Cheap Clothing, Expensive Handbags

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#302
Manchoo78 said:
This is me! I wear cheap clothes and by cheap I mean Express, Banana Republic, Zara, Gap and I refuse to pay full price. I only buy clothes on sale. But I wear expensive and high end shoes and bags. I'm that girl wearing a Gap T-shirt with ripped Banana Republic jeans with a Chanel bag and Jimmy Choo pumps! That's how I roll.
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A high low mix....I love to mix it up
 
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#303
An old post revisited! Designer clothing doesn't always make sense or appeal to me. Some are not designed to be practical. For example, I wouldn't want to buy any clothing from Gucci - reminds me of thrift store finds - but I like some of the brands bags. [emoji1]
 
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#304
I try to stay in the middle. While premium designer clothing do not appeal to me (most of the time I find them waste of money) I also do not buy fast fashion clothing. Most of my clothes are from Contemporary designers. I like brands like Vince(sweaters), Splendid(tees), Equipment (silk tops), Theory, Joie, Rebecca Taylor, Mother Denim, AG....
 
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#305
Summerfriend said:
I think cheapy wardrobe + fancy bag syndrome can occur when someone has a really, really causal lifestyle, as I do.

I'm a stay-at-home mom, and I live in Florida, so I have very little opportunity to wear anything other than shorts, tank tops, and leggings (in what passes for winter here). Carrying a nice bag is the only thing that communicates to the world that I'm even remotely making an effort. LOL!
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Storm702 said:
I agree. I'm 32 now, and I am a single parent of 2 boys. But I loooove designer bags! Unfortunately, I have champagne taste on a beer budget, & can only afford preloved bags for a fraction of the original price. I don't buy the bags so people will look at me, I just truly appreciate the beautiful leathers & elegant designs. It's also nice to treat myself for working as hard as I do. And I'm forever ruined now, because I can't go back to generic handbags!

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I am in this camp. Thirtysomething mommy, middle class, casual lifestyle and small budget. But I absolutely love amazing bags. So I go for second hand and wear second hand clothes (but good quality, natural fibers well made and in colors and cuts I have learned flatters best, while still being supremely comfortable) with a great bag packed with diapers.
 
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#307
Storm702 said:
I agree. I'm 32 now, and I am a single parent of 2 boys. But I loooove designer bags! Unfortunately, I have champagne taste on a beer budget, & can only afford preloved bags for a fraction of the original price. I don't buy the bags so people will look at me, I just truly appreciate the beautiful leathers & elegant designs. It's also nice to treat myself for working as hard as I do. And I'm forever ruined now, because I can't go back to generic handbags!

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Lol I love your quote, I use that all the time because it best describes myself. I'm not going to lie, I'm a 31yo, I shop at express, h&m, forever 21 and Nordies, I would much rather buy a Chanel or an LV bag than any expensive clothes [emoji4]
 
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#308
My only gripe with expensive clothes is that over time our bodies change and sometimes you can't fit back into those expensive clothes. I am 31 now but I went through a phase of buying expensive jeans. Over time my taste changed and aside from that my body changed. From 21yrs to 31 yrs old weight wise I gained only a few pounds but I had a baby so my proportions changed. I use to be size 0 now I am a 4 or 6 at times. I still appear to be thin but I just can't fit my hips and thighs into those jeans anymore so I had to donate them. But alas I can still fit my Birkin over my arm no matter how old, pregnant or disproportioned I am! I am sticking to tj Maxx, express, and target.
 
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#311
Still on this bandwagon - my favorite jeans are H&M, favorite top is from Junarose and the shoes I've been practically living in this summer were bought for 20€ at an outlet. They've recently been paired with mostly RM, MbMJ and Mulberry bags. And I couldn't be happier - the clothes are good quality and look great and I don't have to worry about cost per wear. I don't think I'd get much more wear out of 200 € designer jeans than the 35€ H&M ones.
 
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#312
OneMoreDay said:
I remember reading about perceived value of fashion and how fast fashion has skewed the public's perception of what prices should actually be for the clothes they buy (designer or not). Cheap clothes definitely equates to cheap labour. And cheap labour almost definitely translates into poor working conditions. Remember the 2013 factory collapse in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh garment workers suffer poor conditions two years after reform vows
Assault, verbal abuse and forced overtime persist following the Rana Plaza disaster, which killed 1,100 people in Dhaka, Human Rights Watch claims.
- The Guardian, April 2015
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ll-suffering-two-years-after-factory-collapse​

Certainly, while contemporary designer brands cost a pretty penny, if they're made in Europe or the US or in a country with enforced labour laws ensuring a decent living wage and humane treatment of employees, I think it's absolutely worth it.

A word of caution though. "Made-in-Europe" may very well mean "Assembled-in-Europe, Made-Cheaply-Somewhere-Else". Even worse, there are little factory towns in Italy importing and employing cheap Chinese labour to supply the Made in Italy tag. Last I read of it was in 2010 but the latest news item I could find on the issue is in 2014.

Fire Exposes Illegal Chinese Factories in Italy
Thousands of people have been smuggled into Italy, finding work at factories that ignore basic safety standards, while billions of euros are smuggled back to China.
- Associated Press via Business of Fashion, October 2014
Source: http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/fire-exposes-illegal-chinese-factories-italy​

Do your research. Learn as much as you can about the supply chain. Be informed.

Furthermore, fast fashion is problematic because it encourages throwaway culture. You buy more because you believe you're making a savings. But how sustainable is buying cheaper clothes at volume, only to leave them at the back of the closet to move on to the next trendy, equally cheaply sold thing? It's a vicious cycle. It's not good for the environment or the workers paid the bare minimum in rough working conditions.

It's also not good for anyone to have a closet heaving with unwanted and unloved items that just end up being burdensome to a person's mental and emotional wellbeing. I know because I am one such person. A higher price point makes me think twice about spending money, forcing me to minimise my wardrobe to a few key pieces that will last longer, style-wise and quality-wise.

In my opinion, prevention of overbuying (not necessarily overspending in this context), is better than curing the overbuying after the fact.

If you have the spare time, Google "Slow Movement". Its Wikipedia entry covers everything from food (the originator of slow movement) to science, to fashion. If you don't have the time, it's summed up quite nicely by the oft coined but little followed "quality over quantity".
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I think it's important that everything we buy is sweat shop free and has nothing to do with exploitation and child labour. Research is essential, but apart from that price is not a factor...
 
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#313
The True Cost is a very enlightening documentary. Heartbreaking but the flipside is without 'fast fashion' there is job loss. I wish they could find a happy medium.
I never needed work clothes as my uniform was coveralls and hardhat so sweats and a t shirt underneath was good enough. I have always loved well made handbags with timeless style. I don't like ones that scream out their name. My bag style and clothing style don't really go together but I'm happy with the look.
I tend to buy quality outdoor clothing that will last for years. Outdoor Research, Arc'teryx etc. I wear these and think they look great with a Marc Jacobs hobo bag. ( that's just me though.)
My only designer clothing piece is a Missoni alpaca coat. It's older but timeless and goes well with anything, including hiking boots!
 
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#314
ladysarah said:
I think it's important that everything we buy is sweat shop free and has nothing to do with exploitation and child labour. Research is essential, but apart from that price is not a factor...
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I agree. Look at Nike and Apple, they are damn expensive yet their employee mainly are underage children or victim of human trafficking. You can classify them as highend brand for their own category.
 
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