The Restory Stories: Georgia Moot

Meet Georgia Moot, model, presenter, and most importantly, mother to a beloved Lady Dior bag. Trialling Browns’ new luxury restoration service, The Restory, Georgia takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride as she recounts her experience of seeing her baby restored to its former glory...

Discover The Restory

How it started…

The year is 2018. I'm a fresh-faced university graduate, just turned 21 and embarking on my first year of full-time paid modelling. To celebrate this glorious trifecta, I decide to purchase my first ever designer piece: a black Lady Dior bag.

The choice was a no-brainer for me. I'd seen the bag many a time out in the wild, and had always admired its iconic silhouette. The dangly silver charms spelling out ‘Dior’ spoke to my love of 2000’s culture, reminding me of a more refined version of the phone charms that adorned the pink Motorola flip phone frequently brandished by the teenage me. I found myself drawn in by her promise of maturity, believing the bag would transform me into a chic, established Parisienne business woman - the kind who owns one in every colour and size imaginable. In reality, I was a 21-year-old postgrad who’d split the cost of the bag with my parents for my birthday. I didn't care - I was in love.

To me, getting this bag was a real coming of age moment. A merging of youth and adulthood wrapped up into a gorgeous leather ensemble. I knew from the moment I set eyes on it that it would be a bag for life, (not the Tesco version that I was used to.)

How it’s going…

When it comes to expensive designer items, I'm very much a believer that they exist to be worn and enjoyed. If I've shelled out a pretty penny, I think it deserves some use! However, in this instance I took this belief a little too literally. As such, my Lady Dior has come everywhere with me - and I mean everywhere. She’s been battered, bruised, rained on, scratched, squashed... you name it, she’s endured it. So when Browns got in contact offering a trial of their new partnership with luxury restoration service The Restory, I jumped at the chance. Whilst I might be a big believer in wearing things to death, I’m even more so a believer of bringing beloved items back to life.

So off my beloved bag went. As I prepared her for departure, a mixture of embarrassment and nostalgia washed over me. Embarrassment at my apparent inability to look after my rather expensive bag child, and nostalgia at the memories that the extensive wear and tear evoked. Pulling rogue receipts and tampons out of the bag’s interior brought me comfort - she had served me well.

How it ends...

When my bag returned from The Restory’s atelier I was shocked and delighted. Over the years I'd forgotten what she had looked like; the boxfresh origins of my constant companion who was now returned to me, good as new. I was most impressed with the restoration of the leather, having previously accepted that some scuffs and marks were going to be there for life. But no! The experts at The Restory had hand-painted a bespoke pigment to match perfectly, masking each and every imperfection. My bag's steady decline had been halted, her trajectory changed. This process of restoration was me extending an olive branch to my bag, trying to atone for the sins using it so frivolously. After all, I owe it to my Lady Dior - she’s seen me through good times, the bad times and everything in between. Thanks to The Restory, now she can continue her magic (and me, my mischief) for many more years to come.

Georgia wears top by BALENCIAGA, skirt by ACNE STUDIOS and shoes by GIVENCHY.

Discover The Restory