Retail Therapy 005: Chanel Bags x Night Luxe Aesthetic
Steaks and martinis > smoothies and wellness
If you’ve ever wanted two dudes to try to convince you into buying an $8,800 Chanel flap bag, well, we did our best.
This week’s retail therapy aimed to do just that — convince a group of listeners who DM’d into buying an “investment” bag. You know, even though Barrett and I don’t really know what we’re talking about when it comes to handbags. But, as you’ll find out, we did reference two separate pieces that explained the growing prices of luxury bags, both on Sotheby’s and Forbes. Here’s a brief look into the Sotheby’s analysis to give you an idea:
In a drastic rise, the price for a Chanel Medium Classic Flap bag has increased from $1,150 in 1990 to $7,800 in July 2021. And, for the third price jump of the year (as of November 3, 2021), the Chanel Medium Classic Flap is now $8,800. While the 30-year compound annual growth rate of 6.5 percent for Chanel handbags is lower than the average for the S&P 500, the 5-year CAGR is directly in line with this stock market index, at about 10 percent. During the last five years, Chanel has consistently increased prices on its most popular handbag styles, from the Classic Flap and Boy Bag to the recently debuted Chanel 19.
Prior to that, however, we dove into the world of the “night luxe” aesthetic. Per Glossy, “for the new rising ‘it’ girl aesthetic on social media, hedonism is the new wellness.” Or, essentially, wellness is out and gluttonous meals are in.
In a turn of events that should make us all swell with happiness (and salt intake), martinis and steaks are on the rise while smoothies and wellness are becoming too exhausting — on Instagram and TikTok, at least.
It hasn’t been given a well-defined name in the broader zeitgeist yet, but you know it when you see it. The most popular term for it appears to be “#nightluxe,” which currently has 16 million views on TikTok. (The hashtag #darkluxuryaesthetic is a less common name for it, receiving 5.6 million views.) Photo posts and Reels and TikTok slideshows feature shots of glamorous bars, restaurants and cocktails — namely, martinis (both traditional and espresso varieties) or champagne in coupe glasses. For fashion, Prada’s satin crystal mini bags reign supreme, with other bedazzled options by brands such as Cult Gaia also in the mix. Mach & Mach heels — especially the black ones with the rhinestones — are often the footwear of choice. The dresses are silky or sparkly, and always short. The food is decadent, harkening back to an era before people cared about calories and cholesterol.
And considering how we’ve been spending our nights lately, this is probably a change that can allow me to be on trend again.
Okay, here’s what we learned today:
📈 Steaks, Martinis
📈 Sloppy Photos
📉 Smoothies, Yoga
📈 The iPhones Ability to Take Photos in the Dark
📈 Chanel Prices
📉 Our Financial Advice
📈 Your AmEx Bill
📈 Birkin Prices
As always, we closed things out with our wishlists:
Will’s Wishlist
Barrett’s Wishlist
To listen to this week’s episode of Retail Therapy in its entirety, look no further than Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, if you’d like to watch it, look no further than YouTube.
Feedback? Compliments? Comments? Concerns? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this week’s episode.