Fashion industry insiders say the market for costly, logo-splashed “status bags” from fashion leaders is changing.

Anna Johnson, a respected New York fashion journalist, believes that real class is resistant to labels, and pricey flashy bags are no longer viewed as a status symbol but rather an object of aspiration for “someone whose bag is often much more famous than they are.” She views “the crassness” of bags with initials and large lettering “off-putting no matter how tenacious the trend.”

As reports The StarPhoenix, style arbiters are now favoring fashion-forward but conservative bags from Kate Spade, Chanel, Coach and Sonia Rykiel. Costly items from such names as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Gucci are “still acceptable, as long as the design whispers its status rather than shouts it”.

“The thing about celebrity bags -- the ones with waiting lists and famous owners who carry them like small dogs -- is that they are cult objects with a very short shelf life, ” says Johnson. “You are likely to find this season’s hot bag in a consignment shop or on Ebay within six months of release, as their status is so time-sensitive.”

Today fashion gurus see luxury in subtlety, design longevity and attention to detail instead of advertisement of logos. “I don’t want to be typecast by my bag, ” says Lisa Tant, editor-in-chief of Flare magazine, who invests in bags that are iconic without being obvious.

But Karen Robinovitz, author of The Fashionista Files, doesn’t believe in such thing as bad publicity when it comes to status handbags and doesn’t think “it dilutes a company’s image when everybody wants something of theirs.”