would you pay £500 for a Mulberry bag and if so, tell me why...

[purplepeony]

tempted, tempted, but cannot justify the price really. The cost of a weekend break somewhere or my car insurance!

Seem very £££ compared to say Longchamp, Osprey etc etc.

Convince me it's worth it?

Yes I have - well a bit less 'cos got it at Heathrow. Also I don't live in the UK and for a designer handbag Mulberry is actually quite reasonable.

The majority of styles are still made in England, the quality of workmanship and leather used is excellent and if you pick a 'classic' style it should last a few years. Also you can send them back to be repaired etc.

so if i was to take leave of my senses,which of these would you go for?

www.mulberry.com/?gclid=CILk7pPyt6ACFVcB4wodrQrHTg#/storefront/c5482/3809/category/

www.mulberry.com/?gclid=CILk7pPyt6ACFVcB4wodrQrHTg#/storefront/c5482/1882/category/

no I wouldn't

its not worth it IMO

you can get a classic style in good leather which can be repaired for nearer #100

the alternative doesn't have to be a #12 sparkly bag from primark

No. I can never bring myself to justify those sort of prices. I do like good handbags and buy them but not that sort of money. I get bored with stuff anyway would feel I couldn't buy another bag for years if I spent that.

I have no idea why anyone would pay £500 for a bag. I find it mystifying and fascinating in a carcrash sort of way. I suppose it is a triumph of the marketing and PR of the fashion world - all very Emperor's New Clothes.

I really don't mind that people do pay £500, and tbh we could probably afford for me to have a £500 of I wanted one so it's not that I'm chippy or jealous, I just really don't understand why anyone would.

I would be able to hear the chortling of the geniuses who convinced me to part with £500 for a bag every time I slung it over my shoulder.

People who are very rich, need these sort of 500 pound bags, so that they can buy them with their small change, and carry on being different from the rest of us with our 100 pound bags.

The 500 pound bag fills a gap in the market.

keep it coming..you are convincing me more and more, not to!

@ Riven. Much, much more useful too. Riven, go over to the chicken thread and tell me about your chicken aspirations.

Mulberry bags are (1) not very special (2) extremely heavy. Watch it - a large leather bag quickly puts a lot of strain on your shoulder and can give you terrible back ache. Remember that the stars you see carrying such bags and lending them an aura of glamour have chauffeurs and minions to carry them around!

Buy something light if you have a normal life! Preferably something that you carry across your body, too, to distribute the weight evenly.

Lol, Riven! The mental leap from a £500 Mulberry bag to an eglu and chickens.

You can buy the exact same bag in China for £40. You would not be able to tell the difference; same workmanship, same materials. Difference is that you buy that one in a little shop on an industrial estate somewhere and it didnt come out of the Mulberry factory.

So, before you part with your cash, ask yourself what exactly are you paying for.

The only Mulberry bags I like are the plainer Bayswaters and the Alexa satchel. I don't like the others at all.

And yes, I'd worry about them being heavy, too.

I love the Mitzy hobo

they have a ruby bayswater which i have my eye on

I have a somerset tote - i love it and the leather wears beautifully

i bought it as i had a small (unexpected) windfall and i wanted to treat myself

I have the east west bayswater in chocolate - was christmas present from DH.

It is lovely - not too heavy at all and goes with pretty much everything.

I like nice handbags and have a reasonable collection.

So if you can afford it why not?

I have a bayswater.

Dh gave it to me for christmas. I really like it. It isn't too big. It isn't show offy like the wag bags. It is well made and will last me for years and it holds all my stuff.

I also quite like knowing that it is made by highly paid craftsmen who are well paid and well treated in a UK factory rather than knocked up by some ten year old in Taiwan who is paid three quid a week.

So. Whilst some would like me to feel guilty and vacuous I wonder if they would prefer that I didn't buy so that those skilled craftsmen could join the current spate of redundancies?

totally agree about them being heavy.

Riven- you can't carry your make up in an eglo or even a chicken!

Bonsoir- are over the body bags in fashion? Many are not very big. I find the older I get the bigger the bag I need- make up, purse, keys, phone, bottle water, umbrella, glasses, sunglasses......

I have a great over the body bag from the Marni AW0910 winter collection in very soft washed leather - it is light as a feather when empty and carries a lot of stuff! Heaven!

I am now wondering about the possibility of highly paid craftsmen who are not well paid

Sorry. Too much bucks fizz.

I would - I have a chloe bag.

Bags like this are works of art - they feel and smell beautiful.... Sigh. Definitely worth it - they last a lifetime.

had never heard of Marni but now that I have had a look Bonsoir I see they are nice but more than Mulberry - Mainly £600-£800!

Mulberry bags aren't all heavy - check out the different leathers - a lot are in goatskin. The NVT is the heavy leather. Also Mulberry do across the body bags too. I have a bayswater for when I am in the car and I can chuck loads in and a messenger for day-trips etc.

I have a shocking bag habit, mainly Louis Vuitton but a Chloe and a Loewe too.

My oldest bag is 15 years old (LV Epi leather Drawstring) it still looks brand new and it was dragged to work with me then used a nappy bag. All my bags still look fantastic, they have turned out to be a bit of an investment as some were very limited editions.

So, in answer to your question, I probably would.