The Balenciaga City Leather Comparison & Metallic Edge Buying Guide

The Balenciaga City….. What can be said about such a perfect bag?

Designed by the great Nicolas Ghesquière, the first motorcycle bag was made in 2000. This bag (intelligently named “The First”) was smaller than The City. Balenciaga made only 25 bags in this initial batch of motorcycle bags, which were given to editors & other important fashion people.

TODAY– there are more variations of Balenciaga Motorcycle bags than I can count between all the styles, colors, and sizes, but the style that has, and will always have, a special place in my heart is the Balenciaga City...

I first saw a Balenciaga City being carried by Lindsay Lohan, or some other 2000’s it girl, in teal blue. I was IN LOVE. The next time we went to New York City I made my parents take me into Barney’s so I could just touch one of these bags. This was also my first time visiting a designer bag, and was one of the moments I fell in love with fashion.

Over the years the quality of Balenciaga’s leather has varied greatly, but back then in the 2000s the then goat leather was a supple, light, and buttery dream.

It would be extremely hard to review every color and material the Balenciaga City has been made in, let alone the prices each tends to go for– so I recommend you check out The Purse Forum’s Balenciaga colors reference guide by year (which unfortunately ends at 2017 right now). In this article I will focus on my favorite style of Balenciaga CIty– the Balenciaga City Metallic Edge!

But first so you can decide if you like the Metallic Edge…

Balenciaga City Leather Style Guide

Agneau (Lamb)– Almost all Balenciaga Cities made after 2006 are made of Lamb

Because Balenciaga Cities have been around for so long the quality of the leather has varied greatly over the years. The Agneau lamb version is actually not the original type of leather used on the classic “arena” style of cities, originally they were Chevre (goat). The original Arena style in Chevre were made prior to 2006, and you will not see many in good condition coming up for sale very frequently. Post 2006 you are looking at Agneau the majority of the time!

People who love the classic agneau are obsessed with the smooshy soft leather that develops after years of use. People will describe the bag “puddling” in on itself. For me, I am not a fan of how soft the leather gets, and personally have seen well used Cities have extremely faded leather- something I personally am not a big fan of. You may LOVE it though- and if so you are in luck because you can regularly find classic black lambskin Cities with brass hardwares, in very good condition, for under $1,000 used!

Chevre (Goat)– Includes the Metallic Edge & the Limited Edition Hamilton 

Ah Chevre… My favorite of all leathers the City has been made in. The original Arena cities are made of Chevre (goat) but now only Metallic Edges & Hamiltons are made of goat. The limited edition Hamilton collections are made of the same chevre leather as the Metallic Edge– the only difference is they lack the Metallic Edge and are not coated to look so shiny! Hamiltons rarely go on sale used, so if you see one on a reputable used designer bag site- I say buy it!

The Metallic Edge is a bit heavier than the average Balenciaga city due to the extra hardware, but the extra metal gives it a very cool almost punk feel. The Metallic Edge leather is slightly coated and can be described as thick and supple. Reviews of how the Balenciaga City Metallic Edge ages over the years are EXCELLENT.

There is a long heated debate of if Chevre or Agneau is “better” but I really think it depends on personal preference- if you want your City to be “smooshier” go with the lamb, if you like bags with a slight bit more structure go with the goat!

Others:

Vibrato (calf)

Okay I LOVE the Vibrato– it came out in winter of 2008, and they stoped making it very quickly. The leather is a grained clafskin, and looks almost porsus in person. Reviews of the Vibrato City on Purse Forum praise the bag’s leather quality. If I ever see a Black Vibrato City go on sale I am going to buy it! Thus far I have only seen yellow and cherry red used Balenciaga Vibrato Cities for sale, at around $1,200.

UPDATE: The day I posted this blog post I finally saw a black Balenciaga City Vibrato go up for sale on Fashionphile for $1,195– I am highly considering snagging it.

UPDATE #2: I BOUGHT THE BAG!!! I will be posting a full review of the Balenciaga Vibrato City very soon.

Blackout (calf)

The Blackout is also done in grained calf- though it quite a bit less pebbled than the Vibrato. The Blackout bag features holes to insinuate stitching and hardware. It is certainly a cool lewk, but I don’t know if it is for me. There are already MANY of the Balenciga City Blackout bags for sale used- normally going for around $1,300.

Suede, Exotic, Embossed & Patent Leathers, PLUS Fabrics

It is also worth mentioning Cities have been made in Suede (I don’t do suede because it is so sensative), Exotic Leathers think ostrich and python (too expensive for me!), and embossed croc. The embossed versions are very cool looking, but they are incredibly stiff, and in my opinion not at all comfortable to carry. Patent is similar to the embossed and is very stiff. There are also a variety of fabrics, including but not limited to, mesh and nylon, which tend to be accented with leather.

After literally YEARS of looking at these bags, the Metallic Edge has stolen my heart, so without further ado….

Balenciaga City Metallic Edge Buying Guide

The Metal Edge City Comes in Three Sizes:

• Mini– 0.6 Lbs, 4.7″H x 6.7″W x 2″D with a 23” convertible strap drop, and a 2 ½” top handle drop
• Small– 1.9 Lbs, 7.8″H x 11.7″W x 3.9″D with a 21″ strap drop, and a 3.3″ top handle drop
• Standard/Medium– 2.6 Lbs, 12 ½”W x 10″H x 1 ½”D with a 12″ – 19″ convertible strap drop

Classic Colors Include:

• Black
• Grey
• Taupe

Metallic Hardware Ranges from:

• Iridescent
• Silver
• Rose Gold
• Yellow Gold
• Light Yellow Gold

What you should pay for a Medium Balenciaga City Metallic Edge Used:

• Full Price New: $2,490 (United States price!)
• High Priced Used: $1,750 high (it better be perfect for this price, but this bag holds up so well that a lot of used Metallic Edges are at this price)
• Average Price Used: $1,400 average (You can find Metallic Edge Cities in good condition at 1.4k. I would not pay higher than $1,400 for a used Balenciaga City Metallic Edge!)
• Low Price Used: $900 (You really rarely see Metallic Edge Cities at this price, if you do and you like the color you better buy it)

Happy Hunting!