Once again, the fashion world is loco for logos.

With the resurgence of designer emblems last summer, capped by the ubiquitous multicolored Louis Vuitton handbags made popular by Jennifer Lopez, fashion-forward women coast to coast are now sporting logo handbags from every major design house -- but Vuitton still reins supreme.

"I would say that now Louis Vuitton is the big push in fashion, and by next season it's going to dominate the market," said Sharon Haver, style director of online fashion magazine FocusOnStyle.com. "The fashionistas, when it comes to wearing logos, pretty much only wear Louis Vuitton. It just has a cooler cache."

While those on the coasts are sporting Louis Vuitton, according to Haver, Prada, Fendi and Gucci rule the Midwest. Yet regardless of locale, one thing is certain: logos are hot -- and logo handbags are the coolest of the cool again this season.

But the logo craze is nothing new. Remember the decadent '80s?

"Logos are a real status symbol, coming and going as the economy ebbs and flows," said Rachel Weingarten, noted trend expert and fashion director of online style guide AirKisses.com.

"Since Sept. 11, we've been really low-key. We stayed home, and people didn't feel right about shopping. It was back to the basics," she said. "But we're hoping the economy is on the way up and we are ready to emerge from this really dark time. Some people are ready to spend and spend big -- and how do you spend bigger than these designer logos?

"I think people just want a return to the over-the-top," she said.

According to Haver, the fluctuating popularity of logo-embellished items is just part of the natural fashion cycle.

"People get bored and they want something different, then it comes back in style," she said. "It's a particular type of business and it comes and goes in waves like anything."

However, according to Weingarten, the logo obsession is more than just simple economics.

"We used to keep our labels inside our clothes," Weingarten said. "Then suddenly our labels were outside our clothes. You see that people have to define themselves no longer by who they are or what they are, but by what they wear."

Haver agrees that logo-embellished items are meant to send a specific message.

"People find some status and fashion in the logo bag. It does quickly convey the message, 'I've made it, I have enough money to buy this bag,'" Haver said.

"There's always going to be a customer for the logo bags. They're power bags. Everyone identifies with this logo and assumes the person must have some class," she said. "They always will be there for that reason -- like the man with the power tie, it's the woman with the power bag," she said.

"I sometimes feel like these things aren't so much about declaring a personal style, but making others feel bad that they don't have the items," Weingarten said.

"The people who look the best and dress the best know their limits. They know their style and they go with it," she said. "Paris Hilton may have the money to afford what she wears, but she looks ridiculous."

Often, it isn't what you wear, but how you wear it, she said.

"I think, as with everything else, it's about attitude.

"Let's say you want to buy one designer logo piece. You go to Hermes, and you invest in a scarf -- a crazy, whimsical scarf -- and you wear it as a scarf and on your hair and on your belt," she said.

"It's really choosing one thing to focus on. If you're going to spend, choose something you're going to wear a lot," she said. "It doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive."

Opting for versatility also carries with it protection from fashion victim status.

"Certain styles and fabrics have become classics, that's why the designers are coming out with really quirky lines -- they want to keep selling products," Weingarten explained. "The designers want these specific logo designs to last a season."

© Copley News Service