I don't have children, but want to chime in with my own experience. I have always loved bags since I was a little girl and I will be 47 in July. I am from a small town in the NE USA. My dad was a hard working grocery store clerk and my mom stayed home. In high school I received 2 Gucci bags as special presents from my parents. They were deeply appreciated and I took very good care of them. They are still in my closet today. Only you know your daughter and can decide what makes sense for your family. If you are looking for some small bag suggestions under $1000, I second the LV pochette and suggest maybe mini Gucci Ophidia or mini bag. If you decide to go in a contemporary direction, maybe consider a small SLG like an LV cles that can be her first luxury piece. It could be a more special piece and less conspicuous than a designer bag and could hold her ID, debit card, cash and keys.
Is 14 too young for a Chanel Bag?
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I think it very much depends on the child. I'd be willing to consider it, since you mentioned your daughter had saved half, with the caveat that she would be responsible for any non-necessary expenses, like going out to the movies or going to the mall. If she's mature enough to be able to accommodate that, then great. If she doesn't have the budget for it, I'd rather her learn how much of a sacrifice that bag was when I know her basic needs will still be met rather than when she's older and unable to pay her bills or getting into credit card debt.
Very well said. Better for her to learn early in life that there will always be the haves and have nots. It does NOT mean the haves are any better. The only difference is they have the means to do and buy certain things, but at the end of the day does that really matter? There are way more important things to be concerned with in this life. Also, when this life inevitably comes to an end, we all go empty handed. Not one of us is any different once dead and buried in the ground.
The danger in her not having the reality check at an early age is possible resentment and unrealistic expectations of more from the parents and kidding herself into believing that she has or can have this kind of life. I saw this happen to a friend's daughter and it was tragic. The daughter attended a well known elite private school. Some of the families here bought their kids nice cars, had homes in multiple places, and did not blink an eye dropping serous amounts of cash when they ate out or went shopping. My friend's daughter envied her friends. She manipulated her parents to try and emulate her friends' lives by asking her parents to pay for nice cars and trips when they could barely afford to send her through school. In the end, it literally destroyed the kid.
It is better for OP's daughter to make friends with people who like her for her rather than because she carries a certain kind of bag. There are wealthy families out there who also try to instill financial disciple and values in their kids. They don't spoil them rotten and make them get jobs. Hopefully OP's daughter can meet some of these kids. In my day I did see some kids get spoiled, but today it's on a whole new level. Recently, I saw some kid post about how her parents bought her a croc bag for graduating. Well congrats for accomplishing a goal achieved by millions and millions of other young people around the world. I don't have kids, but I see too many parents overindulging and coddling their children these days and it's a sad sight to see. It also frighten me to think about what kinds of people these kids will grow up to be.
Lol my 15 year old would lose it. Besides the question of is it morally the right thing to do, would a Chanel even fit into a 14 year old’s lifestyle? Perhaps a nice backpack and a nice luggage set would be a more appropriate gift. If you want to go a a bit more, maybe a small necklace or bracelet (around $500 range) would make a nice keepsake that she could wear daily and think of her family.
When I got my first Chanel bag I was in my 40s and sold it thinking it looked more matronly ,Now I am in my 50s I started my Chanel collection .I have a daughter in her 20s and still have not bought her a designer bag .Kids at that age of 14 do not really know the meaning of designer .Its just what they see and hear through their peers and media .I doubt she will understand the value at that age .Thats just my opinion .
I talked to her about it and she’s disappointed but understands. We agreed on a Tory Burch bag, and she’ll pay for most of it and I’ll put toward $100. She actually really likes how it looks online, and is so excited. I think she heard how good Chanel bags were and gravitated toward them. Thank you all for the responses!
I have so much in common with your daughter! I have always loved bags and I went to private school when I was 14.
I think you are making the right choice.
I think you are making the right choice.
Thank you for letting us know how it ended! Would you mind sharing which one? It's a wonderful middle ground for her to be while she's young, and nice to hear that she's still excited by it! There's lots of ways to save money on Tory Burch too - cashback sites, sales, signing-up-for-email coupons
No 14 year old needs a Chanel anything. It appears fiscally irresponsible for a low/middle income family to spend so much on a single item for a child rather than further invest in education, skills, or life experience. Let her truly earn it when she graduates...top of her class.
I agree that she is too young because she should learn that material things do not make her fit in, nor should she try. And enjoying luxury goods is something to work towards. If she gets them at a young age, her priorities are not in the right order. First priority she learns should be education, then getting a job and being able to pay for her own housing and food. Any money spent on a Chanel this early is too soon and teaches immediate gratification, rather than waiting and working hard. I could see it as a college graduation gift. Although some people believe that college tuition is a gift in itself. I surely had to work my own way through college a few classes at a time. My children worked and also received some assistance because their degrees were in biological and agricultural engineering and software engineering (and grades of 4.0 GPA Magna Cum Laude), thus requiring such heavy loads that they had little spare time to work enough to pay for many living expenses.
That sounds great and she sounds just like my 15-year old daughter. You feel bad to deny her things (and they are so much into asking at this age), and it is a mini-drama when she hears, but after seconds she has forgotten and she becomes super enthusiastic about something else. My theory is that they actually crave being told ¨no¨ now and then. It reassures them that their parents care, and it helps them navigate the world through understanding our reasons and where the limits are.
How about a nice preloved bag in good condition? Ive always been a bag girl ever since I was a little girl. Of course the bags I carried around were Barbie and Hello Kitty bags lol. When I was your daughters age that’s when I started getting into fashion, makeup, learning about designers and designer clothing/handbags. I asked my mom for a Speedy 25 and she of course said no and that I was too young, but my Mom also knew I had a real passion and love for handbags so she compromised and gave me one of her older Coach bags to start with. When she saw I took care of it she bought me a new Coach bag when I turned 16 and when I graduated from High School she surprised me with a brand new Speedy 25. I think deep down you know she’s too young
i am not here to give you parental advice, nor have any knowledge about your financial nor knowing anything about your daughter, nor predict how people would react to her chanel bag.
First have a good chat with her, understand why she wants the bag. If she's mature, sensible with money, capable to look after a pricey bag, I would take her to the shop as soon as possible and buy her the Chanel bag.