TRAVELOG: Barneys and Bloomingdales and the big Question!

Here’s the spillover from the Barneys report. (Sorry the earlier post was kinda half- baked!)

Lanvin bags consisted of the Kentucky and the Kansas styles, updated from last season.(No, that’s not me in that photo hehe.. it was a sales associate who approached me ‘coz I was schlepping the other Lanvin bag below hehe)

The culprit: The Lanvin bag that I fell in love with. The problem was the price. It was US$3,000+ and it’s a shopper style in cream patent with black lacquer handles. It’s really beautiful. I don’t know why I was so drawn to it. No, I didn’t buy it because I really could not afford a $3,000 bag. *sob* (I know I’ll regret not buying it, but I’m better off without this than having serious debt to worry about… anyway it’s just a bag *bawl bawl*)

Henry Beguelin bags also have a strong presence in this store. I liked the puzzle bag but when I saw it up close I found the bag a little too “raw” for my taste. It was unlined. But hey, some peeps would appreciate this. I’m just not one of them, unfortunately.

The basement of Barneys, called the Chelsea Passage, had bags from Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs, along with other home accessories– I also espied shagreen boxes made in the Philippines! *I was so proud to see that there!*

Now let’s head over to Bloomingdales, which is just a street away from Barneys. Market Street is what separates these 2 stores. Bloomingdales is already part of Westfield Mall, along with Nordstrom (and this place was once called San Francisco Centre).

I got right down to bag business when I got to Bloomies. I did a once-over with the jewelry department (but nothing, I mean NOTHING comes close to Barneys‘ jewelry section).

Fendi Spy in dark denim. Priced at US$1940, but “supposedly” less 50%. I wonder if I read that right. That Fendi Spy in dark denim is 50% off… which brings the price down to US$970 (about Php 46k). Of course I never bothered to ask any sales associate coz I am not really in the market for a Spy bag. But hmm not a bad deal!

Zagliani eggshell white tote. Isn’t this a pretty bag? Priced at US$1150, it has ruching with hints of the diamond quilt pattern. I quite like it actually. The price isn’t half bad, but of course us baghags have been so used to hearing brands like Prada, Marc Jacobs, that we go “Zagliani who?” But this is a pretty bag. I’m kinda attracted to it *sniff… maybe it’s cause the color reminded me of that Lanvin tote that I love… 🙁 *

MCM doctor’s bag. At US$595, you get a Speedy type MCM bag with handpainted stripes and a lion logo. It’s like marrying Goyard with Vuitton *hehe I betcha that’s what inspired them to make this bag!*. Actually, the style is reminiscent of the “groom” line of Vuitton, although Vuitton never made any “Groom” bags. For the hags who’ve never heard of this brand, Cindy Crawford (umm yes, supermodel Cindy Crawford hehe.. in case some of you don’t know who she is coz she’s ahead of your time hehe :D* was once MCM’s brand ambassador. I guess this brand was very “hot” during our parents’ time 🙂 *hehe*

This Via Republica black leather satchel reminds me too much of Prada especially with that little frame tag! Priced at US$595.

Tory Burch leopard print clutch at US$350. Wanna play matchy matchy ? 🙂 This clutch can be paired with the reva leopard print flats :).

Coach bags. Ok, so I’m not really a huge fan of Coach. The leather bags aren’t bad, but the fabric ones are sooo not something I’d carry. The bags look too busy. It’s funny because I read the September issue of Fortune Magazine where there was this article about the business of luxury, written by Eugenia Levenson. In it, were very, very interesting quotes which I’d like to reprint here:

“Peter Marino, who designs these costly Vuitton stores, argues that the whole point of luxury is that it isn’t accessible to everyone. ‘Coach has nothing to do with luxury. It could be selling iron ores, but it just happens to sell handbags. This is not about girls in China with a sewing machine, but about workmanship, exclusivity, and the sheer gloriousness of the materials.'” Ok. that was “ouch” to Coach. In response, this was what Coach CEO Frankfort had to say, ” When did they last speak to consumers? Luxury has been democratized.”

I just found the banter extremely interesting. It gives us two different perspectives of what Luxury really is all about these days. This is also another perfect example– when Bloomingdales opened, they really wanted to lure consumers in by giving away freebies like umbrellas and Bloomingdales bags. But when Barneys opened, they did not give away anything to lure people into the store. All they offered was for you to open a Barneys account. No coaxing too. So, is luxury democratized, or is it still “exclusive”? Barneys or Bloomies? Coach or Louis Vuitton (let’s up the ante– Louis Vuitton or Goyard)? Mass or Class? You decide.

Meanwhile from my point of view (as a consumer haha), my bottom line is this– I want loads and loads of eye candy, I want to taste and even to bask in laps of luxury, but I don’t wanna hafta fork over my life savings for it 🙂 Makes sense?

P.S. Check out the Gelato section of Bloomingdales’ food court!!

x
Mrs.T