How do people afford Mulberry bags?

[Stokey]

There were two girls on either side of me on the tube last night each with a Mulberry bag and both in their 20s. And there are often threads on here about which one to buy.

Just wondering how people can manage to spend £800-1200 on a bag? I consider myself quite well off and couldn't justify it.

I agree, DontMind. I don't earn a lot, but I don't smoke, drink alcohol, and I rarely go out for meals or to the cinema etc. I paid for my bags in cash (if I want something I save for it); I've never owned a credit card. I was child-free until my thirties so had plenty of spare cash for handbags (even with a mortgage).

I agree re logos, I'm not a fan of logos in general (I hate the LV and Gucci bags that are plastered in them); I prefer understated bags (I have a Gucci bag but you wouldn't know it was Gucci).

How can you 'genuinely' not understand it, Wasabi - you've explained it in your own post...!

It comes down to personal taste and preference. You like cashmere and Dartington. Other people's tastes and preferences run in other directions.

What's not to get?

And as an aside, Mulberry bags are made from hard-wearing leather; they're designed to look better with wear and age.

I couldn't afford a Mulberry bag until I was in my 50s. Good luck to all of you who have bought Mulberry bags in your 20s. Enjoy your bags and think how we are all helping the economy to recover

I agree it fascinating to see how people spend their disposable income - and what one person consider 'disposable' income another would think is 'essential.

Personally I cannot imagine spending money on clothes/handbags/hair dressers/technology/posh meals out etc. Any 'spare' income I have goes into pension or savings plans boring. Yet I have relatives who buy designer clothes & expensive holidays yet consider they are 'broke' & have no savings or 'emergency' money. I shop at charity shops (by choice) but consider I am very comfortably off - because I own my own house & drive a 10 year old car - but it is paid for .

I am genuinely interested in peoples' attitudes to money.

do you look at young people smoking and wonder how they can afford it? - yes, I do actually

I have a job, my DH has a job. After we've paid all the bills and put money into savings we have some left over which we spend on the things we like - in my case bags, shoes etc, in my DH's bespoke suits and CDs. Simple really.

I don't have a mulberry any more, but I do have one designer bag (bought at Bicester) which would have been around £750 full price, I paid £350. Thing is, it's my only bag, I've used it every single day for about 18 months, and it still looks pretty good. I expect to get a good 12 months more before it is consigned to casual-only and half a dozen years after that before it is junked.

Prior to this bag I had a Mulberry which I had for about 8 years and then eBayed for 60% of what i paid for it.

The bag in between the two designer ones cost me £30 and lasted about two months before looking really tatty, which meant not only had it not really saved me any money, but I had the hassle of finding a new bag more quickly (I hate handbag shopping, doesn't do it for me at all). Expensive, good quality bags make sense to me.

Some people just have loads of money. That's life :)

Either they are very rich or consider having a bag more important than many other things so cut back on those in order to have the bag.

My friend has a very good fake mulberry from Dubai that cost her £200

I bought my first designer handbag in my late twenties from a Coach outlet when I worked in the US for awhile back in the days of being DINKIes. When the dc were babies, I bought a series of Orla Kiely messenger bags due to practicality but I still like them now. A decade later, I treated myself to a Mulberry Mitzy from the airport duty free branch - approx £350 in 2008. Prices have shot through the roof in the last few years. I could not bring myself to spend much more than that now but that's my personal mental handbag limit so horses for courses! DH & I push the boat out for special meals - I know most of our friends and family would never contemplating shelling out hundreds of pounds for a meal at the Fat Duck or the Waterside Inn. Everyone has different priorities - I don't have a phone contract, an iPhone let alone a smartphone. In the same vein, I'm too tight to pay for gym membership and make myself go running instead. I'm definitely frugal in some areas and not others.

Someone up thread mentioned city bonuses. That's how mine are bought.

Like quite a few posters have said - people spend their money on different things. My husband saved to buy an ipad - that cost more than my Bayswater, bought on Ebay - and is now saving for an iphone; I have no interest in technology and couldn't care less what kind of phone I have. I know plenty people who buy season-tickets for their football team; that costs more than I paid for my bag. I HATE football but it's what they want to spend their money on! Other people have gym memberships - well I just go running outside, so don't spend money on that either. You could ask how people can afford anything; well either they are genuinely very well-off or else, like me, they don't spend on other stuff.

I could never afford a Mulberry bag now and wouldn't want to if I could as I hate the way they've gone really "blingy" and the way their prices have gone up (my Bayswater and small Antony were bought before the prices went crazy) And yes, I realised they are very ubiquitous now. But if there are people who still like the bags and can afford them it's up to them how they spend their money.

We are now expecting our first child and I hope to be able to work part-time - so my days of buying designer bags, even 2nd hand, are over. But I still love the ones I'm lucky enough to have

They save up
They might put them on a credit card
If people get enjoyment out of them and can afford them why not?

It always strikes me as odd that people have a moan about others with designer bags that cost a bit of money yet people dontoan about people buying alcohol and cigarettes which imo is money down the drain.

Mine didn't cost as much as £800 to start with; just over hlf of that - still an awful lot of money, but not quite as bad.

And it was a surprise birthday gift from DH, not just a random purchase. There is no way I would have ever been so indulgent to myself and I am not a handbag person. I don't buy bags all the time like some of my friends. This will last me years.

But the one I have it definitely me, a daily use type of bag - and tbh i have had it about 3 years now and it looks perfect still - it certainly is very good quality leather that's for sure.

BTW - I'm 40 (had it about 3 years now), as is DH. We are in a pretty fortunate position. It isn't an either/or situation for us. I still go on holidays each year, etc.

I know that is very fortunate and many others may not be in such a situation. But that is always going to be the case. I have been at the other side of things financially too.

I have 4-5 mulberry bags, all genuine, all bought for with bloody hard earned money. I don't drink, don't smoke, rarely go out. Have no vices, no expensive shoes or clothes. Normal amount of bills and 2 kids. We go on holiday once or twice a year. Any bonuses I get or extras I put in my savings to spend on whatever I want. I love bags, will keep them forever and don't feel guilty or bad about it one bit. I worked hard for that money and will spend it on things I love

I have 3 Mulberry bags, one was bought in the sale about 15 years ago and was £200, one is a Mitzy Hobo which I saved for and bought myself and one is a Small Daria cross body bag which my DH bought me for my birthday a few years ago. I also have 2 Marc by Marc Jacobs bags which I bought myself in the sale for about £300 each, a Longchamps Pliage which is about 10 years old and is my holiday beach bag and still in pristine condition. I have a miu miu bag, a balenciaga cross body bag, and a Fendi. It's a collection I have built up over the last 20 years and all have been either gifts from DH or I have bought them myself. None have ever been bought on credit although most were bought in the sales. It's my 40th in April and my friends are clubbing together to buy me another Marc Jacbos bag and my mum is buying me the matching purse. I look after them and keep them forever and I am shallow enough to admit that they bring me the most enormous amount of pleasure.

I bought a Mulberry Messenger bag last week - there's a recent thread about it. I have wanted one for years - it's a very plain, understated bag and I couldn't find anything I liked as much anywhere else. I got 20% off at John Lewis; dh contributed half and I paid the rest. In terms of affordability, I have a decent job, don't spend a lot on myself, in fact we have a pretty frugal existence really; very little social life, one camping holiday a year, are a non-gadgety family (much to ds's annoyance) have bog-standard car, never buy anything on credit.

Personally, I can't see why anyone would buy an iPhone or an iPad, but plenty of people do. Each to their own. But I can say without doubt that my bag will still be going strong when the current technology is obsolete and everyone has moved on to the next generation of gadgets.