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?

I'm glad the handbag obsession is losing momentum.

I've spent 2k on a classic Chanel handbag (I was drunk and had won lots of money in Vegas and well, lets just say the casinos know how to get that money off you by placing strategic Chanel boutiques on the floor....)

Is it worth it? Amortised over the number of times I've used it, it's not too bad. But now I have a baby and different priorities I wouldn't repeat the purchase

I've also bought a 500 quid Bottega bag in the sale. Gorgeous, dove grey buttery leather but just not up to the job and the leather is nowhere near hardwearing enough for my liking.

I have bought a few bags from eBay - generally L&M Davidson (who I prefer to Mulberry), a Marni one and a Tod's one.

I don't know, I quite like Mulberry but I don't love it. I liked the Mitzy one and was going to get it, but it doesn't secure except with a popper thing and I like to be able to zip it up. Also the leather wasn't hard wearing enough. I don't like the patent/gold trim path they've gone down.

I was very underwhelmed by the Alexa. Too small, and looked cheap to me.

I actually like the old-style congo bags. Resolutely old fashioned but stylish in a way the new incarnation of Mulberry isn't.

Today I have a 15 quid Robert Clergerie shopper I got off eBay. And a Carrefour plastic bag...Oooh the glamour!

Yes it will probably last forever, but my guess is that if you are the sort of person who would shell out £500 for a handbag you only want it to last until the next gorgeous handbag comes into your radar. On the other hand, if you really really love it and you think you will use it every day it works out at about £10 per week - less than £2 per day if you keep it for a year so probably better value for money than a £100 dress that you only wear a handful of times.

I just find Mulberry rather school-satchel like.

I have a purse (from Ebay) and it's OK. But it doesn't thrill me, that pimply leather. It just reminds me of school

i have a weakness for handbags and am not bothered by the label/make i buy becasue i like them and can afford them.
i have a mulberry black congo bayswtaer that xh brought me probably about 10 years ago and still looks as good as new depsite bing used laods and slung in the bottom of my wardrobe when not in use, also an oak roxanne that has got better with age.
i just brought a black daria hobo which is fabulous, tonnes of room, good sized strap and fits easily on my shoulder with a bulky coat on. i brought the mitzy too, but the strap is a bit shorter and more of one to hold a la barbie!!!
I also have some lovely bags from m&s that were a fraction of the price and still loveyl leather smell.
my favouritte thoughismy marc jacobs stella tote. gorgoeus soft leather, colour, size.
i'd buy one if you really want one.
someone recommended a replica bag site beubags.co.uki think they look reeally good, but i ahve yet to order as no internet at home andstill not sure i can buy one

I was shocked over the weekend to find someone paid £30,000 for a bag, cheap as it was second hand... otherwise it would have been £50,000. Waiting list, several years... blah blah blah

There is a parallel universe out there, I'm sure of that...

I have spent considerably more than £500 on bags. They are classic and look & feel exactly like they did 10+ years ago. In terms of quality, there is just no comparison with cheap bags.

I would recommend LV rather than Mulberry, though.

Riven - if you buy a classic style, it's fine . in a 'proper' colour as well, say cream brown or black, not purple or blue as these fashions change quicker.

I don't use mine much ATM, but still smell it

Smelling bags IS weird

I confess to a quick sniff now and then...

i love mulberry
I have more mulberry handbags than there are days in the week

Yes but do you smell them champagnesupernova?

I wouldn't buy Mulberry, but that's just because I don't love them. They are nice, but don't get my heart beating faster. However, if you love a bag and can afford it, then I would recommend you get it, regardless of whether its £50 or £500.

I have tried sniffing my bag but I am not gettingthe whole bag sniffing things.

But I stroke my Louboutins so who am I to question bag sniffing.

i could never love a bag enough to justify (to myself) spending £500 on it, so i definately won't be able to "convince you" that it's "worth it"

BUT.. if you really want it and you can afford it then please feel free to treat yourself

I have a Mulberry Annie. I fell for the hype and fell in love with the bag. I told DH there was nothing else I wanted for Xmas and he bought it for me about 2 years ago. It cost £599.

I do love it and it makes me feel special when I take it out, but it also makes me feel guilty. It cost more than a bag should cost and some people don't have that to live on a month...

It's also heavy, difficult to put over my shoulder and not very practical.

So all in all it's not something I'd recommend...

buy it, you know you want to really. i bought a prada brown leather in rome 2 years ago 1000 euro(blush)

i love it, it makes me happy when i am low, i will prob never spend that sort of money on a bag again. a weekend away is just that. a bag is for life. could not see the one you have in mind but get a classic.

hope to give mine to dd, bless her its prob all she will inherite

I read this thread as 'would you pay £500 for a Mulberry bush' and thought you were getting ripped off at your local garden centre

But no sorry, my handbags become repositories for crap and children's toys and when DH bought me an upmarket bag two years ago I refused to use it for ages as it made me look like a grown up (yes I know I am a grown up, but that doesn't mean I need a middle aged lady bag ).

danmae re passing it on to your DD, that's what I tell myself about the eyewateringly expensive Chanel bag I bought!

Yes get it, but, only if it is going to make you feel special and warm inside every time you use it ie. every day for at least 2-3 years and you are not going to look at another hand bag within that time. Then it is worth the money, if not then don't bother.

I do have a Mulberry bag, but got it for half price at Bicester Outlet village.

Normally, I wouldn't pay £500 for one, but my mum pays full price and has a range of style and colours - she can afford it, all her friends have them and she wants to fit in.

whomoved

But a mulberry bush would be a good buy. It looks pretty and is a great form of excercise what with all that circling it requires.. Well, on cold and frosty mornings anyway.
Who would need a wii?

I say get the bag if you can afford it and you love it. I adore Mulberry, I currently have 6 Mulberry bags. I love each one and they each serve a different purpose. I am careful only to buy styles that I know I will use heavily. I don't like them to sit around in dustbags. A beautiful bag can vastly improve even the most ordinary outfit. My latest purchase was a Mulberry Alexa and matching purse. I have been stopped in the street by teenagers who want to admire it, lol. It really is a very funky bag, putting it on makes me smile

And yes, I do like sniffing my bags! Alexa smells divine!

This thread reminds me of a case study we read at MBA:

Toyota is doing market research for a new sports car, asking Porsche buyers what they like most about their car. "Its smell" comes up as one of the most popular answers, surprising Toyota people. They go out and find the exact leather used in Porsche cars. MX5 Miata becomes one of their most successful models.