Mo Money, Mo Ugly

The International Herald Tribune has a great article about how luxury brands are raising the bar with items worth more than the GDP of most small African countries. The hideous patchwork handbag, by Louis Vuitton, is made up of old handbags from the brand. At a price tag of $40,000, this thing makes no sense whatsoever. Don't poor people, who can't afford to buy new clothes, make patchwork pants and blankets out of their old clothes? Since when did recycled fashion become so expensive?

Remember that ad for the Yellow Pages where that animated monster would eat all the old books? Well, if there was a fashion version of him, this hand bag is what he'd throw up if he got gastro.

And if you think the bag was bad, check out this pen from MontBlanc. Even though it looks like something you'd find in a Lord of the Rings show bag, it has a price tag of $700,000! Apparently it's adorned with rubies, sapphires and diamonds and took 15 months to handcraft. Perfect for every billionaire grand wizard.