Last year, Louis Vuitton's Tribute Patchwork Bag made headlines as the world's costliest handbag. The numbered, limited edition bag was priced at over $45,000, and featured swaths from earlier purse designs. Many companies have cashed in on nostalgia by reissuing replica copies of classic handbags, which fetch consistently high prices at auction.

Experts trace the rise of the 'it' bag to a 1960s Life Magazine cover, which featured Princess Grace sporting a 'Kelly' purse. With fashion elites clamoring for this and subsequent must-have handbags, cheap knockoff purses and replica designer handbags found a loyal following among less extravagant shoppers.

In the 1980s, the Hermès Birkin bag-inspired by British starlet Jane Birkin-was the choice of the day, setting fashion-conscious shoppers back thousands of dollars. Fast forward to 2005, when a Birkin in black crocodile sold at auction for over $64,800.

These days, in fact, it's not uncommon for luxury brands like Fendi, Hermes, and Yves Saint Laurent come with five-digit price tags. And at these astronomical prices, it's not surprising that the demand for low-cost fake designer purses has also reached soaring heights. In addition, the increased ease and security of online shopping in recent years has further fueled the market in replica handbags.

As the long tradition of fake designer purses testifies, early 'it' bags were hardly affordable for the average consumer. However, the early 21st century saw a significant increase in prices-along with a corresponding rise in the replica handbags market.

This shift came with the popularization of what financial analysts call 'signature items'. For the price of a car or even a small home, a luxury fashion item came to be seen as an investment and a worthwhile collector's item. With consumers willing to pay more to won a piece of fashion history, prices have been increasing accordingly.

Meanwhile, the replica market offers designer handbags for hundreds, instead of tens of thousands, of dollars. Designer replica handbags can be purchased on the street or online, and often feature the same quality and design as costly 'it' bags.