Goyard - Living By The Mantra of Fashion

If you wonder what that mantra is, it’s pretty simple: Quality. Bag maker Goyard has been around since the early 1900s and is best known for the quality of its handbags and trunks. People who purchase Goyard bags despite its relatively high price tag are usually after the brand name and the quality of the materials used for the bags as well as the craftsmanship. Goyard is popular for the craftsmanship involved in making its bags; the brand is also well known for the exclusivity and elusiveness of its bags. Although Goyard accept orders for personalized handbags, its collections still remain limited.

Most well-known bag makers and designers have online stores where avid fashion enthusiasts and bag collectors can order their bags, but Goyard remains elusive because its bags are not available online. People can only get information on where Goyard stores are located worldwide from these websites, but they will have to personally contact the brand’s sales agents in order to place orders or to be waitlisted for specific bags. Goyard bags are pretty uncommon because they are limited, pricey, and not easily accessible to all bag collectors.

Goyard is not as well known in other countries as other French brands such as Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton, but its patrons support this luxury handbag and luggage maker mainly because of the brand’s history and the quality of its bags. Goyard bags are known for being resilient, lightweight and waterproof; their designs are also popular among a lot of bag collectors because of their unique pattern. The bags are made from the brand’s own material made from cotton, linen and cotton woven altogether and to which gum Arabic resin is added.

Its handbags and trunks showcase a three-dimensional chevron pattern that seems painted by hand. The pattern is actually impressed one color at a time using a cadrette. This entire process creates the illusion that the pattern is three-dimensional. The “E. Goyard” name is also visible on the bags as part of the 3D illusion and at the bottom or sides of the bags, depending on the model.

Goyard bags are not as popular as other designer bags but Goyard’s history as a maker of luxury luggage, trunks and handbags for royalty and French aristocratic families way back in the late 1800s make it one of the most sough-after brands by celebrities, bag collectors, fashion enthusiasts, and people with high social status.

With the brand’s popularity though come several problems which include knock-off versions of Goyard bags. For people who are not able to tell the original Goyard bags from the fake ones, they should try feeling the material and looking at the edgings of the bags. Because the chevron pattern is made with impressions of paint, the dots will feel like actual bumps against the material. Fake bags will have shiny and smooth surfaces because the imitated pattern is usually printed.

Goyard Handbags: Everybody Wants One

Goyard handbags have been quite popular, especially since celebrities have started to embrace (or tote) the said French designer brand. Luxury handbag brand wars have also made recent news as handbag makers have reportedly been trying to control which celebrity should and shouldn’t be seen with their illustrious bags. One such news bit reports that the Jersey Shore cast member Snooki, who used to have a “joined at the hip” relationship with her Coach bag, has been sent free Gucci bags by competing brands. Needless to say, competition is pretty tight between designer handbags makers and certain steps are taken to protect their brands’ exclusivity.

Goyard handbags in particular have a long history, starting as a malletier as far back as 1853. The Goyard family started out as transporters of wood, and eventually came into the luggage business. The E. Goyard company became a trunk maker for French aristocratic families and offered their trunks and luggage made to order. Currently, the company is owned by the Signoles family and only has 12 branches worldwide (London, Hong Kong, Paris, Kyoto, Osaka, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Seoul, Beverly Hills, Boston, San Francisco, and New York). Its recent popularity is also attributed to Barney’s displaying Goyard bags on their store window displays.

The brand only offers a few designs in different colors; their bags are hand painted and thus only a limited number of bags are made per year. Goyard bags are considered to be one of the exclusive designer bags today, though this sort of popularity breeds imitation products to crop up in the market. Since Goyard bags are hand painted, some say that one way to check if a bag is authentic or not is to feel the dots. The painted dots on authentic Goyard bags are slightly raised compared to imitation bags that are machine-printed.

Another feature that sets Goyard handbags apart is the special blend of cotton, hemp, and linen they use on their products. This special fabric is coated in resin and is said to be both durable and lightweight. Design-wise, the Goyard handbag thrives on simplicity. The brand offers several bag designs, including the reversible shopping bag called St. Louis and the stiff bag dubbed Jersey.

At any rate, it looks like Goyard will be keeping its popularity going as one of the best designer handbags around – whether or not Snooki decides to tote one around or not.

Goyard Handbags - The Envy of Celebrities Around the World

What do the glitter-filled Hollywood fashionista actresses Pamela Anderson, Nicky Hilton, and Nicole Richie have in common with our very own comparable fashionista actresses Anne Curtis, KC Concepcion, and Ruffa Gutierrez? They are all very pretty, very elegant, and very good actresses. More so, they all know what pure luxury means. Pure luxury at its best. Each of them were spotted, at separate occasions, separate places, bringing and using luxury Goyard handbags, accentuating their flair for fashionable outfits. For what use are luxury clothes without matching luxury handbags equally carried by fashionistas like them?

But, please do take note, not only actresses or famous showbiz people can be fashionistas. Any girl or woman with an eye for elegance and luxury can be the epitome of pure luxury at its best. She just has to carry herself confidently, with her head up, proud to wear fashionista clothes and shoes. And a very good way to seal that much-coveted “look” is by toting a Goyard handbag.

Goyard luxury monogrammed handbags originated from two centuries of Francois Goyard’s family business that expertised in the transportation of wood. These exquisitely-designed handbags are part of the Goyard bags line which include luggage or travel bags and wallets, each of them is hand-painted, making you feel the slightly-raised dots when you touch them. For the black bags and wallets, black stitching is used, while other colors-- oh, a wide array of striking rainbow colors of these luxury handbags, travel bags, and wallets-- have white. Staining from colored drinks, lipsticks, perfume, food, and the like is never a worry for any of these luxury bags and wallets because any stain can easily be wiped from these very elegant bags.

These luxury handbags are well-known over the world, and can be compared with the quality of other famous brands like Vuitton, but are definitely priced less. Imagine pure luxury with at-par brands at less price! Imagine pure luxury made affordable, considering that luxury truly has a price. What’s more, you can opt to personalize them, putting your name's initials or any small design uniquely your own, in your chosen handbag, making it truly you. Uniquely you. What more can a real fashionista ask for? A proven name with a lesser price that has the quality is worth it. A very good investment, indeed.

It pays to indulge once in a while. Life is too short, and having temporary amnesia, amidst the global recession and the daily harshness of life's reality, won’t hurt. Go ahead, feel pure luxury, have that fashionista flair, be a head-turner, the envy of women, attract the man of your dreams, and most of all, feel good about yourself. Buy a Goyard handbag now, and see the difference. Feel it, too. Be the real you. And be on top of the world.

Price of Goyard Croisière Bag

If you're looking for your next bag or Goyard bag, the Goyard Croisière should be at the top of your list. This is basically a duffel bag thats been transformed into an elegant handbag. The Goyard Croisière comes in 4 sizes and pricing from the Goyard Paris boutique is below.

Please note that the prices are in Euros so if you're shopping in dollars, expect to pay 30% more because of the exchange rate, but you do make some of it back as a luxury product such as a Goyard Croisière bag is eligible for a value-added tax (VAT) refund at the airport before you go home. On a bag like this, that will be at least $200-$300 in cash as a VAT refund. Not a bad deal for your next Goyard bag.

• Croisière 35 cm handbag : 1,210 € / 1,575 €
• Croisière 45 cm travel bag : 1,490 € / 1,935 €
• Croisière 50 cm travel bag : 1,690 € / 2,195 €
• Croisière 60 cm travel bag : 2,090 € / 2,715 €.

Goyard Bags

St. Honore clutch: a very limited release to honor their heritage as trunk makers. Available in white, silver, gold, and black. Available at Goyard retailers for a private viewing.

Comores: a long shopper tote. One size.

Jersey: a rigid trunk design. In sizes PM and GM.

St. Louis: a reversible shopping bag that comes in one of ten colors. They also come with a matching wallet. In sizes Junior, MM, or GM.

Jeanne: inspired by the hatboxes of long ago. A ladylike design with a structured body. Women who like the LV Speedys generally like these too. In sizes PM (petite), MM (medium), or GM (grande).