Your ‘It’ Bag Looks Great, But is it Worth the Price Tag?
By Denise Grayson May 5, 2009
Photo: Denise Grayson
The buzz around the so-called ‘It’ bags now follows the rules of the new ‘modesty’ trend. The media’s response to the economic crisis as it applies to the fashionista means that designers are using more discretion when it comes to styling and logos – it’s not cool to be ostentatious these days. Yet the handbag remains the luxury fashion industry’s single largest money maker and is the most coveted, most recognizable item in a woman’s wardrobe. But just how luxurious are these high-priced handbags, really?
A ‘hit’ handbag can make or break a fashion house, and it’s no longer a mission reserved for the leather goods companies. Everyone is doing it – adding a handbag to a brand’s repertoire is simply a ‘do or die’ measure today; it’s the only way a brand can compete. And competing is no longer about who makes the best, but whose profit margin is the fattest.
High-end handbags can cost anywhere from $500 to $3000 on average, though it’s a challenge to get anything that remotely resembles luxury on the low-end – small, plain nylon and canvas styles dominate the offerings. One immediately thinks of Prada’s flimsy, nylon pouches that don’t even come with an inside pocket. It would be a stretch for anyone to call these bags ‘luxurious’. Styles such as these are considered ‘entry-level’ items, the stepping stones that lead the customer to more aspirational purchases in the future. Yet, for the most part, the association with the brand through its logo still awards these unexceptional goods a certain amount of that desperately desired caché.
So what about the bags that cost upwards of $1000? Surely with these the fashion houses are concentrating their efforts on providing us with the best-made bag possible for our money? Not quite, as Dana Thomas details in her book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster. The fact is that only two of the luxury fashion houses actually produce their handbags away from the assembly line – Hermès and Gucci. Many brands loudly tout the ‘superior’ quality of their bags, usually drawing our attention to the history and the heritage of the brand as packaged by slick marketing departments, a ghost of an entity that today bears little or no resemblance to its illustrious past. The reality is these houses focus on productivity and most ‘luxury’ items are not lovingly hand-crafted by skilled artisans but rather are produced in places like China where labour is cheap, quick and plentiful.
Furthermore, a ‘Made in Italy’ label, for example, may simply mean that the final piece, such as a strap, was sewn on in that country and that the rest of the bag could have been made anywhere else; there is no regulatory body governing the production of luxury fashion and the labelling requirements vary around the globe. Europe, for example, has no stipulation around indicating where the item was made.
That’s not to imply the bags will fall apart the first time you put your wallet and cell phone inside and sling it over your shoulder, or that they look particularly cheap. The usual issues are minor ones such as stitching that comes loose. However, there’s no excuse for any flaws considering that we’re expecting to receive an item that reflects premium workmanship and materials, as the people behind the brands would have us believe.
So isn’t time we took a stand? Why should anyone, regardless of their capacity to afford the bag, be expected to pay up to 20 times the price of what it cost to make? And as corners are cut more and more for the sake of larger profit margins, the prices still continue to rise. A fashion house isn’t going to lower their prices in a vacuum; unless the majority do it together no one wants to risk the perception that their product isn’t as good as that of the competition. The simple fact is that more expensive does not necessarily equal better. Sales figures speak the loudest, so until the majority of consumers catch on and refuse to pay until the price tag reflects the inherent quality, it’s unlikely we’ll see reform in pricing standards anytime soon.
However, in the meantime we can make wiser decisions about the kinds of goods we buy and who we support. There is no shortage of premium handbags; it just depends where your priorities lie. If you can look past the showy designer logo and the quality is what really matters to you, the world is your oyster. Today, handcrafted, custom items are so plentiful and accessible, made by skilled individuals using the highest quality materials and traditional techniques – if you know where to look. The online marketplace for all things handmade, Etsy.com features tens of thousands of artisans selling their limited edition and one-of-a-kind items, many of whom create the products in their own home ateliers with the kind of personal attention only aristocrats could at one time afford. Now, isn’t that real luxury?
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Submitted on May 5, 2009 in Curls, Cosmetics, & Clothes.
Denise is a Canadian living in England who is fascinated by the fusing of fashion and art. Her obsession with the details and an insatiable urge to share beautiful discoveries drives her Paris-loving blog, www.TheSwelleLife.com, and recently she opened Swelle Boutique at www.swelleboutique.com which offers exclusive one-off and limited edition dresses and accessories.
Denise Grayson has contributed 59 articles to Models & Moguls.
