For Emma Edwards, buying her first-ever designer handbag was a pivotal moment. She hadn’t grown up around luxury items, and for as long as she could remember, she’d scouted for dupes of her favourite bags while on holiday. “I’d always been that girl who wanted a designer bag but couldn’t have one because, obviously, they were far too expensive. My friend went to Dubai once and back home my friends and I were like vultures trying to get her to bring us back a fake Gucci Soho Disco bag,” she tells me.
Years later, when she was 29, she made the most money she’d ever made from a freelance job. She knew it was her chance to finally invest in a designer bag, so she bought a Prada handbag for $2,200. “I did everything ‘right’: I bought a classic style that wouldn’t date fast, I’d thought about it for about 18 months and I knew it had multiple uses,” Emma says.
A financial educator and the founder of The Broke Generation, a resource that empowers young people to take control of their finances, Emma grew up in a small town where people were generally lower middle class or working class. She tells me people “tried to look like they were doing well as a flex”, and fake designer and brand name items were commonplace. These counterfeit designer bags were more than just bags though: with their instantly identifiable logos and designs and their authenticity difficult to disprove, they were a signal to other people in Emma’s town that you were doing well in life.
The sway designer handbags hold over us — as a status symbol, a personal financial milestone, a way to keep up with the Joneses — is remarkable. In 2025, the American luxury handbag market is projected to generate a revenue of $21 billion, and in Australia, the market is expected to reach roughly $900 million this year. Increasingly, women are being told that designer handbags are a savvy financial investment, encouraging more of us than ever before to splash out on excessively expensive arm candy. But are they really a smart place to spend your money, and if so, which bags give you the most bang for your buck?
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What to consider before you buy a designer handbag
When I put this question to Emma, she tells me it depends on a variety of factors. “In the most literal sense of the word ‘investment’, it’s true that some designer bags not only hold their value but appreciate over time. Broadly speaking this depends on the rarity of the bag, whether it’s a ‘classic’ that’s always in demand, or if it’s some kind of special edition or has some unique meaning or context associated with it,” she explains. So, while some luxury designer handbags can act as an investment — meaning you could sell them at a higher price down the track or they could retain their value despite years of use — it’s not always so straightforward.
Emma says an important consideration for prospective buyers is how they’ll actually sell it if they plan on making some (or all) of their money back. “The counterfeit market makes it incredibly difficult to sell designer or luxury products through usual peer-topeer methods like Facebook Marketplace. Consignment stores will usually take a substantial cut of something like 30 per cent, which can threaten the profit you stand to make.”
Georgia Gordon , the owner of secondhand designer store Guzzi Archive, believes buying designer handbags brand new just isn’t worth the financial investment. “In recent years, I believe a lot of designer labels have moved to more affordable manufacturers who are not creating things with the same care and craft that they once did. Whenever I see these bags up close, like Bottega and Dior, I’m always so disappointed in the quality, not to mention the extreme price points,” she says.
Purchasing designer bags secondhand comes with an array of benefits: they’re more affordable, likely much better quality, you can find rare styles that may increase in value over time, and you’re partaking in the circular fashion economy by buying an item that already exists. “At the end of the day, buying vintage designer is still going to be cheaper than buying these brands new, so I always think that the investment is worth it,” says Georgia.
What are the best luxury bags to invest in?
If you’re certain you want to purchase a designer handbag, and you’d like it to be as worthwhile an investment as possible, Georgia suggests purchasing a bag in either leather, suede or a dark colour. “Anything else is probably a trend-driven fabric (like nylon/ perspex) and not worth the investment. I’d also advise being careful with handles as they can be the part of the bag to age the quickest. I notice this a lot when dealing with vintage bags like Balenciaga City bags or Louis Vuitton Keepalls,” she tells me.
She says she’s a “big fan” of Louis Vuitton, explaining that the brand’s bags typically stand the test of time very well. “I haven’t had a look at Louis Vuitton recently but if I was to purchase a luxury handbag new from the store, I reckon I’d go there. I went to an exhibition once where we met the Louis Vuitton artisans crafting the bags and it was fascinating.” Echoing Georgia, Emma also recommends investing in Louis Vuitton, as well as other classic designer brands like Chanel and Hermès. “They may carry a higher chance of value appreciation over time, but again, it depends on the style, brand and availability,” she says.
If you want a bag to last long term, or if your goal is to one day resell, Emma recommends paying close attention to the bag’s construction, craftsmanship and materials to get a feel for how it might age. Similarly to Georgia, she suggests going down the secondhand route, even if only to browse pre-loved designer websites and stores to get a feel for what brands and styles are reselling well. In terms of durability, Georgia has found that Chloé (particularly styles from Phoebe Philo’s or Stella McCartney’s era), Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford-era YSL bags stand the test of time. Before you take the plunge though, it’s important to ask yourself why you want a designer bag. Is it a genuine, long-term desire of yours, or have you been swept up in a passing trend? Are you spending that $5,000 to fit in or impress people around you? If so, it might be best to hold fire.
While Emma doesn’t regret her Prada bag purchase, she doesn’t have any inclination to buy more designer bags. “I’m 33 now, and in all honesty, I do feel like I’ve slightly moved on from wanting designer stuff. Since taking control of my own finances, I’ve found I want those luxury items less because it feels like an artefact of my former self. I know that sounds really dramatic and that’s definitely not the case for everyone, but for me, wanting designer bags was coming from that part of me that knew I couldn’t afford one. Once I actually could get one, I realised I didn’t need them anymore.”
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This article originally appeared in Issue 05 of Cosmopolitan Australia.
