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THE ARCHIVE JOURNAL | A FOUNDER’S PERSPECTIVE
Sunday, 25 October 2026
By Tony | Founder of Élan Archive
It’s Sunday morning, the 25th of October. The wind is howling outside, autumn has well and truly arrived, and I’m sitting here with a coffee, contemplating life, fashion and, perhaps unsurprisingly, handbags.
The Frenchies are making themselves comfortable, the kettle has already been on more times than I care to admit, and I’ve found myself thinking about something that’s been playing on my mind for a while.
When did we stop buying things simply because we loved them?
It’s a funny question, isn’t it?
Especially coming from somebody who has built a business around buying, selling, sourcing and valuing designer handbags. But bear with me, because I think there’s something rather important here.
And before anybody gets concerned, no, I haven’t suddenly decided that handbags should be given away for free. I’ve still got a business to run, thank you very much!
What I have been wondering, though, is whether we’ve become so caught up in the value of luxury that we’re slowly forgetting the joy of it.
And that, to me, would be a terrible shame.
Spend five minutes scrolling through social media, watching handbag reviews or reading conversations in luxury fashion communities, and you’ll quickly notice something, we’re absolutely obsessed with value.
Will it hold its price? Is it a good investment? Should I buy the black one because it’s easier to resell? Is the hardware the right colour? Will this particular model become collectible? And my personal favourite…
Should I actually use it, or will that ruin its resale value?
WHAT?!
We’ve reached a point where somebody can spend several thousand pounds on a beautiful handbag and then become frightened to take it out of the wardrobe. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I talk about resale values all the time. It’s a fundamental part of what I do at Élan Archive.
If somebody asks me whether a particular handbag represents good value, I will give them the most honest answer I can. Sometimes that means encouraging a purchase, other times it means suggesting they walk away. I believe people should understand what they’re buying, what they’re paying and what their money is actually getting them.
But there’s a difference between making an informed purchase and allowing the potential resale value to dictate everything you own. Because somewhere along the way, we’ve started treating handbags like little leather investment portfolios, and personally, I think we’ve rather lost the plot.
A beautiful handbag should make you smile when you pick it up, it should make you feel a little more confident walking into a room. It should occasionally make you look at yourself in the mirror and think, Yes, that’ll do nicely.
Surely that feeling is worth something too?
Now, here’s something that might surprise you, at 58, I think I’m enjoying fashion more than I ever have. Not because I’m desperately trying to keep up with what’s trending, quite the opposite, actually. I’m enjoying it because I’ve finally reached a point where I know what I like.
And perhaps, more importantly, I care considerably less about whether everybody else likes it and there’s something wonderfully liberating about that.
When we’re younger, so much of what we wear can be influenced by the people around us. We want to fit in, look current, wear the right labels and occasionally impress people whose opinions probably shouldn’t matter quite so much.
And then, if we’re lucky, something changes, we begin to understand the difference between fashion and personal style. Fashion is constantly moving. It’s exciting, creative, occasionally ridiculous and always reinventing itself. Style, however, is something altogether different.
Style is knowing yourself, it’s understanding what makes you feel good, what suits your personality and what you enjoy wearing, regardless of whether somebody on TikTok has declared it fashionable this week.
I love a beautifully tailored jacket. Give me a fabulous pair of glasses, a great bag and a bit of confidence, and I’m perfectly happy. Do I occasionally look as though I’ve wandered out of a rather questionable 1970s television programme? Quite possibly but and its a big but, do I care? Not remotely.
Because here’s something I’ve come to believe very strongly.
The older I get, the less interested I am in being fashionable. I’m far more interested in having style.
And I think the same philosophy should apply to the handbags we choose.
There. I’ve said it , and I can almost hear some of my fellow resellers gasping into their morning coffees. But it’s true.
I have an enormous appreciation for the classics. A beautifully maintained Chanel Classic Flap, a Louis Vuitton Alma, a Hermès Birkin or a timeless Gucci Jackie can be an extraordinary thing.
These designs have earned their places in fashion history, but do you know what really gets me excited?Something a little unusual, a handbag that makes me stop scrolling, a piece that tells a story. Something that makes me think, Oh, now THAT is interesting.
Take the Fendi Baguette featuring the artwork of Antonio Lopez that recently passed through Élan Archive, what a wonderful piece. it is bold, playful, colourful and full of personality. Now, is an illustrated Fendi Baguette necessarily the safest commercial purchase compared with a classic neutral design? Of course not.
Its audience is smaller, its appeal more specific, and finding the right buyer can take a little more patience, but the design has a story.
Antonio Lopez wasn’t simply somebody whose illustrations happened to look good on a handbag. He was an extraordinary fashion illustrator whose work helped define the visual language of fashion in the 1970s and 1980s. And suddenly, that handbag becomes more than an accessory, it becomes a little piece of fashion history.
That’s the sort of thing I love discovering, and it’s something I want Élan Archive to celebrate.
Because whilst the commercial side of buying and selling will always matter, I never want to lose the excitement of finding something extraordinary. Sometimes the most interesting handbag in the room isn’t the most expensive, it’s the one with the best story.
Those of you who have followed me for a while will know that I have a particularly soft spot for Hermès.
And, of course, there’s Miranda, my beautiful Birkin 40 in Bois de Rose Clemence leather. She’s not particularly subtle, she’s certainly not tiny. And if somebody were to tell me that I should have chosen a smaller Birkin in a more conventional colour because it might be easier to resell, I’d probably smile politely and carry on enjoying her.
Because I didn’t fall in love with Miranda after studying a spreadsheet, I fell in love with the bag. The colour, the proportions, the beautiful leather, the sheer presence of it, and isn’t that how it should be?
It’s a similar feeling when I visit Chanel. One of my favourite things about the relationships I’ve developed with the sales associates I’ve met is that our conversations often go far beyond the latest collection. We’ll talk about the history of the house, the designers who have shaped it, the construction of particular pieces and the techniques involved in bringing a design to life.
I find that fascinating and when I look at a Chanel handbag, I don’t simply see a logo and a price tag. I see decades of design evolution, I see the influence of Gabrielle Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Virginie Viard and now Matthieu Blazy.
I see the little details that make a handbag recognisable before you’ve even spotted the branding. And I see something that I think we’re increasingly forgetting in the rush to discuss price increases and resale values, craftsmanship, creativity and imagination.
The extraordinary amount of thought that can go into creating something beautiful. Not every expensive handbag represents good craftsmanship, and not every beautifully made handbag carries an enormous price tag. But when design, craftsmanship and emotion come together, something rather special happens.
You stop thinking about what the handbag might be worth in five years, you simply enjoy owning it today.
Here’s another thing I’ve learned through building Élan Archive. Some of the most interesting conversations I have with clients aren’t about the most expensive bags, they’re about finding the right bag.
And those two things are very different. I’ve seen people fall completely in love with a beautifully preserved vintage piece that costs a fraction of its modern equivalent.
I’ve seen extraordinary craftsmanship in older handbags from brands that don’t command the same attention as Chanel or Hermès.
And I’ve found myself admiring pieces from more accessible designers that have every bit as much personality as handbags costing several thousand pounds more.
Michael Kors is a wonderful example. I recently wrote about Michael and his extraordinary journey through fashion, and it’s a story I think deserves far more recognition.
Here’s a designer with genuine fashion history, remarkable industry experience and an understanding of how people actually want to dress. Yet we sometimes dismiss accessible luxury because we’ve become conditioned to associate higher prices with better taste.
And I’m not convinced that’s particularly sensible. A fabulous handbag is a fabulous handbag, whether you’ve paid £200 or £20,000. Of course, those two purchases will differ in materials, construction, exclusivity and all sorts of other considerations.
But neither price guarantees personal style. And frankly, I’d much rather see somebody confidently carrying a handbag they genuinely adore than somebody nervously carrying an enormously expensive one simply because they’ve been told it’s the right thing to own.
Buy the bag you love. Not the bag you think you’re supposed to love.
I think this is where the conversation becomes about something much bigger than handbags.
Because as I sit here on this blustery autumn Sunday, looking back over the years, I realise that my relationship with fashion has changed enormously. At 58, I’m not remotely finished discovering who I am, far from it, if anything, I feel like I’m having more fun with life than ever.
Building Élan Archive, exploring fashion, meeting extraordinary people and doing something I’m genuinely passionate about have all reminded me of something important.
You don’t have to stop being curious, adventurous or excited about new things just because you’ve collected a few birthdays, and you certainly don’t have to dress according to somebody else’s expectations. Life is far too short.
Wear the fabulous coat, buy the interesting glasses, carry the slightly outrageous handbag.
And if somebody raises an eyebrow? Well, at least you’ve given them something to talk about.
But there’s a more sentimental side to all this, too. Think about the things in your own wardrobe that you genuinely treasure, perhaps it’s the handbag you bought with your first proper salary. The coat you wore on a wonderful holiday, a watch that belonged to somebody you loved or something you purchased during a particularly happy chapter of your life.
Those pieces might not have significant financial value, some might even be worth very little on the resale market.
But would you part with them? Probably not.
Because their value exists somewhere entirely different, in memories in experiences and in the people we were when we bought them and the people we’ve become since.
And I think that’s rather beautiful.
When I started Élan Archive, I wanted to build something that reflected my love of designer handbags, fashion history and exceptional pieces. But I also wanted to create a business that felt personal.
A place where people could ask questions, discover something new and feel comfortable exploring luxury, whether they were experienced collectors or considering their very first designer purchase.
Of course, authenticity is non-negotiable, vcondition matters, provenance matters and understanding the market matters enormously. Those principles are at the heart of everything I do.
But I don’t want Élan Archive to become a place where we simply look at handbags as numbers on a spreadsheet. I want it to be somewhere we celebrate design, where we appreciate craftsmanship. Where we tell the stories behind extraordinary pieces and where we remember that buying something beautiful should actually be an enjoyable experience.
Sometimes I’ll tell you that a particular handbag is an excellent commercial purchase.
Sometimes I’ll tell you that the market is overpriced and you’d be better off keeping your money in your pocket.
And occasionally I’ll show you something completely wonderful that makes me throw my sensible reseller hat out of the window for a moment.
Because it makes me smile.
And honestly, I hope that never changes. There will always be room for the classics, there will always be collectors who focus on long-term value and there will always be sensible reasons for considering resale potential before making a significant purchase.
But there should also be room for a little spontaneity, for personality, for the unexpected and for falling in love with something simply because it’s beautiful.
After all, if everything we owned had to make perfect financial sense, our wardrobes would be rather boring places. Mine certainly would.
The wind is still blowing outside. My coffee has gone cold, which is becoming a recurring theme whenever I sit down to write these Sunday reflections. And the Frenchies remain entirely unimpressed by my thoughts on the luxury handbag market.
But I hope I’ve given you something to think about.
Because whether you’re carrying a Chanel, a Coach, a vintage Mulberry or a handbag you’ve owned for twenty years, I think there’s one question worth asking yourself.
If nobody could see the label, would you still love it?
If the answer is yes, then I think you’re doing something right. If the answer is no, perhaps it’s worth asking whether you bought the handbag for yourself or for everybody else.
And maybe that’s the real lesson here.
Luxury shouldn’t be about proving something to other people, it should be about enjoying something for yourself. So wear your beautiful things, take the handbag out of its dustbag. Enjoy the craftsmanship, the design and the feeling it gives you.
Look after it, certainly, but don’t be frightened to actually live with it.
Because one day, when you look back, I suspect you’ll remember the wonderful places you took that handbag far more fondly than you’ll remember what somebody said it was worth.
And wouldn’t that be a lovely way to look at luxury?
Until next Sunday, enjoy your beautiful things, stay warm and, above all, keep being wonderfully yourself.
Tony x
The Designer Bag Guy
Founder | Élan Archive
I’d genuinely love to know your thoughts.
Have you ever bought a handbag simply because you fell in love with it, even though you knew it wasn’t the most sensible purchase?
Or perhaps you own something that holds far more sentimental value than financial value?
Come and tell me.
Because some of the best fashion stories aren’t about the handbags themselves.
They’re about the people carrying them.
Explore more stories, insights and a little luxury market conversation in The Archive Journal at elanarchive.co.uk.
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