Highest quality bag you've owned?

[honjovi]

My LV bags

[it'sanaddiction]

I love the feel of the leather on my Balenciaga! I am very careful with it though, others have commented on corner wear issues.

[jellyv]

I just dug out my old Balenciaga Day (from 2005) and it's still fabulous, fabulous. I don't expect to see leather like that any time soon, like silk, so droopy and supple. My core group of bags are all excellent; the Bal gets a place of honor for how unusual that leather is.

[alissahall]

Vintage Chanels, they still look amazing even after years (decades!) of love and usage....

[BittyMonkey]

I love my JC Ramona and my Mulberry Bayswater. They just keep getting better and better!!

[hotshot]

Hermes, Chanel and Prada and now Bottega Veneta has been doing some amazing

quality bags

[chloehandbags]

An A/W '02 BV.

My Chloe leather lined clutches (from '06) are a very close second, though.

Sadly, the quality of most (particularly larger) designer bags seems to have significantly decreased, in the last few years, while the prices have escalated very rapidly...

[Queen_Kitty]

Probably my Isabella Fiore bag from the Peace line, all the details are just impeccably made on this bag! The leather is thick and amazingly textured, and the embroidery is amazing on it!

[berta]

My Chloe paddington tote. It gets tossed about because of its size and weight (so very very heavy). But she takes a beating and never complains.

[Liberté]

For brands ; Hermès birkin.

[SaraDK]

I think my LV damier speedy is indestructable!

[L4F4]

Prada for sure!

[angelnyc89]

My Lvs, Marc Jacobs, & Chanel. My LVs have taken beatings. Love the beatiful MJ leather.

[BgaHolic]

SSSundae, I dunno. I'm somewhat confused. I agree with you about what you read about the premier designer bags. The thing that concerns me the most is the majority treat their leather bags where I never had a problem with any of my bags (Kooba, Jano, Francesca Biasa, YSL) I wear them in rain, sleet, hair and snow. It never occured to me to even think about protecting the leather. I figured at prices that escalate to the two thousand mark, these leathers can take a beating!! I never want to hear about peeling leather or rain stains in a bag that cost upwards a thousand dollars! It's insane!!!

My old Kooba looks like it did the day I bought it except the straps broke and I blame Kooba for not having stood behind their bag to fix it. Other than that I wore it and never hesitated or thought about covering it from rain. I would love to buy a BV bag but am hesitating due to the comments about getting it wet.

[pinkshoulders]

After reading the posts on this thread (and others), I am more convinced that no two people mean the same thing when asked about quality. For some it is how heavy the leather is. For others it seems to be how much they can throw a bag around and still have it maintain its integrity and original look. For some people it is about non-failing hardware, zippers, etc., while others want something that can get rained on. And some people seem to equate price with quality, and designer name with quality.

So, I don't know. If a worn edge makes you think the quality of the bag is lower, then for you it is. If lightweight means low quality, then that's what quality means to you. I think we all have our own benchmarks. And I think we all learn (eventually) what we're looking and hoping for. I don't know anyone who sets out to buy low quality at any price. We expect better quality the more we pay, as would be expected, but we each seem to have different expectations.

The best quality bags I own are Lockheart and Belen Echandia, mostly because their attention to detail in craftsmanship and materials make them worth their prices to me. I don't own any of the big four or five brands because they don't interest me. I don't especially baby my bags but I do treat them with a lot of respect because they represent a big investment for me. So, no throwing on the floor, no precipitation that can be easily avoided, no matter the brand or the price.