Early Origins Of The Prada Brand

The world famous Prada brand originated in 1913 with a leather goods company created in Italy by Mario Prada. The company originally sold high quality leather goods: shoes, handbags, and luggage. Although Prada made leather goods in Italy during the early 1900s, the brand did not establish a global presence until the mid 1970s.

In 1978, when Mario Prada’s 28-year-old granddaughter Miuccia inherited the business from her mother, she took the brand in new directions, expanding into haute couture and establishing the future of the house of Prada. The young entrepreneur focused on a line of Prada handbags that included backpack bags and tote bags, elegant in their simplicity.

During the 1980s, Prada expanded its product line to include fashion-forward footwear and ready-to-wear women’s apparel, often created in shades of black. Prada became the brand of clean lines, modern design, and high quality materials in shoes, clothing, and Prada handbags.

Recent Prada History

Around 1992, Prada introduced its Miu Miu collection, for a younger, more playful audience. Prada handbags produced for Miu Miu could be described as “bohemian chic,” reminiscent of vintage goods with a modern twist. The Prada Sport collection soon followed, featuring Prada handbags with a decidedly athletic influence.

Prada Handbags In Popular Culture

The house of Prada made its way into popular culture in the early 2000s with the popular novel, The Devil Wore Prada, and the Hollywood film of the same name starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. The film cast a spotlight on the global fashion industry, and the wardrobe for the movie included several stunning Prada handbags.

Prada handbags are indeed the ultimate in luxury. Prices range from several hundred dollars for a satin bag with gold-and-rhinestone handles to several thousand dollars for a patent leather bag with silver handles and decorative buckle trim.

Imitators try to cash in on the popularity of the brand, so buyers should beware and insist on receiving only authentic Prada handbags. Real Prada handbags feature straight, even stitching lines, genuine Prada logos, and the signature Prada liner fabric.

Designer Handbags

Different Types Of Leather

There are four basic grades of leather: bonded, split grain, top grain, and full grain. Leather handbags may be made of any one of the four grades.

Bonded leather is made from small scraps of leather that have been joined together to look like a single piece of leather. Split grain leather is made of the innermost portion of a split hide. Because it is a single piece of leather, it has more strength and durability than bonded leather. Bonded leather bags and split grain leather bags are typically labeled “Genuine leather.”

Top grain leather is made from the outermost portion of a split hide. These leathers are typically processed to camouflage flaws in the hide or to form patterns that mimic exotic leathers like ostrich, alligator, or snake.

Full grain leather is the unprocessed outer layer of the hide. Full grain leathers are considered the most desirable and most durable leather for handbags.

Caring For Your Leather Handbags

Cared for properly, quality leather handbags have a long, useful life. Generally speaking, a leather handbag made from full grain or top grain leather will last longer and maintain its beauty longer than a handbag made from a cheaper grade of leather.

The first thing a new leather handbag needs is a water repellent and conditioning treatment to safeguard the handbag against water spots, stains, soiling, and cracking. When you purchase your leather handbag, ask the sales clerk if the store will provide this treatment for you. Leather goods dealers often contract with specialists who provide this service, and it is well worth protecting your investment by having the treatment professionally applied.

Blot any spills as soon as possible with a clean, absorbent cloth or paper towel. Wipe winter salt stains with a clean damp cloth and let the leather air dry. When your leather handbag needs an overall cleaning, take it to a leather cleaning specialist. Dry cleaning techniques can split the leather, but a professional leather cleaner will use methods especially designed for your handbag.

Your leather handbags will last longer if you alternate them in and out of service. Stuff empty handbags with white tissue and place the leather handbag in a larger dust bag. If you take good care of your leather handbags, they may last your entire lifetime.

Designer Handbags

Gucci is consistently ranked as one of the world’s most recognizable and best selling brands. Gucci handbags are just one part of an extensive product line and retailing empire.  Gucci operates hundreds of its own retail stores and also sells its goods through franchisees and high-end department stores.

Gucci’s Early Origins

Guccio Gucci founded the house of Gucci in 1906, as a tack and saddle shop that also sold leather bags to horsemen. The brand’s first major expansion came in 1938, when Gucci opened a leather goods boutique in Rome. The founder also dabbled in design, creating the signature Gucci bamboo handle handbag that is still popular today. Guccio Gucci’s other major contributions to the brand had an equestrian flair reminiscent of his work in the saddle shop, including the brand’s trademark striped webbing, resembling a saddle girth, and the classic suede Gucci moccasin, trimmed with a metal bit.

After Guccio’s death in 1953, his sons fostered further expansion of the brand into a full line of fashion accessories, and the famous GG logo soon appeared on Gucci luggage, Gucci handbags, and Gucci silk scarves. In the late 1970s, the brand split between brothers Aldo and Rodolfo Gucci, with Aldo branching off into a line of lower-priced accessories and Rodolfo maintaining overall operation of the company.

Gucci In The ’80s

The brand underwent further changes in the 1970s when a venture into automobile design proved unsuccessful. By the 1980s, scores of counterfeit Gucci handbags and other knockoff products flooded the marketplace, tarnishing the brand and reducing demand for genuine Gucci goods.

Careful management, however, turned the company around, and by the early 1990s, Gucci handbags were again in demand, and Gucci was one of the world’s great fashion brands. The company went public in 1995 and was named “European Company Of The Year” in 1998 for its strategic vision and innovative management.

Gucci Today

Gucci’s current management team continues to produce great-looking Gucci handbags and accessories season after season. Gucci has penetrated popular culture; the brand is frequently mentioned in rap music by rappers bragging about their luxurious lifestyles. The brand also pops up in movie scripts, having been mentioned in well-known films like Pretty Woman, Pret A Porter, Monster-In-Law, The Devil Wears Prada, and in the hit TV series, Ugly Betty.

Designer Handbags

“Yes,” you say, in this imaginary conversation we’re having in my head. “How can I be sure I’m getting an authentic Fendi handbag?”

Well you’ve come to the right place, my friend. Some of the fakes out there are close copies of the original, so I can’t guarantee you’ll spot every counterfeit bag, but I can help you weed out most of the copycats.

Know Your Fendi Handbag Seller

The very best way to ensure that your Fendi handbag is genuine is to buy from an established seller with a good reputation. If you shop for your Fendi handbag at Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s or Nordstrom, you are guaranteed to receive a 100% authentic Fendi handbag.

Once you start shopping online, things can get a little sketchier. You can’t be sure the Fendi handbag in that online auction is authentic until you get it in your hands and examine it.

Again, knowing your seller will help improve your chances of getting an authentic Fendi handbag. If you have purchased genuine designer products from an online seller before, then you have probably found a legitimate seller who will want to safeguard his or her reputation by continuing to sell authentic goods.

Examine Your Fendi Handbag

If you’re shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, examine the merchandise before you buy it. When shopping online, inspect your handbag as soon as you receive it. Each online retailer has its own return policy, and you may have a very limited time to return your handbag, even if you can prove it is a fake.

First, check the overall quality of your handbag. A genuine Fendi handbag will look well made, with straight lines of tight stitching, with thread ends trimmed close to the surface of the bag. All raw edges should be finished. Hardware should be sturdy, with a durable, two-tone finish of light gold and silver.

Next, examine the zippers in your Fendi handbag. Authentic zipper slides have the logo “FF” underneath, even on inside zippers. (A few bags have “RIRI” on the underside instead of “FF.”)

If you purchased a spy bag, measure the spy compartment; in authentic bags, the compartment will measure 5-1/8 inches from center hinge to hinge. Examine the handle; it should have FENDI engraved on the bottom, upside down and backwards. FENDI should also be engraved on the woven handle hardware. The back of the hardware should be lettered with the legend MADE IN ITALY, cleanly lettered in three rows of text.

Examining your Fendi handbag is well worth the time and effort. If you find that your bag is not genuine, immediately return it to the seller and demand a full cash refund.

Designer Handbags

Accessories make the outfit, and fashion handbags are the most important accessory in a woman’s ensemble. Fashion handbags cover more real estate than shoes or jewelry, and they’re used far more often than scarves or hair clips. The right handbag can make an everyday outfit look like it belongs on the runway.

You’ll want to purchase several fashion handbags this season. You’ll need one fashion handbag for everyday use, one for special occasions, one for business, and a few more to keep up with all the latest trends.

Animal Prints Are Back

Did they ever really leave us? It seems designers never tire of using some of nature’s boldest patterns, zebra, tiger, and leopard, in fashion. An allover animal print dress, skirt, or suit would look outrageous and over the top, but a neat leather fashion handbag made in a zebra print with red leather straps looks right at home with almost any fashion style. These bags are all made of guilt-free, fabulous faux fur.

Structured Is In

Leave those slouchy Bohemian tote bags in the closet and get out the kind of tailored fashion handbags that can stand up on their own. We’re not suggesting you carry a miniature suitcase, but the handbags most popular right now are the ones with structured sides and a definitive shape.

Put On The Glitz

Embellished fashion handbags are hot, hot, hot! The best-selling fashion handbags are laden with crystals, beads, chains, brass rivets, wooden discs, silver rings, and fringe, fringe, and more fringe. Less is not more when it comes to embellished bags.

The Touch Of The Clutch

Clutch style fashion handbags have never been so popular. Carry a clutch handbag when a shoulder bag, tote, or satchel would overwhelm your outfit. Clutch fashion handbags have a timeless, elegant feel, and there’s a perfectly sized clutch to fit the scale of any outfit. There’s something for everyone in the clutch bags offered this season. Modern women will want to grab a streamlined clutch with a simple silhouette, while women who like more details will wrap their fingers around elegant clutch handbags with embossed swirls, brass chains, or patchwork textures.

Basic Black Evening Bag

What would that little black dress be without a little black evening bag? Fashion handbags for evening events make subtle statements in black suede or velvet. Materials that make these bags special include black lacquered beads and silver hardware. A black-and-white striped bag has a nautical feel and is a refreshing addition to the all-black product lines.

Designer Handbags