While most people take their leather handbags, totes and briefcases for granted, you would be surprised at the amount of work that goes into making a handbag and the number of decisions that must be made before a pattern is cut.
For example, the designer must decide if the bag will be soft-sided, also known as slouch-sided, and whether the final product will contain multiple external and internal pockets. Further, the designer has to know whether it will be closed by snap or a zipper and whether the pockets will have separate snaps or zippers. Finally, the designer must know whether it will be a handbag or shoulder bag because this determines, to a large degree where reinforcements must be placed.
So, let’s say the designer determines that the handbag will be a semi-rigid shoulder bag with an extra flap for closure and a snap. The next step involves finding the right piece of leather from which to cut the body and pieces. The designer does try to keep the leather the same as it is the easiest way to match the grain, but sometimes compromises have to be made and when they do, any grain that doesn’t match will usually end up in a hidden end seam of along the reinforcement for the long closure flap.
Once this is decided and the pieces are cut, the designer then has to reinforce those areas that will be bearing the strain. For the most part, this means cutting another piece of leather to reinforce the bottom, as well as extra leather to support the long flap. Sometimes this piece of support leather is long enough to act as not only reinforcement for the bottom but also for the long closure piece.
The nice thing about this type of bag is that it can usually be cut in one or two major pieces with the only remaining decision to be made at cutting table is just how wide the side pieces will be and whether they will be reinforced and whether there will be extra pockets that require extra cutting and finish stitching.
Finally, the leather is readied, cut and sewn together on special leather machines. Most of the time multiple passes will be required as not only are the outer seams double-stitched for support, but if pockets are included they must also be added and the liner must be sewn in.
This is a heavily labor intensive occupation so it is little wonder that a quality handbag can cost as much as $250 or even more. There are handbags on the market that cost as much as $10,000 to $30,000, while others are in the $7,000 range and still others are in $1,000 range. It all depends on the amount of work needed to ready them for marketing. Indeed, handbag marketing is quite a world in itself and here is where it pays to watch labels and avoid knockoffs, unless you want people to think the handbag on your shoulder is a Louis Vuitton.