Weaning from designer bags

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dara678

O.G.
Jan 28, 2008
122
5
#1
Hi guys, just wanted to get everyone's input. I am crazy about designer bags and have a nice collection. However, I am realizing more and more that they do not fit in with my professional or social life; most people I know do not carry these bags. In fact when I do carry them I always get comments about them - not anything bad, but acknowledgment that they are expensive and that makes me a bit uncomfortable. So I am wondering now if I should start weaning myself from bags like LV and instead start carrying more under the radar pieces.

Have you ever weaned yourself from designer bags? If so what has your experience been?
 
#2
I don't have any high end designer bag, so I can't share a personal experience, but I can see your point. I have a somewhat expensive watch that my parents bought me for my 18th birthday (equivalent to the 21th birthday in the USA I guess), but it's not as recognisable and as precious as say a Rolex, so a really few people comment on it.
I don't think you should stop buying designer bags if you like them, being uncomfortable isn't fun but I'm sure most people don't comment with that purpose in mind. And maybe they just like to spend their extra money on something else and they're just curious about your passion ;)
 
#3
I have 2 pieces from Hermes, 3 Chanel, 5 LV. The rest are much cheaper brand. Each bag have its own proper place & time so they suits my lifestyle well. 99.9% in my circle of friends don't know about Hermes! Some of them know Mini Chanel that I normally take out for fancier occasion. LV I only use among group of friends who also carry designer brand. But for work I carry Cheaper brands and also non branded. Some names like longchamp/Rebecca Minkoff/Furla, Kate Spade/MbMJ, Coach/MK/CK/DKNY/Oroton are quite common among my friends and where I work. U might want to try Italian non branded leather bags. I simply love mine, Great quality & understated! but not really cheap either.
 
#4
dara678 said:
Hi guys, just wanted to get everyone's input. I am crazy about designer bags and have a nice collection. However, I am realizing more and more that they do not fit in with my professional or social life; most people I know do not carry these bags. In fact when I do carry them I always get comments about them - not anything bad, but acknowledgment that they are expensive and that makes me a bit uncomfortable. So I am wondering now if I should start weaning myself from bags like LV and instead start carrying more under the radar pieces.



Have you ever weaned yourself from designer bags? If so what has your experience been?
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This is not quite an answer to your question but I'm in a similar situation and what I do is get under the radar designer pieces. For LV emp leather is subtle enough that unless you look for a little while you won't see the pattern. Similarly my laptop bag is LV DG. I don't get comments on them at all. If anybody is talking about them it's behind my back I guess. :P I don't really think or care about that.

I will say though; the main reason I feel no guilt is that I know for a fact everybody at work that sees my bag earns enough to get one of their own easily. So it's not a case of showing off.

With friends it's a bit trickier. Well, not all of them, but I do have one friend who would care. Not sure what I'll do when we finally meet up again (we live in different countries).
 
#5
I wouldn't say weaned, but I've bought some contemporary designers and for the most part, not been satisfied with the quality of the bags.

Odds are that people who've noticed you carrying designer bags and said something will see an "under the radar" bag and still ask about it or make a comment about it's cost.

I can't really speak to professionally. For those in my industry who know designer goods, it's a shared passion for us, so it's more unifying. I'd probably go with the above recommendation to find a well-made, less common bag as well. Something where the quality is good, but the brand isn't known either.
 
#6
A woman, on a travel tour, once told me that I would get really fat.
If I continued to eat sugar-coated pastries, when I got older.
I continued munching my pastry, dropping clumps of sugar onto the ground.
May have said something about not giving ****.

This is my attitude about carrying designer bags, too.
I fill them with my various debris & ignore people.
Because I like them.
Under-the-radar finds are great. But not to compensate for others' craziness. Only if I like them.

Hope helps. :)
 
#7
Right now my bags seem to fall into two categories: Hermes (plus a couple of other premier designer bags) and Longchamp Le Pliage. H is a passion for me, but there are times when I, a) don't want to worry about babying my bag), or b) don't want to feel conspicuous carrying a really expensive bag. My H bags are pretty under-the-radar, but I think they are obviously high quality and therefore look expensive. I volunteer at an animal shelter and don't want to carry H there for both reasons. Ditto hockey games. The Longchamps are perfect for the times when premier designer doesn't make sense: the quality is there, and they are so different in style I don't feel like I'm compromising by trying to recreate the high-end aesthetic at a lower price point.

I love my high-end bags, but there are times when I want to be "just a girl," IYKWIM!
 
#8
dara678 said:
Hi guys, just wanted to get everyone's input. I am crazy about designer bags and have a nice collection. However, I am realizing more and more that they do not fit in with my professional or social life; most people I know do not carry these bags. In fact when I do carry them I always get comments about them - not anything bad, but acknowledgment that they are expensive and that makes me a bit uncomfortable. So I am wondering now if I should start weaning myself from bags like LV and instead start carrying more under the radar pieces.

Have you ever weaned yourself from designer bags? If so what has your experience been?
Click to expand...

If your only discomfort is the remarks others make, the problem isn't your bags. It's the clumsy oafish envious people who love to ruin another person's pleasure. Keep your bags and ditch the oafs.
 
#10
Not sure if this would work for your situation, but have you looked into brands like Loewe, BV, Givenchy, Celine (not the luggage styles)? Still premier designers but most people wouldn't have a clue unless they had knowledge about bags.
 
#12
Fimpagebag said:
If your only discomfort is the remarks others make, the problem isn't your bags. It's the clumsy oafish envious people who love to ruin another person's pleasure. Keep your bags and ditch the oafs.
Click to expand...


Exactly.

What's the point in "dumbing yourself down" to make others not say anything? People will always have something to say. Wean because you want to invest or save more. Wean because you want to buy a vacation house. Don't wean because of what others have to say.

Obviously I have no experience in weaning off bags because of people's comments but hopefully someone else does.
 
#13
I don't understand not wearing what you like because of some inappropriate comments from others. I get the comments and ignore. You may find that you're not carrying this under-the-radar bags because it's not really your style. Waste. Of. Money.
Life is too short to wear and buy something that you don't like or want just to please others.
 
#14
I only carry my designer bags on weekends because of my work environment but I use my SLGs at work. I carry my bags on the weekend where appropriate. I could care less what people think about my bags.
 
#15
Agree with what everyone above is saying. I think buy what you love with your lifestyle in mind e.g. mum of kids or city commuter. But personally I would be circumspect. I don't wear my bags with my MIL around for example, or with relatives that are likely to judge me. Your friends shouldn't judge you though or they aren't your real friends.
 
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