Demand for designer bags cools -- Consumers want more unique stuff!

As luxury fashion's market grows and reaches consumers who once never would have dreamed of buying expensive bags, the industry is facing a backlash: If too many people have a luxury item, it loses some of its cache.

Like the restaurant that no one goes to anymore because it's too crowded, some fashion-conscious shoppers are turning away from the top labels in search of hot bags that other people don't have. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "... as big luxury brands have expanded world-wide, offering more entry-level products to reach more consumers, some high-end shoppers are getting turned off. The proliferation of knockoffs has helped erode the mystique of owning a high-end bag... As retailers head into the new year, some are declaring that "it" is over."

Someone should print that article out and send it to all the teenage girls who would drive their parents into the poorhouse in pursuit of the "it" bag. Think about it: How stylish can you be if you're wearing the same stuff everyone else is? That isn't stylish! It's copying.

Some of the most fashion-forward people I know shun the big-name high-price labels, opting instead to craft their own unique looks at other stores -- sometimes even thrift shops!

Think of putting together inexpensive but hot outfits as a challenge -- If you really do have style, you should be able to do it.