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.

The same as you basically, except for some clothes budget.

wondering how what you spend your money on doesn’t count as “rampant consumerism” though given most of that is non essential. How is it better to spend your money the way you do rather than on a bag, for example.

😂

when I watched a vid of how an Hermes bag is made, I really wished that I could afford the equivalent of my annual mortgage payment to buy one. They are gorgeous, and very well-made.

@BlueHeelers but why the need to single out an Hermes bag as well-made and therefore worthy of purchase? It is a well made handbag, but you can't carry much coal in it so if that's what you needed to do to keep your family from freezing to death, then it's useless.

You can talk about resale value and that is true to an extent. but a £20,000 Hermes bag or an entry level silver locket from Tiffany for a couple of hundred pounds are both essentially useless items. But many of us want essentially useless things after paying the mortgage and the phone bill and for food and new school shoes etc because it makes us happy.

Who is anyone else to say how we should spend our own money after we have covered those essentials? I've never asked anyone else for money. When I do will be the moment for them to make judgements on my spending habits but until then they can go whistle.

There are two types of people in this world: those who buy things that bring them joy and those who take their joy from disapproving of the other people's choices.

Have you seen the price of some of the clothes that are regularly mentioned on Mumsnet, Boden for example! Also, the last ordinary bag I bought from Next was £45.

I have a couple of bags which were around £150-200, bought on cruise ships in sales but I don’t think it’s showing off, I just enjoy occasionally treating myself to something nice. I would buy designer shoes too if I didn’t have wide feet. As I expect splurge items to last years I don’t feel they are a waste of money.

I have spent loads of money on things like the garden, children, my very large bookcase that was absolutely worth it and wallpapering. If I bought one or two designer handbags, I wouldn’t be buying things off next late at night which I regret the next day because it’s really pretty much the same shape as my other one

You're struggling to understand me? You who started by saying you thought consumerism was over, and then said being anti-consumerist made you an outlier?

Actually, I can see why you struggle to understand stuff. Don't worry, the thread is full of people struggling to understand stuff that is beyond their comprehension.

That list is highly consumerist. None of it, apart from subsistence level food and clothing, is essential.

Some people have no money for the things you dismiss as boring. Not even a home, which all of us would think of as essential, yet you put it in your monthly spend like it's nothing. Do you mean rent or mortgage or spread cushions? If it is knick knacks and garden furniture why do you buy them when some people don't have mantelpieces or even so much as a window box?

How do you travel? What are your hobbies? Why do people need presents?

What kind of things do you find entertaining? Is it theatre or Sky? Do you read books? Do you get them from the library? Do you turn the light on or wait until daylight for the next chapter?

I'd like you expand on your spending but I have no right to insist because it's your money, isn't it?

I buy designer handbags because I love them. They look and feel luxurious. I love treating myself & I feel good carrying them. Cheap handbags are a false economy. Just like badly made ill-fitting fast fashion that makes you look like a rags. I was perusing another handbag earlier, actually. Decisions decisions. I guess that answers your question

Great username! The epitome of the throwaway society!

I would have thought there is a world of difference between buying a pair of running shoes for £40 and buying a £100,000 handbag. But I’m obviously wrong. Fine.
i keep saying I’m clearly wrong but the personal attacks keep coming.
You’ve won: get over it.
Now I have a lecture to prepare so goodnight.

And there is no need to put words in my mouth. I never once said anyone’s spend is boring

@Sirius3030

Oh very clever. Always better to sneer than to engage.
Seriously, have a read of ‘No Logo’ if you want to have a meaningful conversation.

No Logo wasn’t really about designer handbags though was it? It was about globalisation and the way western companies and the government infrastructure that props them up exploits people in poor countries.

I don’t think artisanal handbags created in upmarket workshops for the luxury market were Naomi Klein’s primary targets.

It's no different to spending a lot on perfume or going to expensive restaurants.

People do our negate they cam afford it and like what they buy. I find your question rather strange tbh.

I personally don't and wouldn't spend that kind of money on bags of and shoes...because I'm not really into them... but a friend told me she wouldn't spend £200 on ugg boots like I did.

I don’t think any of us have attained the heady realms of £100k handbags. If anyone has, please post a picture so I can see what one looks like.

I buy things that I like and can afford, sometimes they are designer because that's the one I want. My weaknesses are jewellery and a very nice watch but I have one very expensive bag too. I'd rather buy half a dozen really nice items that I like a lot and will probably keep and use for a long time than trolleys full of Primark and the like.
Clever marketing creates luxury items - cars, motorcycles, champagne, fine wines, whisky, holidays, clothes, shoes etc and some of them are very attractive to people including me sometimes. On the whole they are better made and/or nicer and less mediocre. I have just bought a new pretty expensive coat and I have worn it every single day since. Price per wear and all that. It doesn't mean people are stupid or even rich if they purchase such things. It's just a preference.

Whilst it sometimes feels like we live in a nanny state the last time I looked no-one was told how we should spend our money (although with this lot in charge never say never). I don't see why, then, anyone should query what people are buying. I like shoes and handbags, they give me joy. I've got bags from Primark to designer. So what? I'm not hurting anyone.

But surely luxury goods are the opposite of a throwaway society? I'm not a huge handbag purchaser (I'm more interested in clothing), but the ones I do have - a couple of Lanvins, a Bottega Veneta, a Loewe, a YSL and a Chanel Classic Flap (inherited), have been with me for many years. I think I last bought a new one about 5-6 years ago. I'm not sure how many can say the same about their Primark bags?

The only ones that would be easily recognisable to someone else are the Chanel, which I don't really use as I don't love it, and the Bottega Veneta because they have a very specific look.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the mobile phones arms race yet.

I would have thought there is a world of difference between buying a pair of running shoes for £40 and buying a £100,000 handbag.

Only if you struggle to understand things to such an extent that you don't realise that comparing isolated purchases with no context means nothing.

What do these people buy as well as their running shoes and handbags? What else do they spend their money on? How many times does the keen runner with the inexpensive shoes need to buy them? How many times does your imaginary £100k handbag need buying? How much waste is actually generated overall?

And why is it innately immoral to buy an expensive handbag? Why is it worse than your unspecified hobbies, holidays and entertainment?

@Blossomtoes what style is that? I have quite a few 'vintage' Mulberrys but haven't bought any in years but I do like that. It reminds me of my Bonnie which is 15+ years old.

I do actually need a new handbag, my Mantaray is getting a bit bashed up (I've had it for years).

I've just gone looking at a few designer places even though I'm not really a handbag person. Mulberry isn't really turning me on, bit staid, but I have to say I really like the quirky Louis Vuitton stuff. Reminds me of Mantaray 😂

I won't be buying one because like I said, I'm not really a bag person so to me, it isn't worth that amount of money. But the more I browse, the more I'm kind of seeing why people like this. Almost like a kind of wearable, practical ornament.

It’s a Tessie satchel. You can only get them through the outlets now but there are plenty on the second hand market. It’s a brilliant size - big enough for a day out (a kindle fits into it easily) but compact enough for everyday.

Thanks. There's a navy one on Ebay that looks in decent condition. I might have to dig out my Purse Forum login and get it authenticated!

Just been and had a look! Great condition and price. Hope you get it and enjoy it. 😊

Totally with you on this. I don’t get it either. Think of the good that could be done with the money! I have a leather handbag which I love and that seemed expensive at the time (I think it was £140 bought at a market in Germany) I don’t need another one, it goes with everything. I’d like to think I should have savings/bought something notable with the extra money but I guess it’s going on the power bill/supermarket shop now!