How much would you spend on a nice bag?

[marghini]

Lately I have been thinking about purchasing a very expensive designer bag. It is around £1000, so it would be a huge investment. I really like it, but I don't know if a bag, albeit very nice, is ever worth spending so much money. I've never purchased such an expensive bag, the bags I already own are in the £200/300 territory.

What is the maximum you would be willing to spend on a bag? Do you think it ever makes sense to spend a lot on it?

I found this under the Christmas tree. A Mulberry Freya in taupe. Did you all hear me squeaking with delight?

Afishcalledchips

I don't "get" bag fashion, probably because I'm too old. I love a beautiful bag, but cannot get my head around spending a vast amount.

That said, I do have a gorgeous plain black Bill Amberg briefcase that cost £300 in Liberty in 1991 or thereabouts, and because it's top quality harness leather it comes up a treat whenever it comes out of the cupboard.

Apart from that, I love my brown suede Lambertson Truex e-bay score that would have cost someone four figures in $$ when new that I found for £80 including shipping. It has been much admired, but it is stealthy.

I would probably go to about £200 if the quality was right and if it met all my requirements down to the last detail. That's the very top of my budget but I think good craftsmanship should be rewarded.

But I've rarely seen a high end bag I didn't think was plug ugly.

I can't help wondering whether a bag is fake or not when I see anything with a high end label....especially if the wearer is not wearing high end clothing.

cattypussclaw your Mulberry Freya looks wonderful! Is it comfy to wear? Does it sit nicely?

Cattypussclaw, I agree, your bag is lovely. Hadn't seen that one before.

blingy I didn't say anything about your values, or any lack thereof? Your money to waste innit. Genuinely, I as most normal people probably find the concept of spending £££s on an accessory completely alien and massively wasteful.

Nikifury There was no 'po faced' judgement being passed?! ...Bemusement maybe. I feel you were needlessly defensive and aggressive there. Says more about you than me though he

Afishcalledchips, I think you have got the wrong end of the stick though I can see how it happened. It was you going on about values it was a different poster. My response was that I wouldn't be able to judge the values of someone based on one fact about them whether they have a £28 bag from Accessorize or a £1k bag.

At the end of the day it's just a bag. Not a big deal. Some may call it ostentatious or a massive waste of cash but the way I see it, and without wanting sounding like a dick, if I really wanted to get a £1k bag every single month I could. I don't because I don't see the point. Everyone's normal is different.

It's so disappointing when nice threads like this get derailed by sanctimonious twits carping on about values. So let's not let it.

I will say this though: I happen to know the lovely blingy IRL and, without wanting to embarrass her, the work she does for charity is absolutely phenomenal so I personally find it a tad offensive to sneer at someone's values without really having the faintest idea what they're about. But whevs.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I had a call from Chanel yesterday so say my precious is back from repair so I shall pick it up this week - yay!

£150-£200

It's so disappointing when nice threads like this get derailed by sanctimonious twits carping on about values

It's always amusing how the people who spend the most on bags have to resort to name calling and trying to defend their choices.
Says a lot really that they can't engage in a debate about values and how we choose to spend our money) without resorting to name calling.

All it says to me is they know there is a some truth in people's perception of them.

Yawn.

It is sanctimonious. And making a snap judgement on someone based on one snippet of information is moronic. Ergo twit.

I stand by my statement.

And I don't think anyone am has attempted to engage in debate.

Unless 'you spend a lot on a handbag, therefore you are vapid and morally bankrupt' counts as debate these days...

I love bags and would spend more if I had more. I have £175 of vouchers for a shopping centre and I'm hoping to get a nice bag with them, I'll put money towards it. But not more than......... 100.

polly, but nobody makes those judgements about people who live in a house that costs 100,000 more than the price of the house they need, or drives a car worth 70k. It's specifically handbags that come in for the line of fire. Why's that? cos women like them I think. how dare women have disposable income, make choices, treat themselves...

"It is around £1000, so it would be a huge investment."

How is it an investment? It's not going to appreciate in value is it? It's not as asset.

Max for me is 40 pounds. I don't see the need to pay more.

I couldn't agree more Amber.

afish. I've been on MN a long time and I have yet to be on a thread about handbags where some po-faced moaner/s didn't come along and plop their sanctimonious views, on to those taking part. Why do you feel the need? We are all here revelling in our lovely handbags (I will post a photo of mine later for those interested) why on earth would your "bemusement" judgment have any relevance to us at all?

If you really want to discuss your "bemusement" regarding expensive bags might I suggest you start a thread of your own? AIBU might be just the place. I'm sure you'll get masses of puffed up outrage and pats on the back and we can stay here and enjoy our lovely bags without worthy attempts to make us into better human beings. Thanks

Exactly - I personally spent c. £2.5k on my entire wedding because to me it's just one day and I wasn't that bothered, but it doesn't mean I think anyone who spent £20k+ is profligate and vulgar! God, do what makes you happy - you're here for a good time, not a long time! And whether that happiness comes from bags, cars, holidays, weddings or charitable donations up to the individual.

As I said unthread, what other people spend their money on is no business of mine!

Ahem...

Yes Nicki, I think there may have been some confusion, this is 'style and beauty', not 'inverse snobbery and parsimony'.

Just checking back on this thread.

Blingy, sorry, I can't compare the Celine and Bayswater or Marcie for you. It's a while since I've carried a Bayswater, (haven't tried a Marcie), tho iirc I found that heavy too. I do think the luggage particularly heavy. But it might just be my noodle arms.
I do like the Hermes Evelyne a lot, it suits me, but I hate the lack of zip . I may be a tad fussy.

Thanks Amber. Nothing you say will change people's ingrained perception prejudice that if a woman spends money on an expensive handbag ergo she must be shallow. Men don't judge each other this kind of thing.

The thing is, people spend money in all sorts of ways that others would find frivolous / wasteful.

My own DM loves to buy clothes & shoes. She has wardrobes full of them, but would balk at spending over £100 on a pair of shoes. She was horrified at the price of my Gucci court shoes (3 years in on pair two and still going strong). She actually spends more on shoes than I do & you can only wear one pair at a time so who is wasting money?

I can completely see why spending £££ on a bag would seem horrible to someone who is skint. That probably applies to £200 bags are well as £1000 tbh though, as you can get a usable bag for £40 or less if want.

I quietly wonder about some people's spending priorities for sure (IRL), but you could argue that fast fashion bags raise more ethical concerns than someone buying a Birkin.