The 'Hottest' Brands Are Not the Most Purchased Brands

More results from Back Row's first-ever shopping survey.

This is the second and final part of Back Row’s shopping survey results. Read the first part:

When Buying Luxury, How Much Does Brand Matter?

Social media buzz drives the online discourse around fashion, but respondents to a recent survey of Back Row readers aren’t buying the trendier items that suck up a disproportionate amount of oxygen. Pigeon purses, mesh Alaïa flats, and $29,000 skirts are fun to talk about, but that’s not what you’re buying. And that’s even accounting for two-thirds of respondents saying they buy luxury apparel and accessories because they “fell in love with one specific item.” Even what we could categorize as your impulse purchases are more likely to fall into a stealth wealth category than something else.

A roughly equal percentage of Back Row readers buy luxury shoes as handbags, citing durability, functionality, and versatility as the top reasons for loving these purchases.

Respondents were willing to splash out on clothing when they expected to wear it again and again. Like Max Mara outerwear, which was cited repeatedly as a favorite purchase. “It's just my go-to in the winter. It's easy and comfy and has lasted me a long time,” explained one reader regarding a Max Mara coat. Chanel ballet flats were listed by a number of respondents as a favorite purchase, owing to their versatility, durability, and comfort. Meanwhile Alaïa’s highly publicized ballerina mary janes weren’t repeatedly cited by respondents as their favorite luxury purchase. Just one person listed “Alaïa shoes.”

This could be a due in part to Alaïa purposely making the shoes scarce for publicity. Then again, respondents exhibited a clear preference for classic items that will last years and years. I like the mesh flats, but I have a hard time imagining those being a staple sixty years from now.

I compared Back Row readers’ most purchased luxury brands from the last year to Lyst’s highly circulated “hottest brands” list from the third quarter. While Lyst has Alaïa in the fifth spot, up twelve places from their previous ranking, Alaïa didn’t even rank in Back Row’s list of brands most often purchased in the past year.