Mulberry bags....thoughts please

[JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome]

I have been coveting the Loewe Puzzle bag for some time now but I have decided I simply cannot and never will be able to justify the £2,400 price tag.

I have recently been looking at the Mulberry Billie, in chalk, I know it is not similar but it does look like a really nice bag and it is a third of the price tag and is the size and idea of the kind of bag I want.

I can't put my finger on it though but there is something I am just not sure about with Mulberry....will this last the test of time?

Mulberry Billie Small Classic Grain Leather Cross Body Bag, Chalk at John Lewis & Partners

Save for the puzzle. It's so much nicer.

i had this issue. I had to return it. It was a nice bag for what I needed it for but I felt I settled and at almost £1000 I couldn’t justify keeping a bag that I couldn’t use as the clasp kept coming undone.

Don’t do it op!

I think the styling is a bit “smart church bag of late 80s/early 90s” - which is cute in a vintage/timeless way, but isn’t exciting. And you want a puzzle. As this won’t be your “lusted for” bag, it’s a lot of money for something that’s not what you really want. Get something that is either a lot cheaper, or makes your heart sing.

When I feel the need for a bag I’ve started looking at Stathberry. I think beautiful bags for the price. My sister has the puzzle and it’s gorgeous.

iPhones are made in China…
It’s pretty dubious to write off any product made there.

I love wandering MN where I can enter a realm where people spend my monthly income on a bag.
I spend an inordinate amount of my income on holidays so not a moan at all. I just don't understand some people's love of bags beyond does it carry my stuff.
In my completely pointless opinion the mulberry looks nothing like the puzzle. It is still really expensive and not what you want so silly to get.
The puzzle is nice except for the stupid bit where it looks squashed in the middle.

Wait it out OP.

I really want a YSL crossbody bag, completely out of my every day price range, but I've just started squirrelling away to start saving.
It will take a while, but it'll feel even more special when I get it.
My partner offered to buy me a bag which is a couple of hundred pound, but I declined as I don't actually need a bag - my £40 does the job just fine.
I'm saving for the YSL as I see it as a timeless classic, something I can give my children when they are older.

I spend an inordinate amount of my income on holidays so not a moan at all. I just don't understand some people's love of bags beyond does it carry my stuff

There is no logic to it, I’ve spent 10k on my three favourite bags and I literally love them. It’s like having DC, it doesn’t matter how many you have your love expands for them all.

I guess it like expensive watches or business class seats on a flight, you know they aren’t actually good value for money for most people but for the purchaser they obviously are worth the cost.

Thanks OP. I now want a two grand hand bag.

Completely agree that Mulberry killed their reputation when they moved manufacturing abroad so it’s great to hear some has returned to the UK! I’ve got two UK made mulberry bags which are fantastic quality, they are well used and aging beautifully. I’ve got one offshore made Mulberry and the quality is crap, it’s scratches really easily, the handles are cracking and peeling and the hardware is discoloured.
I’d also love a Puzzle but keep having to spend money on boring house renovations 🤣

Quite - there are lots of luxury goods made internationally, many in China; so it's clear discerning buyers are able to look beyond the bygone stereotype (and it's unpleasant/prejudiced undertone)...

The notion that Mulberry destroyed their reputation isn't remotely reflected in their retail sales.

I've had several Mulberry bags, some of them have proven to be impractical, and I've learned from a couple of expensive mistakes! They have however ALL met expectations in terms of being luxury quality. Their quality control standards are incredibly exacting, so if any of their products weren't meeting my expectation I wouldn't hesitate to send it to them for a quality control inspection.

Brandalley have an awfully good Mulberry sale on right now… Some very good bargains to be found.

That I'm afraid confirms the impression that the Mulberry brand is ruined by poor decisions in the past. They should have stuck with the good quality heavy leather and superb craftsmanship of their roots.

If I'd paid over £1100 for a "little softie" bag I would be very unhappy to find it there reduced to £250.

I can't imagine finding Loewe on there.

Mulberry DOES still make luxury leather bags. They're STILL (and deservedly so!) renowned for the quality of their leather bags (and they diversified/added to their icons because they would've probably, in the market they're in, gone out of the game otherwise).

Its unlikely you'll find Loewe on brandalley because they aren't anywhere near as big a name. You WILL however find other international brands such as Gucci, YSL, Chanel on brandalley (by your industry expert logic, these brands are all 'ruined' too!). 😂

Apologies if I touched a nerve. I'm afraid any brand that can be obtained at a fraction of its original price isn't in my personal definition of "luxury".

When Mulberry can be obtained at the price of the mass market Radley, it no longer falls into "luxury".

No you never touched a nerve, I simply replied to you because you were talking nonsense 🤷‍♀️
An item can be considered luxury dependent on its manufacture, and its a canny shopper that can get a luxury item at less than its RRP; I love getting a well made piece at a bargain price!
There's a few on this chat looking down their nose at Mulberry for no other reason, that I can see, than to make themselves look somehow 'in the know'. And all I'm saying/pointing out is that you're not remotely in the know when you're asserting that Mulberry isn't a respected and incredibly successful brand.

It"s too English imo, and not in a good way. I use rimmel and loved jo malone, so as a european more than an irish person rightvnow im tellingvyou mulberry has an image problem. It's too primary school teachers, vicars wives, too ordinary.

Im not trying to be "in the know". But not paying 800 pounds for a bag with an image problem.

It's just not a brand that attracts me. It's a brand that makes me feel cooler without acquiring its product 😅. I love Dune which is English and a quarter the price. I also love russell and Bromley! But mulberry, no thanks. A bag is more than just what you put your keys and your phone in.

I aspired to own a loewe bag. Their branding worked on me. If you think that makes me a muppet, so be it but I still don't want a vicar's wife's handbag.

"*sincere apologies to vicars wives.

Having said all that, the m zip is a lot less frumpy than the average mulberry bag. It's nice

@ChanelNo19EDT, primary school teachers and vicars' wives can afford £800 handbags, can they?

I guess that a couple of miles from the UK headquarters and having friends who work there doesn't count then?

The Gold Label section on the TK Maxx website had an oxblood Mulberry wallet and a Black Mulberry Darley this morning.

The Darley was £499.99 so a bargain in such a useful colour - just checked back now and it seems to have sold. But worth keeping your eye out every few days, just FYI - you can’t search for most of the high end brands on the website - you have to find them organically by browsing the gold label section - but you can filter by “handbags” once you’re in the gold label section.

I have a Mulberry Willow which I barely use as it’s so big and heavy, and also the Cara backpack which I use all the time, always looks amazing and is timeless. They’re both quite old, discontinued models, but I loved the design so employed some watchful waiting until decent condition items in my chosen colours popped up for sale.

I tend to buy pre-loved but A+ condition. I got both of them from Naughti Pidgins Nest for under £500 each.

You sound like someone who is probably currently courting an Hermes shop girl and buying loads of shit she doesn’t want or need, in the hopes you’ll one day be considered worthy of giving them £10,000 of your money.

@KirstenBlest quite possibly if that's what they save up for/ask for. Don't forget, they can work, they don't have rent or mortgage. But you're being obtuse, any profession could say they could / could not afford a chanel bag / river island bag. The Point I was making is that the brand has an image problem.

Saying something is too 'vicar's wife' or 'primary school teacher' , just makes you sound horribly snobbish. Do you think that stylish women are never teachers? Or married to men with a vocation? Buying a specific brand of bag for any reason other than because you love it, is madness. No one is going to think you are richer than you are, or have superior taste or anything else, based solely on whether you carry Mulberry or Loewe.