woes of the wealthy

Chanel Bags Reach New Levels of Expensive

Photo: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images

Everyone’s always complaining about the rising price of gas or milk or bananas but, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, we should really be concerned with the rising price of luxury goods.

Due external factors like an overall slowdown in luxury spending and competition from affordable-ish luxury brands like Tory Burch and Michael Kors, high-end designers need to assert an even “higher end” with price increases. For example, the classic quilted Chanel bag has increased in price 70 percent in the past five years and is now $4,900; Jimmy Choos have gone from $495 to a whopping $650. But instead of a price increase adding to the “allure” of an exclusive brand, shoppers are literally just not buying it anymore.

As a result, companies like LVMH are taking financial hits, but consumers are really the ones who suffer the most. A Mill Valley, California, woman tells the WSJ. that she will only be able to purchase three pairs of Jimmy Choos this year, as opposed to her usual four or five. When will the madness end?

Chanel Bags Reach New Levels of Expensive