I have a Michael Kors watch that I bought at my first NAS five years ago. I wore it every day for years. The leather band really took a beating, and since I like my clothes and accessories to look very polished, I stopped wearing it as much. But I still really love the watch. When I inquired about buying a new strap, I found out that MK watches can only be replaced with MK brand straps. It turn out that replacement straps are hard to find (Nordstrom only carries a few), expensive (over $100), and I'd probably have to send my watch away to Michael Kors for them to do the replacement. What a hassle!
A while ago, Rae and Claire posted about dying leather handbags and shoes themselves and I thought maybe I could spruce up my strap myself. I ordered a white leather dye kit off Amazon. The band had split in a few places, so I started by repairing that with rubber cement. Then I masked off the metal bits (by far the most time consuming part) and followed the direction on the kit. It couldn't have been easier! The dye is very forgiving. I used two coats, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. And it only cost me about $25 in materials and 45 minutes of time. I think this repair will get me through the next few years, until the watch needs replacing completely.
Anyway, I don't think I would have even thought of dying the strap myself if it weren't for Rae's and Claire's posts. So thanks, ladies! :)
Photo 1: Before dying. You can see where the white dye had rubbed away in several places.
Photo 2: Fixed!
