Can’t make this stuff up, folks.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, Dooney & Bourke chairman and co-founder Frederic Bourke has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Travel Act by bribing Azerbaijani oil officials.

Who knew that being rich from selling mid-range handbags could eventually get you in so much trouble with your money? And wouldn’t it have been more fun to be arrested for, I don’t know, buying a bunch of drugs and expensive call girls like the rest of the rich people in this country?

I kid, of course, but here’s what happened. Bourke invested part of his handbag fortune (to the tune of $8 million) into a company called Oily Rock Group Ltd., which sought to profit when the Azerbaijani state-run oil company was eventually privatized via the purchase of privatization vouchers from the public.

The company then allegedly paid millions of dollars in bribes to government officials in order to ensure that the oil holdings were indeed privatized, and apparently both our government and theirs frown on that sort of thing. The oil never got privatized, Bourke never profited, and now he’s supposed to spend a year in the clink, to add insult to injury.

Whatever benevolent legal authority presided over the case has seen fit to release Bourke on $10 million bail, pending his appeal on the verdict, which only goes to show you that the rich really are different than the rest of us – they don’t have to go to jail when they’ve been convicted of a crime and sentenced to go there. They get to sit at home and reap the benefits of their handbag business while they wait and see if their lawyers can get them out of it.

Ok, so that was probably way harsh, but someone had to say it. If you disagree with me and feel like being supportive of Bourke, or perhaps you want to help him pay his legal fees, you can find Dooney & Bourke bags here. And if he’s really innocent, then I hope they figure that out quickly. Let it be a lesson to all of us – sinking millions into questionable oil holding companies that have shadowy relationships with foreign governments might get you in some trouble down the road, and all the handbags in the world can’t save you. Except that the profits from them can pay your lawyer fees, so maybe they can.

More accurately, trouble has been brewing for quite some time now.

We make light of Versace’s relatively piddling bag efforts on a regular basis (or whenever I can’t think of something more interesting to write about), but based on Dana Thomas’s very interesting article on the company’s troubles for the latest Newsweek, bad bags aren’t the only problems that Donatella & Co. are having.

Whether or not we want to hear it, handbags are one of the most profitable and important sectors of a worldwide luxury business – the only thing that makes more money for companies like Chanel and Dior is beauty. So is it true that as go purses, so goes the company?

That idea isn’t directly addressed in Thomas’s article, but it’s one that’s worth discussion. In her own book, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, Thomas explains in (sometimes painful, for purse lovers) detail the way that profits from cosmetics, fragrance and handbags have made high end brand conglomerates like LVMH and Gucci Group such cash cows.

And in these stark economic times, companies like Hermes and Louis Vuitton that are overwhelmingly known for their handbags are the ones producing healthy numbers. Since neither of those companies benefits directly from massive cosmetic sales, it stands to reason that their ability to sell handbags hand over fist has had a huge impact on their financial solvency during the luxury collapse. Versace’s handbags (and their prices) have become a running joke around here, and we’re the exact people to which they should be trying to appeal – a niche audience of people that already spend gobs of money on bags. If you can’t sell a bag to us, who can you sell it to?

Surely Donatella’s coke-fiending and jet-setting haven’t helped the company be taken seriously as one that values design and quality, but if they could, at the very least, get their handbag division under control, then maybe the money would start rolling in in a meaningful way. And what of Versace’s shoe line? Shoes are steadily catching up with bags as one of the “it” items that savvy fashionistas must have, but when was the last time you saw, let alone coveted, a Versace shoe? They do make shoes, right? I’m having a hard time conjuring a mental picture of one. And if they don’t, why not? It’s another big margin product that sells well, even in this economy.

Thomas comes to the conclusion that it may be time for the family to exit the family business in order for the company to survive, and if they’re the ones responsible for the complete mishandling of the most profitable section of their company, then I can’t say that I disagree with her. Whatever happens, let’s hope that someone realizes that good bag design could help Versace stay afloat.

Picture via NYMag.com.

We are a day late reporting the news, but we are reporting nonetheless. Taylor Jacobson, who worked for Rachel Zoe, is no longer with Rachel Zoe Inc as of yesterday. The news is conflicting whether Taylor was fired or quit. If you followed the Rachel Zoe Project (one of my many guilty pleasures), Taylor Jacobson continued to express her disdain for her job and where her job was going. Though the end of the season showed things looking up between Tay and Rachel, Taylor is gone.

Now comes the different reports. Taylor seemed excited for a new beginning on her Twitter page stating: “Today is an end of an era and a beginning of a new professional chapter. Looking forward to what the future brings…!!!”.

Fashionista reported that Taylor sent out an email saying: “After four amazing years at Rachel Zoe Corporation, I’m saddened and exhilarated at the same time to announce my departure. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to take the challenging leap to go off and style on my own.”

But what People is reporting says that Taylor was actually fired by Rachel Zoe (story here). What is the truth? I am not sure right now, but I am confident that Taylor will have success styling on her own. Taylor has made a name for herself before the RZP aired and only solidified her name being on the show. We wish Taylor the best in her new endeavors!

Everyone at Luna Boston loves a good party, and a couple weeks ago was no exception. The Diane von Furstenberg event was one of the biggest we’ve ever had – there was a line around the block to get in before the doors even opened! Amanda and Jennifer started setting up for the event at 9am and didn’t stop until 10 minutes before the event started, when they finally had time to get ready!

For those of you that weren’t able to attend, we held the event in a penthouse suite at the FP3 condominiums in the Fort Point section of Boston. I felt like a rockstar at this place – it has 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a terrace, and a roof deck! (And it’s on the market for a cool $2.5 mil if you’re interested!) Hillary France, our representative from the Diane von Furstenberg showroom, was there to help us show the Fall collection to attendees. (Did we mention that Hillary looks like a goddess? Tall with long, bright red hair, looks awesome in everything she wears… Basically, she’s perfect. We’re jealous. But I digress.)

Guests were served wine and bubbly provided by our friends at Bin Ends (who worked with us at an event for Boston Fashion Week last fall) and Stuff magazine (one of our Boston faves!), as well as flavored water by O.N.E., and amazing gift bags furnished by DvF and Bin Ends.

Diane von Furstenberg’s Fall collection is all about being a nomad – the tagline is, “Wherever she goes, she belongs,” which is the perfect way to describe this collection. Each bag is a standout piece that would absolutely work well with whatever outfit you’re wearing, from jeans and a tee to an evening ensemble. Studded clutches, exotic skins, and luxe furs make this collection pop, while work-friendly satchels in soft leathers and fall-friendly colors bring it full circle.

Our staff pick is the Veruschcka, (You may have seen Beyonce with a similar style, the Stephanie.) Unlike the Stephanie, the Veruschcka has rabbit fur detailing to really up the ante for Fall. To us, this bag is quintessential Diane von Furstenberg. She’s all about making easy pieces that the everyday woman can wear from the office to dinner and still feel like she’s on the runway.

Check out the full Fall collection at Luna Boston.

Making an even better case that luxury brands need to step up their online game, online sales for July 2009 were up almost 16% from the previous month, and 17% from July 2008, which was before the year’s economic collapse took place. The fastest growing sector? Clothing, shoes and accessories.

Since online sales on the whole are gaining at a steeper rate than those of brick-and-mortar locations, luxury brands look like dinosaurs more than ever for their reluctance to enter a marketplace that could save their businesses. More importantly, sales of luxury goods in particular are down in stores, while the same types of goods are experiencing a bit of a resurgence online, and most of the brands we know and love are poorly equipped to reap the benefits of this rally.

We’ll have a more in-depth look next week at what the slowly recovering economy means for designers and brands, but for now, an increase in consumer confidence and willingness to spend, encouraged by new collections and enticing discounts, means that the brands you love are more likely to live to fight another day and more able to take design risks and fully flush out their vision. But none of that will matter if they can’t get their products placed in a way that makes them enticing to consumers that are increasingly looking to shop online.

Perez Hilton, notorious trashy celebrity blogger, will be launching a sister site tomorrow named CocoPerez which will be a fashion focused site.

Coco Perez is named after none other than the fashion icon Coco Chanel, which Perez may see fitting but most will find a slap in the face to the fashion icon. Perez plans to change up his tone on his fashion site, and even claims there will be no trashy white writing and symbols across each photo. While he may have an “in” with the celebrity world, I do not think the fashion world will be happy about this addition. For years fashion bloggers have been working tirelessly to have fashion houses and the industry take them seriously and recognize them as a viable resource.

How do you think the fashion world will react to having the man everyone loves to hate infiltrate the fashion blogging world?

Should the fashion magazines be scared?
Absolutely. Anna Wintour watch out! Actually, Anna Wintour’s days are already numbered now, so she should be cowering in fear. I don’t know if she’ll make it past the Fall. Eventually, I will have a larger audience than Vogue.

Maybe she should work for cocoperez?
Um, if she takes a paycut.

Lady Gaga is your good pal. Is she going to be a correspondent?
Maybe. That’s a really good idea. Hey, thanks. When celebs go to fashion week, they can give me their first hand look and things like that. Share pictures from the show. I love it!

What do you say to any critics who might point out you don’t have a fashion background?
I think it’s great that I don’t because it gives me an objective yet opinionated look into the world of fashion that my readers can relate to. I like to think, even though I dress like a clown, I know what looks good on women, the same way I know what sounds good musically. I’m not trying to be a tastemaker. I’m just trying to have fun with fashion the way I have fun with celebrities and the way I have fun with fashion in my own life. I wear crazy, outlandish things. I’m constantly trying to do new things with my hair.

Love the orange, btw.
Thanks. Sometimes I wear things that are ridiculous on purpose. I know I’m looking bad. That’s premeditated. Especially for a guy. I have to try that much harder to get noticed. I wore a cape once to Kimora’s Baby Phat fashion show.

Speaking of Kimora, there are so many celebrities with their own fashion lines these days. Jessica Simpson just announced a line of lingerie. Should they stop already? What do you think about that?
Kimora’s been doing it for a while and she makes a lot of money. If you’re making money, then, great. I’m not going to knock the hustle! But I’ll tell you who does it really well, actually. Nicole Ritchie is designing really cute stuff for House of Harlow. I do like what the Olsens are doing. I like Victoria Beckham even though it’s not very inventive or original stuff. I’ll tell you who should give it up— Beyonce´. I don’t really think House of Dereon is very cute looking. But I blame her mother. I blame Tina for those hideous designs.

Who are your favorite designers?
I’m not inspired by designers— what inspires me are celebrities. Someone like David Bowie is an inspiration. What he did for fashion and entertainment. But If I had to pick designers I love the avant-garde designers. I love Gautier, Alexander McQueen, Garth Pugh. And I love all the designers that send me free clothes.

How do you feel about models being too skinny?
I don’t think a model could ever be too skinny. So forget about that. That’s their job! I don’t want to encourage anyone to be unhealthy, but fashion is fantasy. I have to agree with Karl Lagerfeld. I don’t want to see a fat model on the runway. Actually, no. I disagree. I could see a fat fashion model on the runway if she were fierce! You have to be fierce. I would give them a shot. There should be more like that. I love Beth Ditto from The Gossip.

Project Runway or The Fashion Show?
Runway. I love Heidi.

As Heidi would say, who is ‘out’ in fashion?
I think Christian Audigier should go away, for sure.

What’s the most offensive fashion faux-pas you’ve seen in celebrity land lately?
My pet peeve is when guys wear flip-flops out to clubs. It makes me want to stomp on their feet.

In less than a month you’re going to head to fashion week. How do you think the fashion gliteratti will receive you?
I don’t really care how I’m received. I’m like the gay superman. I live in my own world, my own planet— Perez land. I don’t play by anybody else’s rules. I make up my own. Mr. Blackwell’s gone but Perez has just arrived.

Think they’ll seat you in the front row?
They better.

Image via InStyle and Story via Shine on Yahoo!

The Internet and luxury have always been sort of mutually exclusive. The Internet is broad, democratic, and welcomes all kinds; it has changed the way that consumers interact with corporations in fundamental ways that are constantly evolving. Luxury brands are narrow, elitist, and target a very specific clientele. They require a bit of mystery and aloofness in order to be aspirational and make their traditional brand identities work, and they’re generally not interested in changing how their companies interact with…well, anyone. “The way it has always been done” is idealized and worshiped in an almost religious way, and even though many below-the-surface practices have evolved in recent years (most notably, manufacturing), the way that brands want you to perceive them has remained largely untouched for decades.

But the problem with this whole Internet thingamabob is that it’s kind of insidious and it’s changing the way that people of a variety of incomes and social standings shop and inform themselves about potential purchases. Fashion shows are no longer private events for an elite group of celebrities, editors, and clients; they’re presentations of goods that can often be seen in their entirety by average customers within minutes of their completion. There may be exclusivity left in the invitation to attend a show, but not in the information that one gains by attending.

That the clothes being presented are not immediately available to clients when their buzz is at its height is a failing of the old-school fashion industry that deserves an examination in and of itself at another time. Right now, though, it just serves to illustrate the fact that old-school luxury brands aren’t quite sure what to do about how technology is changing the ground upon which they stand. No long do they have the layers of editors and buyers in between them and those that ultimately use their products – increasingly, consumers want to interact directly with those that make and market their goods. Until recently, it seems as thought brands thought they could simply opt out of the online marketplace and everything would be fine.

It wasn’t long ago that many luxury brands scoffed at the idea of running their own websites, let alone using them to reach out to customers and sell products directly to those that they may have a difficult time reaching otherwise. I remember getting my first high-end designer purse, a nylon Prada bag that was a present for my high school graduation, and trying to find information about it online. And despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find much.

That was only 5 years ago, and Prada’s website at the time consisted entirely of an image from their ad campaign against a black background; there was nothing else. At the time they said that their lack of web presence was because they wished to retain the traditional, more personal boutique-customer relationship, but somewhere in the last half a decade, they realized that that wasn’t going to win them any new customers. They have since built a healthy online site to engage customers through collection photos, schedules of public events, and a fairly extensive shop.

According to a 2008 Unity study, 94% of affluent customers make online purchases, and as sales have slowed as a result of back-breaking economic conditions the world over, luxury companies are starting to realize that they have to start messing around with this newfangled Internet thing after all. Some companies still refuse to even offer their products for sale online, but the tide is changing slowly as more and more websites are embracing online shopping, web marketing, and even social media. And perhaps they’re learning from some of the thriving independent handbag designers that have embraced blog buzz and interacting directly with their customers for quite some time.

Louis Vuitton made news a few months ago by becoming one of the first of the megabrands to join microblogging site Twitter. By doing so, they can send press releases, pictures, and information about new products directly to their buyers immediately and as often as they like; magazines have months-long lead times, and disseminating most kinds of information through them simply isn’t efficient anymore when consumers are used to finding things out immediately from their favorite blogs. And then they made further company history: they created a bag that would be sold only to online customers, with no boutique availability.

Vuitton also made another big step by hosting a reception in New York City recently for members of the online fashion media (Vlad and Shannon got to attend – you can read their coverage here), and we can only hope that other brands will follow their lead out of necessity. Louis Vuitton the sort of brand with the resources and following that allow them to break new ground and test new ideas before others may consider them viable options, and other brands may be forced into the online marketplace as a way to make up for lost revenue that would normally come through traditional stores. In that regard, this may just be another way that the recession forces the fashion industry to haul itself into the 21st century, and the brands that are struggling now and can’t figure out what they’re doing wrong may come out of all of this much better for it, if they do eventually succeed in realizing that they can’t just cover their ears and pretend we’re not here anymore.

So what could these brands potentially do with the Internet and social media in order to maintain their luxury status but still reach out to their customers? With the web’s ability to target niche audiences, the possibilities are endless if the brands decide that the effort is worth it. Two days ago, I got my cable bill sorted out with Charter’s Twitter customer service representative. I didn’t have to call and slog through an automated menu until I found a way to talk to a person, I just sent a short message to their Twitter name and my problem was solved easily. If I can get personal, immediate service on something as banal as a cable bill, why can’t I send a tweet to Louis Vuitton’s Atlanta boutique and ask them if the bag I want is in stock before I drive over there? When we all live on our computers, finding their phone number, calling them up, and finding someone who can answer my question seems positively non-luxurious.

So, to all the luxury brands out there: welcome to the Internet! We’ve been talking behind your back for years! Please try to do something interesting during your stay.

I am trying to be as open minded as possible but truly having a hard time. I came across this video and had to share with you all as I saw it being a very interesting blog debate. Pet groomer, Danelle German, found many of her clients bringing in their Persian cats and asking for their hair to be shaved off. Danelle German thought it was a waste to let the Persian hair go into the garbage can, so she decided to turn the cat hair into a handbag. After borrowing a spinning wheel from a friend, she began spinning the hair into yarn and then knitted the cat hair yarn into a handbag.

So… Where do I begin? This is so odd. For starters, Vlad and I are both highly allergic to cats and though her website says the bags are hypoallergenic, I wouldn’t chance our throats not swelling up on that. I just could not imagine having a bag made out of my childhood dogs hair and not finding it creepy. On the flip side I have a closet full of bags made from an array of animals including; lamb, cow, python, lizard, alligator, and crocodile. Does that make me a hypocrite? But it feels so different to have a leather bag versus a pet hair handbag. On a positive note, getting the hair does not harm the cat at all and she is simply using what would eventually be throw in the trash.

Danelle German says they have the “Eww people” and the “Aww people”. I am definitely in the eww category when it comes to these bags. One commenter did say that her pet hair handbag would make a good keepsake once her cat passed away, and that did make sense to me. On that note though, why would anyone go buy a cat hair bag from a pet that is not theirs? I have so many questions, but I feel you all will take this debate to the next level nicely in the comment section. Danelle German’s Catty Shack Creations website

Let’s have a blog debate: What do you think of pet hair handbags?

Also, Yves Saint Laurent released the fifth edition of Manifesto featuring Christy Turlington, which was photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. The Manifesto will be distributed in the streets of Paris, New York, Milan, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and for the first time in Seoul on Saturday, September 12, 2009. We will bring you more on the Manifesto when it goes live.

Barneys New York took a major leap in a recent window display. But the chances they took on this window display may have cost them more than they thought. The mannequins in the Barneys window were dressed to kill, with a blood splattered window display and mannequins being attacked while wearing Helmut Lang and A.L.C..

The display did not stay up long. Once Racked.com covered the display, news stations were calling Barneys to ask about it. Though Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys, was out of town as the display went up, he said this crossed the line and compared it to “someone seeing a bad Hitchcock movie.” Be assured heads will be rolling from creative display team after this incident. [More via NY Daily News]

We wanted to find out what kind of germs a woman’s bag might pick up along the course of a day. A lab tested more than two dozen handbags for traces of various bacteria. Even the scientist who conducted the tests was surprised at what she found.

“I had no idea that it would be that much bacteria,” said microbiologist Amy Karren of Nelson Labs.

This was not just the harmless kind of bacteria you find around your house, this was the kind that makes you sick.

“We found pseudomonas, staphylococcus aureus, E-coli family and salmonella”, she said.

Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staph aureus can cause skin infections and E-coli and salmonella can cause serious intestinal problems.

The test found leather or vinyl purses were generally cleaner than cloth bags and women with kids tend to have dirtier purses than singles.

[Article Via]

Yesterday the world lost arguably the biggest pop star in the world. A man that redefined the music industry as we know it today, the world is remembering Michael Jackson. While many mourn, many are playing his music and remember the musical genius. Michael Jackson sold 3/4 of a billion albums, was known for his moonwalk, was in the music scene for 40 years of his 50 year life, and became known for his fashion choices such as his glittered glove. His influence on the music industry can be seen by many of the artists we listen to today and his fashion choices influenced the world of fashion as well.

The Rebecca Minkoff Matinee flaps on either end of the bag were designed after the legendary red leather jacket Michael Jackson wore in his Thriller video. We covered this bag before when we first saw the resemblance, which was then affirmed by Rebecca. Without knowing it, Michael Jackson’s influence made its way into the handbag world.

A small way for us to say we will remember the King of Pop. Rest in peace Michael Jackson.

Many customers would claim that they buy only for the quality that these products provide, but the reaction of some customers to the recent announcement of Jimmy Choo’s collaboration with H&M seems to run contrary to those claims. Some people were excited to see what the partnership would create, but many Choo loyalists voiced the opinion that the brand was losing something by creating a temporary line for a low-end retailer.

Choo’s fans aren’t the first to scowl at the idea of their favorite label creating an inexpensive product line, and they’ll be far from the last. What seems to be unique about this occasion, though, is that Jimmy Choo is the most broadly known brand yet to dabble in mass-market, low-price retail. So far, many small or independent designers have used the tactic as a way to broaden their name recognition and, potentially, their customer base. Choo, though, is a brand with a pretty clear image in the minds of most women with any sort of fashion consciousness or desire for expensive shoes.

So what happens when a brand with a large following and a seemingly healthy business decides that they want to dabble in the desires of Middle America? Well, according to Robin Givhan of the Washington Post, it means that luxury as we know it is dead.

Which seems like an incredibly histrionic reaction indeed. In the economic predicament in which we currently find ourselves, any number of writers have predicted that an unending list of occurrences are what really marks this mythic “end” of aspirational consumer goods. Why this one is any different than the others? I have no idea.

What I think it does, though, is bring up some nasty truths that luxury customers would rather push out of their minds. If I had spent thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars of my earnings on Jimmy Choo shoes in my life at $500-700 a pop, the reality that Choo can make an attractive (if likely to be lower-quality) pair of stilettos for less than $100 would definitely be unpleasant. If the steep price tag isn’t necessary, why have their customers been paying it for so long?

But does acknowledgment of the often-astronomical margins on handbags and shoes mean that all customers will suddenly abandon the goods that they know and love? I seriously doubt it. Most reasonable consumers have to realize that the construction of an average high-end handbag doesn’t cost anywhere near four digits, and I don’t think that Jimmy Choo making a couple pairs of cheap shoes is going to inform anyone of this fact that wasn’t already aware of it on some level.

Image may be a slightly bigger problem than economics, though. Luxury customers, no matter what they say, are often in the market for exclusivity as much as they are for a new bag. And if anyone with a local H&M (or Target, or TopShop) and a spare $50 can have something designed by their favorite brand, then the status implied by sporting a pair of Jimmy Choos is suddenly in limbo. And if Jimmy Choo is doing it, then are there that many brands out there that wouldn’t consider it? Probably not.

Only time will tell what, if any, lasting impact this will have on the luxury industry, but despite all the hubbub it’s causing among Jimmy Choo’s fans, I’m still dubious. If they were introducing a permanent collection of pleather shoes, then the impact would probably be more palpable and long-lasting. As it is, the collection is a small group of products that will only be sold in H&M’s largest stores in their largest markets and will probably be completely wiped off the shelves by the end of launch day. It provides a lot to talk about for people like us, who are in the business of talking about such things, but it’s likely to be little more than a blip on the radar screen of the larger fashion industry.

Things don’t change overnight, and cheap shoes will not fell the decades-old luxury industry as we know it. A price reset among traditional luxury goods is already somewhat underway, as we’ve discussed previously on this blog, and some women probably do need to reevaluate what they’re trying to accomplish by buying a small fortune’s worth of shoes or bags. But the marketplace forgets things like this rather quickly, and a recession-era olive branch to cash-strapped consumers won’t reflect poorly on the brand in the eyes of fashion history. And when women are looking for the sexiest pair of stilettos they can find, they’re not going to exclude Jimmy Choo on principle for long, and probably not at all.

Marc Jacobs put together a spin on a mint julep and created the Marc Mint Martini. Recently featured Tory Burch combined grapefruit, mango, strawberry and pineapple to make the Tory Tikki Tini. Finally, Ralph Lauren put together crushed rasberries, rum, lemon and lime juice to arrive at the delightful Ralph Rasberry Rum Punch. Not sure which you’d pick? Head to LES bar in NYC and give all three a try (don’t forget cab money). Yet, do you find yourself less than impressed with these pics? If so, tell me, what would you imagine your favorite designer putting together as *their* drink?

via NYDaily

When we brought you the news that Hermes has its own crocodile breeding farm in Australia, most of you were rather appalled. Even with us loving exotic handbags, the story seemed to hit a nerve for many. We all knew PETA would hear about this and want to respond. And they did.

Here’s what PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews had to say: The thought of purposely breeding and killing crocodiles for an outdated, overpriced handbag should make any fashionista’s skin crawl. If Hermes really wants to be a leader in the fashion industry, it should stop killing animals for cold-blooded vanity and use cruelty-free mock croc and fake snake instead. As Pink—who recently provided the voice of a computer-generated crocodile in PETA’s “Stolen for Fashion” commercial—says, “Killing animals for their skins is so disgusting that it doesn’t make me want to befriend designers who use them.”

Has Pink never worn a leather bag? We all know that PETA does not love many designers and abhors Fashion Week, like when they raided the Cavalli runway show. And now they have it out for Hermes. I can understand them not loving the idea of a crocodile farm solely for exotic Hermes Bags, but I don’t see Hermes using mock croc or fake snake ever. What do you think?

[Story via PETA Blog]

[Story via NY Post]

I have to tell you, this is a feat that I don’t think I EVER imagined would happen. Back in 2005 Vlad and I started Purse Blog as a fun side project after my career ending sports injury and attempt to find something ‘new’ to do. Both Vlad and I wanted something to work on together and that ended up being Purse Blog. We never imagined our site would grow to be what it is today, reaching over 20,000 visitors everyday. After we started the blog Vlad introduced me to the idea of a forum. I had never been on an online discussion board but I thought it would be great idea to have a place for other handbag lovers to convene. A month after we started the Purse Forum we had 200 members.

Now, less than four years after we started the Purse Forum, which has become known as tPF, we are nearing our 200,000th member. This number is beyond staggering, beyond amazing, and we are so thrilled to be part of such an amazing forum. While hugely vast in size, there is still a close knit community which has become one of the most active forums on the web. The importance of tPF in the handbag and fashion community continues to come to life every day, with more designers and companies realizing the impact of the forum. For us, the entire journey is something we have loved every minute of, no matter how many Nike Shoe spammers hit our forum at the wee hours of the morning (really, what is up with them?!).

Thank you to every single one of you who visits our blog, visits our forum, and helps us continue to grow to be the leading source in handbags and fashion. Who knows how quickly the 200,000th member will come now, I am thinking to pull an all-nighter with a bag of popcorn and celebrate this monumental moment!

Again, thank you to every one of you who make this blog and forum what it is!

♥ The Purse Blog and Purse Forum Team
Megs, Vlad, Shannon, Amanda, Anna, Amanda (Swanky Mama of Three), and the entire Mod team!

The economy may be hurting world wide, but those that love Hermes are still buying. In fact, Hermes has resorted to breeding its own crocodiles on farms in Australia to meet the demand for its exotic bags. It is reported that Hermes makes around 3,000 crocodile bags every year and demand continues to grow while the crocodiles are not readily available to fill orders. It can take three to four crocodiles to make one Hermes bag, so the move to use their own farms makes sense.

While other brands are hurting, Hermes continues to churn sales increases. Along with their own crocodile farms in Australia, Hermes is also hiring an additional 50-100 leather workers to join the staff of 2,000 in Paris. What does this mean for us? An easier change to purchase a Hermes crocodile bag, if we have the funds to do so.

[Story via Reuters]

PARIS (Reuters) – French luxury goods group Hermes has resorted to breeding its own crocodiles on farms in Australia to try to meet demand for its leather bags, its chief executive said on Monday.

Customers sometimes have to wait several years for certain exotic-skin bags, which can fetch over 35,000 euros ($48,410).

“It can take three to four crocodiles to make one of our bags so we are now breeding our own crocodiles on our own farms, mainly in Australia,” Patrick Thomas told the Reuters Global Luxury Summit in Paris.

Hermes already faces a major challenge producing 3,000 crocodile bags a year, Thomas said, adding: “The world is not full of crocodiles, except the stock exchange!”

Crocodile farming can be expensive, with the reptiles having to be kept apart in separate rooms to protect their skins from bites, but even so allowances have to be made for natural losses that can amount to around a third of bred crocodiles.

Hermes’ leather goods, which account for 40 percent of its business, have been the most robust in the current downturn with the group taking on 50-100 leather workers this year to add to the 2,000 craftsmen it already employs at French sites.

Thomas admits the group has been pushing other areas of the business, such as fashion and textiles, so it is not so reliant on leather bags, but says this area continues to be its fastest-growing product line.

“We cannot face demand. We have massive over-demand. We are limited by our ability to train new craftsmen,” he added.

As the economy has cratered and more or less stayed that way, we have begun to hear more and more from designers (and their PR companies) about the new way we should be looking at fashion – as an investment in our futures. People have used the “investment” excuse to justify the money they spend on bags for years, but as conspicuous consumption of luxury good contracts at an even greater rate than across-the-board retail spending, brands and their mouthpieces have looked to the word as a possible way to pry the remaining dollars out of consumers’ wallets. Lesley Blume of Slate’s finance blog The Big Money has the breakdown on exactly why the fashion-as-investment logic just doesn’t hold.

According to Blume, the old marketing tactics for luxury goods just aren’t working out in this economic climate. You probably remember them well – “Everyone deserves to indulge a little bit,” “There’s nothing wrong with wanting some luxury in your life,” et cetera. Well, now that unemployment is approaching double digits and luxury might mean something completely different to some of the consumers that they were trying to target in years past, luxury firms have changed their language a bit. Instead of a splurge, it’s an investment. Instead of luxury, it’s quality.

But the entire thing seems a bit disingenuous when you think about what an investment is supposed to mean – it’s a store of value expected to at least hold or increase its worth over time. There’s always the chance that an investment may depreciate, but generally, that’s not the expectation. What Blume points out that should be obvious, though, is that the vast and overwhelming majority of fashion items are going to depreciate like a new car just driven off the lot.

The problem with most fashion items, particularly bags, is that they’re mass produced. The brand may not want you to think about them like that, but they are, and they appear in the exact same iteration in stores all over the country, and probably will for several seasons. When they’ve run their course, many look dated because people have moved on to the new styles that are now in stores. Bags don’t hold their value or appreciate because they’re widely available at a set price in a store near you; wait a bit, and they’ll probably go on sale. When a consumer can just as easily buy the same thing, brand new, at an expected price level without a problem, then there’s no way that they’re going to pay extra (or even the same amount) for a used bag. Even if you look at the word ‘investment’ as meaning something that you can use for a long time (which is not what it means, not even close), there are only a handful of handbags you could buy that will be at all relevant in a year or two. Something new always comes out that we want and the old things get put back in the closet. We all know that.

And then there’s the curious case of the Hermes Birkin, which is widely cited as a wise “investment” by fashion people. The Birkin differs a bit from the average designer handbag because they’re much less widely available and most people that want them have an ideal iteration that they’d like to find one day. As a result, they escape the quick loss in value that most handbags experience when they leave the store. In that way, the people that claim it’s an investment aren’t THAT wrong, but Blume does a bit of math to illustrate that even the Birkin isn’t a great option, despite the fact that it may be the best one in the handbag universe. Most people in the Birkin price range aren’t going to take to eBay to sell their own bags because of the financial risk associated with high-dollar transactions on an Internet auction site; instead, they go through resellers. As a result, even if the bag sells for above retail, the money that the owner gets back will likely be less than what they paid after the reseller takes their commission. Compared to what the stock market did in November 2008, the depreciation might seem minimal (Blume calculated it at about 20%), but it’s still not a wise investment if depreciation can be reasonably predicted.

I’ve resold a number of bags in my time, mostly Balenciaga, and they’re another brand that holds their value better than average because they’re a bit harder to find, have a heavily devoted following, and their colors change every season. Still, none of them sold for their retail price, even those that I sold during the It-Bag heydey a few years ago. So Blume’s article more or less corroborated my own personal experiences – bags are not a solid investment by any reasonable definition of the word, although some bags lose less value than others, and you may even get lucky and buy a rare color that collectors will pay a premium for in a few years.

In the end, though, the odds are against it. My advice for those that are looking to buy handbags in this economy is simply to buy something that you love and that you think you’re likely to use often. If you have the discretionary income in your budget for luxury goods, then by all means, spend it. But don’t spend it on what a brand is telling you to “invest” in – just buy what you love.

Article via The Big Money

Well, the sales increase isn’t worldwide. Sales fell modestly in Europe and experienced a double-digit decline in luxury-goods-obsessed Japan, but the brand saw increases large enough in non-Japanese Asia to more than make up for decreases elsewhere. The increases were seen mostly in South Korea and China, which many industry watchers regard as somewhat of a Last Frontier of luxury retail.

So what does this tell us? First of all, we should all remember that signs of strength in the global economy probably mean good things for those of us in America. Our economy is incredibly interconnected with those of other nations, particularly China, and we can’t start to make a significant recovery without signs that are trading partners are also ready to move forward economically. Sales increases of luxury goods mean that consumers in other countries feel confident in the direction in which the economy is headed, and maybe a little bit of that consumer confidence will rub off on other markets. Lastly, it’s a good reminder to all businesses that there are still markets out there that are spending money. Finding them may be a challenge, but it can and will be done. So congratulations, Hermes, on a game well played.

Article via Forbes.com