Amateurjeweler I agree with all of your points. Well said. Stores like Barneys and LV have terrible customer service and return policies. Anyone can get better service at Walmart than most of these types of stores. Their attitude is what stops me from purchasing - not that they would care.
Did you get rid of your less designer items?
- Thread starter midnight_beauty
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Buy what you like regardless of how its marketed. There are some wonderful pieces made by so called contemporary brands just as there are some duds made by so called luxury brands.
Preach. I recently learned that Hermes permits returns for a refund only if you order from the website. If you purchase from a boutique, sorry, no refunds. They only offer exchanges, and even that has to be within 10 days. I have no idea how they get away with that appalling lack of post-sale customer care in a competitive market, but it was a very expensive lesson for me and will be my last purchase from Hermes. I must not be in their preferred income bracket.
To the thread topic, I have bags ranging from Fossil to Hermes and everything in between. My handbags have their own closet, but even that has limited space. As my needs change, I sell/gift the ones I don't use any more and keep the ones I do. It's a practical consideration more than a reflection of the designer name or public perception.
I have to agree with this, esp. your comments on LV. I got into LV last year after a long hiatus of not buying anything from them since 2009, but quickly fell out of love after researching and buying other less known brands. Some of these brands were pricey, others weren't. But what made them stand out was the time and care that was put into the order. Being personable between emails. Telling me how they appreciated that I bought from them, even if my purchase was small. Wrapping the order with nice ribbons and including a handwritten note (at least 2 companies I've bought from have done this!). I didn't know sales people did this anymore! It's these little things that started to make me feel less inclined towards these big designer names. And the price I paid for these items is no where near what I would have spent for something similar at LV.I buy what I like and sell what I don't use. Most of my bags are from contemporary designers instead of premiere ones simply because I don't believe the quality is there to justify 4+ times the price like it was ten or more years ago. They almost all feel massed produced now no matter what price, and the ones that don't typically cost more than I'm willing to pay. After sales customer service policies are also getting stingier across the board, but much more so at the premiere level, where you would think customers would be more demanding in that regard.
LV in particular has had a long spiral downward for me this decade. The materials don't feel as luxurious, the bags look like the production was rushed, and they charge 40% to 60% more for that quality as opposed to when their bags were nicer. Also, their satellite stores barely have any selection and their flagship stores feel more like international street bazaars than luxury stores, where I'm competing for service and breathing room instead of getting thoughtful and attentive input from SAs in selecting a bag. Don't even get me started on their collaboration with Supreme. I haven't purchased anything new from them since Christmas 2014 and I haven't looked back.
I think there's been a deliberate strategy by premiere designers to keep people in certain income brackets from purchasing their goods, so that bags that used to cost $1400 now cost $2500, even as the quality and brand experience has plummeted. Instead of trying to keep up with that racket I've been buying what's easy on the wallet from brands that actually provide decent customer service and after-sales service, and while the labels don't have the same cachet, I think many contemporary bags are up to par with their premiere counterparts in every regard except prestige, which I care about less and less as I mature.
I still like LV, but I'm not crazy about the brand. It is so expensive and I feel like this brand (as well as other premier brands like Chanel) are purposely making prices high to keep certain people out. Which I guess is fine, but the quality isn't significantly better and the service is not even close and doesn't even compare to true luxury (not that I have personal, first hand experience in luxury
).Please share with me where / for which brands you received this lovely level of service? IMO that is part of a brand being luxurious - a sense of personal appreciation for the customer. I'm much more likely to buy from a brand that makes that extra little bit of effort, instead of acting like they are doing you a favor by selling you something.
Sure! One of them is Faure Le Page and the other one is Delage Paris (there are 2 Delage Paris, fyi...one is for shoes and the other is for bags. I've ordered the bags). I received handwritten notes from both these companies every time I've ordered. With Delage I've even corresponded with the owner, who was so gracious and wonderful to write to. I think Faure Le Page is slowly starting to become more mainstream, however...
http://www.faurelepage.com
https://delage-official.com/
There is one other brand I can't think of at the moment...I'll have to look for receipts when I get home.
Del Giudice is also a nice Italian brand; I haven't ordered from them but I was able to write with the owner and he wonderful. I believe they also do bespoke.
http://www.delgiudiceroma.com/
These brands are nowhere near high end like LaContrie or Hermes, but just the personable touch makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.
These brands are nowhere near high end like LaContrie or Hermes, but just the personable touch makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.
Pretty stuff! Thank you!
Some of my contemporary designer bags were replaced (I say this lightly) with higher end bags but it wasn't intentional, it just came down to me using the newer bags more than the older ones. I also don't plan to replace all of them, but if I find something nicer, it's not to say it won't happen. At one point my bag collection consisted of lots of bags that I just wasn't using (the shape/style, the colour, or having bought the bag in the spur of the moment) so I gave some of them away and sold other ones. In addition, a lot of my bags are contemporary designer bags as I was a university student up until recently with many other expenses, however going forward I know I'm able to splurge since I was able to graduate debt-free!
No, my collection is a complete range and I don't see that changing!
I'm currently purging my bag collection, but not necessarily getting rid of only the bags from contemporary designers. I've decided to keep some lower priced bags (my Rebecca Minkoff MAC and Tano Minilisa for example) because I love them and still use them a ton. I've also decided to sell some more expensive bags because they don't get used enough.
So, yeah... I cringe when I see the pic of my closet featured in this thread because in the last month I've started to do just what I said I wouldn't... I'm working on getting rid of more than half of my bags because after buying my first LV in July, LV is all I'm interested in using now. I'm keeping a few classics, but for the most part it's bye bye Burberry, Ferragamo, Gucci, Coach (except for my perfect cross body), Marc Jacobs, Cole Haan, etc. Eva and I enjoyed doing a run to the consignment shop today. [emoji4]
I only own three "less" designer items. One Rebecca Minkoff and two MK bags. one of the MKs being my first ever "designer" handbag purchase, so I don't want to sell it even though I never carry it anymore. I got a lot of compliments on it when I did carry it though the other MK bag is the large hamilton which is convenient for times when I need to carry a lot around but don't want to use one of my high end bags. and the Rebecca Minkoff is a cross body (I'm not sure what the name of it is) that I use for quick errands or going to theme parks/etc. My other "less" designer bags I gave to my mom, which made her happy
oh, and I do have a Tory Burch wallet that I forgot to mention. I was never really impressed with the quality of her handbags, but the wallet that I have I used daily for over a year and it still looks phenomenal, so I keep it around!
But I have to say, once I started buying high end designers my outlook on handbags definitely changed... I still see contemporary designer items that I like, but I can never justify buying them when I could be saving that money for a high end bag!!
the other MK bag is the large hamilton which is convenient for times when I need to carry a lot around but don't want to use one of my high end bags. and the Rebecca Minkoff is a cross body (I'm not sure what the name of it is) that I use for quick errands or going to theme parks/etc. My other "less" designer bags I gave to my mom, which made her happy oh, and I do have a Tory Burch wallet that I forgot to mention. I was never really impressed with the quality of her handbags, but the wallet that I have I used daily for over a year and it still looks phenomenal, so I keep it around!
But I have to say, once I started buying high end designers my outlook on handbags definitely changed... I still see contemporary designer items that I like, but I can never justify buying them when I could be saving that money for a high end bag!!
Yes, I got rid of my lower end designer bags, i.e., Rebecca Minkoff, Linea Pelle, years ago because the quality just wasn't good.
I do keep my lesser known bags (Massaccesi, an Italian designer) because they are high quality, well made bags. Otherwise, almost all of my other handbag purchases are premier designer bags.
I do keep my lesser known bags (Massaccesi, an Italian designer) because they are high quality, well made bags. Otherwise, almost all of my other handbag purchases are premier designer bags.
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