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Michelle I. Stupski, handbag designer and owner of M-I-S Handbags, believes that shoppers want more bang for their buck when it comes to handbags. “I just think with today’s economy and the expense of a handbag, you should be able to have it exactly the way you want it,” Stupski says. “People want versatility. It gives them the option to change things up.” Karla Staley offers another personalized approach to handbags through her Tinley Park, IL business Bagitude! Handbags with Attitude. Staley recycles old playbills, record album covers, game boards and boxes, photographs and turns it into a well-constructed handbag with a retail price of $58-$68. “It’s about taking items that used to be part of your life


and turning it into something you can cherish everyday as a purse,” she says. “People can connect with just about everything I have. Who doesn’t have a fond memory of reading a Nancy Drew book or classic literature book?” Charlette Boyd, owner of Milwaukee, WI.-based


Nailah’s, uses recycled, discontinued leather to create clutches, handbags and cross-body bags. “Sometimes the upholstery companies are getting rid of materials,” says Boyd, who began making handbags eight years ago. Nailah’s bags come in an assortment of sizes. “You have people who don’t want a big bag,” she says. “I do a lot of conversion type things. So my backpack is both a backpack and a messenger bag. You can wear it on your


corX Did you Know?


■ Sales of handbags in the U.S. for 2011 were expected to reach $10 billion.


■ Consumers age 35 to 54 accounted for 36 percent of all handbag sales in 2010, with the average unit price for this age group being


about $28.


■ Younger consumers—those age 18-34— accounted for about a third of the sales, with


their average unit price about $26. Source: The 2010 Annual Census Report from Accessories magazine


100 GIFT SHOP n Winter 2012


arm or shoulder with the adjustable straps. I’m always looking for versatility because I think of myself and what I want in a bag.” Boyd’s motto: You don’t carry a bag, you wear it.


Cassandra Connors, founder and director of Bella


Bag, an online marketplace for authentic, pre-owned luxury bags, agrees that wearable handbags are desirable. “The bag trends are all about wearable glam,” Connors says. “Everyone loves a versatile clutch, people are wild about python and exotic patterns, and the classic quilted designs popularized by Chanel are popping up on arms everywhere.”


Classic styles Many women enjoy a classic look to their handbag, yet also want a bit of fl air that leaves them feeling their carry-all isn’t completely same-old, same-old, says Stella Chang, head of design for New York, NY-based Chocolate Handbags. “We try to create products for women who l ike


something classy with a bit of a twist. Ours are not a cheap bag that is boring,” Chang says. A top seller is Chocolate Handbags’ velvet bag, featuring “a beautiful bow with the body of the bag being velvet,” she says. “It’s bringing it up a notch,” she says of the 16.5-inch


wide bag that’s good for traveling. It comes in muted pink, gray and taupe.


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