RUNWAY TO REALITY : Status in a Bag

Status handbags can cost as much as a month’s rent. And even though the cost is sky high--$9,995 for a Hermes crocodile bag--women still want them.

One way to save money is to buy a knockoff. Many times, the original and the imitation can be found in the same store.

This season’s coveted Chanel bag in quilted patent leather (pictured at left) has a leather-and-chain shoulder strap with a big tassel and the interlocking C logo on the front. The medium size is $650 at I. Magnin. It also can be found at the Chanel boutique, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus; prices vary.

I. Magnin carries less expensive handbags by Jay Herbert that can pass for the Chanel model. The $240 bag (pictured at left) is quilted patent leather with leather-and-chain shoulder straps, but the logo is missing and the tassel isn’t as sumptuous.

Hermes’ “Kelly Bag,” named for Grace Kelly, is in great demand: There is a two-year waiting list for the small, $2,950 black calfskin version. The medium-sized version in ostrich leather (pictured at right) is $3,100 at the Hermes boutique in Beverly Hills.

A “Kelly” look-alike is the embossed crocodile leather bag (pictured at right) by Paola del Lungo. It costs about $240 and will be available in September at the Accessory Collection, Brentwood, and VIP Luggage, Los Angeles.

The quilted nylon Prada is another popular status bag; I. Magnin has a waiting list for the $490, medium-sized model, and the smaller version goes for $435. They are also available at the Prada boutique, Beverly Hills, and Barneys, South Coast Plaza.

You have to look twice to tell the Prada from the $170 bag by Susan Gail. It will be available in late July at La Chaussure, Calabasas.

Susan Gail also designed a bag similar to Gucci’s famous bamboo-handled calfskin number. The original costs $1,250 at the Gucci boutique, Beverly Hills. The knockoff is $215 at I. Magnin.