Mulberry Luxury Handbags and Bags

The Mulberry Handbag Company

The Mulberry handbag company was created by Roger Saul and his mother in 1971. Initially Mulberry was known as a British lifestyle brand, but its range now includes luxury designer bags, handbags, purses, womenswear, menswear, and footwear for women, and they have gained acclaim worldwide for their highly-crafted fine leather goods. They very recently announced an increase in sales of 80%, so they must be doing something right.

The company's strength is their elegant bags - like the Bayswater and Roxanne - which have rapidly become fashion classics. British designer Emma Hill became creative designer for Mulberry in 2008 and is building a loyal following for her unique and refined styles

Mulberry Group is a listed company with ticker MUL, so if you like their bags and handbags you can also buy their shares and perhaps make some money that way.

How to Get a Discount on Mulberry Handbags

If you live in the UK or France and are a shareholder, you can get a 20% discount on genuine Mulberry bags at Mulberry stores (not sure if it works via their online store). Make sure you get the shareholder discount card and trot along to a store and claim your 20% discount on their bags! So buy a few shares, they currently cost around 5 UKP each so buy 50 or a 100 pounds worth and get yourself a discount on their excellent goods. This only seems to apply to the UK and Paris, but there are Mulberry stores throughout the world and the company has registered offices in London and New York.

Mulberry makes its designer leather goods at its factory in Somerset (south-west England) and plans to expand the factory and increase the number of bags manufactured in the UK. Mulberry also has an apprenticeship scheme to encourage local youngsters to learn a useful skill and provide employment for the local community.

Despite the financial crisis and a gloomy economic outlook, Mulberry's trademark luxury designer leather handbags continue to sell well. They are also selling more products at full price and had very few bags available for its summer sale. Wholesale orders are expected to double, and spring 2011 is also looking good. Christmas trading will be an important time but generally Mulberry expects to "significantly exceed market expectations." Shares rose 17% on the news.

Due to the success of Mulberry handbags and shoes the Internet is now swarming with fakes and replicas, no doubt made by our Chinese brothers and sisters in their new-found enthusiasm for capitalism without the freedom of opinion but with the hard work, exploitation and poor standards of living for the workforce. Of course, given the current financial crisis and the enthusiasm of the rich to make themselves even richer whilst making the poor even poorer, we might soon find ourselves competing with our Chinese comrades for the right to stitch together fake designer handbags for a bowl of gruel a day.

Be that as it may, it is far easier to get your hands on a fake Mulberry than on the real thing. So I recommend if you are looking for the real thing then visit the official Mulberry site here - www.Mulberry.com -

Caring for Mulberry Products

Mulberry recommend that you regularly treat their antique leather products with Collonil Waterstop spray, to reduce dirt and watermarks and preserve the natural characteristics of the antique leather. If the leather gets wet, you should remove any residual water with a paper towel, pack the bag loosely with paper and leave it to dry naturally. Do not place it in direct heat or sunlight for prolonged periods. Avoid rubbing against fragile or lightly coloured clothing. Take care to avoid scratching and do not place on rough or sharp surfaces.

Cost of Mulberry Bags

Some Mulberry bags cost mere hundreds not thousands, so you can buy quite a few before you max out your credit card. You can order them online or alternatively if you fancy a trip out into the real world and you live in New York you can take a short trip to 605 Madison Avenue where Mulberry have their very own swanky store.

In London you can find Mulberry designer goods at lots of places including Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nick's, and their own Mulberry Store at 41 New Bond Street. Mulberry also have stores in Hong Kong and other Asian countries, but strangely they do not appear to have a store in Japan.

Mulberry Bayswater Ostrich Leather Handbag ($5000)
A sophisticated stone ostrich-leather bag with gold-tone designer-embossed turn-lock front fastening. This Mulberry handbag has 2 handles, gold-tone hardware, feet, gray suede lining, concealed buckles to expand the bag, internal zipped and pouch pockets and a padlock and keys tag attached.

Mulberry Bayswater Leopard (approx. $2250)
Multicolored leopard-effect calf hair bag, gold-tone designer-embossed turn-lock front fastening. Two handles, gold-tone hardware, feet, concealed buckles to expand the bag, stitched trim, internal zipped and pouch pockets and a padlock and keys tag attached.

It would also appear that Mulberry bags will be stocked by Target stores nationwide in the USA - an eight-piece collection including satchels, totes and cross-body bags in velvet, quilted denim and faux leather. Not sure why they chose Target but it might be worth having a look if you live near a Target store.

Personally I think Mulberry bags and handbags and even their wallets and purses look great and of high quality, although I am not too keen on Mulberry shoes, they are not particularly cheap but they are also not the most expensive designer bags in the world.