I walked into a luxury store recently, picked up a jacket I’d been eyeing for months, and did what I always do now. I turned it inside out and read the label. The price had four figures. The lining was polyester. The stitching on one seam was already wobbling on a brand-new piece hanging in the flagship.
I put it back, and I felt something I’ve been feeling a lot lately. Not “I can’t afford this”. Something worse: “This isn’t worth it, and they know it isn’t.”
Prices went up. A lot.
The Chanel Classic Flap is the clearest example of what people now call “bagflation”. The medium size cost $5,800 in the US in 2019. By 2025 it was $11,300, and after this year’s increase it’s around $11,700. That’s roughly double in seven years, while US living costs rose by about a quarter over most of that period.
Chanel isn’t alone, it’s just the easiest to track. Across the industry, houses raised prices repeatedly after 2019. Some of that was real cost: leather, gold, labour and shipping all got more expensive. But the increases went far beyond inflation. The strategy was to move upmarket, chase the richest customers and make the brand feel more exclusive by pricing more people out.
And quality didn’t follow
If a bag doubles in price, you’d expect it to be twice as good. Instead, the most common complaint from loyal luxury shoppers in the last few years has been the opposite: things feel thinner, scratch faster, wear out sooner. Coated canvas where there used to be leather. Synthetic blends where there used to be pure wool. Polyester linings inside jackets priced like small cars.
The most uncomfortable piece of hard evidence came out of Italy in 2024. A Milan court placed a Dior manufacturing unit under judicial administration after an investigation into its suppliers. According to court documents reported by Reuters, contractors could charge as little as €53 to supply a handbag that then retailed for €2,600. The investigation concerned the suppliers’ treatment of workers, and Dior itself was not under criminal investigation. But that number travelled around the world because it confirmed what so many people suspected.
To be fair, the retail price of a bag was never only about materials. You’re also paying for design, stores, marketing, the name, the history. That’s always been true. But there’s a limit to how much of the price can be story before the customer starts feeling like the story is all there is.
Are they making fools out of us?
A little, yes. I think the industry made a bet that the logo would carry everything. That customers would keep paying more for less because the name on the bag mattered more than the bag. And for a few years, it worked. The pandemic boom, the resale frenzy and the “investment piece” narrative all made price increases feel justified.
But customers aren’t stupid, and the internet made everyone an inspector. Reviewers now film seam close-ups. TikTok is full of people reading composition labels out loud. Resale platforms show you exactly how a bag looks after two years. Opacity was luxury’s friend. It’s gone.
The customers are walking
And you can see it in the numbers. Chanel reported a drop in revenue and a sharp fall in operating profit for 2024. The broader luxury market slowed. The aspirational shoppers who used to save up for one special piece a year have quietly stopped, and they were the ones who made the logos feel democratic to begin with. One FashionUnited essay summed up the mood: in 2025, value overtook price.
It’s not just luxury, either. The same feeling exists at every level. A mid-range sweater that pills in a week. A high-street “linen” shirt that’s mostly viscose. Concert tickets, coffee, a basic dinner out. Prices rise, what you get shrinks, and everyone is supposed to act like that’s normal.
Where I’ve landed
I still believe in paying properly for beautiful, well-made things. A great coat from a maker who respects their craft and their workers is worth saving for. I’ll defend that forever.
But “expensive” and “worth it” have separated, and it’s on us to notice. Turn things inside out. Read the label. Look at the seams. Ask what you’re actually paying for. Some brands, often smaller ones, still put the money into the object. Find them. Reward them.
And to the big houses: we noticed. You can charge whatever you want. But the moment a customer turns your jacket inside out and feels foolish, you’ve lost something no price increase will buy back.
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