The most desirable designer bag among teens these days is one you'll frequently find on the shelves of, say, Saks Fifth Avenue, but also hanging on the racks at your local T.J. Maxx. Michael Kors ranked as the top handbag brand (by a long shot) in research firm Piper Jaffray's biannual "Taking Stock With Teens Survey," which polls 10,000 teens across the country each year to suss out what Gen Z is shelling out for across various categories, including fashion, restaurants, and beauty.
Those recognizable Michael Michael Kors saffiano totes (like the one pictured) beat out Kate Spade, which came in second place with 19% of votes; and Coach, which was 10% of surveyed teens' top choice for carryables. The most exorbitant of the top five brands teens are apparently clamoring for handbag-wise? Louis Vuitton, which took fourth place with 5%; followed by Vera Bradley, which was the top bag brand among 3% of participants.
In terms of the most coveted clothing labels, Nike swept the competition with 29%; followed by American Eagle, which nabbed 9% of votes; Forever 21 (5%); Ralph Lauren (4%); and Urban Outfitters (3%). The athleticwear behemoth known for its "Just Do It" slogan just, well, did it again in the Piper Jaffrey-tallied popularity contest: Nike has scored the top spot clothing-wise for the past five years. Interestingly, the four other highest-ranking brands were the same in the fall 2015 survey, save for American Eagle topping Forever 21 this time around.
What other fashion items are teens spending their babysitting dough, Bat Mitzvah checks, and/or waitressing tips on this year? Well, that Nike swoop is the most coveted footwear brand, too, in addition to being the top clothing brand, besting the competition by an even bigger margin the kicks department: 51% of survey respondents ranked the sportswear giant as their top footwear name, followed by Vans (9%), Converse (7%), Adidas (6%), and Steve Madden (2%).
The study also found that overall spending among teens in down slightly. But despite the enduring covetability of Nike in high school hallways, denim brands saw a rise in popularity versus the survey's spring results. So athleisure is far from over, but seems like teens haven't completely ditched jeans for leggings (yet).
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