Leather Biker Jackets: Let's Discuss Business Models

In last week's Dior blog I discussed how we can't always get what we want, but if you apply yourself you can often come close enough! So today let THE SAVVY SHOPPER take you shopping, and away we go ... 

At the top of the blog, we have a gorgeous and classic leather Dior Biker Jacket. The leather is goat skin which is durable leather, usually not as buttery soft as lambskin, but tough, enduring, and Dior-quality smooth. Cost: $5,700, a gasp-worthy sum for an average person. 

Let's say you don't want to part with 6 Grover Clevelands and you don't want to do without as you pine for a leather biker jacket! First, examine Dior's Baker Jacket to know what details you like about it so you can find something comparable for less moola.

All Saints $529 (left) and Bernaldo $269 right.

Now let's find several stellar brands that are more affordable than Dior. Some are still pricey (although not nearly so!) and those a Savvy Shopper keeps an eye on. Do frequent google searches, as well as, wait for sales!! 

Look at the online pre-loved markets also where you might even find your first love, the Dior leather jacket. If it's still too expensive, move on to your 2nd and 3rd choices. Decide if there are any bells and whistles you don't need that might lower the price (for examples (1) some of the biker jackets have belts and others don't; (2) some are more insulated for warmth than others). When the price is right, be ready to move the wish list jacket into your shopping cart.

Lauren Ralph Lauren $440 (left) and Rag and Bone $695.50 (right)

Karl Lagerfeld Paris $329 (left) and Angel - Ninfa $189

Sam Edelman $250 (left) and Rebecca Minkoff $498

Set leather jacket $455 (new) and preloved $212 here and $various here.

Know that the price of garments doesn't always reflect quality but instead follows a company's business model. For example, the apparel company Set has a lower price point as its business model than Dior, and yet both jackets are well-made. Retailers whose business model is to give customers good and fair value for the money are your friends. Figure out who they are by doing your research. Another example: Coach stands toe to toe with Dior and Chanel in quality and craftsmanship, yet doesn't market its leather goods as luxury. Buy from your friends to save those Grover Clevelands for your retirement!

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Dior Rose Des Vents Double Sided Coat

Dior's Rose Des Vents Double-Sided Coat is super cute. Hooded and belted, it's 99% wool and 1% silk. Although I'm reluctant to pay $4,500 for the Dior designer name, I love Dior's style and this coat. Luckily I have 2 fashionable alpaca wool coats also made in Italy I bought years ago for a whole lot less and don't need another coat. But a gal can always get into fashion!

If you pine for the Dior wrap coat look, fortunately, there are a few budget-friendly options from other well-known brands that seem to be copying the Dior coat, or perhaps Dior copied them? So you don't have to pay the piper to get the vibe.

Sam Edelman (left) and Karl Lagerfeld Paris (right)

Know that the rose des vents pattern is unique and a signature of Dior. The inspired belted coats lack the pattern and hood and aren't reversible. They are also a wool blend, but still super stylish and a fair tradeoff for a much lower price tag. As Mick Jagger famously sang, "You can't always get what you want." But if you apply yourself, you can sometimes come close enough!😛

Ted Baker

How do you feel about belted coats? I lean towards a cleaner look. I prefer buttons and snaps to a knotted belt closure. When people must fiddle with a belt, often they leave it untied. It's better to tie it in the back for neatness instead of letting it hang loose to possibly get lost.

Dior is always a fun browse for inspiration and quality!

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Let's Discuss The Rouge Dior Lip Coffret Gift Set: Less Is Not More Dior

Let's Discuss The Rouge Dior Lip Coffret Gift Set: Less Is Not More Dior

Frankly, I've been keen on but never purchased Dior's annual holiday Coffret Lipstick Sets -- in 2022 it's called Rouge Dior Lip Coffret Gift Set (see above image👆) -- but I enjoy Christmas browsing and always look for the limited edition gift bag, um set after Thanksgiving.

 

2018 edition - photo pulled from the internet, it is my favorite design - a constellation

Over the last few years, it sold for $175 and included 6 lipsticks, a lipstick holder, and a popular cosmetic bag that customers enjoy using as a clutch purse, as well as, finding clever ways to add hardware, converting it into a small shoulder or crossover bag. It's become a convention among handy Dior beauty buyers.

2019 edition

This holiday season after a tough couple of years for many consumers, how are the luxury brands treating their loyal customers? By hiking up their already steep prices and giving clients even less value for their money. One retailer is Chanel whose, classic double-flap bag rose in price to just under $10,000 without improving its craftmanship.

2020 edition of the gift bag.

Dior is now charging $240 (a $75 price increase) for this year's Rouge Dior Lip Coffret Gift Set but has reduced the lipsticks to only 5. Adding insult to injury, the gift bag no longer has a faux leather outer surface, but is hard plastic! Dior added a gold metal clip-on chain to the plastic box, so consumers no longer have to be clever to turn it into a crossover bag, and yet it's plastic! Really Dior?

Here's a clever YouTuber showing us how to convert a 2021 Dior makeup case into a bag.

Why are multi-million dollar companies treating their customers this way? In fact, skimping them! Charging customers more and giving them less. And ... how will loyal customers respond?

As a longtime admirer of Dior and Chanel, I'm disappointed! I suppose I should thank the exclusive duo for removing all potential temptation, but I'd much rather appreciate top-of-the-line quality and fair pricing.

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Dior Spring/Summer 2021 Collection

Dior is launching their 2021 Spring/Summer Collection into their boutiques as I type, and although I don't buy Dior as I can't justify spending thousands of dollars on a single bag, hoodie or pair of sneakers, certainly I love and am inspired by the new lookbook of Dior's top-notch designs + craftsmanship. The new collection is feminine, super chic and gorgeous! 

Frankly if I were to buy a Lady Dior bag, it would be the practical and versatile medium black leather with black hardware Lady Dior. Still I love the fabric choices in the new patterns with embroidery as well. For the money, the Lady Dior bags in this collection come with the guitar strap that usually is purchased separately, so at least you "save" (i.e., it's all relative people!) on the strap. The strap alone costs about $800+ and perhaps for the very 1st time, it comes with the bag ... in the matching pattern.

As you, my darlings can see, the new patterns with embroidery are a rich leopard brown print that Dior is calling Mizza and Blue Toile de Jouy, named "technical fabric" by the designer. They are sold as apparel and accessories. 

I can't decide which pattern is cuter! My favorite items are the hooded anoraks (and yet for my $4,000, I would require them to be cashmere topped with waterproofed materials. They are polyester.); the backpack; the perfectly fitted jacket; the leopard sneakers, the modern trench coat (below👇) ... and of course, the Lady Dior bags ... OMG, which pattern would I get??? 

Not all the new pieces in the Spring/Summer 2021 Collection have dropped yet, there's even more to come to the stores during the month. 

Oblique Trench Coat

Without a doubt, the new Dior collection makes eyeballs happy and wallets a little sad. Sans deep pockets, we'll need to find inspired articles of good quality elsewhere. Look, admire, rollick in the Dior shop ... and only splurge on what you can afford!

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Dior 7-Piece Refillable Lipstick Set

For a makeup maven, Christian Dior is one of the Holy Grails of a luxury lipstick. And for the holidays you sometimes splurge on a gift when the rest of the year you try to save. 

Christian Dior is offering an awesome holiday 7-piece lipstick set selling for $180 but if you search retailers, you'll find deals to bring the price down to about $150. No, it's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but a single Christian Dior lipstick costs $40, so it is a "bargain" for Dior makeup. 

    

The colors in the set are gorgeous and very wearable. It includes:

Modified case by owner

• Rouge Dior 999 satin finish
• Rouge Dior 999 matte finish
• Rouge Dior 988 satin finish
• Rouge Dior 481 matte finish
• Rouge Dior 458 satin finish
  
• Rouge Dior 772 matte finish

The 7th item in the set is what everyone is raving about: A glittering star midnight blue limited edition couture case that customers say is reuseable as a Dior evening clutch bag. This Dior keepsake case seals the deal, making the 7-piece set a fabulous splurge .... for yourself or someone special on your list. Six Dior lipsticks will last for quite a while, then you are left with a glamorous bag for special occasions! 

Dior goes the extra mile by wrapping the set in ritzy, festive packaging that is fun to give or receive. So you get lots of jazz-and-pizzaz for the buck.

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Consider Bvlgari Bags

The butterflies are only for show and not part of the design of the bag.

Let's say you love the classic elegance of French designed Chanel or Dior handbags, but know you will never cough up $6,400+tax to buy them. You love them but not enough to part with such an enormous wad of cash.

Introducing jewelry maker Bvlgari bags for your consideration. Fine, durable calf leather (as well as other material options) in a multitude of pretty colors (including the ↓3 here↑) from their new spring collection.

Bvlgari handbags are luxury bags, so not cheap, yet they are less than half the price of their French rivels for similar rich quality. Funny how most of us could never afford Bvlgari fine jewelry, but saving up for a handbag is possible for many working people. It's a worthy, lasting and perhaps one-time splurge for a luxury bag; and one, not every other luxury bag lover owns. For folks who never buy luxury bags, it's inspirational. Know: I own zero designer bags -- my blog mentions what I buy -- but I live in Manhattan and am always looking and appreciating them! Looking at expensive bags helps me to recognize a good, legal inspired bag!!

The "Serpenti Forever" crossbody bag features light gold pleated brass hardware and a signature snake head closure. Although not a big fan of snakes myself, this jeweled one doesn't look too ominous for me. What is the obsession with snake eyes so many top designers seem to have?

A sophisticated, stylish bag to own without the gouging price tag (or other nonsense associated) with buying from Hermes or Chanel. The purse has the compact, refinement of Dior for less moola!

Btw: Bvlgari offers equally lovely wallets, but I won't lie, I buy $10 Mundi wallets from T. J. Maxx. They, too, fit nicely inside a Bvlgari handbag.😊


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