To those that said "With the increases, I'll just save for Hermes"

Very interestingly put DD101. Its true that people move on from designer to desiger. Coach to LV, to Chanel, etc. A lot of posters here on Chanel were once LV collectors (myself included). Maybe people are just moving on up to Hermes since Chanel's prices have increased so much. Suddenly justifying 3K for a Flap we bought for 2K last year isnt as easy as for an Hermes bag. They are opening that door to Hermes for us.
 
Very interestingly put DD101. Its true that people move on from designer to desiger. Coach to LV, to Chanel, etc. A lot of posters here on Chanel were once LV collectors (myself included). Maybe people are just moving on up to Hermes since Chanel's prices have increased so much. Suddenly justifying 3K for a Flap we bought for 2K last year isnt as easy as for an Hermes bag. They are opening that door to Hermes for us.

That's very true... though I guess I was a Chanel girl from the get-go (almost!). My first "designer" bag was Coach, then I immediately jumped on the Chanel bandwagon without owning anything "in between." My unfamiliarity with Hermes and its pricing (surely they have had increases as well) makes it easier to purchase a bag because I didn't know how much less it might've been last year. Great point about justifying 3K for a flap that was 2K last year. That's how I feel about East/West bags. I think I bought mine when it was under $1,000 and now it's almost doubled at $1,750...
 
Hermes is indeed more than the Birkin or Kelly. However, knowing the history of the brand, one must admit they were catapulted into a new stratosphere of exclusivity due to Grace and Jane. Their most popular bags are the Birkin and Kelly, if I am not mistaken. (I may be.) While there is definitely an exclusivity accomplished with Hermes that surpasses Chanel etc., I find that for me personally, the almost 9k spent on my gold was not worth it. I am only 22 so maybe, that will change one day.
 
IntlSet: I replied to you on the last page :smile:

As for pricing by H, it can't be really called an increase as the price is always determined by leather, bag style, size, etc. One style won't always cost X amount of dollars - if you get it in boxcalf it will be different than clemence or swift, so on and so forth.
 
Here's my take on things. Hermes has always appealed to me because of it's simplicity and it's quality but it hasn't been feasible because of it's price. In the last few years however, other designer handbags have increased into the $1000+ bracket and my spending threshold seems to have increased. Whereas money spent on a Birkin would be the equivalent of 4-6 other handbags, that is starting to change. Specifically, Chanel has started to creep into the nearly $3000 price range for their classics (excluding exotics). With these increases, my option becomes a couple of Chanel classics or save up for a Hermes Kelly or Birkin. When you couple this with the fact that Hermes is handmade and not 'assembly line', it becomes a far more attractive option. Just my personal opinion.
 
Liberté;4499168 said:
^
It's quite interesting how you describe "graduationg" from LV though... Please elaborate?

When I say graduating from LV, I guess I saw it as a natural progression. The first bags I was into were Coach bags. I loved them, loved their quality and versatility. This is back WAY before Reed Krackoff took over the brand. This is when the Coach bags were the plain standard ones that they were know for for many years. I just loved their timeless look and bought many of them. Then the Coach brand took off, they started with new designs and fabrics and really took their brand in a new direction. It wasn't a direction I was interested in. There was nothing wrong with the styles they were producing, they just weren't me. I like more of a timeless look.

This is when I rediscovered Louis Vuitton. I had a Speedy from MANY years ago, but never bought another LV after that one. I guess I was really pulled back in when their MC line was introduced. I loved the MC in both white and black and bought many styles from that line. From there I started to like their suhali line. I was an LV collector for many many years. I have always found their quality to be great (as with Coach, never had a problem with either brand).

I'm not sure what exactly pulled me away from the land of LV (I think maybe I felt they were becomming too trendy with some of their lines), but I had then discovered Chanel and the rest is history (as evidenced from my posts here on tPF, LOL). When I say I graduated from LV, I didn't mean it as a put down of that brand (as I stated before, I still have some LV bags and I love them dearly), but I discovered something new that I loved more.
 
Very interestingly put DD101. Its true that people move on from designer to desiger. Coach to LV, to Chanel, etc. A lot of posters here on Chanel were once LV collectors (myself included). Maybe people are just moving on up to Hermes since Chanel's prices have increased so much. Suddenly justifying 3K for a Flap we bought for 2K last year isnt as easy as for an Hermes bag. They are opening that door to Hermes for us.

I agree, they are opening that door. I could never fathom paying upwards of $7000 for a Birkin, or any bag for that matter, but I'm getting closer to feeling that I could do it. It's a lot of money, but knowing that Hermes bags are hand made with superior craftsmanship and quality does make my heart skip a beat :love:.
 
When I hear "graduating from LV to Chanel" I think pricewise. Its a fact that Chanel bags are more expensive than Louis Vuitton bags overall. At least you can walk into LV and find an array of bags that are under 1K. Sadly not the case with Chanel. Even before these price hikes, finding a bag under 1K was a challenge.
 
When I hear "graduating from LV to Chanel" I think pricewise. Its a fact that Chanel bags are more expensive than Louis Vuitton bags overall. At least you can walk into LV and find an array of bags that are under 1K. Sadly not the case with Chanel. Even before these price hikes, finding a bag under 1K was a challenge.

It's funny how we get used to paying certain prices, then can start to pay more, get used to that and end up paying even higher prices :wtf:.

I think maybe I associate certain price ranges with certain brands?
 
It's funny how we get used to paying certain prices, then can start to pay more, get used to that and end up paying even higher prices :wtf:.

Yes, its scary isnt it!! In the end, we have to come here to discuss these purchases since most people from "the outside" would think its INSANE!! LOL..
 
i'm not sure if you're referring to my earlier remark because i have said that if chanel keeps increasing prices, i'm probably going to spend the money on a hermes bag but building on what i said before, i do think bags are interchangeable, you shouldn't let a bag determine your style and you can like more than 1 style. sure, some people just don't like hermes or lv and will never think of spending their money there. if for slightly more than 2 chanels (in the last 2 years, it used to be 4-5 chanels for 1 birkin), you can get a better crafted bag, then why not?

i don't only use 1 brand of bag and let it determine what my "style" is. sure flaps and birkins are completely different in terms of design and style but if you like both, you should be able to pull it off. some days i feel like a chanel fits what i'm wearing, some days it's a 20 bag from a flea market.

and people like different things for different reasons. how do you even tease that apart? i've liked the birkin for a while (and i do know about the other hermes styles) but it doesn't mean that because i like the way a bag looks (do i like it because it's always in the magazines, it's famous or because of its inherent design??), i should find out about how it is constructed and all the intricacies. sorry if this is sacrilege but a person should be able to like a handbag simply because of the way it looks.

thus, even if a person likes a birkin for its status symbol and not its quality, to each her (or his!) own.

IMO, chanels have also become somewhat of a status symbol in that same way hermes SAs "determine which customers are worthy." it is especially true in asia, the chanel boutique in singapore is ridiculous. i've had a SA tell me that i'm LUCKY to have the chance to see what the bag looks like even though i can't purchase it. needless to say, i've never bought anything from there.

don't get me wrong, i still love chanel and the way it looks, i'm just saying that style is personal and more versatile than the brand of bag you're carrying.
 
thus, even if a person likes a birkin for its status symbol and not its quality, to each her (or his!) own.

IMO, chanels have also become somewhat of a status symbol in that same way hermes SAs "determine which customers are worthy." it is especially true in asia, the chanel boutique in singapore is ridiculous. i've had a SA tell me that i'm LUCKY to have the chance to see what the bag looks like even though i can't purchase it. needless to say, i've never bought anything from there.

don't get me wrong, i still love chanel and the way it looks, i'm just saying that style is personal and more versatile than the brand of bag you're carrying.

Oof, I hope I didn't offend you!!! That is only my experience with Hermes, and only my opinion... I totally envy those with Birkins and I wish you all to wear them in good health! To each her own, it's true...
 
Oof, I hope I didn't offend you!!! That is only my experience with Hermes, and only my opinion... I totally envy those with Birkins and I wish you all to wear them in good health! To each her own, it's true...

no worries, not offended. :flowers: just saying it happens everywhere.

wanted to add that i've also gotten poor service at hermes in singapore. ;) if i'm there just looking (i guess she knows i'm not going to plonk down 10k for a bag anytime soon), i'll invariably get rude service but if my mom's there, the SAs are a lot nicer. heck, sometimes i get bad service at tiffany's too.. so maybe it's just me. ;)
 
Liberté;4498775 said:
Status shoppers. The feeling that you don't get *that much* back from your purchase with the increase and that you'd get way more back from Hermes with just a little more money.
I agree with you! If "bag status" was your number one priority when purchasing, of course you'd think the two are interchangeable! But if you really about about style preference, these vastly different brands wouldn't seem interchangeable to you.