Who is buying the really expensive handbags and £600 trainers??

[Newmeagain]

I really like clothes and have always splurged on the occasional “investment” item - e.g. nice boots, a jacket from ME&EM that I loved, etc.

But even though I am on a high salary I can’t imagine spending £2000 on a handbag or £600 on fashion trainers that will only last a few months.

I work with lots of women in a professional environment, all earning between £150k/£200k - many don’t have children - and I don’t see any designer items. Mostly mix of standard high street brands plus a bit of Sezane and similar.

So - if you are spending £££, are you earning over £500k or have a partner who does?

We are very well off and it would not even occur to me to spend that money on a pair of designer trainers or a handbag. I love nice things, but more Regent Street than Bond Street except for jewellery which is a lifelong purchase and keeps its value. And interestingly, when I am on Bond Street (mostly to use the loos in Ralph Lauren), hardly any of the shoppers are British.

DH does have a weakness for high end British made clothes, especially suits and recently bought a pair of jeans made in Wales that you are supposed to freeze instead of wash. I blame Patrick Grant.

We spend a lot on education, hobbies, travel, eating out and doing lovely things together. The rest we invest. Clothes are from decent mainstream brands (Brora, Toast, Me and Em, Gant etc.) but not designer wear. We have lots if well off friends and they are the same. Special clothes (my beloved Erdem evening dress) will last for years and years.

On the other hand, I’m no better than anyone else, having just splurged on a harpsichord (a childhood wish) 🤷‍♀️

I bought a Loewe bag last summer that cost 2.5k. I don’t work but dh is a high earner. It is the only bag I own over £500 but I saw another woman wearing it and loved it so he bought it for my birthday.

I’m not generally into name brands or designer clothing, a lot of my clothing is secondhand and I’m not into Gucci/LV etc.
I don’t like or even use handbags….BUT…occasionally I splurge on an unreasonably expensive pair of trainers! It’s been a luxury treat for myself ever since I got my first job and had money. I’ve always been a trainer geek.

I bought some Nike x Off Whites last year for around £500, and I have a few pairs of rare or limited edition AF1s and Jordans that were around that price range. These are only very occasional purchases, though - once every 1-2 years - for something I consider a thing of beauty! I’m not chasing the latest designer ‘thing’.

I bought a couple of £1000 bags 15+ years ago. Unfortunately I don't think they have lasted quality wise for the money. Or maybe my expectations are too high

I was gifted a (slightly cheaper) but similar range Fendi handbag. Also found it hasn’t lasted very well if used

So I have now forced my DH into handbag making slavery. He’s getting quite good. I may let him have a break soon 😁

Could afford to buy a lot of designer stuff quite easily . Professional role in sixth decade
Husband equally well paid .
I love clothes and accessories but high end High street for me .
Once saw a colleague spill coffee over another colleagues designer bag ! Clothes are so badly made across the board these days . I do work with a younger crowd who love their designer stuff but as I have grown older it is just less desirable . I do spend a small fortune on my hair and my garden though !

I know people who spend about half a million on stuff like this yearly... they earn 7 figures.

I have a few very expensive designer bags. I use one occasionally and never use the others. The LV ones are poor quality and impractical. The Chanel flap is impractical for my lifestyle. I might sell them. I find the whole obvious designer brand bags a bit cringe now and simultaneously find myself occasionally wanting them. I guess the marketing is working! If I had money for luxury items, I'd buy diamond or antique jewellery.

In my experience the flashy designer gear is often worn by the people who want to look like they have a lot of money rather than the people who actually do have a lot of money.

I know a few people who spend a lot frequently on bags and shoes. An instagram influencer who also co-owns a few successful businesses, someone whose husband is in the football industry, the wife of a chicken farmer, a head teacher, the wife of a CEO of a household name company and the wife of a guy who sold a business for millions.
I’ve never really seen one of the more expensive designer bags and thought “Wow, I must have it” I find most of them quite ugly.
I’ve got a couple of bags that were around
£3-400 which I love, most people I know don’t even know the brand including the majority of the above, one thought it was from Oliver Bonas which only makes me love them more.
Same with the trainers, I love trainers but the designer ones just look naff to me. I’d rather 6 pairs of Adidas ones than one pair of the Loewe that were on another thread.

I second what you are saying about the quality. I have about 5 Ralph Lauren bags. So not the really pricey designer but generally about £300-£400 each. I am not even slightly precious about them, chuck them around and all of them look brand new. I used one constantly for about two years, day in and day out and even now when I get it out of the wardrobe is looks virtually new. Can't say that with cheaper bags I have bought.

I remember a story about the wife of a Russian oligarch who dressed in M&S Classics range to her children’s school events. She used to chat to the British landed gentry who were usually wearing battered Barbours. It was those for whom school fees were a struggle who insisted on the designer gear.

I used to buy expensive bags and clothes when I was living with my mum. I worked as an administrator in healthcare so I wasn’t on a big salary but I would save and buy expensive stuff to make myself happy, used to go on 2 or 3 foreign holidays a year too. My life has changed totally from that time- I am married, have a mortgage and currently not working due to severe lupus flare ups, luckily my husband is in the building trade, a family business so when times are good he brings home a fair amount. There is no way I can afford to spend or justify prices like that nowadays. Fortunately I have still got my Mulberry and Chloe bags in my wardrobe. I spoil myself these days buying a fancy lipstick or small bottle of perfume and I look on Vinted a lot of time for clothes.

I was in M & S in Harrogate recently. I am not from the area, but I know Harrogate has a fancy reputation. I was looking at a raincoat for 70 quid and this well preserved woman started to look at them too with her friend. She was wearing a raincoat, similar colour to one I was looking at. She looked at me and said the coat she was wearing was Yves St Laurent and it cost £1700, and that M & S had copied the style. I am a Londoner, and have shopped in Selfridges and the like, but I can’t think of any occasion when someone told me the cost of their clothes. She was being Mrs McBoasty, there was no need to tell me the cost of her coat - it was not the same style at all, just the same hue so she used that to shoehorn in the price. If you have to tell people the price of stuff it probably means you are not comfortable with wealth. Wealthy people tend to be discreet.

How flash and vulgar. She probably had bought it from a clothes agency. A lot of the older well dressed ladies do.

I think if I was rich I'd be one of the ones in wellies with a clapped out 10 year old car 😂 I just can't wrap my head around why people enjoy owning these things. Each to their own obviously, but at the end of the day it's just a handbag.

I have a Mulberry bag probably 12 years old and also Have a Rolex which is about 20 years old. I wouldn’t dream of buying either now. Different lifestyle, older, wiser, don’t go out much and think everything is too expensive. However when I bought them I loved them and they at least retain a little bit of value.

I bought a Longines watch for about £600 once. I still have it but it looks so dated and small I will never wear it again. I only wore it for about 3 years. Such a waste of money.

I'm an above average earner, mortgage paid off and decent savings but shop on the high street still! I could easily afford those things, but just can't do it, also really not my style.
I would buy a nice piece of jewellery, but not a luxury branded bag despite working in a sector that entices people to buy brands!

I’ve never spent that kind of money on clothes or handbags. The most (I think) was £125 on a Whistles bag in the sale. I tend to buy everything on sale. I bought an APC bag recently from TK Maxx for under £90. I love a bargain and would never (even if I was rich) drop a grand on a bag.

I am late 30s. I am in the financial position you describe, with own income aside from household income. I do buy coats, scarves, handbags and shoes in that bracket because it’s a category I enjoy spending on. I also spend on home, travel and education, so it’s not about prioritising appearance per se. I love jewellery. I’m not flashy or quiet luxury or any particular identifier, I buy what I can comfortably afford and want, and try not too tie up much of my identity with what I own, in any case. I don’t really know or care much what people notice, and I do have a 10+ year car.

Oh she did!!! I just watched it. Never knew that 😂

That makes me very cool! Love Beyoncé

They used to be everywhere and I went through many pairs. Until suddenly they weren’t! You couldn’t find a black heeled trainer anywhere for love nor money. So I ummed and ahhed for a long time (I think 6 months) before I bought them.

Sadly don’t get out much anymore so was thinking of selling them. But they are super useful in a concert. I am a shorty! I think you have inspired me to keep them for atleast the next 5 years. They may become vintage iconic one day 😅

This thread reminds me. When the legendary Debo, Duchess of Devonshire was asked where she buys her clothes, she replied

’Agricultural shows, M and S and Paris.’

They don’t make ‘em like her anymore 🙂

I think someone else hit the nail on the head - super rich people or an aspirational purchase. When I was younger and not very stable financially, it felt like a huge deal to have the ‘right’ handbags and shoes. I only had Mulberry handbags but could barely put fuel in my car.

Now I could buy a couple of top end bags a month if the fancy took me, and I have just grabbed a little gold clutch for an event at the weekend from Primark and wear an Oliver Bonas crossbody handbag most of the time. I haven’t bought a designer handbag in 8/9 years and have no plans to buy one any time soon. I don’t feel like I have anything to prove any more. On some level I guess I must have in the past.

I use my ten year old Mulberry as a dump everything in it work handbag.

I spotted the first handbag I’ve loved in close to a decade the other day (Givenchy), and I did think about buying it….then thought better of it. I like spending my money on lovely meals out and holidays these days.

No Longines is ever going to look dated, the designs are classics. If you don’t like it any more then sell it, you’ll be surprised at how much it’s worth now.