How a Nice Wallet is Becoming “Affordable Luxury”

In some ways, luxury items are as popular as ever. Luxury brands like Chanel have been in such high demand that they’ve been able to increase their prices almost every year, becoming more and more expensive as people continue to enjoy investing in luxury items. 

But the market for luxury items has also started to change. Over the past few years, there has been a transition in the way that people view luxury items. First, as more and more people invest in these items, many find that they are priced out of traditional brands. People are looking for luxury that is more affordable – items that they can buy on the ground floor before the brand has gone through these iterations.

Second, more and more people are choosing what’s known as “quiet luxury.” Quiet luxury is the desire for ownership of luxury items, but without owning items that visually announce that they are luxury. For example, items that only have small logos and less visually noticeable colors. The idea is that people want to feel that they are only wearing the item for themselves, and not to showcase their wealth or announce their status to others.

Designer Wallets and Quiet, Affordable Luxury

It is this desire to have quiet luxury (and the general unaffordability and “loudness” of traditional luxury items) that has people choosing slim wallets that reflect both their desire for quality and their belief in quiet, affordable luxury.

For example, here at Allett, we make slim wallets in products like premium Napa leather – a type of full grain, smooth leather that is of the same quality and type as those used on $5,000 handbags. 

Many people do not realize that there are different types of leather, and most common leather items are made with products like “Genuine Leather,” which is actually considered a lower quality. Top grain is the next step up, and used in a variety of handbags and luxury items. But full grain is the leather of choice for French and Italian designers, and used in most of their products.

We use that same leather here at Allett. But as a small business with a desire to appeal to a wider variety of clientele, our luxury wallets are not priced for the brand – only for the quality. Doing so makes it possible to get the same quality as a designer card wallet from something more affordable.

In addition, our products are not meant to be loud luxury. We use beautiful, single color, stylish designs that can be used universally with most outfits and styles. They provide that sense of luxury in both quality and in brand, but they are quiet luxury, which you get to appreciate for yourself knowing you have an incredibly high quality wallet that you received from a small business, but without announcing it to the world.

Supporting Small Businesses for Higher Quality Items at Better Pricing

What many view as luxury is changing for the better. It is not always about brand, anymore. Instead, it is about quality. People are looking for those high quality items that are designed to last, rather than assume or prioritize brands for their name rather than the work that went into the item.

It is this change that continues to lead people towards small businesses that provide high quality items that are stylish, slim, and fashionable without the brand-related price point. It is not that luxury brands have fallen out of favor. Rather, people in general are changing what they prioritize, and trying to own luxury items without the luxury price point or brand visibility. Learn more about our designer quality wallets at Allett