Left: Balenciaga Cherche, Right: Banana Republic Robson
This Balenciaga is one of those things that slowly grew on me. The first time I saw it, I pretty much walked by with no fanfare whatsoever. Then the next time I picked it up, saw the stingray medallion and mused at how that bit of detail really made the clutch. Then the 3rd time, I walked around with it and looked in the mirror for full inspection. And now that I am looking for the perfect clutch, it is on my top 3 finalist list. Sometimes it is the slow smolder that burns the brightest (much like boyfriends, right?). I was about to get it until a recent trip to Banana Republic and what do I see? A knockoff! OK, it isn’t a “fake” kind of knockoff but the styles surely do resemble each other a little too closely for my liking. I am left in a stupor because on the one hand, I should not be deterred by Banana Republic, it is not as though you would mistaken the Balenciaga as anything but a designer bag. But on the other hand, if the basic style and shape is what I love, why not save $835 and just get the Banana look-a-like? OK, the Banana one does not have the cool stingray medallion but is that really worth $835? I mean, to be perfectly honest, the Banana clutch is nice and cleanly made. But am I so much a snob that I can’t “lower myself” to using a Banana Republic bag? I mean, I wear the clothes, I have this orange silk dress that gets more compliments than I ever did for any of my Balenciaga dresses. In the end, I could not get myself to compromise, not even to the extent of getting the actual Balenciaga knowing that the other one is out there. The difference is slight yet it is separated by a vast pretension that I cannot bridge. Balenciaga Cherche clutch at Barneys for $995, Banana Republic Robson clutch for $160.
you do sound pretentious but I have to agree that it looks great but nonetheless cheap.The chain is a dead giveaway!
who do you think you are esp at times like this when people can’t afford basic needs anymore? “lower yourself” because you were considering a BR product?? you should be thankful that we even click on your site so that you can get your monthly income to be wasted on your stupid HIGH END bags or do you use your husbands money. i cant tell.
I think the BR handbag looks more like the Anya Hindmarch Lautner.
But these two bags are not alike! At one glance you can see that the one on the left is more graceful. Were I in need(which I´m not) of something like this, there would be no hesitating in choosing the Balenciaga. Since you are in doubt-don´t buy either one!
I actually like BR’s bags and such, even though I have never bought one. I always wanted to save my purse money for other purses and just buy all their cute clothes at BR instead.
Although there is only a slight difference between the bags, I like the balenciaga bag. Do not buy the BR bag. Everyone in America is not BROKE!!!!!
RC, why do you click on the site that is called BAG SNOB? Kelly, I’m with you. I recently bought myself a ship knock off as an experiment and I didn’t like the feeling. Not my thing. I’d rather save for something more worthy.
That is why I put “lower myself” in quotes because I don’t think it is actually lowering myself but I am just using it as an expression.
I am aware of the current situation but this has nothing to do with wealth but rather preference. As to where I get my money, you will just have to keep guessing.
Kelly
OK, this is a bit much. You may not agree with Kelly but she was honest and as it’s her site and it’s a free country, she’s at liberty to give her opinion on a purchase that she was considering making. This decision affects no one other than her and her family. So why be abusive? If you don’t like what she says, then click away. No one forces you to come here.
And on the subject of what a client of mine recently called with masterful understatement the “current challenging economic climate”, it’s up to each of us to decide how we respond. I see no reason why your rationale for making a particular purchase should not be decided by the same criteria that should always have applied: whether you can afford the item and whether you want it at that price. What does anyone else have to do with it?
You may consider that people are having trouble with meeting “basic needs”, but there is a vast difference between what constitutes a “basic need” in the US and affluent West and that which might apply elsewhere in the world. Some people have never been able to meet their basic needs. Maybe I am thoroughly selfish, but I have never once considered not buying something because in India, there are children whose parents can’t afford to allow them to attend school, or elsewhere people are starving. Why should it make any more of a difference that someone who never considered themselves poor before may now have difficulty buying petrol and instead may have to take the bus or suddenly can’t afford a cellphone?
You could look at it the other way and say, buy the bag and take a cab home and at least you make sure that it is more likely that the sales assistant and the cabbie keep their jobs a while longer. Or not, as you please. Once you’ve paid your taxes, and made whatever donations to charities you consider appropriate (including perhaps those ones that supply food and/or schooling to those who can not afford it), whatever else you do is up to you. To me, a more relevant consideration is whether you get into debt because of how you spend such that you become a burden to others, than whether your spending offends someone who has less disposable income than you do since I don’t really see why it’s any of their business in the first place.
In the end, however and whatever you spend, a little more generosity of spirit and tolerance for each other’s differences can not go amiss, don’t you think?
The Balenciaga bag is is much better. It is much more elegant and refined. The stitching is better, the hardware is great everything about it is smooth. The BR bag is coarse comparatively. You made the right choice.
Actually I think the bags are completely different looks. Even if the size and color are similar, even from just looking at the pictures, the leather looks different and the lines are cleaner on the Balenciaga. After all you get what you pay for. (Also in response to RC’s comment, in these tpugh economic times, who do you think are still doing their part to fuel the economy? What would happen if all the people who still have money to spend and invest decided that they should hoard it away. Would there be less companies going bankrupt and jobs lost or more? Hmmm?)
I agree with Lori. The BR bag immediately made me think “Anya Hindmarch”. It’s much more an Anya knock-off than it is a Balenciaga knock-off. That said, I much prefer the Balenciaga.
I think BR handbags are better made than their clothes. They once used good quality jersey, heavyweight cotton, etc. but now everything there feels cheap. At least the bags sometimes look pricier than their price tag.
haha Kelly, you are a true Bagsnob at heart.
I actually prefer the look of the Banana bag better (I just don’t like the Balenciaga mirror thing and the lines), but at the same time, the Balenciaga IS sting ray, and I haven’t seen it or felt it up close. 
Enjoy!
I’m a huge BR fan. their clothes are suoer nice. the bags are really well made with excelletn leathers too; looks much better than their average $200 – $300 price tag. however, i notice their bags have been very frequently “inspired” by popular bags of seasons past and current. so while their clothes are original, their bags are starting to look like knockoffs.
this balenciaga vs BR clutch is a mild comparison. check out the BR robson tote vs the versace hit bag. direct copy!
when i first saw the picture, i figured the BR was an anya or pierre hardy. i think both *look* really nice! i love the stingray medallion on the balenciaga but i’m a total sucker for piping (or whatever you want to call it) around the edges like the BR. i say, if the balenciaga in your top three, pick one of the other two “snob-level” clutches, but get the BR too since you like the look. if the chains make it look cheap you can have them taken off
I agree with those who said this looks more anya hindmarch than balenciaga. I also agree that the balenciaga is nicer..plus, assuming you take good care of it it will last longer, making it a better bargain in the end (remember the whole cost per wear argument?). Additionally, a lot of people who have no problem buying clothes at banana, jcrew, the gap or even old navy balk at buying bags from anothing other than a higher end designer. I’m far from rich, but I wouldn’t buy a bag from banana unless I thought it was very special looking as well as a good deal (and yes, there have been bags like that from banana and jcrew in the past)..and this banana bag doesn’t cut it.
I voted for the Balenciaga. I don’t like chains so if it was Chanel vs BR I wouldn’t have vote for either. Another poster put it best: “if you’re in doubt, don’t buy either.” I agree.
As for RC’s post, I admit, times are tough, but it may not be affecting everyone in the same way. At one point in time in my life I thought it was stupid to spend more than $100 on a handbag. I just bought two for more than $500/each. Why? Because I wanted to. Am I in debt? Nope. Do I make a lot of money? Not really. I save for the things I want and don’t buy anything when I can’t afford it. We are in this economic turmoil because of greedy commerce AND YOU AMERICA. YOU PEOPLE who bought homes that you couldn’t afford (trying to keep up with the imaginary Joneses)
…back to handbags…
KELLY – how about Mary Norton Clutches? She has some gorgeous designs.
I don’t think they look alike, and personally I wouldn’t buy either. They are both blah. I guess at least the BR bag is a waste of less money.
hey, bag snob is where i learned the cardinal rule: NEVER SKIMP ON A WHITE BAG cause it will show up like crazy if the stitching is bad/ if there are any minor errors…
that said, i don’t like either bag =P
The debate is over, the Balenciaga bag (the plisse, which in no way can be confused with any other) is on sale at Barneys for $599, I’m getting it. Helping the economy or whatever you want to call it, in the end I am helping myself here. If you want to hear about my charity work, I will start charitysnob.com and we can all boast about how generous we all are (or not).
http://www.barneys.com/Cher%20Che%20Suede%20Plisse%20Clutch/460805003505,default,pd.html
Love, Kelly
I like the colour and design of your chosen bag better than the Balenciaga Cherche. Lovely choice.
Good choice. I love Balenciaga! And that is a great price.
Love, love, love the Plisse! Thanks for making a clutch choice for me. Help, help, help, please! Now that you have directed me to style, can you advise me on color? Thought I would go with the black, which turns out actually to be called Smoke. Will that be too gray? Does the Anthracite work better with this bag? Thanks!
I just wonder how anyone can justify a designer bag. Does that make you a better person, does it raise you self esteem? When I see people walking with a coach or dooney and burke or louis vuitton–I think I know those designers–but I love Jesus more. Why should I pay to make someone else richer–I’d rather stay at home with my kids than have an extensive wardrobe. I’m happy with who I am and my life–not who I am wearing. Do these things really make you happy? It is just short self gratification. The more you have the more you want, it’s just covetousness nonsense. Jesus is on my sleeve and personally some of these designers names are weird.
i’d prefer banana republic bags coz they’re cheap. look at the prices here! http://www.handbagsenvy.com/Banana-Republic-handbags_1_92_0_20
Class, good looks, creativity, sense of fashion etc… belong to a person not to a brand name. Personally I have owned, Hermes and LV (authentics)but that was when I lived in Geneva and was able to go to Milan for the week end and Montana for New year’s, lots of snobs thereNow I live in rural Virginia and I shop at Goodwill a lot….does that make me a different person? Absolutely not! Today I purchased my first BR, at a consignment store. You can smell the leather at a distance and the bag is gorgeous and in mint condition…I saved $172. I am a happy happy woman. In this case I saw the bag and liked it right away but did not know that it was a BR, I did not know that BR made beautiful purses, it was affordable and looked great on me… Getting of the subject, I bought a painting at Goodwil for $16 it was appraised to be worth between $5000 and $8000, maybe I should sell it and buy some designer stuff?