Why Are Designer Handbags So Expensive?

Posted by Women's Designer Clothing Editor in Accessories, Designer & Couture, Designer Handbags

Why are designer handbags so expensive?

To fashion fiends everywhere the designer handbag is the status equivalent of a Rolex timepiece or the Italian Ferrari.

A mouth-watering combination of whimsical excess, chic details and unquestionable luxury, the expensive designer handbag is a woman’s ultimate confidence booster. For the fortunate wearer of lavishly styled arm candy a designer bag screams to the world, you are the best.

Have you ever wondered what’s behind the huge price tags? Is it worth saving your hard-earned dollars for another season’s expensive fashionable trinket?

From designer handbag history to celebrity cache, here are 6 things every woman needs to know before buying the dream “it bag”.

Designer bag brand name matters: Both use a big H, but Hermes is certainly not Hilfiger.

Dear designer handbag lovers: you get what you pay for. Sorry Hilfiger,(I love you, Tommy. I really do.) but Hermes’ 100 years of craftsmanship and handmade quality trumps plastic, pleather and assembly line construction.

A Hermes Birkin handbag is expensive because of the reputation of the design house and its legendary dedication to craftsmanship and quality.

One of the few bags that holds their value over time, women patiently wait for years on lists to receive a special order Birkin bag which can cost in upwards of 100,000 dollars.

The celebrity effect : Stylist Rachel Zoe says, “You need this gorgeous bag.”

When Hollywood celebrities are photographed with designer bags in magazines; the value of the purse in the eyes of the designer bag enthusiast skyrockets.

Unbeknownst to the average shopper, celebrity stylists and publicists are hired to place the trendiest designer bags on the arms of starlets. The celebrities function as walking billboards and often receive these objects of handbag aspiration free of charge.

Iconic handbag status: Influence by the Designer Style Trinity raises the cost tremendously.

If the grand dames of the designer handbag trinity: Grace Kelly, Jane Birkin and Jacqueline Onassis carried it; women desire it. But these 3 names don’t come cheap.

As muses for legendary fashion houses Hermes and Gucci the relationship between the icon’s historic style and the design house’s royal reputation increases the public’s thirst for the items.

Symbols of everlasting elegance and glamour, attach these three legendary names to the origin and design of a bag and voila; everybody and anybody must have it. High demand + legendary glamour = high price.

Historical accessory of the elite: Bag snobbery is not a new phenomenon.

Luxury brands like Cartier, Hermes and Louis Vuitton were founded to serve the French royal court in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Fashion house artisans spent hours designing these objects d’art for aristocrats, and in later years exclusively for notable American families.

Unlike today’s trendy it bag often banished to purse purgatory at the end of a season, designer handbags of the past were considered lifelong companions; accessories for royals and family heirlooms for the well-to-do.

Created for the wealthy European elite, these leather goods reeked of sophistication and elitism while the strict attention to detail justified the high expense.

Designer handbags have the best materials: Superior items cost more to produce.

Legendary craftsmanship makes the designer difference. Ornate clasps and rings crafted from palladium and gold. Zippers than never stick mixed with hardware that never tarnishes.

Combine premium leathers, suedes and exotic animal skins with the legendary artisanship of the designer bag emporiums and you’ve got a recipe for a luxury big ticket item.

Limited edition status: Celebrate a fashion house’s anniversary with a new bag.

When Gucci celebrated their 85th anniversary in 2006, Creative director Frida Giannini reworked the classic hobo shape for designer bag lovers. The bags were only sold in Gucci stores from July through December of ’06 and were priced in the $4,500 range.

Sales associates were quickly selling these designer bags to women collectors regardless of cost. Labeling bags limited edition is a branding tactic that is frequently used to send designer bag aficionados into a bag feeding frenzy.

You now understand why a designer handbag is so expensive. With the information above you can shop for a designer handbag with the Andre Leon Talleys and Nina Garcias of the world with complete confidence.