Why do people buy designer bags/shoes?

[ettieb]

I have seen a few threads recently with people discussing designer handbags and I'm absolutely baffled why people are spending so much money on a handbag.
What can be so special about a handbag (or a pair of shoes) that people will pay hundreds of pounds for them when they can get a decent leather bag for a fraction of the cost of a designer bag?
There must be a limit to how good the quality of a bag can be... surely no bag is worth £800?
The most expensive bag I have ever bought cost £35 and I felt very guilty as this is a lot of money for a bag in my world.
Is it a status thing? Do they buy and carry these bags so other people will know that they have lots of money to waste?
I honestly don't get it, it just seems obscene to me. I get that people can spend their money on whatever they want but it just seems such a waste and so show-offy.

anyone saying it’s only because it’s better quality/ they can afford it, isn’t really answering the question

Why not? Why is "because it's better quality" not an answer?

There can also be a sense of normalcy with certain brands/the amount of money paid for products.

As a teenager, when I was paying more attention to fashion, by mother was buying Chanel bags, as were the mothers of my friends. It wasn’t seen as an extraordinary purchase to be impressed by, rather an entirely normal one in the social circle we inhabited.

people of course relate to those around them, and the ‘tribe’ they belong to.

@Lwrenagain I wondered that also as surely quality can be a key factor.
I make a lot of choices re purchases based on quality and that doesn't always equate to increased £s.

@Lwrenagain that wasn't meant for you apologies. @ReneBumsWombats my comment above was for you!

At the end of the day I have a beautiful, valuable and useful bag, @ettieb, and you have a hangover.

I spend a lot of money on handbags. I also spend a lot of money on jewellery, clothes, wine, restaurants and holidays. My kitchen is nice too.

It never occurred to me that I was only allowed to spend my own money on one thing or that: "because I felt like it" wasn't an adequate answer.

Nobody said anything about being allowed! Do you have anything to actually contribute to the thread or did you just want to show off 🙄

I genuinely thought passionate advocates for consumerism had long gone the way of the dinosaurs. Seems I was wrong.
You go out and buy more stuff, because buying stuff is clearly what make you happy. But it’s ultimately an empty life.

I have contributed by saying that buying things with your own money is nobody's business but your own and no one should feel they should have to justify their purchase or purchases to anyone else so long as they can afford it and it's legal.

That's not showing off. It's called being an adult. What peculiar ideas you have about personal spending decisions.

Passionate advocates for consumerism buy a £35 bag every year. Those who choose to consume less spend more money on bag that lasts years, sometimes more than a lifetime.

I don’t feel empty. At all. I spend my money on lovely things and lovely experiences and it’s all pretty nice.

People aren’t always the same as you @Sirius3030. Doesn’t make them wrong or lesser.

I think that you (and many other posters on this thread) who post an “either / or” attitude are overlooking that some people are just wealthy and can afford to make charitable donations / spend days out doing stuff AND have a nice bag

More expensive doesn't necessarily mean better quality. I used to work for Burberry. A lot of their clothes and bags are sewn with man-made materials such polyester and polyurethane, nylon, elastane, polyamide. They are largely not manufactured in the UK / Italy anymore either. You pay for the name and the designer.

My life is full enough that I don’t feel the need to occupy myself by judging the spending habits of other people like it’s got anything to do with me. Perhaps I am wrong and you have the full one, and if that is the case I will happily stick with my empty one.

FYI, if you want to sell anti consumerist piety as an attractive and full life then you really work on your PR skills, given that it looks fucking miserable in the current iteration.

The true elite rely on a 50p one from Tesco.

Why have a bag for years when you can have a bag for life?

Absolutely I do get this feeling. I inherited £1k from my grandad and spent half on my Mulberry, half on a flight to somewhere he loved. I think of him every time I use it when I'm working because he was really proud of my achievements.

At least they aren’t on line making bitchy comments jealous little comments.

Oh and to add, I can have good shoes and bag and a social life, good career and a happy family. Go me. The nice things and full life aren’t mutually exclusive 😂

If you can’t see the purpose in doing something simply because it brings you happiness then I think I’d judge you more for that than I’d judge the people buying things that make them happy.

@Chickenly well said. I have expensive things but I am making a vegetable soup tonight with leftover cabbage, wizened carrots, eye-y potatoes, tinned butter beans and, get this, the last of the rind I saved in the freezer from the Xmas Stilton.

It's not because I have to, but because I want to and it ain't nobody's business but my own.

Amen to that. My spending habits make no sense. Massive in some areas, crazy stingy in others!

My husband used to travel abroad for work and he bought me LV bags, they were not so expensive years ago. I have quite a few that are 20 plus years old and still use them. They are really high quality and well made, not sure if this is still the case.

Definitely this!

Because I like it and enjoy wearing and using them

I like good quality clothes, shoes and handbags as they last longer and look more stylish but I don't necessarily like designer labels. I also have Harrods tastes and a Primark budget so many of my best buys are from ebay. I am very choosy about my choices. My favourite handbags are Radley or Ness, with Ness bags being my first choice because I like tartan in different colours and the styles are classic but just a little different. I am a middle aged adult so why shouldn't I spend money on something l really like? There is a saying that if you buy cheap you buy twice and l would far rather spend a little more on the more expensive brands l really like, albeit secondhand but in as new condition. They last a lot longer.

You could have done that without listing all the “expensive” things you buy 😂 but ok