scatcat

I only dream of owning a Birkin.

MLF611

Some designers aren't as popular in the U.S. as in Europe, so even of American stores do carry these brands, the selection would be limited. Not because they're not allowed to carry the merchandise, there simply isn't demand for it. Celine, for example. Before going into the flagship stores of the designers whose lines you know well, go to Au Printemps, Bon Marche, or Galeries Lafayette and look around at their selections. Something may catch your eye that wasn't on your original list.

Gina817

Ok ok I didn't mean to start debate about golf versus handbags : )
I'm thinking of a lower end LV or Burberry for maybe $500. Average green fees around $125 - but come on, who is JUST golfing? Food, drinks, caddy tips, etc. A few rounds could easily cost that.
All I am saying is we can't judge someone for how they splurge. To each his or her own!

scatcat

Everyone has their own priorities. I know people who spend as much in one night at the casinos as I would spend for a LV. But they call it entertainment. It's just whatever makes you happy.

JillDavis

I am so glad this thread was revived! After thinking about how absurd the Birkin bags are, I think a LV will be just as awesome! I am in love with the LV monogram vernis collection-the Alma bag in the amaretto color. (dark brown almost black)

Look up the bag and let me know if you like!

As far as golf fees, let's just say the golf community (Isleworth Country Club) in my town (Windermere), has an initiation fee of $90,000. How's that for crazy!

Guenmai

It's difficult to say which ones will come out first there. I just got back from Paris again last month and bought a gorgeous new, Chloe, small, red, Elise shoulder bag. I've yet to see it here, in the States in that size, although the medium and large ones have been here for months. And I haven't found it anywhere, in the small size, on the internet and I've checked regularly. I went into Saks, Beverly Hills, and the Chloe salesperson hasn't even seen it, and the friend who came with me to Paris, but who lives in N.Y., said he also looked in Manhattan, but didn't see it.

I also zipped into to the Francesco Biasia handbag boutique in the 6th, and bought a new, leather tote bag-style handbag. I looked it up here and although the same handbag is on line, the color that I bought, in Paris, wasn't. I bought a gorgeous aqua one, trimmed in black, but all of the ones on line here are in dark colors and also beige.

So, many times the difference, in Paris, can be the color of a bag or the size of a bag and also the leather/skins. There were tons of gorgeous python bags in Paris, month before last and last month, but since python is supposedly illegal here in California, the python bags won't be exported here, but I heard that they can be brought in with the proper paperwork if someone buys one overseas. I remember the guy in Paris showing me the red python version of my red leather bag and saying that if it were purchased, he would have to provide the paperwork. It's the same in Singapore when one buys alligator/crocodile/ostrich products. So, it can get tricky, so watch your skins. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Caffegoddess: The first Chanel bag that I bought, in Paris, back in the mid 80s, was one that could only be bought in France. As I outgrew it, bought before the cell phone and electronic organizer graze, I sold it to someone here in the States and for nearly double around a decade later. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Jill: Also check www.fashionphile.com. They're here in Beverly Hills. They have great bags that are preowned. While I was away in Paris, they were selling three of my own, in-mint-condition, designer bags that I sent to resale, as I wasn't using them. One had the original tag on it, another I bought in Europe in 2004, but never used, and the third I bought directly across the street from them, at the Burberry store, and used maybe twice. When I got home, from Paris, they had been sold and I went in to pick up my check. The buyers got very lucky to get my mint-condition bags. They call them pre-owned as they are not all used...as in my bag that still had the tag on it and the one that had no tag on it, but was never used.

They had a Chanel bag there, with the original $3,250, Nordstrom, price tag on it that someone took in.

I bought an absolutely gorgeous, mid 90s, mint condition, Chanel tote bag from Fashionphile a few months ago. I took it to Paris and it turned a lot of heads, even in the Chanel boutique on the rue Cambon as salesperson after salesperson turned to look. Even at CDG, the woman who asks the security questions at check in looked at it and said, "I love your bag". Then she started asking the security questions. The same thing happened when I changed planes in a U.S. airport on my way home. Flight attendants were stopping me while walking by and commenting on my bag. So, vintage can be and is fabulous! And then you can stand out from the flock.

Check the vintage stores in Paris,too, like Catherine B in the tiny rue Guisarde #3 (metrodeon and a 5 minute walk) in the 6th, and Didier Ludot at 20 and 24 Galerie de Montpensier in the Jardin du Palais Royal, in the 1st. Gorgeous items. I've been checking his items since the 80s.

Last month, I saw the exact same Chanel tote bag that I had recently bought at fashionphile, but on www.malleries.com and for hundreds of dollars more. So, shop around.

Fashionphile has plenty of LVs, Hermes, Chloes, Guccis, Chanels, etc. You might be able to find a gorgeous vintage bag there and as far as I'm concerned I've found the quality better in the 80s and 90s on Chanel and Vuitton depending on the bag and what the bag is made of. The LV vinyl now doesn't seem as thick as the vinyl that was on my bags in the 80s. I still have them. But, I've found the Epi leather to still be excellent which is what I buy.

Also go on www.purseblog.com and go on the forum and ask questions before buying a certain bag as those women, mostly young ones, are familiar with a lot of bags and know which ones have held up and which ones they have had problems with. Then those of us who are older posters know which decades were good and what products were in which decades as we've bought lots of bags over several decades and many in Europe.

Buying a handbag takes research, but is well worth it, and especially if you might flip it years later. And absolutely don't think that just because the price is high that the quality is high...you'll hear all of the stories on www.purseblog.com. Some of the youngins had to learn the hard way.

As for flipping an item, I went on www.malleries.com a couple of weeks ago , out of curiosity, and as I was scrolling saw my exact, Chanel earring that I had bought in Paris, around the mid 80s. I was wearing them, in a huge photo, that I've had framed on my wall, that's with a late fashion designer friend of mine and taken in 1989, the year before his death. I paid the equivalent of around $250. for them then which friends thought absolutely crazy. But, I have a good eye for things. Well, now the ones I saw on Malleries are going for $1299. I printed the page and filed it away. I also saw my LV jewelry box, also bought mid 80s in Parsis for around $300. and one just like it sold on Malleries for $1350. I also printed that page. There were several other items that were exactly like mine. Happy Travels!

MLF611

Another option is http://vintage-paris.com/ which has some very neat items, mostly Chanel. Pros: lots of vintage pieces that you won't see elsewhere (or seldom see elsewhere), especially Chanel jewelry. Cons: Only one view of an item is available as opposed to several views and zoom features. Prices seem pretty high. Condition descriptions are vague: is "great" better than "excellent" or vice versa or do they both mean the same thing? Nevertheless, it's fun to window shop the site and the owners seem very willing to provide additional info for serious queries.