A good leather handbag is built to outlast the person who bought it, provided it is looked after in a few simple, unglamorous ways. Most of the damage we see is not dramatic – it is slow, and almost all of it is avoidable.

Stuffing is the first habit worth building. An empty bag left to its own shape will slowly collapse at the base and crease at the sides, and once a crease has set into leather it is very difficult to remove. Acid-free tissue paper, loosely packed, keeps the shape without stretching the leather the way a hard shaper can.

Storage position matters almost as much. Bags stored hanging by their handles will stretch the handle attachment points over time. Standing upright on a shelf, supported by their own stuffing, is far kinder to the structure – and a dust bag or breathable cover keeps light and dust off without trapping moisture the way a sealed plastic bag does.

Sunlight is a slower enemy but a real one. Direct sun fades dyed leather unevenly, most visibly at the top edge of a bag left near a window, and there is no way to reverse that fade evenly once it has happened.

The one product to avoid is any household leather “conditioner” or baby wipe used as a quick clean. Many contain silicones or oils that leather was never designed to absorb, and they can leave a bag looking clean while permanently changing how it takes colour or shine in future professional treatments.

When a bag does need real attention – a stain, a worn corner, a colour that has dulled – it is worth bringing to a specialist rather than treating it at home. A bag that is properly cared for a few times a year will still be the one you reach for in ten.