Members Only, one of the most infamous brands of the 1980s has popped back into the fashion mainstream. Just like Jordache jeans, Members Only has regrouped and is bringing a modern spin to its iconic looks and selling them at the same high price points they enjoyed in the 80s.

So what can you get in 2008 from a company whose name evokes everything 80s? Well of course you can get the classic nylon windbreaker jacket that made them famous for a cool $145. They also have leather versions of the classic jacket, cute cropped bomber jackets, and short sleeved leather cardigans.

Members Only isn't just rehashing old tricks, they are creating new trends, coincidentally out of ones they may be all to comfortable with from their past life. Their biggest seller at the moment isn't their jackets, but "liquid leggings", their ultra shiny dominatrix-like take on the legging trend that has been seen in fashion editorials and on celebs for months. Sort of ironic that a mega brand and a mega trend from the 1980s can be combined in the 21st century to create a very modern look.

About a month ago I bought a leather handbag at a local second hand store that I love; only it reeked of cigarette smoke. I didn’t think it would be a very difficult problem to remedy, and I figured that I could remove the stench at home.

I put a lot of time into researching different methods of odor removal for leather; each one stranger than the next, and each one doing little to remove that smokey smell. I describe the simpler and safest techniques of this process in The Stinky Handbag Chronicles: Part One. The fact that there is a part two to this story means that there was no more room to play it safe, so I started using riskier methods, which meant getting the leather wet.

I had read a lot about using white vinegar to remove leather odors; being that vinegar isn’t a harsh chemical cleaner, and since I use it to wash my hardwood floors, I thought it was best to start there. First I soaked a water dampened soft cloth with straight vinegar (you can use a diluted version instead to start, but I was losing my patience), and wiped it all over the inside and outside of the bag, focusing especially on the handles which held the most stink. By this point I was very nervous about smelling the bag after it had dried the next day, I couldn’t bear another defeat. To my surprise, the vinegar had actually done something! The main part of the bag seemed to be smoke free!

Note that I said the “main part” of the bag, those darn handles were still as smelly as ever. Deciding to live in denial I started using the bag, but after only a day of the smoke smell transferring to my hands and my boyfriend’s dirty looks I had to put ol’ smokey back into retirement.

I had considered putting the bag through the washing machine, which many sources swore by, but I decided to try one more technique by hand. I went back to baking soda, this time being inspired by how the vinegar worked, I thought I might try using a baking soda solution. I filled a sink with warm water, added about 3 tablespoons of baking soda, and submerged the entire bag. I agitated it until a little bit of the dye started to come out turning the water yellow, then I rinsed it several times in cool water. I laid it flat to dry on a towel, turning it every few hours.

All of the other times I had wet the bag it had dried overnight, but this time I had soaked the skin all the way though, so it was taking much longer to dry. Fed up with waiting, I put the bag in the back of my car, letting the heat and sun dry the bag for me. Now usually I wouldn’t recommend subjecting leather to direct sunlight and high temperatures, however I knew that the leather was in good enough condition to withstand it. It was my best idea yet! Two days later the bag was dry and the smoke smell was only faint in the handles. A spritz of perfume was all I needed to cover up what was left.

I think that now, regular use and conditioning will take care of the tiny bit of cigarette smell that remains. Although the results weren’t 100%, the bag is now useable and my hands don’t smell like an ashtray. I guess the lesson I learned is to heed the advice I give everyone else and check the vintage or secondhand piece for this kind of damage or undesirable trait before I buy it. At least I found all of these tips that I could pass on about leather. All that researching even inspired me to make an entire leather care section on the site so that other people don’t have to spend the countless hours of research that I did.