Like Mother, Like Daughter, or Not

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Violet Bleu

Violet Bleu

Space Cadet
Decade Club
Apr 16, 2015
2,685
2,869
#1
Hello everyone:

I know many of us face judgement and ignorance regarding our handbag obsessions. These sentiments come from strangers and family members alike. Personally speaking, my mother does not understand my love of luxury bags and thinks my purchases are frivolous. I have begun to wonder if our mothers' opinions on our purchases are skewed based on their preferred handbag designers. I'll provide an example.

My mother loves Coach. They are the only bags that she will splurge for. She used to like the fabric styles but has come to appreciate leather and more discreet designs with my help.

I, on the other hand, love luxury designers such as: Balenciaga, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, etc.

I wonder how she would perceive my purchases if she liked more expensive designers. Perhaps, I should introduce her to some. Haha

In other words, do your mothers share your passion for handbags? If they are on the same page, do they love the same designers you do? If they can't understand your passion, do they buy expensive bags for themselves?

I look forward to your responses.

Violet Bleu
 
#2
My mother is not into purses whatsoever as a matter of fact i lent her one of mine to get her out of the purse she has had for at least a decade. It's a nice purse, handmade.. leather(it's by Roots) but is showing a bit of fatigue after years of use.

That said she loves jewelry and has owned many fine pieces, me? wouldn't give you five bucks for a diamond ring lol
 
#3
Absolutely not. My mother will buy an inexpensive bag, and wear it until it falls apart. She considers all my shopping frivolous, and since the rest of my family is also extremely frugal, I probably have more stuff in my wardrobe than the three of them put together.

However, interestingly over the last two weeks I found out it's my family that is very conservative, rather than my being the most wasteful person on the planet haha. One of my friends asked to put some things in my room, since her parents were visiting and it was difficult with all the boxes lying around for packing. At first, I was okay, but nearing the end of two weeks I felt on edge and literally wanted to throw everything out. I have no idea how she could live with all that clutter, but strangely enough it doesn't bother her. Apparently she's even unused to all the empty space in her place, which currently still contain more stuff than is comfortable to walk around in. To each her own!
 
#4
We both love to shop! Antique arcades, markets, charity shops (thrift stores) or designer, I def got it from her. But in a way I'm more like my father in taste as my mother loves bright colours (always) whereas although I have a few bright bags but I gravitate towards neutrals.

My mother has passed lots of her handbags (as well as her clothes) to me. I've told her off for leaving all her fabulous bachelorette clothes and accessories behind when she got married, they must have been amazing. I remember I was wearing a very mini, mini dress to go out and she told me off for it, I reminded her it had been one of hers and she'd worn it everywhere.

She now prefers only Chanel and Le Tanneur but doesn't often buy anymore. Last year I bought her a Le Tanneur cross-body for her birthday and she bought me a Gucci Flora Nice for Christmas.
 
#5
HesitantShopper said:
My mother is not into purses whatsoever as a matter of fact i lent her one of mine to get her out of the purse she has had for at least a decade. It's a nice purse, handmade.. leather(it's by Roots) but is showing a bit of fatigue after years of use.

That said she loves jewelry and has owned many fine pieces, me? wouldn't give you five bucks for a diamond ring lol
Click to expand...

Wow! It's interesting how we can be so different from our mothers in some ways.

lovingmybags said:
Absolutely not. My mother will buy an inexpensive bag, and wear it until it falls apart. She considers all my shopping frivolous, and since the rest of my family is also extremely frugal, I probably have more stuff in my wardrobe than the three of them put together.

However, interestingly over the last two weeks I found out it's my family that is very conservative, rather than my being the most wasteful person on the planet haha. One of my friends asked to put some things in my room, since her parents were visiting and it was difficult with all the boxes lying around for packing. At first, I was okay, but nearing the end of two weeks I felt on edge and literally wanted to throw everything out. I have no idea how she could live with all that clutter, but strangely enough it doesn't bother her. Apparently she's even unused to all the empty space in her place, which currently still contain more stuff than is comfortable to walk around in. To each her own!
Click to expand...

My family is the same way and often wonders how I could lust for such nice things when they never influenced me in that way. Ultimately, I am the black sheep of my family. Lol

papertiger said:
We both love to shop! Antique arcades, markets, charity shops (thrift stores) or designer, I def got it from her. But in a way I'm more like my father in taste as my mother loves bright colours (always) whereas although I have a few bright bags but I gravitate towards neutrals.

My mother has passed lots of her handbags (as well as her clothes) to me. I've told her off for leaving all her fabulous bachelorette clothes and accessories behind when she got married, they must have been amazing. I remember I was wearing a very mini, mini dress to go out and she told me off for it, I reminded her it had been one of hers and she'd worn it everywhere.

She now prefers only Chanel and Le Tanneur but doesn't often buy anymore. Last year I bought her a Le Tanneur cross-body for her birthday and she bought me a Gucci Flora Nice for Christmas.
Click to expand...

I wish I could shop with my mother in this way. I am slowly cultivating her to be more open minded. Haha
 
#6
Nice thread! My Mom is a handbag fiend - I got it from her :laugh: She's always been more into LV and Chanel though, with a few Hermes pieces in her collection as well. Meanwhile I gravitate more towards Prada, Longchamp, Balenciaga, Givenchy... my collection is MUCH smaller than hers, but the brand diversity is also broader. She's started getting into Longchamp and older Prada as well through my "influence" (if I can call it that :p), and I did have some LV pieces a few years back (I'm down to one bag and one wallet now) because of her... we somehow influence each other, but at the same time, even though our tastes can intersect at times, we still have very distinct preferences that are different from each other.

We usually show each other our bags (old and new) and we tend to appreciate the design and craftsmanship of what the other has, but stick to our own bags (for the most part ;) ).

My daughter hasn't really shown an interest in bags yet, but it might only be a matter of time :giggles:
 
#7
Maice said:
Nice thread! My Mom is a handbag fiend - I got it from her :laugh: She's always been more into LV and Chanel though, with a few Hermes pieces in her collection as well. Meanwhile I gravitate more towards Prada, Longchamp, Balenciaga, Givenchy... my collection is MUCH smaller than hers, but the brand diversity is also broader. She's started getting into Longchamp and older Prada as well through my "influence" (if I can call it that :p), and I did have some LV pieces a few years back (I'm down to one bag and one wallet now) because of her... we somehow influence each other, but at the same time, even though our tastes can intersect at times, we still have very distinct preferences that are different from each other.

We usually show each other our bags (old and new) and we tend to appreciate the design and craftsmanship of what the other has, but stick to our own bags (for the most part ;) ).

My daughter hasn't really shown an interest in bags yet, but it might only be a matter of time :giggles:
Click to expand...

Oh my! It seems the handbag aficionado gene runs in your family. I hope that one day I will be able to discuss handbags in great detail with my mother without her rolling her eyes at me. Haha
 
#8
My mother hates all bags, even inexpensive ones. She prefers to carry her phone and money in her pocket and is pretty thrifty in general. She doesn't purchase designer anything and has no interest in it.
 
#9
My mother likes handbags. But she has only cheap ones and she has stopped asking me how much I spend on my bags. She is not scolding me for spending more money on bags, because she has a lot, too. She borrows now and then some of my bags.
 
#10
My mom LOVES handbags - I think I got my bag-loving genes from her.
But there's a big difference between us in the way we use our bags. As in, I actually use mine. She doesn't. She has a lot of nice bags (although mine are usually more expensive styles from the same designers) but most of them are sitting in her closet, not getting any wear. She had a Mulberry which she sold because she didn't have any more use for it - I think she wore it around 5 times and then stashed it away. My bags get rotated all the time, and even the Mulberry I didn't use much for the first 3 yrs of its life is getting a longer shoulder strap soon to help me carry her more often. She is still for sale, but I am trying my best to make use of what I've bought...
Mom has now started to ask me if I want a bag - I think she's starting to realise it makes no sense keeping the bags when they don't get so much as a brief outing. Ever. She also never gives away anything so her closets and attic are stuffed - a bit of a hoarder. It's my project for the summer to help her clear out all the clothes from the 80's etc. :weird:

I gave her an Abro bag for last Christmas and she told me she's carried it alot, so maybe she hasn't had a clear idea on what she needs and the bags she's bought in the past have just been cute but not very practical. IDK. I'm off to the shops now and need to dig something "new" from the closet to put my stuff in. Who carries the same bag for 3 days in a row?! :roflmfao:
 
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#11
Chiming in from a Mom's perspective...

While I am a confirmed bag addict, my daughter is far less so. She appreciates a good bag, but it's not her passion. Aside from her professional accomplishments, she is a dedicated athlete.

Running is her passion. So I applaud her efforts (not with a bag I would love to have, or think she should have) but with running shoes, Under Armour, etc.

To each her own...

:olympics:
 
#13
My mom loves purses, too. No. She doesn't share my love of designer bags. She has her own circle of independent bag-maker. I love them, too, but I also love designer ones. :)
 
#14
Interesting thread, Violet Blue! Love everyone's posts!
My Mother, God rest her soul, was not into expensive anything with the exception of jewelry. She could certainly afford it. She always bought "nice" things but not extravagant things. I always thought living through the "great depression" caused her thriftiness. She (and my Father) invested in real estate...that was their thing. She never knew half the bags/jewelry I had in my collection and for everyone's sake I kept it that way.
I often wondered where I came from???
 
#15
Great thread, especially on the heels of Mother's Day, when feelings about moms may run stronger than usual!

I think in my family it skipped a generation. My mother is very wash-and-wear. The last time she visited, she was carrying an old Coach bag from the outlet. It was cream colored and showing its age. She made a comment about how the bag won't really get clean anymore, but she just loves it so much. Personally, I wanted to take it from her, throw it in the trash, and buy her a new one! She would never in a million years understand spending money on Balenciaga or Prada, much less Chanel or Hermes.

She loves jewelry but again, our tastes are very different, as she wears a lot of Native American jewelry, and my taste is more classic.

My paternal grandmother, OTOH, was a clotheshorse. I remember visiting her as a child and being fascinated by the full closets. She loved jewelry, too, and always had her hair done. I have no doubt that if she had been alive for the "It Bag" phenomenon, she would have had one of each! Unfortunately, she died when I was just 11, and most of her stuff went to Goodwill. I do have her diamond stud earrings, however, and it's a rare day they aren't in my ears.

My sister likes bags but doesn't love them the way I do. Her passion is shoes!
 
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