Today in “Crap You Don’t Need”…

In the fashion world, there are certain “levels” to designer products – the relative awesomeness (and usually quality) is tied to different names and lines within a brand. Armani, for instance, uses “Giorgio Armani” and “Armani Collezioni” to signify their highest end, best quality and therefore most expensive clothing. The next step down is Emporio Armani, which is still nice, but more ready-to-wear pieces – still pretty spendy. And on the bottom of the food chain is “Armani Exchange” and “Armani Jeans” and any other bit of tack that Giorgio can slap his name on – low-end, not-particularly-well-made stuff, that only costs what it does because of the perception of of coolness that comes with the name. Whether it’s the iconic Armani suit which makes every man look amazing, or a keychain bearing the GA logo, the brand is important to those who will part with their money to buy it.

A little while back, the very fun blog THE GLOSS, posted The 12 Oddest Designer-Branded Products, which included such must-haves as kitchen sponges branded by a certain Project Runway winner, and these little gems here:

Yes, Louis Vuitton garbage bags.

If you needed proof that you have too much time and money, having Louis Vuitton garbage bags under the sink is pretty much the clearest sign you can get. Yesterday, they posted a follow-up to that post with 12 More Weird Designer-Branded Products including this little bit of brilliance just in time for the Super Bowl:

I’m sure Coco Chanel is spinning in her grave no only because her name is associated with a football (currently $195 at Chanel boutiques everywhere), but that the iconic and overused double-c logo wasn’t enough brand recognition, so Karl Lagerfeld had to make sure that CHANEL was printed boldly on top.

Like Armani, one of the most amazing things about Chanel’s other “designer” goods that I notice is that the more you spend, the less you see of the label. Of course, if you spend $5,000 on a Chanel or Armani suit, there’s a good chance people will know it’s a good suit – even if you don’t name drop.

I certainly have no plan to spend $5,000 on a suit when most of my workday is spent in jeans and a hoodie, nor will I part with $200 for a Chanel football (I have no idea how to operate one anyway). But that Hermès coloring book has me intrigued. At least it’s only $130.