Designer Bags VS Highstreet Dupes

10 Jul

Designer Bags VS Highstreet Dupes

Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Style, Sustainability

We’d all love to get our hands on a designer bag but let’s be honest, they’re not affordable. Most of us would even struggle to buy every single one on our list. In an ideal rich girl world, I for one would be in a lot of debt but would have the most fabulous bag collection.

Luckily for us, we have fast fashion and the high street stores which make copies for us, or some would say ‘take inspiration from’. This, however, is always a touchy subject. We all buy into it, even if we don’t realise it. The high street brands find their inspiration from the luxury fashion houses, which lead the way for seasonal trends. They simply trickle down to the high street and into our wardrobes. This then sparks a debate on fast fashion, consumerism and us generally living in a materialistic society, with a constant need to have new seasonal styles every time we leave the house. It is a debate we won’t get into now, but it should be considered if living a sustainable lifestyle is important to you. Going Vintage, for example, is a much more sustainable alternative!

Whether this is important to you or not, we do still have the high street where we can find affordable accessories, so we don’t need to spend thousands every time we want a new style of bag. I’m about to make your life so much easier and will identify these alternatives for you, so you can shop them straight away – as well as keeping an eye out for a few designer vintages finds too.

Whether you want to buy a designer bag or a high street bag, there are certain styles which are on-trend this year:

The saddle has returned – we are kicking it back to the ’90s with the return of the shoulder bags. Petite and cute, inspired by ’90s Dior and a personal favourite of mine.
The saddlebag isn’t the only ’90s throwback we are seeing reappear in 2020 trends, as all vintage bags from the ’90s are slowly making a come back and so is designer vintage in general. This blog post may inspire you to consider new styles, new design trends and high street dupes; or you can always try and scour your favourite designer vintage store, Vestiaire Collectives, eBay or Depop for a real designer 90’s baby. I did this myself with a vintage Dior Saddle and Gucci Hobo bag for the fraction of the price, compared to the new season remakes.
Monogram designs are back! This originally was a trend in the ’90s too, big on this was Fendi and Dior but similar high street finds are just as cute too.
The clutch bag. I love a sexy clutch bag and if I could afford the Bottega Pouch clutch, it would be in my wardrobe as we speak… Instead, I’m going to find one on ASOS for us both to shop.
Shoppers or Tote Bags never really went out of fashion. They are on-trend and practical and so, are a win-win when it comes to bags. Dior, however, has created a new shopper design with an Aztec print, which are to die for.

The Bags

I hunted for my favourite styles, high street copies and vintage finds with the price attached. When buying a bag, I have a thought process; if it is a style I LOVE, I don’t mind spending more money on it. Especially if I want it to last me years. However, if I’m only buying something because it is a trend, I usually go for a high street buy.

Here is my bag style edit so you can decide for yourself, which shopping path you’re going to go down:

high street, designer or vintage?