Sunday, 24 September 2017

Choose a Colored Designer Leather Bag to Add Pizzazz to Your Outfit

Designer leather handbags are among the most functional, hard-working accessories in our wardrobe. They carry all our day-to-day items, shielding our personal and valuable items, and not-so valuables from inclement weather, damage and theft — and, in most cases, they help complete our polished look. But what I love is an accent color bag - fabulous  designer leather handbags in a glorious range of colors covering all the spectrum of the rainbow.
Now more than ever before there are so many choices. Designer leather handbags are available at so many price points and in every fabrication and colors known to womankind, it’s almost overwhelming to understand what is — and isn’t — worth the money.

The Color Bag

color bags -designer leather handbags
Black is always the classic staple. It goes with anything and it can go everywhere with you. Black is the signature color of sophistication (hello, little black dress), it dominates high-end handbag market and can even make inexpensive bags seem more upscale.
But sometimes you’ve just got to give in to the joy of color, especially when it can so greatly affect your mood. One mistake that a lot of women seem to make, when it comes to color bag is thinking that they are restricted, when it comes to colour. People think that they will be offered colours like black, brown and grey. However, this is certainly not the case. If you start looking at the different options that are available to you, then you will see that there are actually hundreds of colours to choose from. Look at the different colours that are available to you, and choose one that matches your outfit perfectly.

How do colors make you feel?

It is well known that color is a determinant of human behaviour. Color influences perceptions that are not obvious, such as the taste of food and a person’s perception of temperature. Designers, including top fashion house see color as an important part of marketing and design because color can be used to influence consumers' emotions and perceptions of goods and services.
Different colors make you feel different emotions. Colors can evoke emotional responses ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility. Color may also influence a person's mental or physical state.  Warm colors – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger. Cool colors – such as green, blue and purple – often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness.
Brighter colors such as yellow and orange represent warmth not only with emotions but also with temperature. Cool colors are blue, green, black or any color with a dark shade. When someone is feeling down or depressed, it is said they are feeling "blue." When someone is angry they "see red."

Here are how a few basic colors make you feel:

  • Red. Passionate, Aggressive, Important
  • Orange. Playful, Energetic, Cheap
  • Yellow. Happy, Friendly, Warning
  • Green. Natural, Stable, Prosperous
  • Blue. Serene, Trustworthy, Inviting
  • Purple. Luxurious, Mysterious, Romantic

Colors can brand you

The colors you choose to wear and even brand yourself with say a lot about you individually. Take a peek into your closet and notice what colors are most prevalent. Let’s take a look at what those colors might say about you, according to the psychology of color. Imagine your designer leather handbag which could provide an  an accent color to brighten up your outfit.
  • Black is the color of authority, power, sophistication, and strength. A sombre color, it also conveys intelligence—that’s probably why most graduation robes are black. Black is probably one of the most popular colors to wear, but depending on where you live, black is also associated with grieving. It’s a serious color that can be overwhelming if you wear it head to toe—you don’t want to look self-absorbed. Black is, literally, every color in one. It covers, conceals, and obscures blemishes.
Black designer leather handbag
  • Red is a bold color that commands attention, a power color that stands out in a visual crowded environment. So, if you want to get people excited and draw attention to yourself wear red. It’s the color of energy and the symbol of life. It evokes strength, power, and creates a visual impact. There’s a reason stop lights and stop signs the world over are in red—it grabs your attention. But beware, because it is such a strong color, it can also represent aggression. Women who wear red are usually powerful women!  Red is the hot, crazy girl of colors, evoking powerful emotions such as fear, anger and passion. However, light red represents joy, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Red designer leather handbag
  • Pink is considered tranquil, warm, and loving color. The color pink represents caring, compassion and love. It stands for unconditional love and understanding, and is associated with giving and receiving care. In color psychology, pink is a sign of hope. It is a positive color that inspires warm and comforting feeling. Unlike red, pink soothes rather than stimulates. Pink calms people down. There’s a reason that the prison of some of the most dangerous criminals are painted pink—it’s been shown to calm aggression. Until recently. Pink is the most gender specific color and is often considered to be emasculating, though, now-a-days, it is quite common to see men looking positively handsome in pink.
Pink designer leather handbag

  • Yellow  the most visible color and is the first color the human eye notices so a yellow handbag will surely get people’s attention. It is the color of happiness, sunlight, laughter, and optimism. The color also has the power to bring out creativity, but can be overpowering if too much is used. The right shade of yellow can lift your spirits and evoke friendliness. The wrong shade of yellow can make you cringe. Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Yelloe designer leather handbag
  • Orange evokes a party-like atmosphere. It is associated with fun times, warmth, and ambition. Orange calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange is a combination of yellow and red and is considered an energetic color. There is nothing calming about this color at all, so if you are looking for a bold statement (and you’re sick of red) think orange. It’s easy to see and hard to miss. Orange is often used to draw attention, such as in traffic signs that’s why hunters and workmen wear orange vests. However,  dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Orange color bag
  • Purple is the color of royalty and is associated with wealth, prosperity, wisdom, and sophistication. Purple is used to convey the finest qualities. This hue can evoke contemplation or meditation, as well as spiritual awareness. People often describe this color as mysterious, spiritual, and imaginative. Purple tends to occur rarely in nature, so it is viewed as a rare and intriguing color. While violet occurs naturally in the visible spectrum, purple is actually a combination of blue and red. Avoid using too much purple in your outfits —unless you want to appeal to adolescent girls.
Purple designer leather handbag
  • Blue is the most accepted color, almost everyone likes blue. It is a calming and restful color. However, some shades can evoke a sense of coldness. People have been found to be more productive when working in a blue room because they are calm and focused. Blue is associated with intelligence, trust, efficiency, and serenity. No wonder it’s most peoples’ favorite color!  Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple, and green. These colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.
Blue designer leather handbag

  • Green is the color of money and nature—two very important things. Green is another calming color that is also associated with generosity and peace. Green is located at the center of the color spectrum and is considered the color of balance and restoration. It sparks creativity. However, dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Green designer leather handbag
  • Grey makes you look completely neutral, but rather boring and depressing I think. A suppressive color, grey exudes a lack of confidence, lack of energy, and depression. Plain grey can make you feel like giving up when you wear too many clothes in that color. The color grey is an unemotional color. It is detached, neutral, impartial and indecisive - the fence-sitter. On one hand, grey is conservative, boring, drab and never glamorous, yet on the other  hand in it can be elegant and formal, especially when teamed up with contrast colors which give it a bit of pizzazz.

grey designer leather handbag
  • Brown is a safe earthy color. Brown is a natural color that evokes a sense of strength and reliability. It is often seen as solid, much like the earth. It is a color often associated with down-to-earth resilience, dependability, security, and safety. It is a warm color that stimulates the appetite. While it is sometimes considered dull, it also represents steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, dependability, and health. Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.  After black it is probably one of the most popular colors for a bag. brown can range from tan to light brown, dark brown and chocolate.
brown color bag
  • Taupe is an easy neutral color that makes a perfect foundation and subtle accent color for those that love traditional styles and cozy feeling. It’s not quite in the brown family but not in the grey either, falling in-between the two.  does Taupe does not describe a single color, rather, it is used to describe a vast range of colors from dark tan to brownish grey. Often the terms light taupe and dark taupe are used. The word derives from the French noun taupe meaning mole.
Taupe designer leather handbag
  • Beige is neutral, calm, and relaxingIt is also practical and reliable, conservative, constant, unchanging and loyal. The color itself is described as a pale light brown or a greyish tan with a bit of the warmth of brown and the crisp coolness of white. It is conservative and is frequently coupled with other colors. Both taupe and beige share many of the attributes of grey and brown but are warmer and sometimes lighter. This is a very popular neutral color used in fashion design, often as a back ground color. It is also a very popular color for bags and looks especially stylish when trimmed with tan like this .
 beige color bag
  • White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. It is is the lightest color. White represents purity, innocence, integrity, wholeness and completion. It is the color of new beginnings, of wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It reminds us of peaceful fluffy clouds. Brides wear white wedding dresses in Western cultures and thus the colour has come to symbolise purity and freshness.
    white color bag

The color wheel


The color wheel is diagram of colors that provides a useful illustration of what colors match and what colors don't work well together. The first color wheel was developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666, and variations on his design have been used as the basis of traditional color theory since then.The color wheel is divided into the following parts:
  • Primary colors: red, blue and yellow. These are the colors that cannot be mixed using any other colors.
  • Secondary colors: Green, orange and purple.
  • Secondary and tertiary colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green and yellow-green.
color wheel
When you’re assembling your wardrobe, it’s helpful to know which colors help each other pop and look most appealing to the eyes. You can start by looking at a color wheel and learning which colors look best grouped together. Experimenting with different color combinations will help you develop a sense of what matches and what clashes.

The monochrome look

Wearing the same color from head to toe is a striking look. The classic monochrome look is an all-black or all-white outfit, a sophisticated choice that lends an air of dressiness to your outfit. This needs to be done with some care. A black dress, heels and purse may be gorgeous, but also could accidentally come off as a person in mourning, a Gothic look, or a hairdresser.  Or an all-white outfit may look a bit too bridal. The whole outfit needs to have consideration, not just color!
If you really want to turn heads, try a monochrome look in a brighter color, like red or green.  Be careful - the key to making a monochrome look work is finding items in the exact same color. Wearing a bright white top with cream pants is going to clash, but if you find two pieces in precisely the same color, it’s wonderful.

But who says the colors needs to match?

When buying fashion accessories such as shoes or that new designer leather handbag, it is not always possible to find an exact color match for your bag. Using fashion accessories such as a designer leather handbag is an easy way and cheap way to play with color. To make a monochrome outfit look less extreme, break it up with some neutrals, like beige heels, a brown belt or choose an accent color for your purse.
A great way to use a color handbag is not to match it to your clothes, but to pick a shade that’s on the opposite spectrum of the colors you wear to create a contrast. If you're just starting out in your quest to match more colors in your wardrobe, try playing around with fashion accessories. Experiment to find out what looks good and what doesn't by wearing more belts, flats, jewelry, scarves and of course carry a color handbag. Wearing fashion accessories is also a fun way to learn more about mixing prints without splurging on expensive clothes that might not end up matching.

Match primary colors with other primary colors. 

The concept of matching is also called "color harmony," which is achieved when colors create a pleasing effect. Red, yellow and blue always harmonize. These colors are bold and eye-catching, and they never really go out of style. When you're putting together a palette for your wardrobe you can depend on primary colors to lend your appearance a cheerful and bright look.
But bold primary colors are often associated with young children, the tropics, and sports teams. So, if you want your fashion style to look more sophisticated, you might want to consider using just one or two of the primary colors, rather than all three. A red, blue, and yellow outfit might look a little juvenile, but a yellow and red combination is more sophisticated. Or you can play with darker or lighter hues.
If you wear a lot of neutral colors such as camels and taupes, try a yellow or red handbag. If you wear red often, then try a bag in a light shade of blue. It sounds counter-intuitive but it works. And, of course, you can always use color to break up solid black, navy and white. For example, red designer leather handbags work great with a black, navy, white and  even a yellow outfit.
color bags -designer leather handbags
By expanding one color versus another, it is emphasized and stands out. The further colors are from each other on the color wheel, the higher the contrast will be. Complementary colors such as red/green, yellow/purple, and orange/blue make highlighted themes pop when used together

Wear an accent color to zest up a plain outfit. 

If you’re headed to a formal meeting that requires wearing a navy or black suit, you can still add some personality to your look with an accent color. Just make sure the accent color you choose is similar in temperature to your neutral basics. For example, if you're wearing a black suit, try a red or turquoise camisole or blouse; or if you're wearing a navy suit, try a yellow or pink camisole or blouse.
Or another way of course to zest up a plain or outdated outfit is by wearing brighter colored shoes or a color bag. Add a pop of color by pairing a red heel or purse with a black or brown dress. Try a dressy shoe and/or designer leather handbag with a funky pattern, like alligator skin, if you have on a simple blouse and neutral trousers or jeans.

The top ten colors that match together

  1. Black and Red (My favorite color combination)
  2. Navy Blue and Red
  3. Yellow and Red
  4. Black and White
  5. Gold and Black.
  6. Black and Purple
  7. Silver and Black.  
  8. Black and Blue
  9. Blue and Orange
  10. Green and Black

Combinations of colours that team well together

  • White: combines with everything, especially blue, red and black.
  • Beige: combines with blue, brown, emerald, black, red, white.
  • Grey: combines with fuchsia, red, violet, pink, blue.
  • Pink: combines with brown, white, mint green, olive, grey, turquoise, light blue

Choosing designer leather handbags

If you are looking for genuine designer leather handbags, then one of the things that you are going to want to do is to make sure that your handbag matches the rest of your outfit.  Look at various colours of genuine designer leather handbags available and decide if you want a monochrome look or a fabulous accent color that contrasts with your outfit.  Take a look at the different types on offer right now to find your best fit. Our Firenze range of designer leather handbags are made in Florence, Italy and the colors they come in are absolutely fabulous. All these handbags are available from our Designer leather Handbag  and  Italian Leather Handbag collections

Saturday, 14 May 2016

The Traits Of A Designer Handbag Collector

 Designer handbag collectors are obsessed. Some people collect stamps, coins, butterflies or other weird things but some people have a designer handbag collection. These designer handbag lovers have developed a lot of knowledge about bags and have information about all brands at their fingertips.



 Designer handbag lovers have a few things in common:

  1. Designer handbag lovers find their bags to be wonderful accessories which can brighten up any outfit and add a touch of class – they are in love with bags.
  2. They love their bags to be the topic of conversation and admired by friends. Others may be a little envious of their designer handbag collection so they may tell them they got it for a steal on e-bay.
  3. Collectors love to have the same bag in multiple colors, leathers or sizes. For a designer handbag lover this is not ridiculous or wasteful – it is common sense to like what you like hand have a variety, and sometimes you like a big black bag. Other times, you want the same bag to be little and pink.
  4. Fancy leather is one of life’s little luxuries and once they have experienced it it’s hard for them to go back to enjoying things that are merely average.
  5. A collector knows that a designer handbag can last a lifetime but they require proper care and storage.  Even if you’re not super careful with your bags, you know that they should be kept in their dust-bags in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight and feed leather regularly. If you’re extra careful, stuff them with tissue to maintain their shapes when not in use. Handbag maintenance requires more attention to detail than regular clothing, for better or for worse.
  6. A lover of handbags will plan a whole outfit around their new bag. This is perfectly rational.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you buy a new handbag and don’t immediately plan an outfit for its debut, you should probably return it because you don’t like it enough.
  7. Collectors believe that you can actually save money on the rest of your wardrobe by having a selection of great handbags. Okay, so the maths might be a little wonky, but hear me out: carrying a nice bag automatically makes everything you’re wearing look more expensive, so who’s to say that your Zara sweatpants aren’t actually Rag & Bone? We all have a finite amount of money to spend on our wardrobes, and if nothing else, a bag is a great diversion.
  8. Designer handbag lovers truly believe that people really do treat them differently. Whether they realize it or not, everyone has little cues about social status, and they do it all day, every day. Even someone who’s not obsessed with fashion can usually tell when someone’s outfit is expensive and sophisticated, and high-status people tend to get better treatment in stores, restaurants–everywhere. Because the brand of a designer handbag is easily recognizable and usually carried prominently on the body, they’re a great shortcut.
  9. Designer handbag collectors are passionate, and any argument about handbags being too expensive or fashion too shallow will not change their minds or their habits.
  10. The experience of buying a new designer handbag is second only to the bag itself. Whether it is perusing the handbag floor at a beautiful department store or unwrapping the bag they purchased on line it is just a lot of fun. The anticipation is so worth it.


And the best thing of all is that a designer handbag will retain its good looks, style and value for a very long time. They are timeless and never seem to date.


Thursday, 5 May 2016

Is Your Handbag Healthy?

There are three things to look out for in a handbag  which can affect your health

1) Some leathers can be toxic due to the type of tanning process used  - Check why in my blog 


2) You can harbor toxic bacteria in your bag  - Check what bugs could be in your purse 


3) You bag can cause you back pain - check why here 

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Will China’s E-commerce Law Changes Make Luxury Handbags More Expensive?


There have been changes to e-commerce laws in China which mean that any Chinese buying goods on line will now face import duties. But will these changes affect the cost of luxury handbags and other items bought on line. Will these products now be subject to these duties? Since 8 April, 2016, goods that are purchased and sold online through free-trade areas will be subject to new duties. The new laws are not a ‘crackdown’ but are actually closing a loophole in existing regulations. Import duties will now be applied to goods shipped through free-trade areas such as Australia and NZ.


But, the description of the new rules as “e-commerce” laws is not quite true. First of all, they are not laws, they are regulations. Furthermore, the new regulations are essentially the application of duties that were up to that time waived or reduced for goods that went through China’s free-trade areas. These new rules are meant to make China’s tax regime more consistent, and are not aimed at increasing protection for the domestic Chinese market.

Previously, some parts of China had lower duties than other parts of China and this was unsustainable. It led to business loopholes that were taken advantage of by shrewd Chinese buyers and service providers. Hence, some type of rule change was inevitable.

The upshot of these import duties will be that Chinese consumers will have to pay additional costs for goods such as luxury handbags and other items if they purchase online from free-trade partners. The most imported products bought on line in China are luxury handbags, clothes, and shoes. But also popular products sold on line in China are food, milk powder, vitamins and drugs. In fact, the Chinese market for high-end, reliable, clean food and herbal products is huge and will continue to grow as China’s middle- and upper-class consumption spending grows.

Several Chinese e-commerce or duty-free services companies are not sure about how the regulations will be applied, so they have removed products from their symbolic online shelves, until future duties to be applied are more clear.   Yet, Murray Goulburn, a major dairy co-operative, has a pointed out that the new regulations are just the latest in a series of measures aimed at regulating China’s booming e-commerce market. They don’t think the new regulations will change its overall business, and said that they had anticipated the new rules “for some time”.

In September last year, the State Council, China’s cabinet, announced that it would be more rigorously implementing the 2010 Customs and Duties Law. This announcement made many e-commerce sites in China (or e-commerce services providers who supply Chinese customers) cautious about stocking foreign products.   

Imported products will probably always be more expensive to Chinese customers than domestic alternatives, as China’s cost of production is much lower. It is thought that there will be a 10-20% increase in the price of imported goods, as suggested in the new regulations.  It is unlikely to put off Chinese shoppers from buying a guaranteed clean and reliable product. Due to a number of deaths from tainted milk powder, Chinese consumers are not likely to trust Chinese dairy products for many years. Chinese buyer think that foreign products are cleaner and greener, and the many food safety scandals in China, makes it improbable that Chinese customers will switch to domestic alternatives, no matter the price rise.

But will the added costs of buying a luxury handbag deter Chines buyers? In a previous blog “The New Chinese Middle Class See LuxuryHandbags As A Status Symbol”, 

I reported that the Chinese people have a huge desire for luxury goods and the appeal of luxury brands is very strong. And it is not just Chinese women who are passionate. Chinese men are obsessed with luxury handbags as well. Men are in hot pursuit of luxury handbags like Gucci, Hermes, Burberry, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton. In fact, men are said to account for 45% of China's $1.2bn luxury handbag market.  Luxury handbags are thought of as status symbols. It is estimated that more than half of the world’s brand spending will come from Chinese shoppers this year.

The majority of these luxury handbags and other goods are not bought in China, but overseas. The main reason why Chinese buy in a foreign country is the price. China has traditionally had high import tariffs and consumption taxes, as well as higher pricing strategies which can can raise the price of luxury handbags in China by 50%. According to LVMH, a French luxury conglomerate, a Louis Vuitton handbag costs 30% more in Beijing than in Paris.

So the Chinese travel overseas to purchase their dream luxury handbags. Actually, for around 80% of Chinese travellers, shopping is a central part of their travel plans. For those who cannot travel purchasing online has been their next option.

China has, in truth, topped the U.S. to become the number one e-commerce market. Its middle class purchase a wide range of products online ranging from baby formula, health foods, vitamins, milk powder, skin care products, Purina for their dogs, as well brand items such as luxury handbags. China's shoppers have grown more savvy and are now looking to buy top quality brands. And they are not worried about the 2-3 week delivery time when they buy on-line. In fact, they prefer the wait because it offers some confirmation the products are really are from overseas and are therefore genuine.

But it is this market that the Chinese taxman has been missing out on, so it is no wonder the regulators have moved in to close the loopholes. There has also been an official clampdown on corruption and extravagant gifting which has affected the import market.

Even so the new Chinese middle classes still see branded goods such as luxury handbags as a status symbol, and brand names such as Gucci and Rolex continue to be popular search terms on Chinese blogging sites. The Chinese shopping binge looks set to last, and China's Ministry of Commerce expects that China’s profitable cross-border trade to become a US $1 trillion market this year. Whether these changes to the e-commerce rules regarding import duties will affect these estimates is yet to be demonstrated.


Check out my luxury Italian Leather briefcases 



Sunday, 10 April 2016

Does The “It Bag” Remain Relevant In 2016?


An “It Bag” is a vernacular term created by the fashion industry to define a brand or type of high-priced designer handbag by manufacturers such as Chanel, Hermès or Fendi that became popular best-sellers. These handbags were also known as status bags and offered women a status symbol which they saw as being very significant. The “It Bag” was perceived to be the must-have fashion accessory by celebrities and fashionistas who yearned to be seen as the stylists of the time.



The term “It Bag” gained popularity during the 1990’s and 2000’s. But, by 2008 the acceptance of the "It bag" was reported to be in decline. By May 2011, whilst acknowledging that there would always be a market for exclusive status bags, Celia Walden reported that the idea of the must-have "It Bag" was no longer fashionable.

Now, in 2016, brands must be ready and willing to diversify as a recipe for success in the current market. Brands have not given up on the desire to create an “It Bag”. They are always looking to design that one bag which will become the one that everyone is talking about, but realistically they are conscious of the fact that they can no longer put all their eggs in one basket. So does the “It Bag” remain relevant In 2016?


The history of the ‘It Bag”

One of the original designers accepted with fashioning the concept of a distinguishable "It Bag" was Giuliana Camerino who started the Venetian fashion house Roberta di Camerino in 1945.  Her handbags were distinct due to their artisan-made hardware and characteristic use of fabrics previously kept only for clothing. Her ideas had an influence on later luxury brand designs including 1) in 1946, bags patterned with a trellis of R's (predecessor of Gucci’s G's); 2) in 1957, woven leather bags (predecessor of Bottega Veneta); and 3) in 1964, she designed a handbag with a unique articulated frame (a design later used by Prada).



Long before the notion of the "It Bag" became popular, many fashion houses such as Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton had by this time fashioned handbags that became well-known in their own right. For instance, in 1935 Hermès created a top-handled leather handbag called a “sac à dépêches“, as part of their leather goods range. In 1956 this same handbag was renamed “the Kelly” when it became one of Grace Kelly’s favorite bags. In February 1955 (2/55), Coco Chanel designed her luxury quilted-leather Chanel 2.55 handbag, which was inspired by the straps found on soldiers’ bags, in order to free up her hands. In 1984, the infamous Birkin was created by Hermès who adapted another of their bags, the Haut à Courroies (originally created around 1900) to craft a bag for the actress and singer Jane Birkin. The Birkin has ever since become one of the most desirable, most extensively recognized bags ever made.



Devised in the 1990's, the term “It Bag” became prevalent with the rapid growth of the handbag market. Fashion houses strove to come up with a distinctive, recognizable flag-ship design which would become that season's must-have bag, likely to sell in large numbers. This required skillful marketing and endorsement by the fashion media. And obviously, as with “the Kelly”, one of the most sought after marketing advantages was for the bag to be seen being carried by a celebrity.

The 2000's

Since the 2000’s, fashion trends have been driven more and more by social media. An “It Bag” goes viral when pictures of celebrities carrying a particular brand are shared by fashion addicts, leading to a huge demand in the latest handbag design. But often this demand these days is short-lived and superseded when the next trend goes viral.

Designers such as Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Fendi, Hermès, Prada, Gucci, Vuitton, Chloe, Mulberry continue to be seen as creators of status bags. But the release of many of their newest designs creates a waiting list for orders, leading to impatient clients to knowingly buy fake copies. As well, must-have bags for the current season are often targeted by thieves and stolen to order, to be sold for considerably reduced prices to folks who want an “It Bag” without paying the true price for it.

In the 2000’s many inexpensive more contemporary brands moved into the market making designer handbags more affordable. But as the market for handbags becomes more crowded and competitive, some luxury brands are taking a more balanced, diversified approach to their product categories, rather than focus on an “It Bag”. They are looking at the more high-margin, low cost-per-wear status symbols that have been increasingly driving the luxury goods market for the last decade.

Despite the fact fashion accessories (which are typically made up of handbags) still accounts for almost 30 percent of the total luxury market, the handbag sector is now producing fewer and fewer “It Bag” designs. Many brands such as Valentino and Vetements, do not even have an “It Bag”.

Very few bags now earn iconic status symbol rights such as the Birkin and Chanel 2.55 did.  The lifecycle of a handbag is now shorter and brands are relying less on an “It Bag” to drive sales. Many brands are relying more on their “ready-to-wear” clothing categories as well as shoes and jewelry as revenue drivers.

Now-a-days, fashion consultant, Julie Gilhart says that there is a greater trend to build a full brand, and there is a shift in thinking away from a depending on an “It Bag”. She says “What's a best seller now may have a short life, and then what? Smart brands know to grow holistically and broad. They have to build a business through all categories.”

 An "It Bag" is an investment 

If you are fortunate enough to own an "It Bag", be thankful because it is a good investment.  They do keep their value and can even increase in price. The most expensive bag to ever sell at auction was a Birkin by Hermeswhich sold for over US $200k. It is made of bright pink (fushia) luxury crocodile skin and features an 18 karat white gold clasp and lock which is encrusted in real diamonds. The Birkin bag, which was designed in 1984 by French fashion house Hermès and named after the actress Jane Birkin, is seen as a fashion classic.