Luxury Designer Bag Investment Series: Louis Vuitton Speedy 25 Bag Review – History, Prices 2020

I started a series called: Luxury Designer Bag Investments – Are they actually worth the money? and will be going into the history & background, along with as many notes as possible into each Iconic Bag and how it reached Cult Status… and presumably stayed there!

As there are many bags, I will be posting a new one every week until I run out. ?

Today, introducing the…

Louis Vuitton Speedy 25 Bag

HISTORY: Why & how it became famous

It dates back to the 20th century, and was based off the Keepall which was debuted in 1924 and made out of cotton canvas.

In 1930 they released something called an Express in 30 cm in plain canvas, but everyone called it the Speedy because of the fast-paced lifestyle the duffel bag seemed to denote. They did the monogrammed canvas a year later in 1931.

It was already well-liked by many, but Audrey Hepburn is one of the style icons of the period who stood out, as in 1965 she asked for a smaller bag to be created and they made one in 25 cm for here, now called the Speedy 25.

PRICE LIST for the Louis Vuitton Speedy 30

Year	Price in $USD
1930	???
1979	$150
1998	$325
2002	$430
2008	$730
2013	$890
2014	$950
2018	$1000
2020	$1100

Coated canvas? What a sweet deal for them!

I always look at these bags and think: WHAT A MONEY MAKER.

It’s coated canvas, and costs as much as a pricey leather bag, but with such cheap raw materials (CANVAS)..

As one astute commenter said:

Chanel / LV : Seems doesn’t sell well recently, let’s increase the price.
People: Have to buy now than later!
People: Wait, the quality has gone down!
Chanel / LV : What’s the matter? we sold out already.
People: I will buy anyway, it’s going to cost me more if I don’t. here’s my $2000, give me a bag.
Coach : Let’s hire Stuart Vevers, launch more beautify designs. Lets make more quality bags. launch 1941 with leather lining.
People: Nah, it’s coach. I won’t buy.
Coach : Let’s drop the price. more promotion sale.
People: The bag is nice, I may buy one but I will never pay full price because they’ll discount it anyway. here’s my $200, give me a bag.

RETURNS ON A LOUIS VUITTON SPEEDY

The bag has returned 187% in value since 1979 when it originally cost $150.

If we normalize it to 2020 dollars, $150 back in 1979 is now worth $533.30.

In stores, it sells for $1530 for a difference of $966.70 or 187% over what its price would be, taking inflation solely into account.

(Remember, value is also subjective because someone has to see that and buy it from you at that price, just like with stocks, but a lot trickier to liquidate. Also, who is going to buy an old bag when they can buy a new one for the same price?)

The S&P 500 had you invested that same $150 and not touched it or added any money to it, would have returned: $8675.09 even with the recent 2020 drop due to the virus: