Lisa Armstrong is one of our favorite British fashion critics. She’s relentlessly observant, quite funny, and never afraid of calling women out on their bad habits.
Today in the London Times, she has a piece on the death of the status bag.
It’s a little hard to plow through because it pulls many references from British politicians, but the message is clear:
Once a bag is so popular, everyone knows how much it costs, where it comes from, who else carries it, and if it’s fake. This broad knowledge ruins any claims that bag has on your personal style, reverting instead to a symbol of wealth, class, and conformity. That may work in the political realm, but it’s constantly under combat in the style sphere, and now comes the big idea:
Lisa predicts that soon, all status bags will go from tempting to tacky.
Which leaves us with questions like…
What will women carry instead? A wave of unique vintage bags, or a trend of cheaper, mass market totes that start almost as a joke?
How do you feel when you carry your status bag? Has that feeling changed since you got it?
Will some bags, like a Birkin, truly be timeless?
Your turn.
posted by ashleydc
Jun 06, 2007 12:37PM
I guess it depends on what kind of status bag- like the Murakami LVs seem really dated to me, but something like a Birkin is very classic and always chic.
I carry a bright yellow Marc Jacobs Venetia- it gets noticed more for the color than the label and I love it because the shape and style are classical.