Money Bags - Evening Standard
When a wise person once said that "It" bags are to women what sports cars are to men, they meant it metaphorically. But now it's become a reality as women pay the price of a small car just to get their hands on the most coveted big bags of the season.
As record City bonuses boost London's luxury goods market, we report on the accessory that can cost as much as a car. Check out our credit, cheque or cash options
In the good old days, a girl would throw everything bar the kitchen sink into her car. Now the endless gubbins necessary for female survival (think two pairs of shoes, chewing-gum, makeup, iPod, phone, wallet, and you're just scratching the surface) may have moved from her vehicle to the lining of her outsized bag, but the price tag has remained the same.
This season Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent are selling bags for between Pounds 10,000 and Pounds 15,000. At Pounds 794, the Chloe Paddington (last year's "It" bag), seems a mere snip by comparison.
Five to 10 years ago, investing in a Pounds 300 piece of arm candy would have constituted a major financial decision ("Do I really need to eat for the next month?") Today's "It" bags would represent your food bills for three years.
But how is it possible that a few metres of croc cost as much as an enginepowered mode of transport complete with leather seats, air-conditioning and sat-nav?
Yet, now that bankers and City workers are benefitting from bigger bonuses than ever, the possibilities for the luxury goods market are endless.
"The market is now hugely fragmented," says Marc Cohen of brand analysts Ledbury Research. "Not only do we have the cheap high street and the 'affordable luxury' items, but we have a new category called 'ultra-luxury'.
Wealthy consumers are continually trading up to better and more exclusive handbags."
Designers will extol the luxuriousness of the crocodile, the precision of the hand-stitching and the individual craftsmanship that goes into each bag as a means of justifying the price.
Cohen says materials are not the key driver of cost. "Labour costs (designers and manufacturing) are high for quality products, particularly when only a limited number are produced. Their scarcity increases their value; like works of art, they are ultimately worth whatever people are prepared to pay for them."
Since 1956 when the Hermes Kelly, named after Grace Kelly, became the first real must-have "It" bag, buying a designer handbag for a few hundred pounds offered mere mortals the chance to at least give the impression they could finance a highfashion lifestyle.
According to a survey by market analysts Mintel, British women now spend Pounds 350 million a year on bags, with sales up 146 per cent over the past five years. Now the rich have got richer and they're not ashamed to show it.
The wives of City workers and of those in the sport or entertainment business, as well as wealthy foreigners (from Russia and the Middle East) are the primary market for luxury consumption.
"We're seeing a move away from WAGs and their choice of bags that everyone can buy into," says Tina Lamb, accessories buyer at Harvey Nichols.
"Alligator and croc bags are out of reach for most of us, so they have the value of exclusivity. Spending the same amount on a bag as you would on a car is irrelevant for these buyers as they can have both."