Thanks for all the replies! It sounds like something that has to be tried on and seen to understand what all the fuss is about. I'm sure the quality is impeccable.

You know, I am letting DH take a diving trip all by himself later this summer while I stay home and watch the kids. He's asked me several times what I want in return. Hmmm....that orange trim Burberry trench would be almost exactly the same amount as his trip...now I think I know what to ask for! LOL!

Jumping into your thread GP - after reading Dissertante's posts I spent a long time last night looking at every Burberry coat on ebay lol -

I was disappointed I didn't see any that looked like they would suit my figure, and not many that looked like they'd flatter my complexion. I like trenches with a flared "skirt", my pear shape doesn't fare so well in a conventional trench shape.

Are Burberry trenches universally flattering or does it depend on your body type?

This is a little bit off topic. I've been wanting to bring this up for a long time.

Does anyone else know about the negative association with chavs in Britain? (brief overview http://www.economist.com/node/17963363)
Did Burberry succeed in shedding this image in Britain, and how big of a problem was it in the first place? I apologize in advance in case I offend someone here. I'm wondering if Brit YLF members can shed more light on this. I've been very curious ever since I learned about the term 'chav'.

I personally love the classic Burberry check pattern.
I don't have any experience with any of their items.. sigh.. yet.

Lol Lena! I totally know about this and I'm in Australia... I don't have time to click the link but if I'm right it's the picture of a car covered in Burberry plaid

I think this is a potential issue for famous/recognisable luxury items generally. In Australia we call these kinds of consumers CUBs: Cashed-Up Bogans.

The main Burberry things I've been lusting to try are their lipsticks and eyeshadows. They got great blog reviews and look like gorgeous shades and textures.

Yes, I also know about the chavs. However, I'm not in Britain plus I don't flash the lining around.

Ok. Wait. I haven't been paying attention.

I have a Burberry trench--I guess the dead classic one, the one with the button on the butt to release if you are wearing an evening gown, it has hand stitching in the collar--that one. What the well dressed spy wears. I bought it in London, in the January Sales, about . . .1985ish? (At the time, they were $800 in the US, and I paid less than $250 USD, I think.) I haven't worn it for years but couldn't ever bear to get rid of it, it looked fussy, frumpy, or something by the 1990s. Do I drag it out? Won't it look dated? Or, horrors, will I be violating my own "anti-frump" rule of being wary of vintage, LOL?

Lena ! Thank you for that link ! I had forgotten all about this. It is becoming true of every "luxury" house as they have moved into the mass market over the last few years. So many of the clothes are not handmade anymore in little shops. This has also been a huge issue for the company that makes Louis Vuitton. It seems that now a days the only way to stay viable to grow at astronomical rates and the only way to do that is to cut costs but using lower quality services and materials and "branding".

WIth that said, the more expensive Burberry trenches are still made with some of the finest Italian materials and hand craftsmanship. But that is not true of everything that they make, that is why they have several price point "collections". One further sees this with all the "bridge" lines into mass retailers. Badgley Mischka is now on QVC or HSN, French Connection is at Sears, and we remember Missoni at Target. One of the things that really bothered about the Missoni ads were how people were talking about getting the "quality" of Missoni at Target prices. That is delusional and really confuses consumers who then cannot really differentiate between a garment that took a seamstress a week to make and one that was made in China on a machine in 5 minutes.

I think they've done a masterful job branding so that when people think "high quality trench" they immediately think Burberry. I know I did, as I thought about my spring coat needs.

Though I generally believe that higher-priced things correlate to better quality, in many cases they do not and there's not a huge difference between a $800 coat and a $1600 coat.

So overall, I try to not shop by "label" anymore, because you really are paying for the brand in many cases, and not for the quality. I say go for high quality (when you can afford to), longevity, and what fits you the best.

I can't answer this question. Personally, I don't get it either. To be fair, though, I've never been in a Burberry store.

I did, though, go to a Coach store after a friend raved about their bags. I guess I just wasn't that impressed. I mean, yes, they were beautiful bags....but it's just a bag, to get thrown around and tossed in my desk drawer. I also have cats that tend to ruin things occasionally. I can't even imagine keeping any one item of clothing for more than a few years, due to my tastes changing and also due to things getting wrecked. I guess designer stuff is just not for me! If I had the free money, though, I would by the $3500+ Taylor guitar I tried out last month...totally worth it in my eyes!

Did somebody already say - Burberry is the original trench coat maker. Well, I think Aquascutum also lays claim to that.