I am attaching a recent article from the Wall Street Journal that talks about the end of the It bag... While the article is interesting, I do not think that "It" bags will ever vanish. Fashion is largely based on the moment, like the It bag is, and resonates with a woman's love of style. Style is rooted in the now. While some of our shoes, dresses, and handbags, do maintain their style throughout different eras... the bulk of our clothes and accessories quickly become dated. Trying to call a classic handbag today is difficult. The amount of choice is so much greater than in 1956 (the date the original It bag emerge on Grace Kelly). No longer does the Hermes, YSL, or Chanel name guarantee a classic. Obviously, price weighs in on increasing a bags chance of achieving a classic status. This is primarily due to the fact that the materials used on a $200 bag are going to be less expensive and age less well than the materials on an $800+ bag (clutches aside). In my opinon, you have to consider the following when striving to own a potential classic i) price ii) construction of the bag iii) degree of detail on the bag (ie. logo plates, trim, stitching, material on interior of bag).
I have constantly preached to my girlfriends that you have to take some risks with new designers, who sometimes offer the most interesting and unique bags. Wearing a new designer also minimizes the chances of being one of many girls in a room with the same bag (this has ruined a few of my nights). I have never suffered buyers remorse when taking a risk on a new designer.. this is because I can always make a statement with it and can usually bank on no else in the room owning a similar one.
I wish they had a bag district similar to the Diamond district we have hear in NYC, where you can go from store to store comparing prices on new and old jewelry.. Wouldn't that be great!!
Article is below:
Why 'it' bags are out
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[FONT=times new roman,times,serif]By CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN and RACHEL DODES
[FONT=times new roman,times,serif]THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE[/FONT]
February 1, 2008[/FONT]
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IRENE WEISBURD USED to buy 20 handbags a year, dutifully getting on waiting lists for the season's designated "it" bag and filling her "bag wardrobe" with Fendi Baguettes, a Louis Vuitton Murakami bag and Prada nylon backpacks. Recently, however, she has bypassed popular styles such as last fall's Gucci Indy bag and the ubiquitous Fendi 'B' bag in favor of unadorned pieces from Bottega Veneta and lesser-known labels such as New York's MZ Wallace.
"I felt like, 'Gee, all these bags are so attainable by a lot of people that everyone's carrying around that bag,'" says Ms. Weisburd, a 59-year-old homemaker who lives in New York City. "I wanted something that was more exclusive."
For the past 10 years or so, fashion houses have churned out expensive bags with distinctive shapes and logos in the hopes that they'd catch on as that season's sensation. Consumers, seeking the status a recognizable bag conferred, flocked to buy them.
But as big luxury brands have expanded world-wide, offering more entry-level products to reach more consumers, some high-end shoppers are getting turned off. The proliferation of knockoffs has helped erode the mystique of owning a high-end bag. Affluent customers have grown confident in their own sense of style and increasingly are turning to unique accessories to set themselves apart. On top of that, the recent stock-market selloff and downturn in consumer spending have many people shunning buying that could be considered ostentatious.
"The 'it' bag isn't important any more," says Stephanie Solomon, women's fashion director at Bloomingdale's. "It's all about looking different from your neighbor."
Instead of one hot, recognizable style, retailers this spring will be pushing a variety of styles and brands, many of them lesser-known. Intermix, a high-end New York-based retail chain, is making a big push for handbags from labels such as Zagliani and Lanvin. Scoop is stressing Jamin Puech, Whiting & Davis and other relatively unknown, expensive brands. For spring, Henri Bendel is picking up the Loewe brand.
These shifting tastes have sent ripples through the $230 billion-plus luxury-goods industry. Handbags have a longer shelf life and produce higher profit margins for their makers than apparel, which must be cleared from stores every few months. To offset sales declines of pricey handbags, some brands are moving further upmarket, launching ultraluxury lines with extreme price tags to match. Others are developing limited-edition bags to reinforce their exclusivity.
Chloé has expanded its handbag styles to 80, compared with only 20 a few years ago, and it is introducing limited-edition styles at Chloé boutiques, such as the new Heloise bag in python for $4,295. To reduce its reliance on bags, the company has branched out into new product categories. Watches and jewelry are "the new 'it' bags," says Ralph Toledano, chief executive of the Chloé brand.
Many fashion experts date the original "it" bag to 1956, when Grace Kelly created a frenzy for an Hermès bag, now known as the "Kelly." In the 1980s, the Prada nylon backpack became a hit because its sleek, minimalist look was such a contrast with the cluttered excess in fashion at the time.
The compact Fendi Baguette, which Sarah Jessica Parker wore under the arm like a loaf of bread in "Sex and the City," became one of the most coveted bags of the late 1990s and pushed prices to new highs.