The It Bag Ain't Over Till the Last Thousand is Spent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/fashion/01BAGS.html?ex=1351742400&en=
5281336c7362478f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=
permalinkSo, check out this article by Eric Wilson of The New York Times. To see it, simply copy and paste into the search bar.

To answer his question, "Is this It for the 'It' Bag", I don't think so. In fact, this is only the beginning. First there's the shock, then there's the awe, then there's the resignation. Suddenly that wool Prada purse costing $565 at Barneys just does not seem obscenely priced. Don't blame the rise of the Euro: it is not the fault of the faltering dollar. Rather, it is ourselves, women, who must be blamed. We are saying, "Yes, it is okay for you to slap together a bit of leather and take us for a little ride down those leather straps."

I know a designer for a mid-priced line who thinks the only way to command respect in a meeting is to waltz in with a thousand dollar bag. The price connotes exclusivity. After all, what's the point of buying it if everyone else can, too? Ironically, no price for a mass-produced bag can guarantee exclusivity. Status, maybe. An "It" bag may as well be called a "Me, too" bag. It's a brilliant marketing ploy: it costs a lot, is in style for only a season after which it so overexposed that it gets copied and becomes obsolete. Rinse. Repeat. Give me liberty from labels or give me death!