Do All Asian Women Prefer Expensive Bags? If so, Why???

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Chrystal162

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Nov 21, 2007
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#1
OK; let's see if I can pull this off without getting kicked off the Purse Forum.

Most asian women I've known or encountered wear expensive high-end bags. The status (or perceived status) seems important to them. Though I've never asked any of them, I've often wondered why.

If you are an asian woman that fits this description, please share your story. I'm truly curious & am not trying to stereotype anyone. My question comes from genuine observation.

Just so it's known, I guess I figured I could get away with asking this because I'm asian myself. My thing (formerly) was having a bit of a leather fetish & an obsession with good quality handbags. I've since been able to overcome the obsession, & am now content with inexpensive vinyl bags.
 
#3
Not all Asian women though almost every Asian woman I encounter/know/friends with/related to do like carrying expensive designer handbags. It's usually the first thing that my Asian friends and acquaintances notice (besides the kind of car). I'm Asian and I notice an Asian fetish with LV...lol...almost every Asian girl has an LV Speedy (real or fake). Though I don't know if it has anything to do with perceived status or not. I carry my bags and I don't think it makes other people think I have a higher economic status. It's so prevalent to carry designer bags among Asians that I think it's more like a great bag pulls the whole look together rather than it being a social class thing.

btw, why vinyl? You can go with a great non-designer leather bag too.
 
#4
I'm asian and I use both expensive and inexpensive bags, depends on occasion. I grew up surrounding by well to do or upper middle class people and my friends always used the expensive things. I guess sometimes we just adopt habits from your surrounding. It's like when you have more money, you buy better car, bigger house, or eat better food. So I think it's the same as more fancy handbags.
 
#6
I know what you mean about encountering asian women w/ expensive bags.. I don't think all asian women prefer expensive bags, but I'm sure a good deal of them would buy them if they could afford them. At the same time. I know quite a few girls who don't care for them. I'd say it it depends on where they live.. in big cities (or like mine, OC, where everyone wants a designer bag even if they can't afford them) there might be more women in general who prefer designer stuff.
 
#9
I'm asian, but I'm a college student, I don't have extremely expensive bags, but I only buy bags on sale and I personally do not particularly prefer bags that are extremely common. I have a baby Fendi spy, but that's the closest thing. I do not have a speedy, I do not have a chanel flap, etc.

I think overall it really depends on what you want to spend, and how much you want to spend on it. I'm sure there are other ethnicity that have expensive bags too. No one in my own family would carry expensive designer handbags, I'm probably the only person to drop more than $60 on a bag, some of them buy fake bags, and others are just older and don't care what they wear or carry anymore, or would rather have a nice house or a nice car than dump money on clothes and accessories. But that's my family, other families are different.

It really just depends on what you grow up with, or just flat out, what you like.

If you've ever read Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, the author has an interesting explanation about the Japanese and their perception with designer goods.
 
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#10
basicandorganic said:
Vinyl?! I understand going from an expensive leather bag, like balenciaga, to a cheaper bag, i see 20$-30$ leather handbags often..
Click to expand...

Geez . . . yet another vinyl question in return for a question! Yes . . . I wear a vinyl bag. It's an inexpensive Guess bag that I happen to like (two, to be exact).

The first reason is that I chose to give up my obsession. Lots of reasons I won't go into here.

The second reason is that I have a dog I take everywhere with me. And while in the car with me, he walks on everything.

Yes, yes, yes . . . I do know how I can downsize, but that wasn't an issue. I'm still in possession of several leather bags: Chloe', Marc Jacobs, Coach, Betsy Johnson, & probably some I don't even remember.
 
#11
Well, I don't know, I guess many do. I'm not sure whether I count as one of them (I suppose I do), but on the other side of things I will take a Ferragamo over any Chanel, any Balenciaga, Hermes, etc. anyday. Personally it's not so much about expensive things for me as high quality; as far as I know SF is not such a known brand.
 
#12
I don't really think ethnicity has anything to do with it. I know plenty of Asian women (like my relatives) who don't care about expensive handbags, and many others who indeed like designer bags (me, my mom). Though generally, I kind of get what you're saying because most of those who can afford it/think its worth it, do buy expensive purses...but this can also be said about any other race, not just Asians. :s
 
#13
^Agreed. Actually I was just thinking about it, and a vast, no, HUGE percentage of the Korean population at my school wear designer bags. I think that's a really big thing with them; so many of the Asians you're thinking of could possibly be Koreans (not that there's anything wrong with it). I find many of them very designer-conscious.
 
#14
lovingmybags said:
Well, I don't know, I guess many do. I'm not sure whether I count as one of them (I suppose I do), but on the other side of things I will take a Ferragamo over any Chanel, any Balenciaga, Hermes, etc. anyday. Personally it's not so much about expensive things for me as high quality; as far as I know SF is not such a known brand.
Click to expand...

Aha . . . now here's an honest answer! You are the epitome of what I've described. And I don't mean that in a derogatory manner by any means. I'm still very curious about this.

Coach makes very durable bags. What would your reason be for not wanting that versus a Balenciaga?

Hermes, despite its quality, can be cumbersome to carry due to it's huge boxy size & the fact that they're made as hand held bags. Is it the $90,000 price tag that makes this appealing?

A couple of years ago, the Chloe' Paddington became the new IT bag & was selling out faster than they could be stocked. Though the leather was supple & buttery soft, I quit carrying mine because the huge brass lock weighed a frickin ton! For that matter, the bag was too heavy even without the lock. Also, the compartments & closure were inconvenient.

Once again . . . why high-end bags only?
 
#15
no, not all. that's a generalization akin to saying that all african americans love rap music. there are always exceptions.

i prefer designer bags because, foremost, i find the designs generally more appealing than, say, a generic bag from h&m. the quality is better (although not always). luxury/self-indulgence and status must be mixed in there somewhere because if i didn't care about those things at all, then i'm sure i could enjoy comparable bags for a much lesser price (i.e. botkier or kooba instead of marc jacobs and chanel). goes to show how marketing is highly effective on both a conscious and subconcious level. anyway, that's another discussion.

i've read numerous articles on how asia partcularly japan and china is a dominant demographic in luxury sales due to the emerging middle class. many associate brands like lv, gucci, and prada with beauty, status, wealth, and even power. marketing! well, who doesn't want to be all those things, so they buy a part of the dream. many japanese women still live at home. with virtually little to no living costs, much of their disposable income goes towards high fashion consumerism. asian society often fosters a stronger sense of conformity, so if all your friends own a flap and speedy, you're going to do all you can to get your hands on one too lest you be different or feel left out. i also want to mention fetishisation of western culture, but this post is already too long. that's my general analysis.
 
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