I often find myself wondering why designer handbags are just so expensive. I mean, most of us don’t have sufficient expendable funds to fork out on a handbag that costs the same as a small car, but why are some people prepared to pay such an exorbitant amount for a handbag? They surely can’t be that much better…. can they?
Well ultimately you are paying for the name. The celebs that parade around with their Hermes Birkin Bag draped lovingly over their arms have made these bags into a status symbol. It is no longer about how beautifully made or how elegant a design they are, it is now about one-upmanship in how many thousands they have spent on their bag.
The second reason that Designer handbags are so expensive is that high quality products cost more to produce. Well of course this is true, but within reason. Quite clearly mass producing in a sweatshop in China will reduce costs and conversely having well paid craftsmen hand stitching the handbags in France (Hermes, Louis Vuitton), United Kingdom (Mulberry) and Italy (Gucci, Prada…) will undoubtedly increase costs, and inevitably prices. However, while it is easy to see that the difference in quality between a £30 handbag bought from Topshop and a £200 leather handbag purchased from a small independent company will be vast, it is hard to see how much better a Hermes Birkin Bag at £7,000 can be compared with say a Mulberry Postman’s Lock tote at £600.
The final reason for the high price of designer handbags is that they charge what they can get away with, and as long as people continue to pay the sky high prices then they’ll continue to charge them. I mean, who can blame them? If there’s a market for it then they’ll exploit it like any successful business. People will always want a slice of the celebrity pie, and each and every one of us would like to be a bit more like our favourite celebrity, and some people seem to think that if they spend thousands of pounds on a designer, say Louis Vuitton, handbag that they instantly become “stylish”. Well I can say without hesitation that this is most definitely not the case. I mean which would you say looks more stylish – a car crash of an outfit with a Louis Vuitton handbag slung over your arm or a carefully put together simple outfit you feel confident in, with a lovely handbag that compliments your wardrobe?
So, the ultimate question: Do you need to spend your deposit on a future apartment to get a beautifully made, high quality leather handbag with wow factor? NO!! You can buy beautifully designed leather handbags from many small independent retailers that are handcrafted and finished to the highest standards for a fraction of the cost, you just have to look. No, they don’t have the Hermes stamp or the Louis Vuitton pattern but that doesn’t mean you can’t look as elegant and turn as many heads as someone who’s spent their holiday funds on a handbag.
