Minaudieres - you get what you pay for

This is a story of three different qualities of an evening fish clutch and which one to buy. 

A few days ago, SIA spotted the following Olga Berg minaudiere at TK Maxx for $80. The original was $500.

Hhmmm. 

So the research commenced to decide whether it was worth acquiring. 

The bag is a copy of the Judith Leiber koi fish minaudeure which has been done in many colours and has a retail of approx US$6K. 

Note that Leiber has done a number of fish styles & I believe a number of koi fish. The discussion in this post is only about one of those koi fish. This one. Sometimes it is called the Dora style. 

If you are curious, here is another Leiber koi worn by Blake Lively. It is the Ginrin Kohaku koi fish.

Attending The Age of Adeline premiere in April 2015

In Monique Lhuillier and Lorraine Schwartz jewels,
an overall vintage Hollywood style to which
the Leiber clutch gave a quirky contrast.

The shapes between the Dora Leiber & the Berg are not the same especially toward the middle & back of the fish. But as the high street would say, they are similar. 

The Leiber is completely encased in crystals unlike the Berg version which has "holes" in the casing, which are partly covered in "crystals". 

Leiber bags always use Swarovski crystals. Always. However for some reason, none of the retailers nor the actual web site mention this. They simply call the beads "Australian crystal". Must have something to do with legal restrictions. 

Leiber has an astounding sparkle to its crystals. The Berg stones are sparkly and the photo above does them no justice, but they are chalk & cheese with the Leiber stones. 

Leiber is made in Italy. Berg is made in China. 

Leiber is a brass base. Berg is probably a base metal. It is quite heavy, so I doubt that it is plastic. 

Leiber has a nappa leather lining, usually black, gold or silver. Berg has a felt fabric inner, in black. 

Leiber has a gold tone push button clasp.
Berg opens by flicking the dorsal fins - you can see a break in fin which is the opening. 

Both have removeable shoulder straps. 

The crystals on both Leiber and Berg are hand glued. 

Leiber has smaller outer measurements but Berg's internal measurements are not much larger than Leiber's internals. It's the Berg back fins which make up alot of it's outer measurements without providing storage room. 

Then I did some more research. You have to really love it when your job allows you to call online shopping research.

I found a version of the koi which is coming out of China & is being used by alot of high street brands. In terms of quality, it seems to sit in between Leiber & the Berg, obviously closer to the Berg than the Leiber.  Here it is. We'll call it the middle child.

And here is another colourway. In fact, there are a gazillion colourways of this one. 

This version seems to vary in price from US$100 to around US$400 give or take, the latter being the Natasha Couture price. 

It has more fins than Berg, hence more detailed crystal work. 

It opens via the dorsal fins like Berg.

The inner is generally polyeurethane.

It is not completely covered in crystals but like the Berg, has "holes" in the casing, which are partly covered in "crystals".

I've noticed alot of middle children state they are made with Czech crystals, but I am sure the quality of the bling varies.  One of the possibly dodgy sites calls the crystals "diamonds", not "diamond like", but "diamonds" with no inverted commas.

Aliexpress calls the crystals "crystal diamond". Yup. 

The main indicator of this middle child is that each fish scale has three rows of crystals. In contrast, each scale on the Berg has two rows of crystals. If you flip between the photos & look at this specifically, you will see that it is a serious contributor to the apparent quality differences. 

Based on photos from the more reputable sellers, the middle child looks like a better quality than the Berg but I have not seen it in real life. 

Summary 

Do I buy Olga Berg?
Not yet. 
For the price, it's a decent high street version, although if I could see the middle child, I think I'd feel more comfortable with its quality. 

FYI, Leiber minaudieres generally start at US$6K. 
It's definitely a case of you get what you pay for. 

Judith with her bags

Roxy J buys a hot pink Birkin at auction

Instructions:

1. Everything in this post is from SIA's perspective
2. Considerable effort has been made to list the facts
3. There will also be opinions, which are SIA's alone.
4. We would love to hear from you if you agree with the views expressed. 
5. We would love to hear from you if you disagree with the facts or the views expressed. 
6. Logical, articulate and well thought out the comments are preferred to vague opinions, swearing & personal insults. 

Here we go:

Fact: SIA went to a Shapiro luxury goods auction on Tuesday night. 

Fact: Roxy Jacenko arrived while everyone was being seated. She claimed four seats. Her seat was in front of me, two seats to the left. 

Fact: For the hour & a half she was there, I spent more time looking at her than looking at the screen of loot. Because of her loot obsession, I find her fascinating. 

Fact: She had a small frame; unassuming. 

Fact: She was perfectly groomed & coiffured as per usual.
She was wearing diamonds & gold on her wrists. I do not recall checking out her ears. She was wearing leggings as pants in a shades of blue, grey/black pattern. They had a slight sheen to them. The fabric looked like it was of very good quality. I think she was wearing a short sleeve tee & a navy sleeveless puffa jacket. I have seen the puffa a few times previously in out & about photos. I dont recall her shoes. But she was carrying a tiny orange Birkin, about 15 cm in width. Cute & tiny. 

Fact: All you have to do is google & you will see many photos of her run about outfit being leggings as pants, and a puffa or a sweatshirt.  

Opinion: Why does a woman decked out all the way in terms of grooming, hair & accessories wear leggings as pants? Not just occasionally, but often. It just doesnt make any sense at face value. 

Leggings as pants? 

Even if you have a lovely figure (she does), it's just an ugly combination.

Unless she is getting paid to wear the leggings. That's a hypothesis. 

Let's talk hair. 

Fact: I noticed that she has these soft waves all over her head. They are also visible in the above photo. Each wave falls in exactly the same way. Perfect. As I would expect. Until I realised that each perfect wave is actually a hair extension clip. Her hair under each wave is the same shade at the extension - good job hairdresser. But go under another layer & her hair is black/brown/dark. So as soon as hair parts, as she moves around, you see the dark head.  

Opinion: Not ideal. 

Let's talk the nose. After all, it was in my line of sight quite a bit. 

Fact: At the auction, I had completely forgotten she has her nose changed. It was due to a breathing issue. In the process, she made a cosmetic adjustment, as you do. 

Opinion: I looked at her nose & thought "nature does not give out noses like that". It's not that it's gorgeous per se, but it was just too thin & straight to be nature's gift. 

What did she bid on?

Roxy left soon after the Hermes bag part of the auction. 

LOT 124 followed her home. It was a hot pink epsom Birkin with palladium hardware.
Hammer price $9,700
Sale price $11,640

I think all the auction house's photos have been touched up - like Roxy! 

The corner on the right looks like it has wear. I did not examine this at the viewing.  

Fact: When Roxy posted her Instagram photo, she didnt disclose her new Birkin was via auction. 

Fact: She also bid on LOT 128A. This was a black shiny crocodile Kelly. It opened at $12K, she went to $19.5K but it sold to someone else for $20K hammer (sale price $24K).

This lovely is about 20 years old. 

Who was she with?

Fact: Soon after Roxy arrived, two girls joined her. They looked around mid 20s. Both were dressed all in black, had long dark hair & dark skin. They were not Roxy slim. They were both more animated than Roxy. 

Opinion: They didn't seem to be "Roxy clones" as per photo below. 

Roxy clones

Opinion: The girls seem more animated than Roxy. She seemed very quiet & unassuming. Not an alpha female at all. 

Fact: Just as the Hermes bag auction commenced, a man joined the girls - late 40s, heavy set. The girls made room & he sat next to Roxy. 

SIA hopes that this has helped all Roxy lovers have a terrific day. 

Handbag corners are evil

Apart from the aesthetics, the first thing SIA looks for in a bag is the absence of corners. 

A corner wears the fastest when it rubs against your body because it is a sharp area. In contrast, rounded areas don't wear as fast. 

Wear the bag every day and the corners will discolour, thin in their leather and soon after, form a hole. The same applies to bags made of synthetic.  

evil

evil

evil - this is already starting to discolour

evil

evil

evil

better

better

better

better

better

better

better

better

better

better

better

better 

Finally, if a bag (below) is experiencing this much wear, ask yourself, is it me or is it possibly sub standard materials?

Piping is no where near as easy to wear as corners. If the rest of the bag is in terrific condition, this type of wear to the corner piping is a real let down. It's caused from friction with your body. Grab your proof & purchase & go back to the seller. 

In conclusion, there are things to look for in a bag which will cause it to wear better or not so well. Make sure you take these things into consideration based on your priorities. 

The pieces SIA rejects

People are always asking me what I think of this piece or that piece. I respond and always try to explain why. Because if you know the why, you can replicate the logic when I am not around. 

A scan of the racks at Trade Secret reveals FOUR possibilities. I outline the pros & cons for each. 

1st top

PROs:

Made in Italy

Pure silk outer with stretch lining sewn into the seams

Love the lace bits

Love the floaty sleeves

Navy. What more can I say?

CONs:

The hemline finished at the widest part of my thighs. 

I looked like I had gained 5 kg. 

OUTCOME: Bye bye top. 

2nd top

PROs:

Made in Italy

Pure silk outer with stretch lining sewn into the seams

Can you see a theme here? 

Love the colours, crisp white with navy

Love the open neckline

CONs: 

Boho styling - not the real me

Raglan sleeves - make your upper half look look smaller

The deal breaker - gathered elastic hem - anything with a blouson effect will always make you look shorter & fatter where the gathers are placed. As a pear, the last place i want to looks fatter is my hips. 

OUTCOME: Bye bye top.

                              3rd top

PROs:

Pure cotton

Navy & white stripe

CONs:

The white is actually quite off white

It's made in China

The front placket is not functional - it's just a pleat. When you move & it opens up, you see a pleat. This is a sign of cutting corners, high street rather than high end. 

OUTCOME: Bye bye top.

4th top

PROs:

This is a First Daughter top - Ivanka Trump

I put it on & I was transformed. I saw it instantly. It draped well, was cut well for my shape. 

Navy

Polyfester - easy to care for but looked pricey

CONs:

Made in China

It says dry clean only, but I know fabrics & polyfester like this can survive any hand wash. 

OUTCOME: Hello top 

FYI: The US styled necklace is from Zara via ebay & was my hero piece of jewellery for the day. 

THE MORAL OF THIS POST is that you should only buy pieces which make you look & feel amazing. 

"It's OK" or "it'll do" will build you a wardrobe of very ordinary clothes. 

When something makes you look & feel amazing, you will notice it instantly in the mirror. No hesitation. That's when it comes home with you.