Qualities to look for while purchasing an exotic skin handbag

It’s hard for me to not be biased as a couture bag designer in terms of what to tell customers to look for when purchasing an exotic skin handbag. This is based on the assumption that what I am presenting within my own collection represents the top category of available luxury details. I couldn’t write so boldly to tell you where designers go cheap in design detail and then offer that kind of cheapened product myself.

Quite frankly, when I started designing my first collection, creating the language of “Farbod Barsum” standard details was the most time consuming aspect of the whole venture. For example, how does typical stitching, facing, zipper collar, piping, hardware connection, and other such details manifest themselves so they give my bags character and identity that is unique to my brand. When executing these standard details, both myself and my manufacturer came to the agreement that these will end up being the most difficult, time consuming, and luxury conscious of market designs. I will explain why as we go along…

First and foremost when you’re about to plunk down a sizeable amount of money for an exotic, you must realize that material and labor are the major components affecting price. Being the most expensive material available on the market for making handbags, exotics must be used carefully and wisely. Some designers use this approach to use exotics conservatively and minimize the overall consumption of material and give the most amount of show for the least amount of input. For example, I personally find it distasteful to approach an exotic handbag in a specialty retailer and open it up to find that there is no show on the inside of exotics. For the owner, the inside of a bag should be just as luxurious as the exterior. Otherwise, it becomes much like a Hollywood movie set where the façade of a building was created and behind it an empty hollow structure.

Allow me to outline some of these details: The outside edge that folds inside a bag is the facing of a bag. Sometimes it’s a continuous piece or sometimes it’s sewn as a separate piece that goes around the inner rim of the handbag opening which is then called a collar. When you open a clutch, the inside flap is also called the facing. The more luxurious option is to create these out of exotics as well. I find that time after time, many fashion houses, even the revered ones use cowhide or lambskin as a cheap alternative. I get turned off when a sales associate tries to make it a bragging point that it has an interior of lambskin, even if it is lined in lambskin. Please! Even some custom woven linings are more expensive per yard than lambskin.

Look underneath shoulder straps and handles. If the top is exotic, the bottom should make use of exotic if you want more out of your bag. If the designer wishes to elaborate on the interior, you will often find a ¼” or ½” trim around the zipper (called a zipper collar) and a similar trim around the top edge of envelope pockets and cell phone pockets. Again, if they are made of corresponding exotic, you are getting more value for your money.

Next, look at how your bag is finished along the edges. This is really important to know how much time was spent creating and assembling the panels. If they are top stitched and the edge is painted or filled in with a waxy resin, this is called a raw cut resin painted edge. If the exotic skin folds inwards and disappears before the panel was top stitched, then you are looking at a very calibrated couture detail, a turned edge. These edges need a lot more planning and preparation often requiring the skin to be thinned out and pre-folded with a special tool before being perfectly lined up for stitching.

If the panels slip during sewing, it will show and nothing can be done to fix it whereas a slight slip of the raw cut treatment will be remedied during the final trimming and resin painting phase. I’m shocked to see how many fashion houses will finish their bags like this.  Even one of the most expensive handbag makers in the market, which I cannot name, uses this detail to finish their ‘prized’ product. Over time, be assured that the resin will tend to crack and chip off. It’s a calibrated gimmick to get the consumer to take the bag in for repair and treatment and possibly look at new arrivals and make another purchase.

Other couture details that are not imperative to holding the bag together, but make for visual array is the number of seams and panels in the design of the bag and also how they are trimmed. If there is a lot of piping and French binding, this is again more time consuming and difficult to achieve. Also, are there curves in the design? Design and perceived value in the design is entirely up to the taste of the customer, but remember that curves are a lot harder to cut and sew than straight lines.

If the bag is relatively structured and has a flat bottom design, I advise that you look for a bag with metal ‘feet’ placed at regular intervals in that panel. If it is flat and has no feet, then the design house went cheap on the consumer. The feet will obviously protect the bag from dirt and oils from being placed on tables and other surfaces.

In short couture handbags make use of more detail, hardware, labor, and exotic skin throughout. Some designs opt for a mimimalisitc approach and if so, they must be priced accordingly. The eye doesn't fool you so trust your instincts.

What is the difference between Alligator, Crocodile, and Caiman Crocodile?

 

When shopping for exotic skin merchandise, consumers are faced with three distinct choices: Alligator, Crocodile, and Caiman. I've noticed, especially after I went in the business of exotic skins that a lot of sales people are either uneducated or they're just trying to make a sale by telling you that something is what it clearly isn't... shocker!  

Since there is a difference between these three skins that will namely affect price and the level of desirability of the skin, its important to be aware of what you're getting. Not all designers will mark on their finished product what species you are looking at either so its better to go in with some knowledge beforehand.  In fact, don't pay attention to stampings such as "Genuine this or that". I don't want to be a whistle blower but I've seen reputable design houses stamp origin of species on their finished product that I'd guarantee was not what they marked it as.

Alligator, Crocodile, and Caiman are all members of the Crocodilian family but their ranking can go in the same order as far as prestige, looks, price, and quality of material.

Granted even within Alligator, you  can have lesser grade skins compared to premium grade skins within that class, but the quality will show on the finished product. Lesser grades are used for projects like motorcycle seats, cowboy boots, the lesser priced house brand department store belts, etc. Premium quality is reserved for designer/ couture handbags and accessories.

ALLIGATOR (Alligator mississippiensis) which I refer to the as the "Rolls Royce of exotics" is a uniquely American Species found only in the southeastern part of the US from eastern Texas through Florida in fresh water swamps. Alligator tends to be the most expensive of materials due to softness, texture, firmness, and overall more uniformity in scale patterning. Also, there are fewer Alligators in the world in ratio to other Croc species. It may be hard to tell the difference right off the bat from Crocodile, especially if you don’t have a trained eye, but placing a crocodile bag next to an alligator in the same design often has the consumer leaning towards the alligator because of the said differences. It just looks more expensive and its rarer in quantity so we tend to prize Alligator as the premium in exotics.

-       Visual Comparative: Umbillicus on Alligator

• One key difference between alligator and crocodile skin is that the alligator has an umbilical scar on its belly, similar to a belly button. This scar is in the middle of its belly, and looks like a cluster of very tiny scales in a triangular shape. Often times, designers will choose to showcase this unique marking placed on a distinct area of the finished product to prove authenticity of the alligator.  Also, the belly tiles tend to be more squared off in shape than a crocodile which some find more visually pleasing.

 Umbillicus up close

CROCODILE is found all over the world and can be both freshwater and saltwater with the most common being Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). Some particular species of Croc, the Porosus crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus) is a fairly good comparative to Alligator, as the characteristics of this skin is close to American Alligator. Price-wise, Nile Crocodile will often be retailed at a lower price than American Alligator but Porosus because of its rarity can sometimes be just as expensive as American Alligator.

-       Visual Comparative: Pores on Crocodile Tiles (Scale)

• Here's where we get nerdy but bear with me: Crocodile have integumentary sensory organ pores, or ISOs. These pores usually contain a tiny hair that helps the crocodile sense its surroundings. After tanning, the hair is removed, but the pore will remain. The pore looks like a tiny hole in each scale which is a dead giveaway you're looking at a Croc product. Next time you go high end shopping, impress your friends and most likely the sales associate too by examining a product close up..look for that tiny hole in some of the scales and you can be sure to claim it as Croc. If not, most likely, you're looking at premium Alligator or the very prized Porosus Croc which has few if any of those ISOs. Also, Crocodile tiles tend to be more ovalish in shape than alligator in the belly.

 (see all the single pinhole pores on each tile, easy to spot right??)

CAIMAN: Here is where my bias as a couture designer comes to play. The next step down which is a huge leap down in quality, beauty, and price is a uniquely South American Species of Crocodile called Caiman Crocodile or Columbian Crocodile. This is a cheap alternative to using Alligator and Nile Crocodile and is often marketed as simply ‘Crocodile’ which can be somewhat misleading or ‘South American Crocodile’ or ‘Columbian Crocodile’ in which case you know what you're getting.

This is easy to identify by the price tag you will be looking at. On the whole, Caiman skins can cost about 1/10^th the price of a premium Alligator or Crocodile skin. You won't find high end designers working with Caiman. Usually when a designer picks Caiman, they stick to that skin to be able to reside within a price niche and still label their product 'exotic.' When made into bags and other products the retail price alone will serve as a prime indicator. 

Visual variations to tell aside from price:

-       Caiman Pock marks on Tiles

o   Caiman crocodile is an easy one to spot because it has noticeably different tiles. The skin is characterized by pock marks on the tiles and the tiles tend to be concave in shape. Also, the skin is drier and not as soft as the above two. While you may have to look for telltale signs like ISO pores or umbillicus or overall patterning, etc to differentiate between Alligator and Croc, Caiman sticks out like a sore thumb.  

    - Caimans don't get as big as alligator or crocodile either, so often times you'll be looking at tiles that are about half an inch in width vs alligator or croc, depending on when the animal was harvested in its stage of growth can have tiles from half an inch in width all the way up to two inches in width.

     - I've seen some even bigger, but those are specimen skins often displayed on walls and not used in bags because by the time they get that big, the skin is too marred and tough to work into fine handbags, etc.

Now go out there and even if you're not in the market for an exotic skin product at the moment, impress yourself and your friends by sharing your new found knowledge in figuring out what you're looking at. If you are in the market, having this knowledge is imperative. It's like knowing your four C's when going diamond shopping! Not all diamonds are alike per carat weight and not all Crocodilians are the same.

Crafting an exotic skin bag vs. a regular leather bag.

So I get asked the question all the time… what makes an alligator or an ostrich bag so different than a leather bag in terms of how they are made?

Aside from the cost of the materials affecting the price of the bag, the other huge difference between leather bags and exotics is the skilled labor involved in making the bag. Exotic skins such as ostrich and alligator have textural qualities that vary throughout the skin. They have a ‘grain’ much like a piece of wood. The usual varieties of leather used for ‘leather handbags’ are lambskin and calfskin/cowhides. These skins do not have a grain and can be cut from any direction and can create panels and folds in any manner the manufacturer desires.

 Ostrich hides have a central region where the plumes of the ostrich once removed have a follicle shaft that results in the beautifully prominent bumps that are so desirable. This is called the ‘full quill’ region with the smooth under part being the belly. See below and also note how little of it actually has the prized region of bumps.

Let’s now look at alligator  where the scales, known as ‘tiles’ vary in size and placement throughout the body of the skin. These tiles also tend to vary in thickness especially where they meet where suddenly the hide becomes thin and fragile if not handled properly.The alligator hide have five main regions of textural variability…the belly being the most prized and desirable is the more ‘squared’ region of tiles.

 The main body of handbags is usually made from the belly. The tail has more of an oblong shape to the tiles and will usually end up becoming the gussets of a bag, piping, the bottom panel, or what belts are made of. The flanks (sides of the alligator belly), the arms, and head of the alligator have three slightly variant oval-ish shaped tiles from one another. A trained eye can identify the difference between all three immediately when looking at the skin on a crafted item. These are used traditionally for contrast in the form of smaller panels, trim, handles, zipper collar (the trim around zippers), etc. No parts go wasted as every centimeter is accounted for. I say centimeter because the skin is so precious and rare that it is actually sold by the centimeter!

Alligator Belly Region above, Tail shown below

Extra care must be taken when sewing these skins because sewing machine needles that are calibrated for leather can still misbehave when going over a region where the bump of the ostrich quill is or the varying thickness of the alligator tile is. Due to the nature of the grain of these skins, the patterns of that particular handbag, wallet, etc., must be laid out with precision. Panels must be cut symmetrically and per the designers design criteria. The craftsman working on the bag must have a critical artisan eye. Occasionally a mar or scar exists on the skin which means a whole new strategy is employed to cut around that scar and still not compromise the designer’s vision. The pattern simply can’t be turned perpendicular to the grain or diagonal just for ease of cutting. The entire bag must be carefully mapped out before a single cut is made because there is no room for error. If more than one skin is being used for a particular bag design, the placement of pattern pieces must correlate from one skin to another as well.

The preparation of the panels for sewing edges involves more techniques to allow the tough hide to fold, bend, and stay in place for sewing. If needed, the factory will employ a technique of ‘splitting’ the skin which uses a specially calibrated machine to shave off a fine layer of the skin from the underside or if thickness is to be diminished on the edges, they are placed through a skive to shave a beveled thin layer off to allow for greater flexibility.

The layering and inner workings of an exotic skin bag also need specialized cardboard and interfacing for structured bags or just interfacing that will allow flexibility in softer designs. These are attached and assembled with more care than leather bags. The threads used in stitching are stronger and any glues and resins used must be designed not to affect the desired suppleness of the exotics.

It also takes years before an already experienced leather craftsman can build up the skill set before becoming an intern in the field of exotics. From there, it could take the intern anywhere from five to ten years before becoming a self-sufficient exotic skin bag maker. We’re looking at a craftsman who has spent decades of commitment to developing his trade to the level of artisanal work. A typical leather bag can take a few hours to cut and assemble from start to finish whereas an exotic skin bag can take two to five days to create depending on the complexity of the design. The most challenging of designs can require the collaboration of two individuals working on the same bag and allocating component creation according to their strengths. Ie, one may be better at creating a handle whereas the other may be more adept to creating the piping trim. The end result is a material that is tough and difficult to handle being worked into a design that pays respect and showcases the natural beauty and features of that particular skin.

Welcome to FARBOD BARSUM couture handbags!

Hi Everyone,

My name is Farbod Barsum, designer of exotic skin handbags and accessories. You can check out samples of my current work at www.farbodbarsum.com 

After my apprenticeship at the House of Bijan on Rodeo Drive and many years in the fashion industry, I decided to launch my own luxury brand starting with handbags and accessories. I have had the pleasure of designing bags for celebrities and international royalty with a boutique located on Melrose Place. I love exploring new levels of design and details in the creation of my pieces.

In this blog, I'm going to be reviewing many topics from descriptions of exotic skins to details in couture bag making and whatever strikes my fancy! I hope you enjoy and I look forward to reading your comments!!

With love,

Farbod