It's true the bag isn't much to look at, and it's easy to loathe folks who can't get enough designer bling in their lives.

But I have to point out that some folks collect fashion and couture items the way others collect vintage cars or old coins.

The patchwork bag was designed by Marc Jacobs and represents LV's history as a luggage and bag maker. It also incorporates pieces from 14 other LV bags. To a collector, there is a larger appreciation at work here, unmentioned in the WP's easy-way-out story about keeping ahead of the other multi-millionaire Joneses.

The fashion houses, including LV, have recently made it a point to produce lower-line items that will appeal to middle class customers and whet their appetite for luxury, while also creating the ultra-expensive and limited-edition items at the other end. That's why not all the Chanel sunglasses on the heads of entry-level worker bees are fake.

What you used to get from high-end designers was quality, but today many bling-happy shoppers at the low end care more about the brand and creating an illusion of wealth.

And that's where things get disturbing. Since the counterfeit items at the low-low end are exclusively about money, gangs, labor violations, smuggling, and other seedy influences come into play. And the fakes are getting better and better.

Here's a great Talk of the Nation episode about it featuring the author of "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14185246