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February 7, 2008 8:04 PM,
Colleen Shirazi said...
Ehhh...the malls remind me of those shops where the original owner is no longer there, and the people who take over running the shop won't admit it's changed hands.
We got our first Windows PC built by such a shop in fact. That was back before people bought from Dell or Gateway, typically you'd get a computer built. The guy we bought the computer from went back to Taiwan at one point, and never came back, but the people running the shop never admitted he was permanently gone.
The majority of the malls were built decades ago, back when there actually was a strong middle class with next to no debt and enough disposable income to shop as recreation...but that was long ago. I think people shop now almost purely for stress relief, and rack up permanent debt over it. It's not the same thing.
As far as the bag...it's nice. I look at it, men have had (far more) expensive toys than women all along, since men before had sole control of the money. To a man, $1000 isn't that much to spend on his own personal interest.
However...it becomes the same as our philosophy on expensive beauty products...they can be worth it, depending on how many you buy. The more of them you buy, the less value each one has.
I would expect such a bag to last at least twenty years. That would make the cost $50 per year.
Conversely you could probably find a $500 bag that would last at least ten years. :D
February 8, 2008 8:39 AM,
Carol said...
$1000?
For a bag?
Whoa.
I've bought cars for less than that! :)
Would it actually last for 20 years? One would hope. I've got a Dooney that was $300, its probably 5 years old. I don't use it all that often, the metal is already starting to rust on it.
Would one actually carry the same bag for 20 years? I know I'd get bored.
Maybe, if I would fly off to Italy and have one hand-crafted personally for me, one of a kind, by some leather artisans that have been making them for centuries from artisan-breed cows that get olive oil massages and drink wine every night ;), I might, MIGHT be able to see $1000 for bag. And my income bracket would have to go up considerably as well, say 100X.
I read somewhere that a person had had a Dayplanner cover hand/custom made and had dropped a whole lotta $$ into it. That, I could understand.
My mom bought 3 $500 Coach bags. I do like them, they are nice bags, but I so don't think they are worth the price. Plus, she can't enjoy them because they cost so much, she' always worried about damaging them and keeping them in perfect,pristine condition. She is seriously no fun to be around when she's carrying one of those d*** bags. I'll inherit them at some point I'm sure and when I do, I'll use and abuse the heck out of them.I like the idea of an old,worn out,beaten up,expensive bag.
Ok, I've rambled too much and I'll stop now. Its been a long time since I've had a ramble with you gals. Thanks for indulging me!
February 8, 2008 1:20 PM,
Colleen Shirazi said...
What I would love better than anything would be an American-made high-end leather bag. If you're going to spend a grand anyway, why can't we make it here?
Weeellll...a few years ago, none of us would have imagined spending $31 for an eyeshadow duo. It still takes me forever to plunk down for Nars, but I've stopped buying anything else.
Overall, it's cheaper to pay $31 for something which lasts years--I got my first duos in 2004 and they're still exactly the same. I've had to toss many others...they got hard or crumbly...or I stopped wearing them because I always reached for the Nars.
As cheap as I am, I'm willing to spend more money if it means spending less money in the long run.
So it sounds dorky...but is it, really? Only time will tell, but I suspect the expensive-bag trend is here to stay.
February 8, 2008 2:37 PM,
Dain said...
The expensive bags are definitely here to stay. Luxury labels make a HUGE profit off them. What would you be more willing to buy? Gucci bags or Gucci clothes? Plus, there's a different must-have every season.
I don't mind expensive things if they're worth it. But I feel surprisingly few things are actually worth it. And worth becomes exponentially important when you get into the hundreds. I know that if I had the $40,000 (or whatever) to spare, I'd get a Hermès Kelly in Vert Anis lizard, and that would be the end of it, for me. It's a weird choice, but that's what that investment would justify: I'd simply need absolutely nothing else, for life. Even if I had $100,000 to spare, I wouldn't get another. To me, the bag would be like marriage.
In the $1000, it's more like a longterm boyfriend, and, as far as I'm concerned, I'm the one making the commitment. Il Bisonte does seem promising. It is, in fact, artisanal leatherworking, from some tiny place in... Florence, I want to say. Not the crap that LV produces; real, honest to goodness leather that ages over decades. The price for this one is $738, expensive, to be sure, but I'm the sort of person who likes to buy something and never have to worry about it again. For me, that is the point of luxury.
As for why there aren't American brands; we're shopping malls, not artisanal craft--our economy just isn't set up that way. It's a bit like how all perfumers are French. The Italians make all the best stuff. But I don't think it makes any difference where it comes from; if it's made well, then it's made well.
February 9, 2008 2:28 PM,
Colleen Shirazi said...
What I meant was the concept of an expensive bag, not the concept of a status bag. The status bag thing reminds me of the designer jeans thing in the 70's...where people checked each other's logos out. lol
Ultimately logo-ness is trendy rather than classic...when I was a kid, you'd rather die than be seen in a shirt without a little alligator on it.
The concept of an expensive bag is more akin to that of an expensive car. Sure, some people are more concerned with having a big logo on their car, but not everyone is. Some people care more about the engine. That's what I'm talking about, that is what I feel is here to stay, independent of the so-called luxury brands.
What's great about the American economy is not that we were once known as the manufacturing capital of the world--Made in the U.S.A. once easily had more status than Made in France. What's great about it is it's capable of change.
We had no particular reason to cultivate artisans back when a man could support his wife and kids on a single salary, with a house, cars, decent schools, health and dental coverage...all the stuff no one talks about now...just go to work, where an honest day's work means an honest day's pay. What's to cultivate? The concept arises from people having to work for themselves.
Now that we're doing just that, I see no reason why we can't cultivate such a thing ourselves. It doesn't happen overnight...it would take at least one generation to get it going. It would be a stroke of genius though.
February 10, 2008 9:48 AM,
kuri said...
That bag is gorgeous. Blonde leather sounds lovely too, but I love rich brown leather.
I personally can't spend that much on a bag because I would be like Carol's mother, worried about damaging it. I hate worrying about my things.
It seems worth the money though.
February 11, 2008 12:45 AM,
Colleen Shirazi said...
I'm more like Carol. :) If I drop a grand on a bag, that bag had better last through thick and thin.
I'm thinking this sort of bag will become the model, not the hardware-laden, flashier bags. It's simple, and classic, and can't become dated.
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February 7, 2008 8:04 PM,
Ehhh...the malls remind me of those shops where the original owner is no longer there, and the people who take over running the shop won't admit it's changed hands.
We got our first Windows PC built by such a shop in fact. That was back before people bought from Dell or Gateway, typically you'd get a computer built. The guy we bought the computer from went back to Taiwan at one point, and never came back, but the people running the shop never admitted he was permanently gone.
The majority of the malls were built decades ago, back when there actually was a strong middle class with next to no debt and enough disposable income to shop as recreation...but that was long ago. I think people shop now almost purely for stress relief, and rack up permanent debt over it. It's not the same thing.
As far as the bag...it's nice. I look at it, men have had (far more) expensive toys than women all along, since men before had sole control of the money. To a man, $1000 isn't that much to spend on his own personal interest.
However...it becomes the same as our philosophy on expensive beauty products...they can be worth it, depending on how many you buy. The more of them you buy, the less value each one has.
I would expect such a bag to last at least twenty years. That would make the cost $50 per year.
Conversely you could probably find a $500 bag that would last at least ten years. :D
February 8, 2008 8:39 AM,
$1000?
For a bag?
Whoa.
I've bought cars for less than that! :)
Would it actually last for 20 years? One would hope. I've got a Dooney that was $300, its probably 5 years old. I don't use it all that often, the metal is already starting to rust on it.
Would one actually carry the same bag for 20 years? I know I'd get bored.
Maybe, if I would fly off to Italy and have one hand-crafted personally for me, one of a kind, by some leather artisans that have been making them for centuries from artisan-breed cows that get olive oil massages and drink wine every night ;), I might, MIGHT be able to see $1000 for bag. And my income bracket would have to go up considerably as well, say 100X.
I read somewhere that a person had had a Dayplanner cover hand/custom made and had dropped a whole lotta $$ into it. That, I could understand.
My mom bought 3 $500 Coach bags. I do like them, they are nice bags, but I so don't think they are worth the price. Plus, she can't enjoy them because they cost so much, she' always worried about damaging them and keeping them in perfect,pristine condition. She is seriously no fun to be around when she's carrying one of those d*** bags. I'll inherit them at some point I'm sure and when I do, I'll use and abuse the heck out of them.I like the idea of an old,worn out,beaten up,expensive bag.
Ok, I've rambled too much and I'll stop now. Its been a long time since I've had a ramble with you gals. Thanks for indulging me!
February 8, 2008 1:20 PM,
What I would love better than anything would be an American-made high-end leather bag. If you're going to spend a grand anyway, why can't we make it here?
Weeellll...a few years ago, none of us would have imagined spending $31 for an eyeshadow duo. It still takes me forever to plunk down for Nars, but I've stopped buying anything else.
Overall, it's cheaper to pay $31 for something which lasts years--I got my first duos in 2004 and they're still exactly the same. I've had to toss many others...they got hard or crumbly...or I stopped wearing them because I always reached for the Nars.
As cheap as I am, I'm willing to spend more money if it means spending less money in the long run.
So it sounds dorky...but is it, really? Only time will tell, but I suspect the expensive-bag trend is here to stay.
February 8, 2008 2:37 PM,
The expensive bags are definitely here to stay. Luxury labels make a HUGE profit off them. What would you be more willing to buy? Gucci bags or Gucci clothes? Plus, there's a different must-have every season.
I don't mind expensive things if they're worth it. But I feel surprisingly few things are actually worth it. And worth becomes exponentially important when you get into the hundreds. I know that if I had the $40,000 (or whatever) to spare, I'd get a Hermès Kelly in Vert Anis lizard, and that would be the end of it, for me. It's a weird choice, but that's what that investment would justify: I'd simply need absolutely nothing else, for life. Even if I had $100,000 to spare, I wouldn't get another. To me, the bag would be like marriage.
In the $1000, it's more like a longterm boyfriend, and, as far as I'm concerned, I'm the one making the commitment. Il Bisonte does seem promising. It is, in fact, artisanal leatherworking, from some tiny place in... Florence, I want to say. Not the crap that LV produces; real, honest to goodness leather that ages over decades. The price for this one is $738, expensive, to be sure, but I'm the sort of person who likes to buy something and never have to worry about it again. For me, that is the point of luxury.
As for why there aren't American brands; we're shopping malls, not artisanal craft--our economy just isn't set up that way. It's a bit like how all perfumers are French. The Italians make all the best stuff. But I don't think it makes any difference where it comes from; if it's made well, then it's made well.
February 9, 2008 2:28 PM,
What I meant was the concept of an expensive bag, not the concept of a status bag. The status bag thing reminds me of the designer jeans thing in the 70's...where people checked each other's logos out. lol
Ultimately logo-ness is trendy rather than classic...when I was a kid, you'd rather die than be seen in a shirt without a little alligator on it.
The concept of an expensive bag is more akin to that of an expensive car. Sure, some people are more concerned with having a big logo on their car, but not everyone is. Some people care more about the engine. That's what I'm talking about, that is what I feel is here to stay, independent of the so-called luxury brands.
What's great about the American economy is not that we were once known as the manufacturing capital of the world--Made in the U.S.A. once easily had more status than Made in France. What's great about it is it's capable of change.
We had no particular reason to cultivate artisans back when a man could support his wife and kids on a single salary, with a house, cars, decent schools, health and dental coverage...all the stuff no one talks about now...just go to work, where an honest day's work means an honest day's pay. What's to cultivate? The concept arises from people having to work for themselves.
Now that we're doing just that, I see no reason why we can't cultivate such a thing ourselves. It doesn't happen overnight...it would take at least one generation to get it going. It would be a stroke of genius though.
February 10, 2008 9:48 AM,
That bag is gorgeous. Blonde leather sounds lovely too, but I love rich brown leather.
I personally can't spend that much on a bag because I would be like Carol's mother, worried about damaging it. I hate worrying about my things.
It seems worth the money though.
February 11, 2008 12:45 AM,
I'm more like Carol. :) If I drop a grand on a bag, that bag had better last through thick and thin.
I'm thinking this sort of bag will become the model, not the hardware-laden, flashier bags. It's simple, and classic, and can't become dated.
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