55 bag would have set you back around 200 in 1985;

How handbags became a worthy investment

How do you imagine the most expensive handbag in the world might look? Jewel encrusted, gold plated, monogrammed, hand sewn by Tibetan monks under the light of a new moon? (All of which, incidentally, have been used by luxury brands to drive up the price of a bag.)

On Monday, we got a few real clues, when a 2014 Herms Birkin bag Barbie pink crocodile skin, with diamond encrusted hardware became the most expensive ever sold at auction, fetching 146,000 from an anonymous phone bidder at Christie's in Hong Kong.

Incredibly, however, this may still not make it the world's most expensive handbag. Boasting 200 diamonds with a total of 8.2 carats, crocodile skin rendered creamy white by an intricate hand dyeing process meant to evoke the Himalayan mountains and now an increase in value of 98,000, the concept of "getting your money's worth" on an investment has never rung so true.

On Monday, 1:1 replica handbags we got a few real clues, when a 2014 Herms Birkin bag Barbie pink crocodile skin, with diamond encrusted hardware became the most expensive ever sold at auction, fetching 146,000 from an anonymous phone bidder at Christie's in Hong Kong.

Incredibly, however, this may still not make it the world's most expensive handbag. Boasting 200 diamonds with a total of 8.2 carats, crocodile skin rendered creamy white by an intricate hand dyeing process meant to evoke the Himalayan mountains and now an increase in value of 98,000, the concept of "getting your money's worth" on an investment has never rung so true.

Birkin still receives around 30,000 a year in royalties from Herms for the use of her name (which she donates to charity), but Fake Louis Vuitton Replica Bags she's not the only one making money from calfskin receptacles. Over the past decade, the value of the most sought after handbags has risen by an average of 8 per cent a year matching the annualised returns of the FTSE All Share Index. Which means the handbag resale market is going great guns, with designer resale sites such as Covetiqueand Vestiaire Collective capitalising on the appetite for luxury bags.

Herms is king, according to Fanny Moizant, co founder of Vestiaire Collective, thanks to its limited production aaa replica designer handbags runs, several year long waiting lists and superior quality, but other luxury brands such as Cline, Chanel and Louis Vuitton sell well, too; the fastest selling item on the Vestiaire site was a Chanel handbag, which sold replica louis vuitton bags in 17 seconds.

"You pay 2.8 times today what you would have paid for a Birkin seven years ago and that's just the retail price," says Moizant. "There's a huge market for rare bags, and as soon as brands manage the distribution and restrict production, people will pay more. They want rarity, timeless shapes and heritage brands. I think they also like the emotional element of bags named after icons such as Grace Kelly the bags become brands in themselves." replica designer handbags The most expensive handbag Vestiaire Collective has sold online was a ruby encrusted crocodile Birkin bag that went for 150,000.

Now, auction houses are seeking to capitalise on a growing market for secondhand designer goods specifically couture, handbags, and jewellery. Sotheby's cheap replica handbags closed its fashion department in 2004 but with recent cheap louis vuitton bags from china uk sales of clothes owned by Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe pulling in millions (the sale of Taylor's art collection in 2011 brought in over 14 million alone; her jewellery, a staggering 74million), it has begun to revisit fashion and jewellery auctions to rival Christie's, the house responsible for the record breaking Taylor sale and the recent Birkin bonanza.

On July 8, Sotheby's will hold its first auction of couture in Paris, featuring some 150 pieces from the private collection of Didier Ludot, a fashion collector who amassed items created between 1924 and the early 2000s over a 40 year period. "Every Dress Tells a Story: Couture from the Didier Ludot Collection" will offer items by couture houses including Christian Dior, Cristbal Balenciaga, Paul Poiret and Madame Grs.

Kerry Taylor a former Sotheby's stalwart (she worked there for 24 years) who now has her own eponymous couture auction room, has been consulting on the Ludot collection. She is keen to insist on the difference between luxury handbags and couture: "Luxury handbags appeal to newly emerging markets, and the big buyers from China and Russia don't mind a secondhand handbag, but they do mind a secondhand dress."

While there is clearly money to be made by investing in couture in the current market, "we have been selling individual garments for in excess of 100,000" Taylor says fashion has a long way to go before it edges out classic cars and wine. "Buying new clothes is like buying a new Ferrari the first day you drive it, it is worth a fraction of its cost price."

Despite the depreciation, auction Fake Louis Vuitton Replica Bags houses are sniffing in fashion's direction "especially with fake louis bag the one person collections like Ludot and Elizabeth Taylor. The big auction houses are always interested, because it helps bring younger people in and generates coverage." Her next sale, on June 23, at her auction house in Bermondsey, features pieces she recovered from a moth infested farmhouse in Devon, as well as rare Alexander McQueen items and Ossie Clark designs from the private collection of his one time muse and wife, Celia Birtwell.

Might there be a investment opportunity here? Moizant recalls a savvy friend who, rather than put money in a savings account for her daughter, instead bought her a Birkin: "A friend of mine who used to work for Goldman Sachs bought a pink Herms Kelly bag in a rare skin for her young daughter," she says. "It was quite a bright colour and I was surprised she had chosen it. But she said she plans to leave it untouched in a dust bag for 20 years by which point, it will have increased in value as much wine or a luxury flat."

HOW TO TELL IF YOU'VE GOT CASH IN YOUR ATTIC

Vintage Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes vintage bags are the most sought after. A vintage Chanel 2.55 bag would have set you back around 200 in 1985; one dating from then is going for auction at Kerry Taylor for 700 1,000.

aaa replica designer handbags "Classic couturiers from the early twentieth century such as Christian Dior, Cristbal Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli and Yves Saint Laurent are internationally prized because cheap louis vuitton bags from china they are so rare," says Kerry Taylor. But they must be in good nick: unaltered and with original labels. The provenance helps build a case, and if something has been worn by a star such as Audrey Hepburn, you know you're on to a winner.

The seventies trend is going nowhere; consequently there is a real demand for vintage Ossie Clark, Thea Porter and Yves Saint Laurent pieces. A Thea Porter kaftan that might have set you back 70 in the Seventies can now go for 2,000; an Ossie Clark maxi dress that cost 140 in 1970 can now fetch up to 8,000 at auction; and a Biba dress bought for 20 could now fetch 600. Storage tip keep clothes out of the light, away from moths, and store them flat if items are beaded to avoid drooping.

Mansur Gavriel Bucket bag"People pay for rarity, timeless shapes and good quality," explains Vestiaire Collective's Fanny Moizant. "Mansur Gavriel is a new brand that makes bags in simple shapes and with tiny production runs. People are desperate for them because they are so hard to get hold of." Their leather lined bucket replica louis vuitton bags from china bags that retail for 395 have been selling on Vestiaire Collective's website for 585.

Cline Trio or Trapeze bagsLuxury brands without online retail outlets also preserve their resale value. "Cline and Chanel don't have their own E commerce sites, so they are always good investments," says Moizant. A Cline Trapeze bag, which starts at 1,300, is currently selling for the same price or higher on the site.

Mary Katrantzou print dresses"These will become collector's items," predicts William Banks Blaney, the founder of WilliamVintage, a shop which stocks couture rarities. He also namechecks Erdem's prints and Simone Rocha's statement pieces as items to invest in now.