How Can a Bag Cost More Than Medical School?
Designer Fashion Deconstructed
By Eileen Conlan
Photo Credit: Jeff Harris
Special Offer
$7300 CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN BOOTIE
Alligator skin is sent to tanneries in Italy, then softened and custom-dyed for 12 weeks.
EQUAL TO: Limited-edition Andy Warhol Fishprint
$16,500 SALVATORE FERRAGAMO HANDBAG
Crocodile skins from South Africa take 60 days to prepare and are finished with aniline dye to preserve color and texture. Can be made to order.
EQUAL TO: Mint-condition vintage 1920s Buick
$920 JIMMY CHOO PYTHON PUMP
Python from Southeast Asia and southern India is softened in drums for two days before a metallic wash is applied.
EQUAL TO: Month's rent for a one-bedroom L.A. apartment
$37,990 YSL DOWNTOWN CROC TOTE
It takes five months to construct this one-of-a-kind, limited-edition crocodile bag. The skin, from Louisiana, is shipped to Italy to be chrome-tanned for softness and brushed with color by hand.
MORE THAN: One-year tuition at Johns Hopkins medical school $1050
CALVIN KLEIN BULLSKIN PUMP
From the backs of wild bullfrogs in Australia and Indonesia-treated and dyed for three weeks-it's soft, supple, and durable.
EQUAL TO: Paying off credit-card debt from holiday shopping
