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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be not logical about buying things...

34 replies

flownthecoopkiwi · 20/09/2017 20:37

Decided i fancy a new purse. Would like a pink small leather one. Coin purse really as hate bulky ones. Look online at john lewis two fit the bill. One is john lewis own brand. £20. OTHER is Mulberry. £110.

It's technically just a thing to store money in. It makes no logical sense to buy the more expensive one except for the little writing on the front. I can afford either.

So why does my heart want to Mulberry one? Is it to to do with status envy? I think I'll be happier if had the more expensive one...but that surely makes no logical sense

OP posts:
TwitterQueen1 · 20/09/2017 21:09

Hmmm I'm struggling with the fact that you want a small coin purse and that you don't like big ones.

However, since you can afford both, and you heart is yelling at you, you clearly need to go for the Mulberry one WITHOUT GUILT!!!

What is the point of working hard (presumably) if you feel you have to compromise so that you are 'sensible'.

And for the record, i'm talking to myself here too. I am like you and I would struggle but I'm telling you to do what I want to do... You could always go to a retail outlet if that would make you feel better!

KityGlitr · 20/09/2017 21:38

If you can afford the £110 purse then go for it. Some people say it's nuts to spend that much on something you can get much cheaper but anyone who says they don't do that in some circumstances is lying. Otherwise we'd all have the cheapest telly that worked, eat basics food range all the time, buy clothes exclusively from primark or charity shop, use carrier bags instead of a nice handbag.

It's not personally my cup of tea as I'd never spend more than a fiver on a purse, yet I choose to spend £45 on a makeup palette when I know logically one for a tenner is probably just as good. And I'd rather spend £3 on a Costa latte than a £1 one from greggs.

If getting the mulberry brings you joy then do it. The only caveat I'd say is give yourself a week or two to think it through and if you still want it buy it. Many a time I've done this and at the end found the desire for the item has waned, or it was the decision to buy it and the researching it and thinking about receiving it that gave me the hit of pleasure, actually getting the item itself and using it was secondary!

BarbaraofSevillle · 20/09/2017 21:45

Do you like the Mulberry one more? Would you like the Mulberry one more if the alternative was the JL one which came with £90 in it, because that's the choice you effectively are making.

Although a £110 Mulberry one might be better quality and last longer than a £20 JL one. My purse cost £40 and was a present from DM on my 40th birthday. Several years later it is still good as new and it still gives me joy to see the beautiful lining even though bastard new fivers jump out of it when I open it.

Thinking about it for a week or two is a good idea though. But if you still want the Mulberry after that time, I don't see why you shouldn't get it.

bananafanana1 · 20/09/2017 21:48

Mulberry does make my heart beat faster and they really do last forever.

balsamicbarbara · 20/09/2017 21:51

It's not necessarily status. It could be just that you want to treat yourself or feel that you deserve something better than average regardless of if anyone else notices. This is why I only shop at Waitrose. It's not because anyone I know will see me there but I feel more special in myself while I'm there and the better type of people.

bridgetreilly · 20/09/2017 21:57

Have just looked at both. Definitely get the Mulberry one.

GriefLeavesItsMark · 20/09/2017 21:59

Who was it who said 'I like Sainsburys _ it keeps the riffraff out of Waitrose'?

SavoyCabbage · 20/09/2017 22:03

Gosh, I totally get where you are coming from. I thought there would be more to them but they really are similar in functionality and yet so different. I'm a bit blown away by the question.

Original poster
flownthecoopkiwi · 20/09/2017 22:05

You lot are evil...but right ;)

I treated myself to a Mulberry bag a few years ago and have wanted a purse since then. Sod it!

OP posts:
HiJenny35 · 20/09/2017 22:26

Really? I'd just feel like a twat every time I looked at it knowing that I could have had one very similar for £90 less.

MyBrilliantDisguise · 20/09/2017 22:30

Spending money you earned on something you love, when it wouldn't put you in debt, is not "being a twat."

AlternativeTentacle · 20/09/2017 22:30

I need a new rucksack and was thinking £90 for one was outrageous.

Tinabn · 21/09/2017 10:03

My purse cost a lot but it was bought with money my brothers gave me for a significant birthday, I use it everyday, it still looks good years later and it feels that they are always close even though they are hundreds of miles away. Go for the Mulberry if you want a long lasting relationship with it, not if it's just a fling!

Original poster
flownthecoopkiwi · 21/09/2017 10:24

i might be being a twat, but at least I will be a twat with a really nice purse :)

OP posts:
LunaTheCat · 21/09/2017 10:32

I believe in cost per wear. You use a purse regularly. Buy the one which gives you joy.😍

PeaceAndLove1 · 21/09/2017 10:36

but that surely makes no logical sense Trust your instinct, fight against the ego, because that's all it is.

PeaceAndLove1 · 21/09/2017 10:38

Buy the one which gives you joy Trying to find joy in the material is ultimately an empty pursuit.

PeaceAndLove1 · 21/09/2017 10:40

i might be being a twat Why do you want to be a twat, you deserve more.

GinUser · 21/09/2017 10:41

Whatever I am buying, I tend to go for the best quality I can afford at the time. In 99% of cases it pays off.
There is no point in going for the cheaper option, to assuage conscience, if you end up after 6 or 12 months needing to buy the same item again.

SpeckleDust · 21/09/2017 10:46

I bought myself a Mulberry purse for my birthday at the start of this year. It was v expensive (for me) but it is the nicest, most functional purse I have ever owned and it looks perfect still after using daily for 9 months.

Every time I use it, it makes me happy. And I don't care if that makes me sound sad and materialistic. Usually I am massively frugal (shop at Aldi, have cheap holidays) but I think of some 'things' as investments so worth spending more on.

SaucyJack · 21/09/2017 10:49

You could just look on a few more websites. Does it have to come from John Lewis?

There must be something out there that's a compromise between the two. The Mulberry one does look much classier TBF. The other one is a bit tweenage.

meg54 · 21/09/2017 10:49

I would buy both.
Mulberry for best, cheapie for everyday.
Same as I do for my handbags, shoes, clothes, perfumes etc.
Sigh.

AlternativeTentacle · 21/09/2017 11:05

Whatever I am buying, I tend to go for the best quality I can afford at the time. In 99% of cases it pays off. There is no point in going for the cheaper option, to assuage conscience, if you end up after 6 or 12 months needing to buy the same item again.

The item is something to put loose change in - not a house extension.

Original poster
flownthecoopkiwi · 21/09/2017 11:21

I never have/save things for best. Most depressing thing i remember from my parents death is cleaning out their cupboards with nicely folded brand new towels and tea towels they had saved for best and never used. They went to charity.

Life is for living, use the things you love.

No, don't need to buy it from John Lewis and had considered other brands.

Note current purse from Primark as it has lovely bead sewn on flowers. But they are falling off.

OP posts:
Chunkymonkey123 · 21/09/2017 11:51

Your story about your parents saving things for best made me so sad.
Buy the one you want if you can afford it, life's too short.