Quoted in Forbes magazine in 2006, Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a market research firm based in New York City, stated “It used to be the shoes make the man. Well, these days, the handbag makes the woman.” This insightful statement may well explain why handbags have been a strong market for many years — the market soaring from 2004 through today, as particularly demonstrated by the popularity of Jessica McClintock bags.

In the business world, Jessica McClintock has achieved worldwide renown for transforming a small 1960′s apparel company known as Gunne Sax into the premier design house Jessica McClintock, Inc in much the same way as Lowell Harder did with the Radley Bag. Building her international brand to be synonymous with romance, Jessica expanded her single line of dresses into a multifaceted company with multiple design divisions, boutiques, fragrances, and licensed divisions ranging from home furnishings to handbags.

In developing her unique handbag brand, Jessica McClintock acknowledges that special occasions are the most important moments in a woman’s life and no look is complete without the perfect handbag. In combination with RPL Designs, Inc., she has created special occasion handbags and Gunne Sax Daytime Bags to compliment Jessica’s Romantic and Contemporary Designs lines.

Long popular with younger women and teens, Jessica McClintock is famous for her collection of prom dresses, so it?s no surprise her accessories are equally glamorous and just right for a big night out. Even so, today’s young, savvy shoppers are not simply interested in being in style with status item,. They?re actively seeking out value, high-quality with items that highlight their personal style and how they chosen to live their lives.

In servicing the handbag market, Jessica McClintock is keenly aware that for the younger shoppers, the way they experience the product is extremely important..

They rationalize that when you spend a lot for a designer purse because they?ll use them more often — and the greater expectation of fine craftsmanship has it?s long-term rewards, as well. In developing brand loyalty in shoppers early, the “lifetime payoff? is tremendous, reaching across many product offerings and generations, as well.

So, what is it with Jessica McClintock handbags that is driving their popularity? With increase of awareness in the brand and the upsurge in high-end purchases that seem to have maintained sales, it’s the shopper who is in the middle income range who will occasionally trade-up  and that seems to be adding to mostly to the increased growth and continuing interest in the handbags. Celebrities are also influencing buying trends as they haven’t in the past, with chic television hits like “The O.C.” and magazine style sections such as Us Weekly helping young people make up their minds about what’s hot and what’s not.

What is clear is that the handbag will remain a fashion ?must-have.? Attitudes and incentives towards purse shopping, including the importance of brand awareness, occasions for shopping, and overall enthusiasm for having the ?right? handbag will continue to strongly drive the sales of luxury handbags. It is that willingness to spend way more than necessary, and to think of an accessory as an investment and a collectible, is part of what makes Jessica McClintock bags so coveted by today?s woman.