More about It Bags from The Guardian: Bags for people with bags more money than sense

[Cicciolina]

Bags for people with bags more money than sense
Linda Grant
Wednesday January 9, 2008
Guardian

If western civilisation were to fall tomorrow as a result of the kind of meteor attack that supposedly killed the dinosaurs, future archaeologists would discover a landscape littered with almost indestructible It Bags. It is the received wisdom handed down from my mother that a good handbag makes the outfit but there is "good" and there is Burberry's new £13,000 gold alligator bag, which is not even the most expensive currently available. You could, for example, spend $55,000 (£28,000) on an Hermes crocodile bag, the clasp of which is encrusted in diamonds.
As designer fakes proliferate, handbag makers have aggressively put up their prices. One day last year at the stroke of noon, Chanel put up the prices of all its bags by 20%. The purchase of bags far beyond the income of the average woman has become a frenzy running parallel with the rise of Primark, for there is no fashion for cheap, disposable bags. Instead, there are vastly expensive disposable bags. Twenty-year-olds on £14,000 a year are going into credit card debt to buy £1,000 bags they have seen on the arm of Victoria Beckham or Keira Knightley, who did not, of course, pay for them. These bags will be hopelessly out of date by the end of the season.

Even a decade ago, a woman bought a bag and carried it until it looked shabby, or she bought one of the lifetime classics such as the Chanel quilted 2.55. No one cared about bags and there were none on the catwalks. The luxury accessories market is now financing high fashion; couture can only exist because enough women are prepared to buy an Yves St Laurent Tribute bag. You don't need to be a size zero to carry exactly the same bag as Kate Moss, you do not have to despair because Burberry is out of your size. Shops love them for the same reason - they take up less space in the stock room.

The handbag announces your status: if you carry an Hermès Birkin it is because you have endured its legendary three-year waiting list. It all feels like 17th-century tulip fever: 2008 will, mark my words, be the year of the $100,000 handbag.

I thought the It Bag/spending ridiculous sums on bags phase had peaked...

 

[jackieonassis]

Oh no, I am sure that the trend is set to continue!

 

[UNiQFashionista]

I think the it bag phase is gone
i remember 2 years ago, the chloe padington,fendi spy,balenciaga- even I myself fell into the trap and bought them...but ive realized now...atleast for me, i rarely carry them, last time i carried a fendi spy was probably 18 months ago, balenciaga a year ago, chloe paddignton 2 years ago, i got bored of it as soon as i bought it!!

ive been sticking to either Hermes or chanel...there arent even any nice bags for spring IMHO- so im stcking to new chanel colors and Hermes bags...

 

[the-smiths]

I think the "It Bag" is dead. There are no It Bags right now. Balenciaga is terribly tired, Chloe is just beyond dead, Dior is beyond dead. Any bag that was "It" is now "Not"...

I mean you could say Valentino Garavani are the new It Bags, but I feel like they're really classic and really gorgeous.

 

[oceanharlot]

I wish the idea of the IT bag would go out of style. I love my balenciagas and will continue to wear them without giving a flying crap about what anyone thinks about them. same as always.
to me, its just a purse. a very cute purse.

 

[Meg]

well my problem with that article is that really that information isn't new and those bags aren't 'it' bags. Every designer every season often offers certain styles of their bags in expensive skins like croc, alligator, etc. You've always been able to get Birkin's and Kelly's in these leathers and yes the prices go up every year and we complain. I don't think this has anything to do with it bags. It's an indicator of a larger trend of pricing certain consumers out of handbag consumption to increase profits and exclusivity. Someone (I think at the Guardian even) wrote a great article about the rise in sunglasses sales, because of it. People are buying sunglasses now instead of handbags as the first rung on the designer ladder because bags are becoming more and more expensive which I think is true.

 

[pucci_mama]

Honestly, on a day out in central London I see sooo many girls with designer bags, mostly Chanel, I think the "It-bag" is dead, but I still thing people want to buy into luxury brands like Chanel.

But there will not be another paddington. People are becoming more individual...or they like to think of themselves as that, so It-bag status is not a desirable one.

 

[augustus]

I personally believe the "It" bag craze is really fading. There are really popular bags that sold out immediately but none of the new bags are as difficult to get as Paddington at its height...

On the other hand, prices are really hiking.

 

[baddabling]

I wish the idea of the IT bag would go out of style.

i think it almost has...in the past year at least i haven't noticed one bag become the new Spy, Paddington or First.
personally, i buy what i love and what i think i will be able to use for a long time.

 

[ysljunkie]

Well I think another smaller factor when it comes to prices is the fact that many women 55+( Im not talking about the really stylish one's)buy that reallly nice LV bag just to have an expensive purse, If I had a dime for every time I saw an older woman carry an LV or Gucci bag while wearing sweats I be rich enough to get a Birkin of my own . But I DONt think there's anything wrong with that, I just think it might also be the that companies know this and want to get more money a bag since they know peole will come to buy them.

 

[Luna]

Honestly, on a day out in central London I see sooo many girls with designer bags, mostly Chanel, I think the "It-bag" is dead, but I still thing people want to buy into luxury brands like Chanel.

But there will not be another paddington. People are becoming more individual...or they like to think of themselves as that, so It-bag status is not a desirable one.

Agreed.

I feel we are entering (Or in my opinion, have already been in) an era of Indie labels.

Notice that you are saying more and more "indie" labels being picked up by chain stores (bloomies, neimans, etc)... People are after unique bags, not the bag that you see on everyone's shoulder.

 

[Foxie-Pooh]

I think the reason most bags are getting more expensive is because of the new habit of spending...with more middle class buying into brands like Chanel, Vuitton, Hermes, the brands want to maintain an air of luxury and exclusivity to keep the older, wealthier clients by introducing and raising prices on their products...I mean they all want to make more money, and it's better now that they can allure the middle class to share a piece of their dream and keep the big rollers happy with the astronomical prices...

Just imagine..
middle class woman: hey I have a birkin too!
rich lady: ugh...yours is plain, mine is adored by cold-blooded reptile and diamonds

 

[the-smiths]

^ Ive always felt like the Birkin, whilst tdf, is soo...common. In NYC EVERYONE has one. Like it's almost shocking how the Birkin is everywhere, and I wonder...Do all these people really have 7k - 10k just laying around to drop on a bag?

I love my etoupe evelyn, it's my fav bag, I need more evelyns (more shades of grey, of course).

 

[Cicciolina]

To me it feels like the it bag phase has stopped too because all these companies suddenly making bags with all this stuff on it, trying to become the Chloe Paddington of 2008 has turned myself (and I'm sure other people) off. It just feels like they're trying waaaay too hard, and in the end all the bags look the same. It's now become a formula - like ok they want oversized, patent, perhaps a padlock, hardware, some pleating, etc.

Valentino are doing a HUGE push on their accessories section, placing it at the front of their stores and really really getting their products out there. I mean Valentino bags have already featured on Gossip Girl three separate times even

But yes - bags are huge money makers for companies so that's understandable. Prices are rising because they want to maintain exclusivity. I didn't find the article particularly great either, but what made me go :eh: was that she was so determined that the It Bag trend still had legs and that the year 2008 was going to be the year of the $100,000 or even $50,000 bag. I get that prices are going up but really people aren't silly. There are going to be the super rich who are able to afford those bags, but they're also careful and particular about how they spend their money and aren't going to go running around buying trend driven bags that cost that much - which is obviously why there are so few produced. Then again, that awful and overpriced Louis Vuitton patchwork bag was sold out, so what do I know

the smiths I have also noticed that the Birkin in NYC is pretty much a given.

 

[UNiQFashionista]

ya- nyc and paris - birkins everywehere..which is turning into an it bag- more and more people are getting it- thanks to ebay-you dont have to wait 2 years to get it!!

 

[DuTTyRoCK112]

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying the power of the It bag, but I feel that the reason these bags were so astronomically popular was because of the allure of girls like Lindsay, Mischa and (mostly) Nicole Richie carrying them EVERYWHERE in 2003-2004 and being photographed heavily. Those girls have all went their separate ways, and the next breed of style "icons" for the conspicuous-consumption crowd has yet to really surface or at least make a bold enough impression on the general public. There doesn't really seem to be a particular celebrity at the moment who is on everyone's "style watch".

 

[pucci_mama]

^ You might be right there.

Also, in my opinion people have come to realise that exclusivity and "It-bags" are the polar opposites, when you pay that much for a bag you want to be the only one with it..feel special... you'll never get that with an it bag.

However much designer are trying to push that and the prices up, I also believe that it will be a decrease in high end spending this year as the economy is not looking too strong, people are not willing to spend $$$ on frivolous items in unsure times.

 

[awwwwfuq]

i'll always love designer bags regardless if they're in or not. anyways, i never saw this on the guardian, is this for real?

 

[LibertyRose]

I think it is way too early to pronounce 'It Bags' dead. It is just hybernating. To some followers of fashion, the desire to own something that is instantly recognizable (by people in-the-know at least) and collectively coveted will always be there, and for this reason alone, 'It Bags' will always have its place in the cycles of fashion, much like blonde Eastern European models will never go out of style. The intensity of their popularity may wax and wane, but I would not count on a complete demise.

For the record, I'd count Miu Miu's Coffer as an It Bag, though it didn't cause a buying frenzy on the scale of Paddington and Spy.

A number of things I think can explain the relative quiteness of the bag scene as of late:

- The new designs don't measure up to their predecessors either in terms of attractiveness or utility. YSL followed up the Muse with the bottomless Downtown, and odds were against Fendi when they rolled out the Palazzo [sp] after the Spy. Are round bags ever popular? As much as the birth of It Bags has to do with hype and marketing, consumers are getting smarter. I am sure some are averse to the idea of spending thousands on a bag that only makes the owner's life difficult.

- The status of It Bags is downgraded when labels put out different mutations of the same bag, season after season. I'd make a very colorful exception for Balenciaga, but every house, including Chloe, that's tried to replicate the success of its It Bags has not seen that strategy pay off. Fashion is a different beast from, say, soft drinks, that's for sure. Coke and Pepsi can add different flavors to their signature drinks to keep the consumers interested (and even that hasn't always worked for them), but somehow when you change the shape of the bag from east-to-west to messenger and add a lock on top and call it a day, it just doesn't fly. At designer price point, people demand some originality, and rightfully so. Don't get me wrong--I am sure there are happy takers of a Paddington messenger, but in terms of sales it hasn't taken off. Excuse the lack of a fun word, but cannibalization has a pretty dreary effect on fashion. With the ever-changing shapes of the same design, it's got to be difficult to determine which versions are authentic and which are not.

- Derivative designs aren't just a problem within particularly labels but across the industry. When Prada did ruched leather, Valentino followed.

- We are ultimately creatures of habit and the competitive need to own a new bag every season wears thin, especially when new bags (reason #1) or new versions (reason #2) don't look half has good. When celebrities who typically get the bags for free haven't felt compelled to overhaul their bag wardrobe every season, you know market saturation is higher than you think. I don't recall seeing the same bag making multiple appearances on recognizeable actresses (read: women who actually have a bit of a clout, so reality show stars and the cast of High School Musicals are excluded) much last year at all. I remember Kate Bosworth with a Marc Jacobs art deco bag and that's it.

- The rise of the mid-price range bags is not to be underestimated. Kooba, Botkier, Be & D have a youthful flair and are now sold in upscale department stores, which provides direct competition to pricer labels. And let's not forget that the most 'popular' bag in 2007 was probably Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" which makes a statement without being expensive.

- Last year, something else was stealing bags' thunder: the clutch. Oh, and Christian Louboutin.

 

[awwwwfuq]

i feel like houses should focus more on marketing and creating classic bags a la chanel 2.55 and hermes birkin rather than creating a new it bag every season.