And you would never be able to find something new with that great leather, those linings, everything about them I still love.
Kooba, Gustto, Bulga, Botkier, Treesje, Isabella Fiore, Lockheart, Junior Drake-disappeared brands
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Ah yes, I remember those days. Old school Rebecca Minkoff was my gateway into designer bags...I had so many Nikkis alone and the leather was amazing. Though linings could be hit or miss, lol. I no longer wore them though and gave the last three - which I was holding onto purely for the leather - to a coworker earlier this summer. It is wonderful to see them joyfully used again instead of neglected as they just were not my style/carrying preference anymore. I also had, back in the day, some Treesje, and Hayden Harnett.
I won't buy RM anymore even though they are still around - I have checked out the newer stuff in Nordstrom a couple times and it is so far away from those days - leather is thinner, cheaper, not the thick, chewy leather of the past.
It is okay. The past is the past. It is unfortunate what happened to many of those brands, whether they are around or not, bit times change. I have a mix in my collection of premium and contemporary, and there are now other contemporary brand "stepping up" in the place of the old like Mansur Graviel. I have personally been very pleased with the Coach 1941 line, particularly the Rogues. They do have the thick, chewy leathers, suede/leather linings, details I crave for leather bags. I am still not interested in the regular Coach line, but Coach 1941 lured me in, at nearing 40, to a brand I never had much interest in even though it was very popular in my youth.
I won't buy RM anymore even though they are still around - I have checked out the newer stuff in Nordstrom a couple times and it is so far away from those days - leather is thinner, cheaper, not the thick, chewy leather of the past.
It is okay. The past is the past. It is unfortunate what happened to many of those brands, whether they are around or not, bit times change. I have a mix in my collection of premium and contemporary, and there are now other contemporary brand "stepping up" in the place of the old like Mansur Graviel. I have personally been very pleased with the Coach 1941 line, particularly the Rogues. They do have the thick, chewy leathers, suede/leather linings, details I crave for leather bags. I am still not interested in the regular Coach line, but Coach 1941 lured me in, at nearing 40, to a brand I never had much interest in even though it was very popular in my youth.
All the brands you mention are my workhorse bags - I'm carrying an old reliable LP today (my avatar)! I have too many of them because I was able to buy so many on sale in NYC over the last 15 years. Sadly so many sold their companies or sourced production to Asia and that's when the quality died. Foley & Corinna sold their company - Anna Corinna had a sale of her inspiration and sample archive where I picked up some small leather goods for as cheaply as $5. Treesje became Joelle Hawkins for Treesje and ended up mostly at TJX stores. L.A.M.B. went from lux to cray and then ended up as GX Gwen Stefani on off price sites except for a few leather bags I never see sold at full retail. Junior Drake brought out a cheapo line called It's the Girl that I still see at TJX but never see the leather anymore. I still love Botkier and RM even though the quality varies, so I mostly buy at sales. Still have a few Goldenbleu, Bulga, Tylie Malibu, Kale, BE&D and Gustto, a Fiore tote, a lovely suede Lockhart, lots of old Hayden Harnett and Kooba. I like Thacker, which reminds me of Mackage bags, but again only see them at off price stores. I really loved Gryson and it seems she tried to relaunch and sell off old stock in 2016 but had supply chain issues like HH did and her website's offline, plus the hideous commercial real estate prices here may have sunk her brick & mortar store.
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I also saw one at TJMaxx but it wasn't even leather, big disappointment. Especially compared to the older HH I have.
To quote from the current "Hayden by Hayden Harnett" site, "Hayden-Harnett was acquired by AHQ in October 2012 and launched its official e-commerce website later that year. By February 2013, Hayden-Harnett was already in luxury department stores and specialty shops throughout the United States. In 2016, after the original founders of the brand retired, AHQ decided to make some changes. They took the brand off the market with the intentions of re-launching using only the most high-end vegan leathers - something they had specialized in for years. And thus, Hayden by Hayden-Harnett was born.Hayden by Hayden-Harnett re-launched in Spring 2017 with a curated collection of handbags that embody the bohemian spirit of its parent label, using only the highest-quality PETA approved vegan leathers on the market."
Which of course is code for "we need to appeal to a younger demo who may be vegan but also won't buy $500 bags." AHQ (Accessories HQ) also designs, manufactures and sells bags under the Catherine Malandrino, BCBG, GoSac, Dressage, Revlon cosmetic bags, Carlos Falchi and Christian Lacroix names. They also did Kooba's latter day leather and Kooba V Couture vegan bags, Versace 1969 (Alessandro, not Donatella) and YakPak at one time.
This is quite random but I was watching James Corden sketches on YouTube and he had one where he was dating an alien. Well, apparently xenomorphs like to carry Botkier Murray Hill totes 
Gorgeous! Great color and distinctive style. Not a bag lost in a faceless crowd. I can imagine heads turn when you wear this beauty!
I had so many bags I was totally overwhelmed. I've been downsizing for 2 years and Im still not done. I gave several away and the rest were literally given away for pennies on the dollar. Most were new with tags. These were contemporary labels. I kept a few but it was just too much. I still have a Treesje Astor from 2009 with the tags still attached.Yeah, you are probably right. I am 47, I collected bags from different independent brands for few years now and as I am nearing 50 I start thinking when am I going to wear all those bags? I must have a bag for each week of the year. I went through my bag collection recently and I just could not believe low grade leather that is used today. I feel sad letting so many of my brand new beautiful color bags with that nice Italian leather go(not one black and maybe one or two tan, the rest are blues, purples, pinks, greens), but at the same time my tastes have changed, what I look for in a bag has changed and those I will not use will have to go