Handbags are the new handbags

Krystal Schlegel’s mom owns a 76-centimetre, orange, ostrich-leather Birkin and her sister received a white one for Christmas during college. So the high school senior felt graduation would be the perfect time to get her own.”It never goes out of style,” the Dallas 18-year-old said. She’s been begging since January, dropping hints whenever she and her mom see a person carrying one: “Hey Mom, look at that Birkin!”

A leather briefcase used to be the norm for a new graduate, fresh from a backyard party with bills slipped inside congratulation cards. But educational milestones have now become occasions for children to ask for an extra luxurious gift that they won’t be able to afford on their own – and the humble briefcase will no longer do.

“Many women dream of a handbag collection to pass down to their daughters or granddaughters one day and giving them one at graduation is a wonderful way to help them start their own collection,” said Tina Craig, 38, who runs the purse connoisseur website BagSnob.com.

Schlegel said her friends are also specifying designer bags to their parents for gifts.

“They want something nice to go to college, and the sororities will look at (the handbags) too,” said Schlegel, who is headed this fall to Southern Methodist University. She said her friends were looking into handbags by the French design houses Chloe and Chanel.

The Birkin – which would start at US$6,300 and is still hard to find in stores – may seem a bit much for a teenager during a recession. But a bag at any price can make a perfect graduation gift for a high school graduate headed for college, or a college grad turned loose in the work force.

For luxury on a budget, consignment stores carry used bags from high-end designers. Vintage designer purses, which can cost half the price of a new version, are an affordable option.

Craig, who received a new Chanel purse and a vintage Gucci bag for high school graduation, said passing on a favourite designer bag already in a parent’s collection would make the occasion even more personal. Buying an older, used handbag is also fine. “Make sure it is something she can actually use, and that it is still stylish today,” she cautioned.