- Are you getting your money’s worth when you buy a designer bag that costs thousands?
Am sharing a recent “discovery” about Dior’s latest bag, the Dior Bobby. To many, this may not make much of a difference, but to some, it just might.
Dior, on their website, states that the Bobby was “designed by Maria Grazia Churi.” On another page, it also states that the bag was named after Christian Dior’s beloved pet. “The Dior Bobby bag is Maria Grazia Chiuri’s celebration of the notion of loyalty. The bag will be a loyal companion to the modern woman thanks to its enduring style and craftsmanship.”
Dior’s Creative Director launched the bag for the brand in Fall 2020. Thing is, that style has been around since the early-mid 1900s. Waaaay before Dior’s Churi called it Bobby.
Here are more details about the bag: this is actually a traditional English “shooting” bag used for hunts. And it’s called a “Cartridge Bag”. As the name implies, the bag is meant to store gun cartridges. It’s a style still being produced today by hunting gear brands.
For reference, I put together a photo of the Dior Bobby (Fall 2020) with an antique vachetta leather Cartridge Bag (brand unknown), dated between the 40s to the 50s and in excellent condition. Dior’s “design” right down to the bag’s interior, looks strikingly similar to the antique Cartridge Bag.
The Cartridge Bags available today remain the same in style and have not deviated much from the designs of the 50s. These bags are made by many outdoor gear brands like Barbour, Croots, and Jack Pyke (there are more but I used these brands as examples).
I also want to point out that the one by Jack Pyke looks very well made, especially for the price (below $150). These Cartridge bags are made to last. They are made to handle rough use and wear, especially since they’re specifically made to carry heavy bullets!
The prices they command are more than reasonable.
Meanwhile, the Dior Bobby in medium will set you back by $3,800.
The only things Maria Grazia Churi of Dior “changed” in the style for the Bobby were to convert the original belted opening into a snap button one, to add a small interior pocket, and to fasten the Dior logo.
Dior can’t really claim proprietary rights over a style like this because this came from an open source. Design appropriations are not unheard of in the business of fashion, but giving credit where it’s due is a noble act. After all, nothing is “entirely new” these days, especially in fashion.
I share this because I feel we, as bag lovers and luxury consumers, deserve to know independent information like this, and not solely on the information that brands feed us through their big-budget marketing campaigns. Too often, their marketing campaigns end up sucking us into the vortex of consumerism. There is nothing wrong about that (especially if money is no object), but when you overpay for something because you don’t know better, it’s high time you arm yourself with more information. If you plan on spending big money on a designer bag, at least spend it on something well-worth its price.
Details like this can help us all make better choices when purchasing bags (or other expensive merchandise for that matter) with our hard-earned money.
We deserve it.
Hope this information helps some of you in deciding whether or not to purchase this bag, that’s if you were thinking about it!
-TheBagHag