Dooney has a presentation on the Q at midnight EST which means Dooney has a TSV. It has been a long time. I always bought the Dooney TSVs until the last few years. The “recent” ones were not interesting enough or seemed like corners were cut to justify the lower price. For instance, a simple Florentine hobo with a thin braided strap. Anyway, I will be staying up to see what it is with great anticipation!
Thanks for the heads-uo. It's always fun to see more Dooney presentations and
a TSV can give us a glimpse of colors and styles to come. It's true, that because
a QVC TSV is a 'customer order' and a large quantity, Dooney will often customize
the design, style, size, leather, features to meet QVC requests and price point.
Manufactures often do this for large customers. Dooney also does it for
Dillard's offering Dillard's exclusives... exotic leathers and special colors.
Sometimes these customized offerings seem simplified or stripped down
(especially to us collectors who know the inventory and have a lot of bags).
But sometimes they have extra features, like outside pockets, longer handles/straps,
or even accessories.
In general, over the last few years I've seen more 'budget' collections from
Dooney , Michael Kors, and
Coach, etc. .... less refinement, less lux leathers, etc.
Dooney craftsmanship still seems to be good, even for lower end handbags,
but I see more drawstrings where the grommets aren't trimmed (reinforced) with metal,
or the slide is poorly crafted. Others have noticed shorter tassels. And let's not talk
about cross body straps that are too thin.
Also styles change.... gone are the belted and tasseled Florentine handbags. In place
are simpler and cleaner designs. Some of this is fashion dictated, and some is
probably related to the cost of all that additional leather and labor.
Alto bags have always had more understated designs, but even there, I miss some of the
more refined details on the older Alto styles.
