Cheap Clothing, Expensive Handbags
- Thread starter LuvDesignerBags
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I SO fit the description - I spend around 1 000 a year on bags and 500 on clothes. I invest in quality shoes and accessories. My clothes are mostly from unknown brands, no designer stuff. Being a really tall woman with a big booty there aren't so many designer brands that even make clothes that would fit me and my gigantic ***! 
So I use my money on nice accessories and wear simple, mostly reasonably priced clothes. I think that's the better way of doing things - at least it is for me. It seems that most women do bag first, as in, I don't remember ever seeing a woman in really expensive, pretty clothes and carrying a crappy bag but I have seen women in H&M and Zara clothing carrying designer bags.
So I use my money on nice accessories and wear simple, mostly reasonably priced clothes. I think that's the better way of doing things - at least it is for me. It seems that most women do bag first, as in, I don't remember ever seeing a woman in really expensive, pretty clothes and carrying a crappy bag but I have seen women in H&M and Zara clothing carrying designer bags.
I don't think you have to spend a lot on your clothes for them to look expensive!
Yes I have designer purses as well as a few designer coats & sweaters...but I'm a hardcore TJ Maxxinista as far as most of my clothes are concerned. So maybe I did spend 10x or more on my purse than my outfit most days but since I usually stick to classic silhouettes, I'm totally OK with last season's Ralph Lauren jersey dress as a work staple instead of hitting up Neiman Marcus to find a similarly styled premier designer dress
That's just one person's opinion though ❤
Yes I have designer purses as well as a few designer coats & sweaters...but I'm a hardcore TJ Maxxinista as far as most of my clothes are concerned. So maybe I did spend 10x or more on my purse than my outfit most days but since I usually stick to classic silhouettes, I'm totally OK with last season's Ralph Lauren jersey dress as a work staple instead of hitting up Neiman Marcus to find a similarly styled premier designer dress
That's just one person's opinion though ❤
Clothes just seem much more disposable than bags to me. They don't often wear out from use, but they'll get a stain that won't come out, or a snag from cat claws, or some other unfortunate accident. So it's not something I always feel comfortable throwing a lot of money at. Plus, many times I have to decide if I want to use a certain amount of money on expensive clothing or an expensive bag, and the bag will usually win.
I only have so much disposable cash and I would rather have a really nice bag than spend it clothes 
I'm probably in the minority but I actually prefer a simpler look for clothes, the designer stuff looks fussy, has to be matched by color and dry cleaned, and given my lifestyle I cant justify it! I'll invest in a few things that last - Burberry jacket, Ferragamo shoes, one pair of nice jeans - but for everyday, I have my standby khakis and T-shirts from Target and I think they look fine esp when accessorized by a good bag
I'm probably in the minority but I actually prefer a simpler look for clothes, the designer stuff looks fussy, has to be matched by color and dry cleaned, and given my lifestyle I cant justify it! I'll invest in a few things that last - Burberry jacket, Ferragamo shoes, one pair of nice jeans - but for everyday, I have my standby khakis and T-shirts from Target and I think they look fine esp when accessorized by a good bag 
I only have so much disposable cash and I would rather have a really nice bag than spend it clothes
I totally agree with you and you're not in the minority at all. I have classic staple clothing which I mix with some cheaper trendy pieces for a more updated look. Prefer to invest in designer bags which I think always elevates whatever I wear - even jeans and t-shirts!
IMO there's a difference between shopping smart/on sale and shopping cheap. There's a lot of quality clothing out there that doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, especially more basic pieces - even the 'premier' designers, you just have to be inclined to look and wait.
I have a good friend from way back, she's a wonderful person but we couldn't disagree more about clothing and shopping. I'll splurge on handbags, and maybe an expensive jacket, shoes (probably one of the only things I'll buy full retail - and even then will usually wait for double points, etc), and (vintage) jewelry. The rest of the time, I buy mostly from Banana or Jcrew - on sale of course.
I only shop Banana in store b/c there are some amazing deals in store vs online - for example, I recently bought a black silk Heritage dress for 25ish and a grey cotton/silk tank for 15ish. I can see nothing wrong with pairing either with my much more expensive handbags.
My friend on the other hand is proud of her $5 shoes and under $10 clothes. Piece for piece, cheaper then what I have, but her closet is also 3x the size of mine. Sorry, but you'll never convince me those are good buys and don't look like exactly what they are - cheap. I'd much rather have my smaller closet
I have a good friend from way back, she's a wonderful person but we couldn't disagree more about clothing and shopping. I'll splurge on handbags, and maybe an expensive jacket, shoes (probably one of the only things I'll buy full retail - and even then will usually wait for double points, etc), and (vintage) jewelry. The rest of the time, I buy mostly from Banana or Jcrew - on sale of course.
I only shop Banana in store b/c there are some amazing deals in store vs online - for example, I recently bought a black silk Heritage dress for 25ish and a grey cotton/silk tank for 15ish. I can see nothing wrong with pairing either with my much more expensive handbags. My friend on the other hand is proud of her $5 shoes and under $10 clothes. Piece for piece, cheaper then what I have, but her closet is also 3x the size of mine. Sorry, but you'll never convince me those are good buys and don't look like exactly what they are - cheap. I'd much rather have my smaller closet
I love this thread! I will spend more money on clothing that is basic and that I will wear all the time; however, I spend more money on shoes and handbags. I think shoes and handbags make the outfit look more expensive. But if something is not a basic, then I will not spend a lot of money. And, F21 and H&M have clothing that can look expensive if you wear them the right way. I bought 2 faux leather skirts from the LC Lauren Conrad line at Kohls for around $30 and wear them with crop top sweaters and get compliments all the time. However, I am not opposed to buying designer shoes preowned either. I just feel like a handbag is an investment and I can still get a return if I want to sell; however, clothing does not have good return value. Plus, no matter what, if I gain a couple of pounds, my handbag still fits! LOL
I think I didn't really express myself well when starting the thread. So I feel like I should elaborate. Its not that I don't think that one should shop or buy pieces in non designer stores. I feel that one should not solely build there wardrobe just from one area. As i build my handbag collection and try to have better quality handbags and accessories I feel like I have to take a look at my own wardrobe. For example I use to shop at Old Navy alot but I realize its not quality and every few months I had to buy new t-shirt, new pants or jeans and not just that store but other places as well. I am not saying I should or anyone should be spending thousands of dollars on designer clothes. I am just wondering what about the people that only shop exclusively at the cheaper end of the spectrum. Why not even branch out to midrange designer like j. crew or banana republic. These are just examples because there are plenty other. Sometimes a person does find a piece from a lower end store that lasts but for me it has been rare. I just dont grasp the idea of actually owning the most coveted items that are real luxury and to not experience any piece of clothing of real quality. What about cost per wear and truly getting your money worth. A lot people are mentioning getting things on sale. Its not about getting nice quality clothing on sale because its still quality. As a person experiences quality in one area would they not want to expand on it and have it in others?
Quality and well-tailored are 2 things I think of when I buy a RTW piece. I firmly believe in carefully selecting pieces from certain designers. My wool plum Fendi dress is 8 yrs old but every winter, i pull it out and it never fails to get ALOT of compliments from my peers without them knowing it is RTW (business corporate setting). The tailoring matters. That being said I cannot justify tailoring Ann Taylor dresses for more than the cost of the piece.
Not sure I fully understand the Ops last comment....you're trying to find out if there's anyone that would ONLY purchase cheap clothing but yet ONLY carry expensive bags? I think that's a perspective issue as how cheap would clothing have to be and how expensive would the bags have to be and what brand?
I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would disagree with this, who would say they want a closet full of crap clothing? I brought up the sale factor b/c in my experience with my friend, in her eyes, the difference in quality between what she buys and what I buy is not big enough to warrant the price difference. So to her, price is a factor when considering 'quality'. My counterpoint is always that full retail prices might be very different, but its not hard to find the more expensive stuff on sale, so like you said, if you can have better quality in your life for only a little bit more, why wouldn't you? But to each their own, maybe for some the difference in quality isn't that big or worth it. While I almost never shop H&M, F21, etc (well maybe except for halloween lol) - I can see the value quality and price wise in some classic hanes shirts from target or kmart. I'm probably not a big help in answering your question b/c I mostly agree with you.
On a sidenote - I used to love Old Navy jeans - wore them to pieces while in college - now those I felt were pretty good quality at a great price. But haven't stepped foot in an old navy in ages...
My question is as you purchases more quality handbags and luxury items has that transferred over to your clothing and your style? As person buys more expensive handbags and the quality rises does that translate into other areas of one life, especially there clothes? Would a person seek out more quality in that area?
I think it sort of depends on where you live as to what dictates clothing/bag style. Im from the NY/NJ area and fashion trends start here. Also, we have access to tons of sample sales and discounted outlets so its easy to buy quality designer items at a very low price. My entire wardrobe is not designer however like others have mentioned, I know how to shop for basic key wardrobe pieces, mix it up and make it work.
Personally when I see a woman with a very expensive bag and a cheap outfit I assume she is not really into fashion and just bought the bag due to the "it" factor.
Personally when I see a woman with a very expensive bag and a cheap outfit I assume she is not really into fashion and just bought the bag due to the "it" factor.