Designer Brands You Will Never Buy

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#6,001
Never say never, though here are the brands I try to avoid:

CHANEL: I don't know how Chanel can justify its soaring price increases when the company offers an inferior product year after year. And with the recent news about the refinishing/refurbishment policy changes... I wrote about my thoughts in this blog post. It's a shame since I would love a Boy Bag or a Classic Flap.

MICHAEL KORS: To echo the sentiments of many in this thread, MK lacks originality and seems to take "inspiration" from every brand. If I want a purse badly enough, I would rather buy the original than a designer knock-off. I understand that MK has its place in the market, but I don't foresee myself owning any of its bags anytime soon.

STELLA MCCARTNEY: Love her designs, love her personality. She always comes across as a genuinely nice person in her interviews. It's great that she offers a vegetarian-friendly option in high fashion. But I like leather bags and I would rather my money go towards a brand I love.

BURBERRY BLUE LABEL: One of Burberry's many diffusion lines, Blue Label is only available in Japan. I bought a purse as a souvenir and while I love the design of the bag, the quality is terrible. Within two days of casual wear, the gold hardware started tarnishing. I exchanged mine for a new bag, and the new one had issues with the leather (i.e. uneven texture).

GUESS: None of the bags ever call out to me... and I've had bad experiences with the quality of their clothes. I find the brand overpriced for what it offers so I don't plan to be a repeat customer.

DOONEY & BOURKE: I had never heard of the brand until 2004, when LV filed a lawsuit against D&B for copying its Murakami Monogram Multicolore pattern. I think the case ended up getting dismissed, but it always stuck in my mind whenever I look at the brand.
 
#6,003
In general, I dislike bags that are too high-maintenance or too fussy, such as:


Too high-maintenance --- bags with fabric elements to them that are not stain-proof, prescious leather in very light colors that I would obssess over keeping clean, lots of high-shine metals that might scratch, leather that will scratch easily;


Too fussy --- no shoulder strap or side pockets (yes I am talking about you Birkin :shame:), heavy empty weights (throwing a shade at Chloe Paddington), no closure whatsoever, large tote with straps too thin to comfortably support the weight when full, cumbersome dangly bag charms that you constantly have to move out of the way or adjust, chain straps without comfortable shoulder parts; closures that I have to do this and that with just to get to my gold-dern lipstick!
 
#6,004
Metope said:
Not really a brand, but I'll never own any bag in saffiano leather. I bought a Michael Kors Selma a couple years ago without having seen it in real life, when it arrived I was shocked at how cheap the leather felt. I had a hard time actually believing it was leather, it felt so much like plastic. Needless to say the bag went straight back to the shop.

Come to think of it, maybe it's just MK saffiano that feels like this, a friend of mine owns an MK that isn't saffiano and it still feels like plastic to me, just softer plastic. I don't care that his bags are carried by everyone and their mother (if you don't want to own something because a lot of other people own it you'll have a hard time in this society where everything is mass produced), if they were good quality I'd maybe have one myself, but they just really don't live up to the hype for me. There are other contemporary brands that provide much better quality, if that's the price range you're after.
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It seems that most are only buying all of the MK Saffiano bags these days, which I agree, feel cheap and there are just too many of them. It is sad that no one sees or notices his beautiful genuine leather bags that are designs of his own, that many have never seen since this invasion of popular saffiano bags that seem to be everywhere. Here are a few pics of some beautiful leather bags MK has, that you probably never recognized on the street. Many ladies take the charms off of them. His all leather bags are really well made and I have had some of these for over 20 years and they have held up very well.

These are all MK originals that have not been copied off anyone and he does have quite a few of them that many just don't know about.

I wish folks would check out his other bags that are not seen much. They are awesome! Here are just a few I am sure most have never seen before, I am hooked on his beautiful genuine leather bags. The only bags I won't buy are LV as I don't care for signature bags and fakes, of course!

1. MK Woodside Tote
2. MK Uptown Astor
3. MK Sloan
4. MK Naomi
 

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#6,005
CinthiaZ said:
It seems that most are only buying all of the MK Saffiano bags these days, which I agree, feel cheap and there are just too many of them. It is sad that no one sees or notices his beautiful genuine leather bags that are designs of his own, that many have never seen since this invasion of popular saffiano bags that seem to be everywhere. Here are a few pics of some beautiful leather bags MK has, that you probably never recognized on the street. Many ladies take the charms off of them. His all leather bags are really well made and I have had some of these for over 20 years and they have held up very well.

These are all MK originals that have not been copied off anyone and he does have quite a few of them that many just don't know about.

I wish folks would check out his other bags that are not seen much. They are awesome! Here are just a few I am sure most have never seen before, I am hooked on his beautiful genuine leather bags. The only bags I won't buy are LV as I don't care for signature bags and fakes, of course!

1. MK Woodside Tote
2. MK Uptown Astor
3. MK Sloan
4. MK Naomi
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! Those bags are definitely better looking than the ones you mostly see on the street for sure, although not my personal style (I'm pretty simplistic in my bag style and don't usually go for chains, studs, non-functional zippers etc). I also think the actual MK line is much, much better than the Michael by MK line. I really don't care about over saturation of brands, after all I have mostly Rebecca Minkoff bags and they're everywhere too. I've just never personally felt an MK bag in my hands I liked the feeling of (I don't know what my friend's non-saffiano MK bag is called but it's a fairly recent red bucket bag), and while I know there are great quality MK bags out there too, empirical experience has a lot to say in my decision making. I am pretty firmly in the "never say never" camp like a lot of people here though, if I come across an awesome MK bag in the future that I love I won't pass it up (assuming it's within my budget at the time)! :smile1:
 
#6,006
Metope said:
Thanks for the tip! Those bags are definitely better looking than the ones you mostly see on the street for sure, although not my personal style (I'm pretty simplistic in my bag style and don't usually go for chains, studs, non-functional zippers etc). I also think the actual MK line is much, much better than the Michael by MK line. I really don't care about over saturation of brands, after all I have mostly Rebecca Minkoff bags and they're everywhere too. I've just never personally felt an MK bag in my hands I liked the feeling of (I don't know what my friend's non-saffiano MK bag is called but it's a fairly recent red bucket bag), and while I know there are great quality MK bags out there too, empirical experience has a lot to say in my decision making. I am pretty firmly in the "never say never" camp like a lot of people here though, if I come across an awesome MK bag in the future that I love I won't pass it up (assuming it's within my budget at the time)! :smile1:
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Great points. I will say his zippers are all functional and not just for decoration. They are either for compartments or to expand the bag. Never just for decoration, which is most likely just another of many misconceptions about MK.Except they do have decorative ones on the Naomi, but most are functional
 
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#6,007
Rebecca Minkoff. I won't buy her brand. I don't like her associations and the styles. I would rather buy and carry a cheap $2.00 hand bag or a grocery bag from Walmart before I buy her brand. No offense to others who love her brand.
 
#6,008
nothing MK, at all. he's not a designer in my opinion and is not original. his bag styles are very nice, i grant you that, but that's only b/c he copies the styles from the high-end brands. not sure if his other lines (ie clothes) follow that as well.
 
#6,011
I don't get the Dior handbags in patent leather. One of my girlfriends used to love it to pieces but when we actually saw the bags closely and touched it, in the second both we fell in silence then said thanks to the SA and left the store straightaway, but we didn't give up that easily, so we tried a few times to have a look again, after few times my girlfriend left her dream bag for good. Sorry to Dior fans, I love their most signature design handbags and I do like the look of the square Dior bag, but when I saw people tried to grab stuff at the bottom and out of the bag with scratched on their arms, I gave up.
 
#6,012
Add one more, I don't get my prada double zippers tote, I understand sometimes a handbag made with reasonable delicate leather, but mine catches even one drop of clean water, it shows on the bag very clear and never dry up or fade out once any liquor touch to the surface it will stay there forever clearly. It drives me crazy, I think it's the most silly leather on handbag I have ever seen, it just makes non sense.
 
#6,015
MICHAEL KORS: I've commented on a couple of posts about this before. The knock offs are not my cup of tea in the least but I "get" that he is offering designer inspirational pieces for those who can't of don't want to spend more. But, I also have two of his calfskin leather non knock off bags and they are workhorses. They leather (even of the metallic one) seems indestructible. They are a stylish alternative when I don't want to risk my designer purses. (And yes, I take of anything that can ID these bags as MK)

Fefster said:
Fendi because I find their latest lines juvenile and I detest the bag bug thing, not least because of the real fur they use but also because they look like they belong in a kids toy box.
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FENDI: LOL! Tell us how you really feel. 😜 I'm also not a Fendi fan. I liked the 2 jours at first but am so glad I didn't buy one. Overall, I just don't like what they are currently doing design wise.

And I'm one who is always for whimsy but I have to say the bag bugs and the peek a boo bags do look pretty juvenile to me too.
 
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