[pacific breeze]

I think Prada is the most ugly, overpriced anti-fashion line out there, and proves your point perfectly. That said, I'm a sucker for high-quality purses, but I don't buy anything that isn't leather either unless it's a beach bag or a grocery tote.

Originally Posted by thrpschr

^I like truffles too... but Louis Vuitton bags are butt ugly, and the quality is just a bad excuse. I'm sure they will take a lot of abuse and last for many years, but so does my hard plastic Samsonite beauty box, as well as any high-quality leather bag, for a fraction of the price; and both will look a hell of a lot better, too. I agree with Chilly Willy; the price is the only thing that makes these bags even remotely attractive, and they are grossly overpriced.

A friend of a friend of mine had rather a funny theory about this; that there's a kind of ugly/expensive ratio that determines how upper crust some things are - the uglier and the more expensive, the more upper-classy it is. He wrote a hugely entertaining blog post about it, compared a few styles and items and arrived at the conclusion that the quilted Barbour coat is the penultimate upper-class attribute; there are more expensive garments, sure, but it's so frightfully frumpy (while still being practical, comfortable and durable) that only very rich and/or titled old ladies can pull them off. The Queen of England wears them, of course.