Price Rationalization, bags vs costume jewelry vs RTW
- Thread starter harley
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Well, everyone has their own threshold and limits on what they feel is worth the money, etc. Personally, I think that handbags are worth it, especially in classic styles you can use for many years. I am not, and never will be, drawn to the trendy handbags that scream "Look at me! I'm from s/s '08!" 
Most of my collection consists of flaps/reissues, but I do have one beautiful RTW jacket I scored on ebay, as well as some costume jewelry. If I were to pick between the three, a handbag would win the "what should I purchase" competition, 99% of the time. While I love RTW, the prices are ridiculous (for me), even though you are paying for a beautifully constructed item, a closet full of RTW, however appealing, isn't in keeping with my lifestyle. I love fashion, but sometimes you need to dress for the life you have versus the life you wish you had (haha, the latter part is not true, but I'm just saying). That said, if I found a gorgeous RTW piece in exactly the colors/style I want (I'm very picky) AND the price was decent, I would consider it, sure. 
So yes, a few gorgeous jackets you will use often (and preferably ones you found on sale) are worth it to me.
As for costume jewelry, I have a lot of cute necklace I purchased years ago, all for under $350. I also have a lot of earrings I purchased when prices were more... reasonable. However, those prices have gone to hell haha.
I'm guilty of spending an ungodly amount of $$$ on the makeup charms necklace this season, and I vacillate between thinking "What the hell were you smoking?!" and "Wow, it's such a pretty, fun, whimsical piece that real jewelry cannot take the place of!" I guess the last statement wins, because I plan to keep it. While I do think that real jewelry is beautiful and happen to own a lot of it (my dad's family is in the jewelry business... I can only imagine what they would say if they saw my costume jewelry with the prices attached! 
), sometime diamonds/real pearls, etc. don't work for me. I'm not going to wear real pearls/diamonds to visit friends, go out to a casual dinner, attend a class, or whatever. Real jewelry has its place, and for me, it isn't often that wearing it meshes with my life style (other than, say, diamond studs, or a simple necklace). I have four Chanel "pearl" necklaces I wear quite often (including the makeup charms one), and to me, they are the core of my costume jewelry collection. Knock on wood, I haven't had any quality issues thus far. So those pieces, yes, I would purchase again, but from now on, I've become much more selective. More money spent on non-bags means less money on, well, bags!
Most of my collection consists of flaps/reissues, but I do have one beautiful RTW jacket I scored on ebay, as well as some costume jewelry. If I were to pick between the three, a handbag would win the "what should I purchase" competition, 99% of the time. While I love RTW, the prices are ridiculous (for me), even though you are paying for a beautifully constructed item, a closet full of RTW, however appealing, isn't in keeping with my lifestyle. I love fashion, but sometimes you need to dress for the life you have versus the life you wish you had (haha, the latter part is not true, but I'm just saying). That said, if I found a gorgeous RTW piece in exactly the colors/style I want (I'm very picky) AND the price was decent, I would consider it, sure. So yes, a few gorgeous jackets you will use often (and preferably ones you found on sale) are worth it to me.As for costume jewelry, I have a lot of cute necklace I purchased years ago, all for under $350. I also have a lot of earrings I purchased when prices were more... reasonable. However, those prices have gone to hell haha.
I'm guilty of spending an ungodly amount of $$$ on the makeup charms necklace this season, and I vacillate between thinking "What the hell were you smoking?!" and "Wow, it's such a pretty, fun, whimsical piece that real jewelry cannot take the place of!" I guess the last statement wins, because I plan to keep it. While I do think that real jewelry is beautiful and happen to own a lot of it (my dad's family is in the jewelry business... I can only imagine what they would say if they saw my costume jewelry with the prices attached! ), sometime diamonds/real pearls, etc. don't work for me. I'm not going to wear real pearls/diamonds to visit friends, go out to a casual dinner, attend a class, or whatever. Real jewelry has its place, and for me, it isn't often that wearing it meshes with my life style (other than, say, diamond studs, or a simple necklace). I have four Chanel "pearl" necklaces I wear quite often (including the makeup charms one), and to me, they are the core of my costume jewelry collection. Knock on wood, I haven't had any quality issues thus far. So those pieces, yes, I would purchase again, but from now on, I've become much more selective. More money spent on non-bags means less money on, well, bags! 
I don't know any Chanel RTW (yet!) but I think it is way more bang for the buck, even if you can't wear it as often as you could a handbag. Chanel clothes, especially the beautiful tweed suits, are just truly *spectacular.* Like the chain sewn into the interior of the tweed jackets to ensure it drapes just right. You are not going to see a bunch of girls walking down the street wearing Chanel. Maybe carrying Chanel, but definitely not wearing it.
So for me, that's more bang for the buck.
I don't buy the jewelry at all (can't bring myself to pay that much for costume) and I only own one pair of Chanel shoes.
So for me, that's more bang for the buck.
I don't buy the jewelry at all (can't bring myself to pay that much for costume) and I only own one pair of Chanel shoes.
we all have our own limits, doesnt make any wrong or right
i love the bags, costume jewelry, and rtw but honestly speaking, are any of them really worth the price point? nope but if i love it, i will buy it
and the thing abt bags- that they are at least leather
well...i must say that in actuality, leather is not that expensive.
and truth be told, hermes imo have better quality, there is a sheen to it after years of use and the threads do not unravel as with chanel quilted leather.
i love the bags, costume jewelry, and rtw but honestly speaking, are any of them really worth the price point? nope but if i love it, i will buy it
and the thing abt bags- that they are at least leather
well...i must say that in actuality, leather is not that expensive.
and truth be told, hermes imo have better quality, there is a sheen to it after years of use and the threads do not unravel as with chanel quilted leather.
I guess I touched a nerve ... which was not my intention. Nor was my post a complaint. I was merely asking a question. I wanted other people's take on how the major Chanel lines are priced compared to each other. Of course it is my choice to buy or not to buy. I was talking about what you actually get quality and material wise for the price you pay.
I was not complaining about the price. If you get this message from my post and are 'tired' of the complaints, why did you read/answer?
Thank you though, for the information about who designs all the jewelry - You learn something new on this forum every day.
As for appreciating her I don't know her personally nor do I know her as I do Lagerfled (through the media). She is creative and has some great pieces out there. No question there.
However, I highly doubt she creates each piece or each line as a 'one of a kind' - if they truly were 'one of a kind', there would be limited editions, quantities, etc., and I would not have the pieces that I own.
But I don't really know much about this part of Chanel. This is all just my opinion. And I don't recall anyone, including myself, complaining about the jewelry designer or her creativity and time spent making/designing.
I always amortize the cost too. What will I wear more? The cute little flap or the classic pearl necklace? Sometimes it's the necklace that I will get more wear out of.
The clothing is often, quite simply, gorgeous. The fabrics are really special, and unique -- and then the work inside the garment (the structure of it) is often spectacular. The jackets are the prime example of this -- they are beautiful!
I would definitely put money on RTW!
I would definitely put money on RTW!
I've been saying for a while now that the bags aren't made in Europe anymore and seem to be of inferior quality... but the clothes... they are still exquisite!! And made with such perfection.
Unfortunately my lifestyle doesn't call for expensive Chanel clothes, but I agree, when the perfect item goes on sale, I'm first in line to buy it!
I think what I'm saying is that the clothes may be worth the price, but not necessarily the bags. I'm hoping that will change about the bags.
It's so true! Some of these items have got hand sewing, even in the RTW (non-couture).
I've definitely seen one jacket that I felt was a perfect work of art -- and I did not argue with the price, I seriously felt it was well deserved, considering the work put into the garment. Even the fabric had been created, specially, for Chanel -- hand woven!
Having said all of that, I still wait for the sales!!
For me, I cannot justify $2000 for costume jewelry. That said, I do purchase the whimsical ones that are more affordable such as the chanel no. 5 earrings, the necklace with the london bus. I love both real jewelry and costume and I have been buying costume jewelry from other designers. So the Chanel costume jewelry that I purchase is about the same price range as those from the other designers.
I have a hierarchy of rationalizing. Clothes, I rationalize the most (as seasons come and go very quickly). Jewellery (the same). Shoes gets a little tougher. Sunglasses, even tougher. Hanbags, all rationalizing goes out the window, and all boils down to how much I CAN spend. Certainly not proud of it, but that's the way it is!! LOL!!
I have to say that I agree on the costume jewelery. I am saving up for my first Classic flap at the moment (eek - so close, yet so far, about $350 short!) and I can rationalize spending that much on a leather bag because I know that I'll use it for years to come.
When I was at the boutique checking bags out this Summer, I inquired about the pearl necklace and I was shocked that they weren't real pearls. I asked her if they were PLASTIC and she said yes, synthetic materials! I do agree the price on these things are a bit high. Yes, it's Chanel but as per some of the posts, I would hope that the quality is good. The only piece I would still consider is the pearl necklace, but I'm not spending $750 cdn for one night of fun!
When I was at the boutique checking bags out this Summer, I inquired about the pearl necklace and I was shocked that they weren't real pearls. I asked her if they were PLASTIC and she said yes, synthetic materials! I do agree the price on these things are a bit high. Yes, it's Chanel but as per some of the posts, I would hope that the quality is good. The only piece I would still consider is the pearl necklace, but I'm not spending $750 cdn for one night of fun!
I think a lot of people are debating the cost of these things now and to be honest, I don't really think any of them are worth it, but it's all about how you want to spend your disposible income.
I would love to own some Chanel RTW but can't justify the price. With bags and jewelry, I can wear it multiple times a month, but I'm not comfortable doing that with clothes. If my income was higher, I would definitely be putting my money towards Chanel RTW then pair it with my Birkin - that would be fabulous!!
I agree on the quality issue with the costume jewelry - I'll admit I'm a sucker for the CC classic pearls and the chain/pearl belts. However, I've been disappointed with the quality. I get a lot of compliments when I wear them, but after 1.5 years, the pearl CCs are showing chips, and I had to get my belt re-strung after a year, which is crazy to me since the bloody thing was about 2K to start with. And of course it falls outside of the warranty period too.
I would love to own some Chanel RTW but can't justify the price. With bags and jewelry, I can wear it multiple times a month, but I'm not comfortable doing that with clothes. If my income was higher, I would definitely be putting my money towards Chanel RTW then pair it with my Birkin - that would be fabulous!!
I agree on the quality issue with the costume jewelry - I'll admit I'm a sucker for the CC classic pearls and the chain/pearl belts. However, I've been disappointed with the quality. I get a lot of compliments when I wear them, but after 1.5 years, the pearl CCs are showing chips, and I had to get my belt re-strung after a year, which is crazy to me since the bloody thing was about 2K to start with. And of course it falls outside of the warranty period too.
