Would you pay $39,000 for a backpack?
That’s what Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are charging for their black alligator backpack.
The backpack, which made Anderson Cooper’s CNN RidicuList last week, was one of the first pieces to sell out in their designer label The Row.
And despite its hefty price tag, the $39,000 alligator backpack had no problem flying off shelves.
“It was the first thing that sold off the shelf,” Ashley Olsen said to Women’s Wear Daily at the Paris launch of their new handbag collection last month. “During our last economic crisis in the U.S., the only thing that went up was Hermes.”
Even Barney’s Fashion Director Amanda Brooks said the luxe backpack lives up to its hype.
“If you were ever going to spend $39,000 on a bag, that’s the bag you should buy,” she told Fashionista this summer. “There’s enough design to make it interesting and beautiful but they truly are classic bags– and I think you also might be the only one who has it.”
As fashionably fabulous collegiettes™, we have to budget our back-to-school splurges and to be quite honest, The Row’s $39,000 backpack just doesn’t make the cut (unless you plan on eating ramen for the rest of your life).
Why does this backpack cost so much? By briefly online shopping, I found some similar alternatives in the way of alligator handbags and purses, many of them being designer labels, that are just as sleek and come with a less hefty price tag.
- Vanessa Moore Pewter Handbag, $360 – stefanibags.com.
- Black Alligator Clutch Bag, $8,900 – barneys.com.
- Limited Edition Mini Alligator Lockit Handbag Louis Vuitton, $2,355.00 – bagborroworsteal.com
- Steve Madden “Candy Coated” Croc Embossed Tote, $98.00 – nordstrom.com
- Bueno Croc Travel Bag – Black, $34.99 – target.com.
- Gucci Alligator Bamboo Handle Large Peggy Bag Black, $8,250 – fashionphile.com
Sure, some of these are still expensive, but it goes to show how much worldwide brand names charge for similiar alligator-based accessories in comparison to the Olsen twins’ overly-publicized backpack.
Considering that $39,000 is about as much I pay for two semesters of tuition at my university, I highly doubt I’m ever going to buy this backpack. In the fashionista’s never-ending debate of splurge versus save, this is probably one purchase I’m going to save on. I’ll happily take the Target version.
What do you collegiettes™ think? Would you buy a $39,000 backpack granted you could afford one?