Media mogul and actress Oprah Winfrey attends a special screening of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” in New York.A $38,000 handbag? For most people, it’s unthinkable.
But for the richest sliver of the global population, like Oprah Winfrey, it’s a realistic option – and buyers aren’t short of choices.
In the upscale boutiques of Singapore, New York or Zurich – where Winfrey claims a sales clerk refused to show her a luxurious bag – purses priced in the four figures are common. In fact, they’re so common that a higher level of extravagance exists to set the super-rich apart from the merely affluent.
A budget of about $1,000 to $2,000 will buy one of the cheaper bags by luxe labels such as Prada, Hermes, Fendi, Chanel or Louis Vuitton.
But that’s just the starter step. Many labels create the same style of bag in a range of fabrics, from leather to more expensive calfskin, snakeskin and crocodile skin. Adding silver or gold clasps or precious stones can increase the price tag, while limited editions and one-off creations can fetch astronomical sums.