling originally, and even more confusing when they changed it.... both in the
naming and apparently adjusting the size. The former small is now just the satchel
(or the regular size) and the former medium is now the large (it always was really big).
It's hard to know if the measurements are really different or if they are measuring
the bags differently (or even accurately).
QVC used to have the most accurate measurements for Dooney bags they sold. But their measurement standards were
sometimes different than Dooneys and took years to be aligned. And now, I'm getting
some bags from Dooney that seem to be measured differently than Dooney used
to measure them . And Dooney no longer has the measurement guide on their website.
It can make a big difference if you measure a bag across the base or the top, for example.
And if it's a slouchy shape, how you determined the length or depth can also be different.
I'm going to guess that the 13" bag was made before they changed the specs of the
small or regular size satchel. Your other bag was probably created under the new specs.
As for the leather thickness, that can vary from bag to bag, no matter where they are
manufactured. We don't know if it's intentional.... to lighten the bag (at customer
request) or to cut costs... or if it's just the variability of a natural product.
Glad you snagged the Fuchshia. It's a beautiful color and is often hard to find.
I've learned that unique colors must be purchased when you see them. The more
standard colors like black, natural, elephant, and red seem to be core colors that
are produced every year. But the 'fashion' or in my mind, more interesting colors
come and go. Sometimes never to reappear. So don't be lulled into thinking you can
always get that beautiful color.... if you see it, and love it, and it makes sense
to buy it.... go for it and enjoy.