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Designer Handbags - What Really Makes Them So Popular?

by: Rufus Steele

There are many, many designer handbags available to own these days.

So what is it that makes one more famous or more popular than the other? What factor above all else determines whether or not a range is going to be a winner or a huge flop?

Well, design quality certainly has to play a big part in it.

I mean, who's going to buy a bag that looks as though it's about to fall to pieces? Worse still, what if it looks as though it has fallen to pieces as it sits on display in your local store?

How will you be able to keep a straight face as the suitably reverent sales assistant dons her white cotton gloves before handling the bag as though it were the winning lottery ticket -- (rare and highly valuable and more than likely to explode in your face than actually be real!)

Beyond the point of many handbag lovers thinking that a Hobo style bag meant it should look as though it's suitable only for a hobo to carry, build quality has to be good and durable to add credit to the designers name and assure the buyer that they are getting real value for their hard earned dollars.

The looks of the designer handbag also need to be right.

With the huge number of different people looking to buy a designer handbag, there is always going to be a huge difference in opinions as to what looks good and what doesn't.

What others like as a design or style, you might think has been dragged backwards through the proverbial hedge - having already been rejected by a pop art museum!

But it's this subjective link that gives each designer their strength! Their unique style and imagination can inspire people to pay a deposit to reserve the latest creation before they've even seen a picture of it.

Lovers of a specific designer label can spend hours and days trying to track down each bag released under a specific design, range or label even.

Take the Louis Vuitton Cherry Blossom range as an example.

Created by Takashi Murakami in conjunction with Marc Jacobs of LV, this range consisted of a retro handbag, a papillon and a pochette. Lovers of LV or Murakami would collect the "set". As the Cherry Blossom range came in three color combos -- chocolate/pink, red/cream, pink/pink -- people would also look to buy each color set as well.

The power of the design, coupled with the appeal of the name, encouraged them to buy!

If it's a really 'top notch' name like Hermes or Versace then you need to add your name to a wait list. This list can stretch to more than two years for certain bags.

Everybody ranks the different designers according to their budget -- assigning in their mind a scale to attain. The same as everyone looks to upgrade their home or car, designer handbag lovers always aspire to move into the next bracket of handbag.

But I think that the biggest means by which designer name handbags prosper and grow or fade away with a whimper is down to good old communication.

Work with me for a minute!

How many bags do you own?

Of those, how many are from the same house?

Now then -- of those from the same designer, the same design house label, how many did you buy after someone else had spoken to you about it?

It can be anything from a simple comment that someone dropped in a conversation, to a friend specifically emailing you to tell you about the super dooper new XXX from the house of XXXX!

Now work backwards.

How many handbags do you own that you wouldn't have bought unless someone communicated about it to you?

1? 5? 10?

That communication has helped the designer sell more of his handbags than he would have normally, which in turn helps to build up his reputation and the strength of his name!

Design houses can (and often do!) throw as much money as they like into their advertising and marketing campaigns. The latest rake thin super model graces pages and posters, clutching the latest Hackyunaki hobenger bag to their bosom and beaming insanely!

"I'm beautiful only because I hold a Hackyunaki bag" they seem to say to you.

But if the people who buy and use their products don't talk about them in glowing terms, if they don't love them SOOOO much that they have to tell all their friends abut them, they'll never become a success in the world of designer handbags.

So the answer to the riddle of what makes a particular designer handbag a success is -- you!

You make designer name handbags popular and a success as much as you have the power to make them a failure, never to waste store space again!

Just by loving them and talking about them!

About the author:

Copyright:: Rufus Steele 2005

Rufus Steele is the author and creator of the Louis Vuitton website, - a site dedicated to all things Louis Vuitton

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