Snake Eater: Gucci's Secret.
Good Wednesday! It’s been a very nice week, so far, and the weather was decent enough to warrant sailing on a friend’s beautiful Uniesse in the Chesapeake on the 4th, the heat and humidity notwithstanding. I love being on the water and when you’re able to enjoy good company, delicious food and very nice (if a little too modern) nautical ambiance, life is definitely good! I didn’t want to go home. But I had to so that I could write this. Believe, I couldn’t focus on it out there. It’s impossible!
The Gucci Secret line is one I consider to be wonderful. It’s sophisticated, modern and old school all at the same time. Gucci has cribbed from many other maker’s flagship bags for this line, in my opinion. I believe it takes the best from this bag below, which is the Ricky from Ralph Lauren:
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This bags has a number of equestrian tstyling cues and resembles a saddle bag. Considering it is Ralph Lauren, the horse riding theme is expected. The prices for this bag in genuine form start at about $3,000 and go up astronomically from there. The Ricky comes in as many sizes, dazzling array of colors and textiles as the Hermes stalwart, the Birkin. The Birkin, actually started this trend and, as you can see, is the archetype for the Lauren and ostensibly the Secret. The Birkin is actually less busy and more sedate than Rickey which is very surprising. If you know anything about French art up until the 20th century, you’d be actually guess that Lauren’s opus was the French bag. I love the simplicity of the Birkin but much prefer the drama of the Ricky.
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The Birkin and the Ricky no doubt inspired this particular Gucci Secret bag. It has buckles and locks but a bit more formality in its overall structure than either the Hermes or the Lauren. These bags come in many mouth-watering configurations, my favorite being the leather and velvet combo. However, there are NO good replicas of that combo and so I stick with the leather and Gucci logo fabric, as it is the easiest to replicate effectively. That’s always been my mantra: buy replicas of things that are easy to replicate. A Patek tourbillon cannot be replicated at all for under $50,000. It just can’t be done. To buy a cheap replica of something that’s very unique is ridiculous. Of course, as with all things, there are exceptions. I just haven’t seen any yet. Here’s what the genuine Gucci Secret I mentioned looks like:
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This bag is in between both the Hermes and Lauren in terms of design. It’s not too simple and it’s not too “fussy.” I love all three but there’s something about the Secret that draws me in. It reminds me of 70s era Gucci but it clearly has its roots firmly planted in the new millenium.
I mentioned in my last bag post that I purchased the Gucci piece from the old Fabaaa. I did not buy the bag above. Why? Because as much as I love the saddle bag look, I know that I would get frustrated with them. Many people carry their Birkins and Rickys open and I could never do that. I would have to have it closed up, zippers and buckles together, all the time. I think a bag that is designed that way that is left open looks sloppy. It sounds crazy but I just have this need for order. My house is spotless and organized; my car is always washed and always clean. It’s a quirk and it developed recently. I never really cared before. If you opened the trunk of my car you would have found a thrift store! Shoes, clothes and whatever else you can think of was in my trunk. My gas mileage went up because I don’t carry 100 pounds of stuff in my backseat and trunk. It’s the effects of getting older and more mature, I guess.
I got the Secret at the same time as the Vuitton travel bags. It came in a separate box than the Vuittons and was packaged fairly well for its long trip and was quite innocuous. I don’t imagine customs would have been specifically picking this box to check at all. That’s a very good thing because I don’t believe anyone would have considered this genuine the way it was packaged inside.
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The dust bag came wrapped up over the bag, inside out. Why it was inside out, I’ll never know. But it looked like Fabaaa took great care in making sure that it was done correctly. Nothing seemed rushed even though it all probably was. I got my items in about a week and a half. And I haggled which helped me save money on the shipping!
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Now, I have to lay a confession on you. As much as I say that you should buy items that are externally identical to the genuine items that are being replicated, I did not do that here. I believe in that wholeheartedly but in this case I made an exception. This bag is a fantasy piece all the way. There is nothing in the currently available Gucci Secret retail product mix that resembles this bag. Could you get Gucci to custom make a piece like this for you? yes, you could. Did I? No. I saw this bag on Fabaaa’s site and loved it. I like the doctor bag profile and the easy zipper on top made it more practical for me. It’s nice and large and holds my lunch, my both my cameras, both my phones, my mail, all my chargers, my hand sanitzer, my hand cream, a sequined top and my jack knife. Okay, you got me. It doesn’t hold all that stuff. My jack knife is in my bra. LOL This is not my everyday bag but it is carried once a week. It’s that functional.
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The overall look and feel of this bag is as close as it comes. This bag is a fantasy but only a Gucci-phile would know that. And even then you could probably pull it off because if you have the means, Gucci would make this bag for you. And I know for a fact that there are Repgeek members who have a few more shekels than the average bear. In my experience, rich people are the first to ask for a discount and the first to stiff you on money they owe you. That’s my tidbit of info to you: get the rich to pay upfront . . . They are used to lawsuits. That won’t scare them. LOL
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The inside of the bag leaves much to be desired. But the inside of the genuine bags are also shoddy.
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The hardware is actually quite nice. The papers are better than what came with the Vuittons, and that’s saying something.
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The dustbag is very good quality.
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A little closer look.
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The Gucci Secret line is actually an awesome choice, real or replica. If you haven’t added one to your collection, start today. You will NOT regret it.
