before designer labels ruled the earth...

[bold-aslove]

...there were local designers and manufacturers all over Manhattan.

i'm sure most people already knew that, but it's something i always think about, simply because my father was one of them.

my dad had a small factory in the garment center in nyc where he designed, manufactured, and marketed his own label of handbags and other leather goods.

and he was just one among hundreds? thousands? i don't know, a lot.

believe it or not, that's what people used to buy. handbags that were designed and manufactured by guys like my dad. (his factory was operational from 1986-1993)

now everyone wants designer labels. people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a bag made out of some sort of fabric.

it astonishes guys like my dad.

by no means am i judging anyone who buys major designer labels...that would make me a hypocrite, i just can't help but look at it through my fathers eyes sometimes...this whole corporate driven industry we've allowed to dominate the scene.

sure there are still designers here in the states, but most manufacture in china (i know a lot of them), and the ones that aren't are extremely small operations barely making a living.

my dad still has friends who never quit the business, but most of them have gone from riches to rags.

it's funny how things change like that. i have endless stories about guys that used to be like kings in manhattan 20 years ago, and now run a little bagel shop out in jersey.

guys like my dad grew up with that business, learned when they were kids, now they run random businesses or have jobs just to keep up.

i guess that's the trend with a lot of small businesses though; the big leaving no room for the small.

[thelion1856]

there are still people who do this now. check out this thread

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=44723

[bill]

yeah but selling bags to women are a whole other thing. they would rather spend +1k on a bag than men, who prefer to buy other stuff.

fast/mass-fashion (chain) stores like h&m and zara are the enemies of the people you were referring to. they sell trendy clothes for a low price and now the mass thinks "why should I pay that much if i can find the same thing for way cheaper at h&m ?"

like thelion1856 said, those people still exist and there is still a crowd for this/people that want that kind of products.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

I read his username as bold ass love and was summarily confused.

[Spaghettini]

what was the name of your dad's line?