The term “investment buy” gets bandied around a lot in fashion speak. Sure, classic camel coats and well-made shoes will see you through many years, but they’re only an investment in terms of how often you’ll wear them. It’s unlikely you’ll make any more reselling a pair of worn-out shoes.
This is why you really can put “bag” and “investment” in the same phrase. Some brands (we’re looking at you, Hermès) will even increase in value as they patiently sit in a dust bag at the back of your wardrobe because of the waiting lists for new styles owing to the time and craft needed to bring a single, say, Birkin to life. Other styles just never date—like Chanel’s 2.55.
According to top resale site Open for Vintage, more and more high-end designers are looking to the archives to inspire new-season designs and, in turn, sparking a new wave of consumers to head online to find pre-loved styles. “Vintage versions of the season’s It trends become the purse-friendly option with a much lesser environmental impact,” the site reports. “In 2020, Open for Vintage saw this directly reflected in handbag sales, which made up for two-thirds of our total sales.”
Taking good care of your bag is necessary—both when in use and not—to guarantee interest if you’re looking to trade it in. So before you splash out on a new-season bit of arm candy, check out the scoop from Open for Vintage below as to which bags make the best investments right now.
