Carolina Herrera bag reveal and Barcelona store photo tour

[barbee]

Passerine, your bag has wonderful colors! It's perfect for fall, and the two-tone strap is a nice touch. Also, the charm is perfect for it. Thanks for showing us all the great pictures!
I really would like to think this brand might take off in the U.S. due to its reasonable price point and wonderful workmanship. Only better marketing is needed. I saw the new Insignia mentioned in a magazine recently, so maybe...

 

[MamaSleepy]

CH also has gorgeous silk scarves...I almost bought the one in the very top left (if you rotate the photo vertically, it's the colored circles on a dark background), the colors were so rich and beautiful, but it just didn't work with my skin tone/hair color. Also, the store carried only square scarves (for the most part) and I prefer rectangular scarves. The scarves were priced between 200 and 300 euros as I recall. Some of the larger ones might have been a bit more expensive. Again, apologies for the sideways photo!
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Fun to see the CH store. I've never been to one. Thanks for sharing! !

 

[bellebellebelle19]

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I adore these bags! I also love the blingy bag. How fun! The silk scarves look gorgeous. This is a great thread; thanks so much for sharing! So glad to find more CH bags on TPF. My heart will always yearn after the Baret bag, but that mini Matroyshka is stored stinking cute, and I love your choice. Their colorful SLGs loom great - any ideas on prices?

 

[Passerine123]

I adore these bags! I also love the blingy bag. How fun! The silk scarves look gorgeous. This is a great thread; thanks so much for sharing! So glad to find more CH bags on TPF. My heart will always yearn after the Baret bag, but that mini Matroyshka is stored stinking cute, and I love your choice. Their colorful SLGs loom great - any ideas on prices?

Sorry, I didn't check on the SLG prices -- I have wallets from LV, Ferragamo, and Prada, so wasn't particularly looking at those. They did seem to have a nice selection. My husband bought a business card case for about 100 euros (pictured) -- the colors matched those on his business cards.

And thanks everybody for the nice comments! I agree that CH makes high quality bags at almost normal prices -- it's an under the radar brand. I'd like it to get more attention -- but not if that means higher prices and a drop in quality...

 

[barbee]

Sorry, I didn't check on the SLG prices -- I have wallets from LV, Ferragamo, and Prada, so wasn't particularly looking at those. They did seem to have a nice selection. My husband bought a business card case for about 100 euros (pictured) -- the colors matched those on his business cards.

And thanks everybody for the nice comments! I agree that CH makes high quality bags at almost normal prices -- it's an under the radar brand. I'd like it to get more attention -- but not if that means higher prices and a drop in quality...

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That card case is so...fun!

 

[soramillay]

And... as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound, so after we left the store and wandered back down the Passeig de Gracia, we hit the Uterque store. For those of you who don't know, Uterque is Zara's more upscale sister chain. As far as I know, the only actual stores are in Spain, although you can order things online from other countries. The prices are still quite reasonable and you can see they're heavily influenced by premium designers, but they still have a lot of great things on offer. https://www.uterque.com/ch/en/ I picked up a pair of slides and a pair of loafers. Both are very comfortable and made in Spain.

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Thank you for the photo tour! It’s fun to go on a virtual trip. Your bag is gorgeous and I’m glad they gave you a charm as a gift to make up for it being a display model. But what i’m really in love with are those slides! The shoes look expensive. So is Uterque a notch above COS as Zara is a notch above H&M?

 

[Passerine123]

Thank you for the photo tour! It’s fun to go on a virtual trip. Your bag is gorgeous and I’m glad they gave you a charm as a gift to make up for it being a display model. But what i’m really in love with are those slides! The shoes look expensive. So is Uterque a notch above COS as Zara is a notch above H&M?

I've only been to one Cos -- their large store on the via Brera in Milan -- and it carried a range of limited edition items, so based on my experience, I'd put it at the same level or even slightly above Uterque, but they're pretty close. Cos has a much larger selection of clothes, IMO (and in more sizes). Uterque had great shoes though, I think they get the edge on footwear. I'd be a pretty happy bunny if I could buy Cos clothes, Uterque shoes and Carolina Herrera bags right in my own city...

 

[RayKay]

a close-up of a bag I really liked and if I'd been in the mood for something with major bling, I'd have been tempted.
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Love your new bag and all your photos...but I admit THIS bag leaves me feeling squeamish. It reminds me too much of one of those water bugs with eggs on their back (though with more bling) or one of those parasitic infections on caterpillars:

 

[MamaSleepy]

So here it is -- a medium-sized bag with detachable (but not adjustable) shoulder strap. I loved the two-toned leather colors, the leather texture, the charms, the color mix of the strap (brown on one side, dark red on inside), and the inside pockets. It's a new model, or at least a new color combination, that has been in stores for less than two weeks.
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How has your gorgeous bag held up?

 

[Passerine123]

How has your gorgeous bag held up?

Really well, it's in a steady rotation. I used it for the last two weeks in a row. Although I prefer an adjustable strap, this one hits in the "sweet spot" on my hip. I suspect it's too short for true cross-body wear, but I generally don't wear cross-body bags. It doesn't have any noticeable dings or signs of wear yet and I'm not super gentle with my bags when I'm out and about. At home, when it's not in regular rotation I do keep it stuffed and stored in its dust bag. All in all, I'm very satisfied, partially because of how well it's held up and partially because you don't see a million other bags like it. And it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Thank you so much for posting this. I felt like I was there! The store is beautiful. I would have been like a kid in a candy store! You made a great choice with your bag, I love the colour and those shoes look incredible for the price! So much detail. I have a pair of boots I bought in Spain and they are still going strong years later.

 

[MamaSleepy]

Really well, it's in a steady rotation. I used it for the last two weeks in a row. Although I prefer an adjustable strap, this one hits in the "sweet spot" on my hip. I suspect it's too short for true cross-body wear, but I generally don't wear cross-body bags. It doesn't have any noticeable dings or signs of wear yet and I'm not super gentle with my bags when I'm out and about. At home, when it's not in regular rotation I do keep it stuffed and stored in its dust bag. All in all, I'm very satisfied, partially because of how well it's held up and partially because you don't see a million other bags like it. And it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

Great to hear! I suspected the quality was there but wanted to be certain. Sure wish she had stores in the US. When I google her bags, I don't find anything new, just preloved. But, I'm keeping my eyes open. Thanks for your response.

 

[bellebellebelle19]

Great to hear! I suspected the quality was there but wanted to be certain. Sure wish she had stores in the US. When I google her bags, I don't find anything new, just preloved. But, I'm keeping my eyes open. Thanks for your response.

There are a good amount of stores in the USA! But they don't have any e-commerce set up and hardly any of their inventory is pictured online. They even have an outlet at Woodbury Commons! So you can call a store and ask for more info. That works better than emailing. They've never answered my emails but when I called they were so sweet and you could probably get them to email you photos while you're on the phone

 

[Passerine123]

There are a good amount of stores in the USA! But they don't have any e-commerce set up and hardly any of their inventory is pictured online. They even have an outlet at Woodbury Commons! So you can call a store and ask for more info. That works better than emailing. They've never answered my emails but when I called they were so sweet and you could probably get them to email you photos while you're on the phone

My favorite CH store is in the King of Prussia mall outside Philadelphia. It's in the new "bridge" wing that connects the Court and Plaza. The store has a good selection and helpful SAs, but the lighting is a little dim. What I like is that it's in the heart of the designer bag shopping area, so it's easy to compare styles, prices and quality among the different premium brands. Spend some time doing this and it's easy to recognize what a good value CH bags are among higher-end brands -- on average, they cost several hundred $$$ less (at least) than similar bags.
As for online sales, I've asked the SAs in Barcelona and KoP about that and they say it's just not part of her business plan/model. Even if they don't want to sell online, they really should do a much better job with their website -- more photos of the bags, better descriptions, prices. A better site would help raise brand awareness and drive more potential buyers to their stores.

 

[bellebellebelle19]

My favorite CH store is in the King of Prussia mall outside Philadelphia. It's in the new "bridge" wing that connects the Court and Plaza. The store has a good selection and helpful SAs, but the lighting is a little dim. What I like is that it's in the heart of the designer bag shopping area, so it's easy to compare styles, prices and quality among the different premium brands. Spend some time doing this and it's easy to recognize what a good value CH bags are among higher-end brands -- on average, they cost several hundred $$$ less (at least) than similar bags.
As for online sales, I've asked the SAs in Barcelona and KoP about that and they say it's just not part of her business plan/model. Even if they don't want to sell online, they really should do a much better job with their website -- more photos of the bags, better descriptions, prices. A better site would help raise brand awareness and drive more potential buyers to their stores.

Agreed! It's impossible to find out the names of her bags without extensive googling! Much less what colors are available for the season. Her instagram is helpful, but definitely not enough.