After years of relatively modest increases in luxury ready-to-wear, the prices of well-known items like a Chanel tweed jacket or a Giorgio Armani stretch wool pantsuit have spiked recently, largely because of the weakening dollar, which has declined about 30 percent against the euro since 2002.

That means that while European tourists are flocking to American department stores to take advantage of the exchange rate, American consumers of high-end fashion and leather goods from Europe may be in for sticker shock. Joan Stahl Israel, an independent personal shopper in New York, described looking at a price tag recently and thinking the number was so high, "it's just a telephone number."