How to Remove Monograms from J.Crew Bags

We’ve all been there: you find an amazing deal on a bag but it’s almost too good to be true because…it’s been monogrammed. But fear not because here’s a simple guide on how to remove monograms from J.Crew bags, or any hot stamps!

Storytime! I’ve always wanted a J.Crew Signet Bag – I think they’re classic, elegant, and effortless to use as a daily bag. They retail for around $100-130, depending on sales and coupons but me, being the cheapskate thrifty shopper that I am, decided to wait until one popped up on ThredUp.

If you’re not familiar with online thrifting, click here to check out my complete review and guide to shopping on ThredUp. I snagged this bag for just $29 with a coupon – yep, that means I scored it for 77% off MSRP. But, there’s a catch. It has a monogram. The bag itself came brand new with tags still attached, but I had to figure out a way to remove those gold initials!

How to Remove Monograms from J.Crew Bags

Tool’s You’ll Need

A hairdryer // Body lotion // Toothpicks // Paintbrush // Paints that you can mix to match the color of the leather // Gold iron on monogram in your initials that match the size and font of the J.Crew hot stamp

This method works with any bags with hot stamp initials – companies like J.Crew, Louis Vuitton, and Madewell monogram using the hot stamping method.

Time to Complete

About 30 minutes

Step 1: Scrape the gold off

Heat up the leather with the hair dryer and apply a little body lotion to cover the monogram, and begin gently scraping the gold off using a toothpick. This took me two passes. Once the gold is gone, use a damp paper towel to clean and excess body lotion off the leather.

Step 2: Paint over the monogram

As you can see, since the gold initials are essentially burned into the leather, you’re left with this discolored impression. So, pull out your brushes and paints because you need to mix a color that matches the leather and paint several coats over top.

A few notes on how to remove monograms using paint:

Test the color on the leather first. It has to be exact, otherwise, you’ll easily notice a patch that’s too light or too dark
Use acrylic paints, they were thick enough to cover the leather just fine
Brush the first two layers on, then stipple a few more layers. My leather had a cracked texture so I had to make sure that wasn’t covered up by the paint
I applied at least five thin layers

Thirty minutes later and the monogram is almost completely gone! I’m still waiting to get my initials cut out in gold iron-on vinyl, which I highly recommend since it will help to disguise the original hot stamp even more.