€8 a week for a designer bag? The Dublin store we absolutely adore
Every city has a handful of unique destinations which appeal to die-hard fashionistas who know that bang for your buck is still possible even at designer label level.
And Dublin’s comes in the shape of Designer Exchange on Dawson Street.
Having opened its doors in 2012, the store, which is a veritable haven for handbag-lovers, has a philosophy which encourages the consumer to look at their designer purchase from a different perspective.
Instead of committing themselves to a lifelong investment in Chanel, Birkin or Vuitton, customers can – if they choose – trade their purchase back at a later date.
So, let’s say you buy a bag for €1,000 that probably cost €1,800 brand new. If you decide after a year that you want to trade it back to Designer Exchange , they then give you, for example, €600 for it.
You use the €600 against your next purchase, therefore your first purchase only cost you €400 for a full year of use.
And yes ladies, that boils down to €33 per month or €8 a week!
Speaking our language, owner, Paddy Coughlan, says: “A bag is for everyone, but 10 inch stilettos aren’t. A bag or accessory no longer just completes a look, a look can be built around it.”
“I’ve heard ladies say that they like to wear a colour, but they love to wear a particular bag.”
“I love the joy I see when we make it possible for a lady to get her dream bag, something she may have thought unattainable until she could take part in our instalment plan and/or part exchange.”
Interestingly, over 60 per cent of Designer Exchanges sales come via posts on Facebook, with many items snapped up within minutes of them hitting the store’s social media platforms.
And we may be responsible for more than a few…
