Women's Handbags and the Status They Carry
Handbags
Retail reports shows that more women choose brand name bags over non-branded bags. Some cite image and how they are perceived by their colleagues to be the main reason they opt for brand names. Some say it's distinctions in quality and design that drives the value of the bag for them and durability of the bag that’s worth the splurge. A woman's bag is a vessel for the carriage of one's belongings and doubles as a symbol of status, wealth, and personality traits.
Highest Quality
Quality is a broad term and includes the aesthetics of the bag’s design, quality of the materials, craftsmanship, etc. Any highly recognized brand takes a great deal of pride when it comes to the quality of their products. There are no shortcuts, and a single bag can take 4-10 times longer in production than a non-branded bag. For example, Chanel bag takes up to 18 hours of production and involves 15 different people from start to finish. The value of the bag is proportional to its quality, aesthetics and the brand’s image or a current position on the market. The biggest brands are recognized as being the leaders with regard to these attributes, they constantly invest in innovations, professional development of its personnel and more.
The Make
Quality includes workmanship and material, and with both held to high standards, a high quality bag is crafted. Some workmen take years to develop the leather handling skills required to produce a bag of high class. Hand stitched leather is regarded as an art and the techniques involved are profound. The stitching, settling, and working of the bag are done by professionals and the result of their laborious efforts is a fine bag that lasts a lifetime or often longer, being passed down as a prized possession in families. In France, for example, women tend to buy bags with 15-20 years to come in mind. “Is this bag’s construction good enough to last me that long?” “Is this material durable enough to look fabulous even a decade or two later?” These are among the top 5 considerations when buying a bag for a Parisian woman.
A Status Symbol
Branded belongings have often been used as status symbols, and bags are no exception. Many of today's consumers take logos to be a tool to convey status. Off quality aside, out of reach type of price tag any luxury brand’s handbag has, subtlety creates a very special sense of exclusivity. After all, there is a smaller number of people carrying their phone and lipstick in Yves Saint Lauren or Christian Dior bag worldwide.
First in Line for Design
The designs featured at fashion shows come from the upper echelon of brands and thus they’re the ones that bring new fashion trends to us twice a year. Recognized brands are pioneers in the fashion fields and are always more preferred for that reason as well. Branded bags come as the first in line of growing trends, it is more glamorous to adorn oneself with the latest in fashion rather than to wait for other brands to copy it.
To conclude, there are many reasons why women prefer branded bags, the main among them are aesthetics, high quality of the bag’s contraction and materials, that translates into unbeatable durability, it’s a statement about one’s taste and wealth, and it’s higher return on investment if you take into account the lifespan of the bag as well as the relative simplicity of re-selling branded bag vs non-branded bag.
