Anonymous wrote:Which French brands are a much better value to buy in France vs the U.S.? Thanks!

If you don’t even know the brands to consider, why in the world would what brand of bag even matter to you? Why not just keep with your inexpensive Macy’s purchase bag?

Second Delvaux.

Delvaux or Moynat, Moynat especially because you cannot buy them online and they don’t have a lot of stores.
At a lower price point, Poline.

Are we talking something like Polene, Mansur Gavriel, Demellier, or super high end like Chanel, YSL, Dior, etc.???

Google “luxury brands cheaper in Europe” and consider the VAT. Some “luxury” brands (like Chloe) go on sale a lot, like 40% off, so if your main consideration is price, shop those online and not in store.

Go to Polene!

Hermes. They are privately owned and still use old school handcrafted techniques and quality materials.

Hermes Picotin.

Just go to thr Galleries Lafayette and shop the brands there. Especially if you don't know what you want.
https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/corner-ferragamo/

Anonymous wrote:I think you can buy designer bag anywhere, buying a good locally made bag would be nice. I was in Florence 3 weeks back and bought a beautiful leather work bag, it was not cheap at $740.00 dollars but quality is so much better than all the designer bags I own.

This. So many designer bags are crap quality now. I went to buy a YSL and read bad review after another.

Chloe and Ferragamo are likely better bets for quality.

I think you can buy designer bag anywhere, buying a good locally made bag would be nice. I was in Florence 3 weeks back and bought a beautiful leather work bag, it was not cheap at $740.00 dollars but quality is so much better than all the designer bags I own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend who went in with a plan looked for secondhand designer items. I think she was focused on Chanel (to be honest, I can't remember) and found a reputable place that was selling the bags at a discount. It was still WAY more money than I'd spend because this isn't my thing. But think $2k vice $5k.

Those bags were fake. You’d never get a Chanel, even secondhand unless it’s from 1980, for that big of a discount.

I went pre-loved hunting in Paris over the winter holiday and you could get an excellent channel flap bag for $2k from the early 80s, Karl Lagerfeld era. The leather was better quality, the plating on the hardware was thicker,it was actually made in France. If it is very good quality I'd pick an 80s channel over a new one now

Anonymous wrote:What's "r/o"?

Reverse osmosis

Chanel is usually cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend who went in with a plan looked for secondhand designer items. I think she was focused on Chanel (to be honest, I can't remember) and found a reputable place that was selling the bags at a discount. It was still WAY more money than I'd spend because this isn't my thing. But think $2k vice $5k.

Those bags were fake. You’d never get a Chanel, even secondhand unless it’s from 1980, for that big of a discount.

+1.