Tuesday, July 12, 2005

The Redemption of Dooney & Bourke

After the Hearts, Charms, multicolor knockoffs, and the egregiously ugly Bolero, I was convinced that Dooney & Bourke were exclusively catering to overprivileged junior high schoolgirls and the legally blind. It was great relief that I spotted this elegant Small Flap Satchel.

Photo courtesy of nordstrom.com

It was the pretty blue jean color with the contrast stitching that so captivated me, but I also adore the graceful shape and the bold silver closure. This bag is part of the All-Weather Leather collection, and has protective feet, a cute duck-embossed charm, interior zip and cell phone pockets, and a handy key hook. The Ocean color (pictured) is my favorite, but it is also available in Black and Bone.

posted by CrankyBiscuit @ 6:10 PM  

9 Comments:

  • At 8:59 PM, Blogger ET said…

    This is a nice bag. I don't own any D&B, and the duck logo...can't they find something else??? It says "D&B tries to go LV" to me. The color is fantastic. As for your prospective marketing target for D&B, you are right on as far as who is carrying them here. And they market them on QVC as well...not sure how scary that is, but you can get great prices.

    Speaking of young target markets, I was in Coach yesterday and there was what can only be called a "gaggle" of ten to twelve year old girls on a birthday scavenger hunt. The birthday girl was getting her first Coach...a keychain, I believe. ANNOYING! They were into everything, trying on hats with bags and umbrellas, I thought the sales clerk would have a coronary right there on the floor.

     

  • At 7:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This is actually a nice bag.
    I have no idea about the history or reputation/standing of D&B, but judging from the previousky linked designs, they don't sound too good.

     

  • At 12:00 PM, Blogger Bag chick said…

    Such a coincidence! I too was recently drawn to a D&B bag, and was about to post an entry, but I couldn't find a picture of it.
    I still don't love them in person, but the styling is getting much nicer.

     

  • At 4:23 PM, Blogger selenabird said…

    I was also ready to throw in the towel when it came to D&B...thank goodness this is classier than the stuff they have been churning out lately. How do you feel about the large and medium sizes of the same bag? I was considering a large in black, Macys.com is offering $50.00 off the large size, but the color pallette offered is limited to black, saddle (?, and bone.

     

  • At 4:43 PM, Blogger Susan B said…

    I recently bought the medium tassel bag in the all weather leather and find that it's the bag I'm using the most. It's classy, durable, a nice size/shape, and I'm in love with the lining fabric (a really rich paisley).

    I like this flap style too, but alas my bag budget is blown for at least the next couple of months.

     

  • At 5:23 PM, Blogger CrankyBiscuit said…

    selenabird, since I love the overall look and shape of this bag, I like all the sizes. And for $50 off, I could probably be persuded to take the black or saddle over that luscious blue.

     

  • At 12:53 AM, Blogger NewsView said…

    I would like to clarify some things in response to what I feel were harshly expressed opinions at the outset of this post.

    First let's get some basic info out of the way: Dooney & Bourke began producing all-weather leather in the mid 1970s. These types of leather handbags have always been a part of the Dooney & Bourke identity to the best of my understanding. As for the PVC coated cotton "IT bags" with vachetta leather trim, which remind some of the LV bags, those relatively new (past five years or thereabouts). DB has continued, regardless of whatever other product lines they manufacture, to produce the all-weather leather even as they create fun new designs for the young and the young at heart.

    Now for a bit of my personal perspective (to which I believe I am entitled just as much as the next person, so please bear that in mind):

    I have to agree with a previous post in which it was commented that the Louis Vuitton and Coach fakes are a dime a dozen. The fakes are getting so good it is hard to tell them apart without ripping them out of an unsuspecting stranger's hand to examine the finer details, such as the inner lining (and obviously no one aside from a thief or an idiot would try THAT, LOL). The result is that carrying a Dooney & Bourke is a nice alternative to the virtually-all-faked-out brands. DB is still "designer" but unlike other high end handbags not so likely to be so out of reach as to drive a black market. And since we know black markets fund terrorism, this is a good thing all the way around (and a U.S. company to boot).

    In contrast to the "diss the IT bag" comments on the top of this page, I actually like Dooney & Bourke's chocolate brown IT bag, model IT20 CK, with the multi color monogram. Against the brown background it does not have the harsh contrast of the white or black IT bags, does not have the arm candy look like the tangerine or grape incarnations of years past, and yet the rainbow monogram, unlike the LV monogram, will offer a matching color to go with virtually anything one wants to wear.

    Louis Vuitton has been around for over 80 years and its monogram canvas is classic and will never go out of style. But just as LV isn't just for old ladies, nor is it fair to say the that DB is just for teens. DB's IT bags are for anyone who has grown old enough to realize that it does not diminish one's maturity to carry whatever makes one happy.

    As kids we gals entered the age where we wanted whatever made us feel or look "grown up", but with age the desire to act or look older reverses. After all, who WANTS to look older? Now not everyone is going to be into rainbow letters, hearts, ice pops, bumble bees, etc. If you didn't like those types of images when you were 12, there's nothing wrong with despising them when you are 40. But if secretly in your 20, 30 or 40-something mind you're looking at these bold designs and thinking to yourself, "Awe, that's cute!" or "I wish I was still young enough to carry a purse like that!", than who are we kidding?

    The only reason to put anyone down for carrying a bag of the fun or casual sort is if you're jealous of their individuality or courage for doing so. If you're still into the I-want-to-look-grown-up phase, chances are you are in your teens or 20s. Once you hit your 30s, 40s and beyond you will care less and less about what other people think, and more and more confident to express your own individual style. This is perhaps the single-most benefit of growing older, so why wait? Don't follow the trends or what you imagine to be the expectations, make them!

     

  • At 9:42 AM, Blogger pinkshopaholic5 said…

    I own three Dooneys and they are my favorite bags. They are very well made, and I am in the process of adding new members to my Dooney family. However, I don't like the fact that the white IT bags tend to yellow after prolonged exposure to the sun, but if you get an all leather bag or a dark version of the IT, you don't have that problem.

     

  • At 4:03 AM, Blogger Saddm Hussain said…

    Dooney & Bourke Authentic All-Weather Leather Handbags :-
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