The Look For Less: Gucci Dionysus Bag – $1,350 vs. $86

This post is sponsored by Fashion Drug.

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$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET
To buy Fashion Drug‘s Gucci-inspired Tiger Bag for €79.95 (approximately $86 USD), click hereDon’t forget to use code “Aileen10” for 10% off all Fashion Drug goodies!

1/15/17 UPDATE:

Fashion Drug discontinued the Tiger Bag in December; however, you can get the same bag on Amazon for $129 here.

One of the biggest spring handbag trends is Gucci’s Dionysus. From several embroidered designs to the original GG-printed variations, the Dionysus has been a huge hit for fashionistas since winter and has been predicted to carry on well into the spring.

Unfortunately, even for the plain suede Dionysus mini, the price tag starts at a hefty $1,350. So when fellow Insta-friend and beauty Youtuber @cchrystalnguyen mentioned Fashion Drug to me, I fell in love!

More Designer-Inspired:

Fashion Drug‘s online boutique features tons of genuine Italian leather handbags comparable to designer favorites like the Celine Luggage Tote, Givenchy’s Antigona, Chanel’s Boy Bag, and Valentino’s Lock Shoulder Bag. Even better, their handbags are made from genuine Italian leather and suede!

I was able to get my hands on one of their best-selling bags, the Tiger Bag in black, which is a very similar bag to Gucci’s Dionysus mini.

New to the world of designer-inspired handbags? Check out my blog post on The Difference Between Legal Designer-Inspired Handbags and Fake Designer Goods to learn more about why I recommend designer-inspired handbags over the real deal.

$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET

Pros

  • Price (€79.95, approximately $86 USD)
  • Genuine Italian leather and suede
  • Quality hardware
  • Perfect stitching

While I’ve seen a few Dionysus-inspired bags around the Internet, I don’t feel that any of them besides Fashion Drug’s bag has this much accuracy that resembles its designer counterpart. Down to the tiger head buckle, this piece screams quality.

$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET

Hardware: This handbag sports well-weighted chains that function as either a shoulder bag or cross-body bag just like the original, making it a versatile and convertible staple in your wardrobe. The tiger head front buckle is surprisingly ridiculously accurate to Gucci’s Dionysus, making it much easier to sport on the streets without fear of criticism from designer snobs.

$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET

Leather and Stitching: The above picture showcases the detail of how smooth its leather and suede are, and I’m sure you noticed that not a single stitch is out of place. The fault with many designer-inspired handbags usually lies in the stitching, but is isn’t an issue here with Fashion Drug’s bag.

RELATED POST – The Look For Less: Chloé Drew – $1,650 vs. $39.90

The leather is surprisingly smooth yet structured and isn’t soft enough to lose its shape, and the suede front-flap has a good weight to it and is quite thick. Upon close inspection, it appears to be a 2 layers of suede. The leather/suede combo is quite accurate to its Gucci counterpart. I’m very impressed with the quality of both textiles!

$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET

Interior pockets: The interior is lined with fabric and has several pockets and compartments that prevent the flat design of the bag from filling up unevenly. I do like that the interior is cloth because it makes for easier cleaning in the event you have a spill caused by cosmetics or similar items.

$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET

Cons

  • Does not ship from the USA

Because the United States tends to be much more strict about the gray area from designer-inspired items to blatant counterfeit items, it’s no surprise that many brands that sell designer-inspired items are usually stationed in other countries. This inconvenience usually results in extended shipping times and possible delays if the item lands and gets stuck in customs. However, despite the fact that Fashion Drug items ship from the Netherlands, I’m quite happy with the shipping speed – as soon as I received confirmation of shipment, the handbag was at my front door in exactly seven days. Pretty impressive for international shipping!

Although their products do not ship from the US, Fashion Drug has worldwide shipping so their products are available to everyone.

$1,350 Gucci Dionysus vs. a $86 genuine Italian leather dupe: Read the review and find out where to buy here! - THE BALLER ON A BUDGET

Gucci: A brand worth the investment?

While the reintroduction of Gucci’s brand-new aesthetic has been met with much praise, the brand still cannot erase the huge financial loss it faced just a few years ago due to a decline in consumer interest. Ever since the brand appointed Alessandro Michele as their new accessory designer in 2015, the brand has worked to create a brand new line of accessories that now appeals to a trend-forward audience.

With Gucci’s recent history of financial pitfalls, I can’t recommend with confidence that a genuine Gucci item may be one of the best designer investments since we can’t predict if it will hold its value in the designer market. For now, it’s safe to say that getting this gorgeous bag by Fashion Drug is probably the smartest and most cost-efficient way of staying in sync with the trends without risking your money.

More Designer-Inspired:

Fashion Drug’s Gucci-inspired Tiger Bag is available for €79.95 (approximately $86 USD) exclusively on their website and is available in black, pink and taupe. Don’t forget to use code “Aileen10” for 10% off all Fashion Drug goodies!

Want to read more reviews on Fashion Drug’s handbags? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for more designer-inspired items delivered straight to your email.

Item was provided by Fashion Drug for review purposes. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.

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Love the Gucci Dionysus bag but can’t afford the $1,350 price tag? Here’s a similar Italian leather handbag for just $86! - www.theballeronabudget.com

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15 Comments

  1. Dayna Guilbeault
    / 11:24 pm

    You had me at tiger-head buckle! A very convincing and compelling review of the bag Need to check out their site….well done, friend!

  2. NiorBlanc
    / 11:55 pm

    I’m not gonna lie but it look soo sleek and clean compare the original

    • The Baller on a Budget
      Author
      / 5:06 pm

      I fully agree! It looks so sleek!

  3. / 5:32 pm

    Hey! Love your blog, you probably won’t answer my question but since it’s completely legal to buy dupes (I mean as long as they aren’t being passed of as the real brand), why do I have to fill in the “company” section and “Vat/tax section” on the fashiondrug page after filling the shopping cart and proceeding to checkout? I don’t have a company but I’m a blogger and I love the bags that they have on that page.

    • The Baller on a Budget
      Author
      / 7:07 pm

      Hi Annie, the company and VAT/tax section are not required fields. You should be able to check out without having to fill those in!

  4. Steph
    / 8:53 pm

    Hi there! Did you have to pay import duties/taxes? I am wondering if I would be affected by that shipping into Canada

    • The Baller on a Budget
      Author
      / 11:34 pm

      I did not, but I live in the United States, so I’m not sure if this would be different for Canada.

  5. / 12:02 am

    Thank you so much for sharing this.
    I was searching for a dupe for the Gucci Dionysus bag and that is how I found your blog. I got the Céline Medium Phantom Luggage dupe from Fashion Drug (cause the other one was sold out) and I love it. The quality is really good and it is a 100 % look alike.

    I really like your blog and your style of writing in general. Maybe you could have a look at mine if there is some time left.

    Have a nice day.
    Greetings from Germany
    Katie

    http://www.madame-schischi.blogspot.com

    • The Baller on a Budget
      Author
      / 9:51 am

      Hey Katie, glad you loved your Fashion Drug bags!

  6. Dee
    / 10:24 am

    I can’t believe that I can’t even find this bag being sold as used by somebody…I found your blog and the bag the day they discontinued it…I’m just shattered

    • The Baller on a Budget
      Author
      / 6:14 pm

      So sorry Dee! I’m still on the lookout for a good replacement! Keep following!

    • The Baller on a Budget
      Author
      / 8:59 pm

      Spot-on! Woo! Get it, girl!

  7. Rayna
    / 1:50 pm

    This bag is gorgeous!! Was this a Gucci original because as I was searching I didn’t see an actual Dionysus that looked like this. Maybe discontinued or out of stock on the Gucci website? Can you please let me know?

    Thank you!!

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