Top Investment Handbags of 2023

Clair (Comprehensive Luxury Appraisal Index for Resale) is a proprietary software developed by Rebag that calculates millions of data points to provide immediate quotes on resale luxury items. You can go onto the Rebag app, open your camera and essentially scan your handbags or other luxury items to get an instant-offer for the trade in value of the bag.

I’ve used it and it is crazy accurate. There were very few bags that it was not able to immediately identify.

The Clair Report is an annual review of the luxury resale market using data gathered throughout the year from the software. It covers pricing, demand, and trends seen in the market for this past year.

The Biggest Brands of 2023

It’s no surprise that Hermès took the #1 spot this year with an average value retention of 115%, Goyard came in a close second. Both were listed as “Unicorn” brands given there +100% value retention on the secondary market.

Brands retaining 85-55% in order are:

• Chanel

• Louis Vuitton

• Saint Laurent

• Christian Dior

• Gucci

• Loewe

• Balenciaga

• Fendi

• Prada

One brand that we found surprisingly low on the list was Bottega Veneta, coming in around 48% retention of original sale price. Given the quality of Bottega leather, their lifetime warranty (they are the only designer brand to do this), and their unique silhouettes it’s not where we expected the brand to land this year.

The Best and Worst Handbags of the Year

While these luxury brands as a whole may not have fetched Unicorn status in 2023, some of their individual handbags did. Conversely there were some styles in every brand that were not able to hold onto their value throughout the year. Here are some of the best, and worst, handbag retention values of the year.

The Best (+100%)

• Hermès Constance

• Hermès Picotin

• Hermès Kelly

• Hermès Evelyne

• Hermès Birkin

• Fendi Mama Forever

• Fendi Baguette

• Celine Ava

• Prada Triangle Logo Open Tote

• Louis Vuitton Neverfull

• Louis Vuitton Pochette Accessories

• Chanel Deauville Tote

• Chanel 22 Chain Hobo

• Chanel Coco Top Handle

• Chanel Classic Single Flap

The Worst (<40%)

• Fendi Spy

• Fendi 2jours

• Celine Phantom

• Celine Trapeze

• Prada Promenade

• Prada Galleria Double Zip Tote

• Valentino Rockstud Spike Flap

• Valentino Rockstud Flip Lock Messenger

• Valentino Rockstud Tote

• Valentino Glam Lock Shoulder Bag

• Valentino Rolling Rockstud Crossbody

Top Clair Picks for Handbag Investments

The Clair Report also listed their top investment picks for 2023 in handbags, watches, and jewelry to give direction for people unsure what to invest in.

The Louis Vuitton Sologne bag was the top pick with a +55% increase in value over 2023. You can currently get one of these crossbody bags from $1,000 - $1,400 US depending on condition and year.

Even with a +55% increase that is a great price point for a luxury handbag. With the rise of interest in vintage Louis Vuitton I think this is a great choice for an investment bag.

The Saint Laurent Le 5 À 7 Hobo is a step up in price from the Louis Vuitton bag, ranging from $1,400 for a mini up to $2,600 for a small size.

This bag can be purchased brand new from YSL for around the same price. Unless you have a rare color or style no longer in production it’s unlikely someone will want to pay the same price for a pre-owned bag.

As luxury brands continue to increase prices and your bag maintains it’s original purchase price, or continues to go up with them, you’ll be able to re-home it in the future without losing much if anything on your original investment.

I’m not as convinced about the YSL bag as an investment purchase, but Clair knows best.

Last but not least, and no surprise of course, a Chanel Classic Double Flap. Increasing complaints regarding bag quality and price increases, hasn’t seemed to slow down the demand for Chanel bags.

They also introduced a purchase limit to the Classic Flap Bags this year. According to these new rules, each client can only purchase 2 per year, similar to Hermès, but extremely loosely enforced.

If Chanel decides to really crack down on this rule I think it’s a safe bet we’d only see resale value of these bags continue to rise.

Interesting Pop Culture Influence

We all remember the Barbie craze of 2023 right? Well Barbiecore definitely had a lasting impact on the luxury resale market. Pink handbags retained an average value of 81% which is 5% more than the average value retention of handbags in the same categories.

I’m not sure that we’ll see the same hype for all things pink in 2024. So if you haven’t jumped on the Barbiecore bandwagon yet, don’t.

Fendi had a similar boost as a brand this year. With another season of ‘And Just Like That’ airing the value of Fendi bags increased significantly.

Rebag compared the value of the Fendi Peekaboo and Baguette bags 3 months prior to the show launching and 3 months post-finale. The Peekaboo bag had a 48% increase in value, while the Baguette bag had a 34% increase in value. Both styles are classic handbags commonly associated with Carrie Bradshaw.

It’s interesting to see how pop culture can impact resale value. Clearly a good strategy for re-homing any handbags, wait for a related show or movie premiere that goes viral on TikTok, then sell it.

Brands to Watch in 2024

With 2024 right around the corner we all want to know what is up and coming. According to the Clair Report?

Burberry & Gucci.

There’s a buzz around what Daniel Lee will do for Burberry, given his history with Bottega Veneta. He crafted several iconic it-bags and revitalized the brand during his time there. We can only expect similar exciting pieces to be coming from Burberry in 2024.

Sabato De Sarno does not have as impressive of a track record. He’s a relatively new face in the industry, but his debut in September was positively received so we will see what he has in store for Gucci this year.