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.

It’s odd that some posters feel the need to be rude about peoples who choose to buy more expensive bags.
Why does it bother you ?

I'm not interested in bags or shoes really and would go for quality over the label. I used to follow a tanner on SM and he used to take apart designer and cheaper leather products and some of the designer bags were cheaply made and poorly designed. I'd definitely invest money in a bag or shoes if they were well made, well designed and looked nice.

But my real love is watches. I love a beautiful watch and would spend quite a bit on a watch (because you can wear them forever and pass them on to children). I don't have an expensive one, but I'm planning to get one

So many nasty and jealous comments on here.

As said upthread, there's a particular brand (pun intended) of Mumsnetter, known as the "What does it mean?" group, who are as thick as mince and cannot grasp that people (being different) make different choices.
They just can't get it. It's best to move on, because trying to explain it, as the old Chinese proverb says, is like trying to teach a pig to sing. You waste your time, and the pig won't learn to sing either. (it's fun to poke them with a Mulberry stick though.) (The WdiMs, not the poor piggy obvs)

I know - why is it so difficult for some to understand that not everybody does everything for other people's approval? The people who insist it is obviously care about this a lot or they wouldn't find it such a struggle to grasp, but they need to get your heads around the idea that other people are different to them?

I don't know about other posters, but it's incredibly tedious answering a question and then being basically told that I'm lying, or even better that I've ignored my own preferences and am instead desperate to impress others (whom I doubt even notice, let alone care what bag I'm carrying or which shoes/coat/dress I have on). I also have items from TopShop, Zara, Uniqlo and so on; is it acceptable for me to like them because they were cheaper?

Why do you think people are buying designer bags instead of doing those things, rather than ‘as well as’?

The most I’ve spent on a bag is £495 it was an Issey Miyake clutch and I’ve had it for about 3 years now. I love it, it looks special, the quality is high, and it brings me joy. I could afford it and it will stay with me for years to come. I wouldn’t consider spending £35 on a handbag to make much financial sense- surely you have to replace that a couple of times a year?

Quite. Some of us have paid our mortgages off and retired so we can use our money to travel and buy beautiful bags.

Didn’t realise taste was on sale at Tesco.

Anyway, what is this universal standard for taste? Is it the mumsnet one? Because that usually means wearing one of your aristocratic granny’s moth-eaten sweaters from the 1930s, dubarry boots, and trousers with dogs hairs on.

I’ve got some mulberry bags that have lasted 16 years and look good as new. But I agree with you that the quality isn’t there anymore. I went to look at some in store the other day as I just love the style and quality but the quality was no better than an M&S bag I’ve got and the price was 1k+

I tend to buy second hand now and have a mix but the older bags last MUCH longer than the high street bags I’ve got.

not sure that would be the case for the new ones.

For the wealthy expensive brand bags are an investment.

For the rich just a status symbol.

I'd say anyone resorting to offensive terms rooted in racist slurs might have missed the boat when it comes to class and style tbh.
Such an angry person @follyfoot37 go and buy yourself a handbag. Might make you less shouty on MN.

They don't realise that most people assume "designer" bags are fakes anyway and it's a case of the "Burberry effect"

Or they do realise but they don't give a shit? Because despite what so many posters are determined to think, it's not actually about you?

This reminds me of the time my brother got a tattoo and my father was determined to believe he'd done it to piss him off. Brother tried to explain that his only reason was because he liked the tattoo, but no, Dad was having none of it. Brother had definitely spent all that money, experienced that pain and permanently marked his skin because of Dad. Dad was the reason. It was all about Dad.

That's what some posters on here are like.

It does expose it for the classist shite it is, and it always gets spouted on these threads by those power wanking over the sartorial choices of the landed gentry, as if that’s the class they even belong to. Fucking tedious.

I love Issey Miyake I've had the Bao Bao tote for over 5 years it's indestructible and looks as good as when I first got it. It's the only bag I get complimented on by strangers.

My bags don't have logos so no free advertising. You are so angry.....

Floozy, I'm not a big fan of designer stuff, but can afford them, am I also jealous?

Feminism at it’s finest. 🤣

Is this one of those "I don't understaaaaaaand" threads where the OP can't get their head around the fact we don't all like the same things?

I don't understand why people spend money on botox and fillers. I don't understand why people spend money on going out to get drunk. I don't understand why people buy a whole new set of Christmas decorations each year. I don't understand why people buy trainers costing over £100. I don't understand why people would ever buy liver, brussels sprouts or goats' cheese.

You misunderstood - I am not angry, I am laughing at all those who think they are all that because they sport something designer, particularly those nouveau's who wear as much of it all at once to show that they have dosh. And then insta it
Particularly the tasteless, loud and blingy designers such as D + G, Chanel, Tiffany, Louis Vitton

Otoh this is as stupid a post as the ops just in the opposite direction!
No you don't have to replace a £35 handbag every few months ffs
What the hell do you DO to your bags that you think a "cheaper" one will need replacing so often
I've never had a bag break or tear on me to the extent it needed replacing!

The vast majority of my bags have been around the £35 mark - the last one I replaced I literally used 5x a week to go to the office and it was still going strong after 2 years but was just looking a little bit scruffy - but could still have been used for years before it NEEDED to be replaced.

And most of my bags don't get anywhere near as much wear and tear, I've got cheap ones that look fine after having them a decade!

Why on earth would you laugh. That’s really sneery. People can do what they want. It doesn’t really matter what you think.