Designer handbags cover everything from high-fashion pieces to practical everyday bags, and the range within any single house is wider than most people assume.
Three things determine the value and standing of a designer bag: the product itself, the design, and the designer behind it. Celebrity association drives a great deal of the demand, and that is worth naming rather than pretending otherwise.
A note on prices: the figures below date from the original compilation. Treat them as an indication of where each brand sat relative to the others rather than as current pricing.
Coach
New York-based luxury leather handbags, made in supple leather across a wide range of colors.
The practical distinction with Coach is capacity. The bags are stylish while offering genuine room for what you carry, and they come in a full range of sizes, which is not true of every house here.
Louis Vuitton
Paris-based, and among the most recognized luxury handbag names in the world.
Gucci
An Italian house with a long history in leather goods. Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy were both associated with Gucci bags.
Dooney and Bourke
Known for luxurious design and materials, and widely worn internationally.
Prada
Prada bags are generally described as combining luxury and fashion in a single product, and the range is unusually broad: messenger bags, travel bags, classic handbags, totes, backpacks, leather handbags and small purses.
Most Prada bags fell between $500 and $2,000, with the more expensive models exceeding $10,000.
Kate Spade
One of the more accessible designer lines, and among the most recognizable. The bags read as classic, functional and feminine rather than as status objects.
Pricing at the time
| Line | Price range |
|---|---|
| Fashion collection | $225 to $445 |
| Leather line | $225 to $575 |
| Nylon line | $125 to $335 |
Notable bags
- Chattanooga. Blue with cherry red trim.
- Belle Haven Malva.
- Classic Noel Henry. The conservative option, developed as a simple graphic icon.
- Mercado. Minimalist, and equally suited to work and daytime use.
- Polanco Rudy. Trendier and flashier, with 14-karat white gold plated hardware, made for evenings and weekends.
Burberry
Recognized above all for its check pattern trademark. The Burberry Check was first used in 1924, in the lining of a trench coat, and from 1950 the red, white, black and peach version known as the Nova became the widely recognized form.
Bags carrying the Nova check belong to Burberry’s heritage line.
Fendi
Marked by the inverted double F logo.
- The Crossword Bag, distinguished by a futuristic style.
- The Silvia Venturini clutch.
- The Selleria range, handmade from the finest Roman leather.
- The Spy Bag, a classic high-fashion design in Nappa leather with braided leather trim, lined throughout in Fendi Zucca Brown fabric, which is used on the house’s top-of-the-line items.
Chanel
Stylish, timeless and sophisticated, and identified above all by quilted leather construction, which is effectively the house signature.
- The White Bucket, large and voluminous, and the clearest example of the quilted construction.
- The Reporter, which carries a number of pockets.
Chanel bags work across registers, pairing with classic and contemporary clothes and with both formal and casual outfits, with some designs made specifically for evening wear.
They are also genuinely practical. Interior pouches for a lipstick and mirror mean the bag organizes what it carries rather than simply holding it.
Ralph Lauren
Known internationally for preppy, classic designs, made from the highest quality animal skin. The leather gives the bags a soft, supple texture, and a Ralph Lauren bag is identifiable by perfectly even stitching both inside and out.
Prices ran from around $1,000 to $20,000, with most bags falling between $1,500 and $3,000. Demand is strong enough that even a used bag can resell for hundreds of dollars.
What to look at when buying
Across all of these brands, the same signals separate a well-made bag from a poor one.
- Stitching, even and flat on both the inside and the outside.
- Leather quality, supple rather than stiff or unnaturally shiny.
- Hardware, weighty, properly aligned and operating smoothly.
- Lining, properly fitted and finished.
- Interior organization, which is what makes a bag usable day to day.
Frequently asked questions
Which designer bag is the most accessible?
Kate Spade, whose nylon line started well below the other houses listed here.
What is the Burberry Nova check?
The red, white, black and peach version of the Burberry Check, in use from 1950. Bags carrying it belong to the heritage line.
What identifies a Chanel bag?
Quilted leather construction, which functions as the house signature.
How do I judge a bag’s quality?
Stitching first, then leather, hardware and lining. Even stitching inside and out is the clearest single indicator.
See also our handbags guide and clutch bags.
