how do you guys balance fashion vs practicality?

rainyjewels

eat me
O.G.
Nov 8, 2006
4,664
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Inspired by another thread on the topic, I'm wondering how heavily you weigh fashion vs practicality. this is especially relevant for balenciaga, since so many of their lighter bags either fade in color, yellow, or stain extremely easily.

i'm thinking about it now because im so in love with the white GGH hobo, but as slouchy and low as it hangs, with this white color, it's going to dirty faster than i can say the word "dirty." :P so im thinking, do i abandon something i loooove simply because it's not practical? and settle for something else i don't love as much but is more practical? how do you guys think about it?
 
In general, when it comes to what I wear, I am NOT a practical person. I wear high heels and little wool pencil skirts that I can't have a proper stride in and live in Seattle without a hooded coat.

However. I don't buy Bbags that I forsee that sort of problem with. I've passed up some great deals on bags I would have loved to own because of the concerns about fading and yellowing. There's impractical, and then there's over a thousand dollars for a bag that you KNOW will not maintain its beauty and value over the years. If you can afford to be that impractical, then more power to you, but I feel like my money should be spent on bags I can enjoy for years and years to come and eventually sell should I tire of them.

On the other hand, your Hobo is sort of a different story. White is high-maintenence and beautiful, but you can make it a lot less high-maintenence by using a product like Apple Rain and Stain Repellant. If you're not averse to treating your bags, and if you re-coat the bag every month, most of the grime that will accumulate will wipe right off with a damp washcloth. :tup: Hooray for practical products for impractical bags!
 
what a good question! i think that no matter what...if i worry about it not being practical, and buy it anyway, i will have a tendency not to wear it when i go to my closet. so for me, instead of worrying that i am going to ruin it, then i waste the money in a different way by not wearing it. BUT! at the same time, no matter how practical the bag is, i am going to get sick of it and find another one that i just HAVE to have! as a result, i might as well buy the impractical ones and love every minute of wearing them! :smile: just my theory!...
 
ITA with Cheshire Cat:tup:

I'm extremely impractical when it comes to clothes. I love avant-garde designers such as Ann Demeulemeester, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme, Rick Owens, Martin Margela, and I also love Nicholas's design for Balenciaga. I like and wear clothes that are unusual, cool, sometimes deconstructed. Often times these clothes are not the most comfortable clothes on earth, but heck, I see them like a piece of art. Although I must admit, ever since I moved to Sydney, their relaxed, chilled atmosphere is slowlly affecting my taste in clothes.....:P

My bags on the other hand MUST be functional. I never buy light colored bags or bags that are beautiful, but impractical. Also, because my clothes tend to be on impractical side(though, I think most of my Marni and R.O pieces are practical), at least I want my bags to be functional and practical.
I guess it's because I see them as bags and not pieces of art.
 
It's a give & take, for instance..I have decided I can live with a heavier bag.. but not a light colored bag, knowing that I'd be more stressed about NOT getting it dirty than actually enjoying that bag for what it is...a bag! Those impracticalities... just end up either being sold or left in my closet. KNowing that I've done that in the past... I tend to try to stick w/ bags that will keep its beauty and practicality minus the stress over time. Just like what Cheshire said~! :yes:
 
ITA with Cheshire Cat:tup:

I'm extremely impractical when it comes to clothes. I love avant-garde designers such as Ann Demeulemeester, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme, Rick Owens, Martin Margela, and I also love Nicholas's design for Balenciaga. I like and wear clothes that are unusual, cool, sometimes deconstructed. Often times these clothes are not the most comfortable clothes on earth, but heck, I see them like a piece of art. Although I must admit, ever since I moved to Sydney, their relaxed, chilled atmosphere is slowlly affecting my taste in clothes.....:P

My bags on the other hand MUST be functional. I never buy light colored bags or bags that are beautiful, but impractical. Also, because my clothes tend to be on impractical side(though, I think most of my Marni and R.O pieces are practical), at least I want my bags to be functional and practical.
I guess it's because I see them as bags and not pieces of art.

tooshies, your taste in clothes sound amazing. i'd love to see some of your bal clothing pieces! :biggrin:

sorry back to topic, while i love bal bags, i generally stick to those that i know will be sturdier since i don't baby my bags. i tend to pick colors that don't yellow or get dirty easy. that being said, i have a naturel bag and it is holding up fairly well. to be honest, even with clothes, i like to use clothes that i can just easily throw into the washing machine. my lifestyle just doesn't really allow me to "baby" my things.. although i do get really upset if something happens to them! ie, if someone spilled stuff on my clothes/shoes!
 
tooshies, your taste in clothes sound amazing. i'd love to see some of your bal clothing pieces! :biggrin:


Thanks:heart: I posted runway pics and discription of some of the Balenciaga clothing pieces I own in MarieG's thread about Bal clothes. I don't remember what the thread was called, but you can look up all the threads Marie started by clicking her name:yes:
 
I always have to stop and think when it comes to buying a new Bbag, well, any piece of clothing really. I really think hard about how it will work with my wardrobe. My second thoughts go into whether or not it is a practical colour. I also think about price. I love the new Bal Lego Shoes that are over $4000, but I just don't understand why anyone would buy something to wear on their feet for the purpose of getting smashed on the pavement for $4000. Yes, there are a few extravagances I just can't justify in my mind. Although, there are a lot of people in my life who can't believe I spend >$1000 on a bag. It's pretty shameful when you really think about it...I see my Bbags almost as treasured pieces of artwork that you can wear. They mean so much more to me than a sewen up piece of leather.
 
If it's something I doubt I can maintain then I won't buy it and there won't be a second thought about it. I'm not good with things that require a lot of work. I do baby my bags but I can't go to extremes with it.
 
This is such a fun thread! ;)

Okay, firstly, I'm a classic person, although my clothes are of more avantgarde edgy chic style. I love bags that are dark colored, but sometimes abit of color does the trick too. I just bought a rouge city bag and ordered a magenta city, really bold I'd say but I love it since the colors are dark and bright. :heart:

I'm not a lover of light colored bags, unless it's cream cavier of Chanel. For Balenciaga, I'd prefer to stick with the darker tones because I usually clutch or hold the bags and I'm afraid my jeans/clothes will deposit color onto the bag's soft leather. That happened to my Greige city.

Light colored bags are harder and more tedious to maintain. I'm quite a bad person when it comes to taking care of my bags though I try my best to be (but most of the time I fail lol). I don't think using conditioner or stain repellent will help the bag in time to come because the leather might not be as nice as before and leathers should be kept at their most original state to see its natural beauty. :P