Luxury bags and low-cost alternatives

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When my business started showing progress, I thought about how nice it would be to own a luxury handbag. Not so much for the bag itself but what it represented to me- a reflection of my achievements. I started looking at the big names first (Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, Dior). I was aghast to discover that Louis Vuitton was the more affordable luxury brand among these other giants! Suddenly my newly purchased Coach cross body that I bought on sale for $149.00 didn't seem like the splurge I thought it was. Never-the-less, I decided that I would treat all my purses/handbags with equal love and care because they were beautiful. Even though they didn't all cost more than $50.00- that $50.00 was hard earned! 

Over Christmas, I bought 5 different bags, in all different price ranges from $50.00 to $3000.00. Two were "luxury". I hesitated to tell anyone I knew what I paid for the two luxury purses. It felt funny to try and hide the fact that I had a luxury brand purse when most people display their "replicas" with pride- if they have one. They'll even tell you it's a replica! When did it become OK to boast a replica vs. the real thing? If you're in the middle class, then you understand what I'm talking about. In my searches of luxury/designer bags, I also noticed that shoe companies like Aldo and Browns carried bags that were similar in design to high end bags like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. This made sense to me, in terms of the construction of their hand bags, since most shoe stores deal in leather goods.

I've included some pictures of bags I have found online at Gucci and Chanel and compared them to bags I found online at ALDO and Browns (shoe store). They have similarities but, of course, very different price tags. Based on their construction they are both quality brands in my mind.




GUCCI $2880
vs.
ALDO $58



GUCCI $1935 (iridescent)
vs.
ALDO $34.98 (luminous)






GUCCI 
vs.
ALDO



Hermes up to $32,300 (used)
vs.
Browns $228- $149.98 (new)



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