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Women’s love affair with luxury handbags

There is no doubt that women have an ongoing love affair with luxury handbags. Bag blogs or ezines and comments on bag forums indicate that some women are really obsessed with them. There are women who actually own hundreds of luxury handbags that together are worth thousands of dollars. Social media and Dr. Google post images of wealthy people, celebrities, and royals seen with different bags for each outfit. They come in various colors to match every shade and style of your outfits.

It’s easy for the rich and famous, celebrities and royalty to have a large collection of luxury handbags. But the typical working woman or stay-at-home mom can hardly afford to pay such high prices to realize her dream. The reality is that most women who love bags will run out of other things to fulfill their desire for a new bag.

What sacrifice would you have been willing to make to bid on the Hermes Birkin that recently sold at auction for over $200,000? Crafted from exquisite pink crocodile skin, it is adorned with 18K gold hardware and genuine diamonds. The basic Hermes will cost at least $8000, and you’ll probably have to be on a waiting list to get it!

Luxury bags these days don’t sell for much less than $500. In fact, many of the most exclusive fashion houses sell their bags for well over $1000. Personally, I would have to save for a long time to be the proud owner of one of these amazing accessories.

While they are the quintessential 21st century object of desire, luxury handbags are not just for the wealthy, celebrities and royalty, but also working women from all walks of life. Now, women of all ages are likely to spend more on a handbag than on a vacation, jewelry, or even a car. Everyone has this hidden desire to be noticed.

Clothes can actually take a backseat to luxury handbags. For example, an ad from 2007 showed Kate Moss lying naked on a beach with nothing but her Longchamp bag. Her message was clear: clothes are redundant, the important thing is the bag.

So why do women have this love affair with luxury handbags? One reason is that they have become a personal fashion statement that illustrates a woman’s wealth and status. They also point out how fashion conscious a woman is and demonstrate her position and purchasing power. It’s also due to the growing popularity of large handbags, which for the last 100 years or so has followed women’s emerging social independence.

Previously, the role of the woman was typically domestic and she carried her personal things in a bag tucked between the folds of her skirt or in a small bag that she carried discreetly. But as women ventured further outside the home, both for leisure and work, larger bags became a useful way to carry things with them. Eleanor Roosevelt is said to have started the trend of wearing a large handbag as a fashion accessory.

Another reason why luxury bags became more popular was the fact that train and sea travel became more accessible, so there was a higher demand for fashionable luggage such as suitcases, dress cases, as well as hat and shoe boxes. This led to the development of the modern leather bag.

So it’s no surprise that many of today’s biggest fashion houses, like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and Hermes, originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And as women achieved financial independence, the handbag industry boomed disproportionately compared to its modest beginnings.

However, the way we feel about having the right bag goes way beyond being just a way to carry our personal belongings. Both to reveal and to hide, luxury handbags also embody a feeling that is extremely private for its owner. This feeling is due to the fact that the handbag was first designed as a purse or pocket of silk that is carried hidden, close to our body. So pockets were conceived as underwear: a secret place, hidden under layers of fabric and only accessible through an intimate opening in the skirt.

These feelings of intimacy did not go away when the first luxury handbags were worn at the end of the 18th century. Called reticules, these purses were beautifully embroidered bags with damask, satin, or velvet handles. Women used them to carry cosmetics, a flirting fan, smelling salts, and carte de visita, all without compromising the snug fit of the empire line dress that was popular at the time.

At first, the idea of ​​a woman revealing her personal parts to the outside world was as embarrassing as if she had taken off her panties and waved them in the air. Therefore, the reticles were often labeled “teasing” by those unwilling to accept the change.

Luxury handbags were, and still are, viewed as sexual objects due to the intimacy once associated with them. no emotion or feeling for others is still called that today.

Luxury bags still have their sex appeal because they are closely linked to all our intimate objects. A large bag is our survival kit that contains all of our personal necessities which these days include a mobile phone, tampons, makeup, money and keys, hair straighteners, laptops, I-phones, chewing gum, condoms to change clothes. clothing. . Consequently, her intimate appeal remains a secret. Men are intrigued by what a woman carries in her bag, but they would never dare to invade her privacy.

Bag-loving women feel naked without their luxury bags. They believe that it is your bag, rather than your clothes, that makes you stand out from the crowd. Even if your clothes are old and drab, a nice bag makes you look and feel good.

Therefore, the handbag industry has seen incredible growth in the last few decades. In the mid-2000s, handbag sales increased at twice the rate of clothing. Major fashion houses now make millions of dollars a year from the sale of luxury handbags alone.

So what are the characteristics that distinguish luxury bags? The first thing is that they must have an exclusive design. They should be instantly identifiable as a leading brand, eg Fendi, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton or another fashion house. Fashion houses often have their exclusive designs and this also helps with branding.

Another important feature of desirable luxury handbags is glamor and appeal. Naturally, this is discovered when a particular brand is linked to a celebrity, for example the famous Hermes Kelly bag, which was originally produced in 1935, was not a best seller until 1956. The bag rose to fame when the newly Married Princess Grace of Monaco was photographed for the cover of Time magazine protecting her pregnant belly with a classic Hermes bag. Consequently, the bag in question became known as the Kelly bag in her honor. Fashion writers promoted the association between the bag and the star: carrying a Kelly bag is still synonymous with class and old money.

Similarly, Lady Dior became a sensation in 1994 when Princess Diana started wearing it around town after splitting from Prince Charles. This tote bag is a seductive combination of briefcase and tote bag that features distinctive gold charms. It illustrated an attentive woman who was otherwise glamorous and sophisticated. Currently, social media can support the status and demand for an individual bag just by being photographed on the arm of a style icon, celebrity or royalty like Princess Kate Middleton.

Without a doubt, astute marketing plays a big part in creating a must-have bag. While celebrities may get their hands on the latest luxury handbags, it’s much more of a problem for working women, regardless of how much money they want to spend. Many high-status bags are inaccessible and can have waiting lists of up to three years. The Hermes Birkin is in this category.

The innate competitiveness of women is cleverly managed by the best bag designers. For example. In 2005, Alexander McQueen peaked customer demand when he announced that the release of his new designer bag was limited and that only 200 units would be produced. It then became the latest trophy in the craze and sold out before a waiting list was compiled. This bag was named the Novak after Kim Novak, the legendary blonde actress who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece Vertigo. Prices started at £550 and went up to £6,000 for the deluxe alligator version.

A price tag doesn’t seem to put off the bag-obsessed. In fact, fashion houses have found that a high price tag seems to increase the desire to own it. Obviously, there is an endless desire to spend money on designer bags.

Luxury bags will last a lifetime if cared for properly. Some iconic styles come and go, some hold their value and others rise in value. However, it is only a minority that has the right qualities to become an icon. To become an icon, a bag is not only superbly well-designed, but also stands the test of time. The following brands have earned the right to call it an iconic bag: Hermes Kelly, Fendi Baguette, Marc Jacobs’s Stam, YSL Muse, and Mulberry Roxanne.

All of these luxury bags share one thing in common; a clear and clean line; nothing fussy or overly designed, and a mix of functionality with indulgence. An iconic bag earns its reputation through the best traditions of pedigree, quality and craftsmanship. As you age, an iconic bag will look as good as the day it was purchased. And, for a true bag lover, it is worth all the money spent on them.

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