Olsen Twins' $39,000 Backpack: Rad or Ridiculous?

Forget what you heard about the slow economic recovery and fears of a double dip recession. The Olsen twins' $39,000 backpack is a hot seller. Huh? "It was the first thing that sold off the shelf," Ashley Olsen tells Women's Wear Daily of the alligator-skin bag, which is part of a new accessories line for their label, The Row.



The backpack, which features gold hardware, is the most expensive piece in their accessories range, which starts at $4,700 for one of the smallest designs, according to The Daily Mail. Sound ridiculous? It is. But Olsen correctly explains that high-end brands have been known to thrive during an economic crisis. "During our last economic crisis in the U.S., the only thing that went up was Hermès," she says.

Back in July, we told you that high-end department store Barneys New York was stocking the bag. "I think if you were every going to spend $39,000 on a bag, that’s the bag you should buy because I think you’d wear it for a really long time," Amanda Brooks, fashion director of Barneys New York, told Fashionista.

As we pointed out then, you'd wear it for a long time because you just spent $39,000 on a backpack! In fact, if you wore it every day for a year, you'd be paying about $107 a day just for the privilege of wearing a bag designed by the former stars of "Full House."

But high-end backpacks do seem to be the thing right now. Kanye West debuted a fur one at Paris Fashion Week -- and of course, Ashley wore her own $39,000 one to the show.