I am also the owner of multiple stams. It’s my favorite MJ style. I’ve owned many variations as well (quilted calf, quilted goat, pleated, soft) and have plans to add more to my collection once the fall bags come out.

Obviously the stam is doing well for MJ. The bag continues to sell out season after season. A perfect example of the demand for this bag: the stam in certain colors sold out this season long before many of the Ltd Ed/Runway bags did released during the same season. That says a lot about the design that it continues to be a best seller above new releases and innovative new styles.

I see the stam as MJ’s “flap bag” or “Motorcycle/Le Dix” or “Speedy” No one complained when the Stella and Venetia were made season after season with NO design change at all, yet people complain about the stam. Why is this?

it’s difficult to have a debate when people are willfully misunderstanding you to validate their own points. even if lv is “chavvy,” so what? that doesn’t make them irrelevant. fine, they’re irrelevant to YOU, but i wasn’t really discussing our personal preferences, was i?

you’re also mistaken if you think i defend him in blind faith. i’ve admitted to disliking his designs before for both lv and his eponymous line. i don’t love everything he does, but i do very much respect him as a designer. it is you who can’t see past your own propensity to dislike pretty much everything he does.

If I commented on every bag I thought was hideous, a waste of money, or boring, I would have no time to focus on the designs I do love and appreciate. I know everyone has(and is entitled to) different opinions and tastes, but what is the point of getting worked up over a designer you so obviously dislike? Is not like you are going to change the minds of those who have already fallen under the spell of the stam or of MJ himself.

Oh, and Illfashion, I’m pretty sure the safety pins are not even remotely “cheap”.

don’t let your personal opinions get in the way of reality. you might not like lv bags, but they are hardly irrelevant. i do not prefer coach, but it would be a foolish thing for me to dismiss them as irrelevant since both lv and coach are the two most active and popular subforums on tpf. that says something whether you like it or not.

stefano pilati is doing the exact same thing with the muse as mj has done with the stam. hardly innovative. the muse II is a fresher design, but the shape is that of an old school briefcase or book bag when it comes down to it, so it’s not really all that original or innovative, but it is beautiful, so i’ll give you that.

merve, that’s quite the statistic you just conjured out of nowhere. once you can set up an actual study where you’re able to measure that, i’ll take you up on that bet. and how you feel about mj is the exact same way i feel about nancy gonzalez. i’ve seen her produce the same boring basic styles in a million different colors. it’s funny how our line of thinking has a common link amongst our very divergent viewpoints.

if you’re constantly looking for new, fresh, original then i don’t see how you aren’t bored to tears already. truly innovative bags are not all that common. almost all “new” styles are a variation of something that’s been done before if not by that particular company then by somebody else.

my point was that however long a label has been in existence should be irrelevant since there exists no set standard measuring how acceptable it is for any company to replicate a design based on the sole factor of longevity. new companies have been doing it with great success, and i don’t believe they’re less innovative for adopting a prudent business model. they’re simply capitalizing on a popular design to ensure their company flourishes long enough to guarantee them the chance to be innovative in the future.

that’s not to say that resting on one’s laurels is ever a good idea, but if you’ve kept abreast on any of mj’s other handbag designs each season, many of which do not resemble the stam in any way, shape, or form, you’d see the man has many fresh ideas left in him still.