What's behind the reason you buy a bag?

[pandorabox]

Usually when I am out shopping if I see something I really love and for a good deal, as long as I can afford it, I think well why not?

Those are my spur of the moment purchases.

Then I have the planned ones... I need a bag a certain size of style to fit my current need.

I could have something I need to carry around more, so hence a larger bag...

Or an event , like a formal evening, so therefore I need a dressy bag.

But basically, if I like it and I can see a use for it, then I will buy it.

 

[jade]

I am mostly impulse. But I have a set budget on how much I will impulse ($250). I tend to stop shopping for bags over $100 once I have finished my list.

Over the past 6 months, I have gone a little crazy on the nicer bags. I grabbed an MK ($275), Furla ($200) and Coach ($200). All were on sale in one way or another.

I have a tiny bit of buyer's remorse on my MK bag. Lots of hardware so it can be exhausting at the end of the day. But it is an amazing color! (Gunmetal, with gunmetal hardware)

The Coach was an impulse answer to an impulse. I got a 30% off coupon to the online factory. Got a bag that looked cute from afar. I didn't like it and sat debating if I should ship it in or head to the outlet. I ended up going to the outlet, and got a lovely Sophia for a steal. I had been admiring those from afar for months, but didn't prioritze buying one. Or forgot etc. Staying out of the handbag section

Right now I am on a mission for a structured black bag, budget around ~$400. I am trying to refrain from all purchases besides that, but the latest Coach purchase is pretty close to perfect (just not black). I saw the Coach fall preview, and I might just find my black bag. Then I can go back to admiring afar, unless there is something an amazing deal.

Once I got to my mid 20s I realized having a nicer bag was a good investment -- in myself, and I try to make sure my everyday bags are a bit nicer/higher quality.

 

[epijasmine]

I voted "planned", as I can't buy designer bags "spur of the moment" unless I happen upon a really great deal on the internet. Because there are no Luxury designer stores (eg LV, Hermes) where I live, I need to plan carefully so that when I get a chance to travel interstate or overseas, I'm all clued up and ready to buy. so I guess my "planning" is borne of necessity rather than strategic thinking!

 

[kaitydid]

I voted for planned. The reason being is I simply can't afford to buy a designer bag on impulse. The bags I love and want I have to save up for, so I plan to decide what bag to buy first or if I should split up my savings toward two bags, etc. I do admit I've bought a couple of bags on impulse, but they were from Forever 21 and I had the money with me in cash to pay for it. Part of me buying a designer bag is also because of TPF. I had loved Coach before joining the forum and still love it. But since joining TPF, I would have never thought about saving up to buy a Dior bag or a Burberry bag in addition to Coach. I've seen designers I never heard of before and I've seen bags I've never seen before. I've also had heard of designers but never realized they made beautiful bags until I searched through the threads!

all of the above reasons and none of the above reasons. LOL.

i really do not care about fashion at all, so i don't read fashion mags. i have bags that i've seen in online ads and print ads. i have bags that i've planned for, and bags that were spur of the moment purchases. i have bags that i bought that i had never heard of/seen before i joined tPF.

i choose my bags based on what *I* want in a bag. i pick them based on materials, size, shape, functionality, workmanship, and color, not on who makes them or where i could buy them. i'm just as happy with a $25 bag as i am a $2,500 bag. i don't care about designers or logos. if i like the bag, that's the most important thing. if it's from joe bob's purse shack and bait and tackle that's fine. if it is a louis vuitton, that's fine. i tend NOT to like the trendier fabrics, colors, and shapes. i greatly prefer classic, timeless styles without all of the tassels, studs, and heavy hardware that seem to be on everything these days. i try to look at each bag and figure out where it fits in with the rest of my collection. i'm not to try to impress anybody, and i don't worry if somebody thinks my bag is fake or not. if i was trying to impress somebody, that kind of person would be able to tell that all of my bags are authentic.

i also own a 5 year old ford SUV and an 11 year old honda. i'd rather spend my cash on things other than cars. would i like a newer car, sure. do i want one badly enough to have a monthly car payment? nope! i also pretty much live in jeans with a t-shirt or thermal and running shoes. oh, and i don't do much with my hair other than pull it into a ponytail, and i don't wear makeup. yeah, i need to go on a major diet too. it's not a fashion thing for me or somebody's perception of me. i'm probably more intelligent and nicer than many people that will judge me for my appearance.

sorry for my mini-rant, but i just think the whole thing is so intertwined.

You sound like me, lelliebunny! I simply love bags, any bag that catches my eye. I don't care if I got it from Target for $5-10 or from Coach for $358 or from Dior for $1,000+. Bags (and I'll admit shoes) are the one thing that I actually care about when it comes to fashion. Otherwise I dress simply and modestly and don't need to dress in head to toe in the latest fashion. I don't wear makeup and the only thing I do to my hair is brush it out and maybe put it in a ponytail. I don't wear jewelry either and the only jewelry I like to wear is a couple of bracelets and my future engagement/wedding ring. I, too, need to go on a diet and lose a good twenty pounds.

Bags just make me happy. If it means I have to save and save in order to buy a nice designer one... Well, then it's worth it in the end! But I'll love a bag that's $10 as much as one that's $1,000.

 

[Nicola_Six]

I picked "planned," because normally I buy bags that I have on a list and when my budget allows. However, I have done spur-of-the-moment purchases (usually when it's a sale item that I can't pass up and that haunts me until I buy it), and of course TPF is a constant source of all things bags!

Shopping for purses relieves my work stress better than if I stuck purely to "traditional" forms of stress relief, like meditating, sleeping and exercising - which is where the "spur of the moment" spending comes in. Buying purses is something that's purely decadent and appeals to my aesthetic side, and can be used for a lifetime (and beyond!) if they're well-cared for. It's instant - but lasting - gratification. When I wear a beautiful purse and slip on my Louboutins to meet my friends, after a long week at the office (and weekends too) working 80+ hours, cooped up and feeling like an automaton, I feel like a lady, a human again. And I feel like a million bucks too!

I am learning to curb my spending on purses though, and merely ogle. Since I'm holding off until I have money for a large down payment on a condo/townhouse AND my HG - a Birkin - I'm learning to de-stress using cheaper methods (e.g. watching movies with my friends) and rotating through all the purses I have and enjoying them.

 

[papertiger]

Major purchases: I plan like a military operation - I have to need and want it in equal measure and am very careful to avoid buying something just because 'everyone' else likes them. It has to be very 'me' even though I go in and out of phases, the core 'me' remains the same. I hate returning things and consider I have failed in my planing if I feel I have to, I would rather miss out on a bag (or any purchase) and try to search one out later rather than make (a very costly) mistake. Anyway, planing is half the fun

Little things (they do add up I know :shame can be bought by impulse but even then they wouldn't catch my eye unless I was love-struck

 

[papertiger]

I picked "planned," because normally I buy bags that I have on a list and when my budget allows. However, I have done spur-of-the-moment purchases (usually when it's a sale item that I can't pass up and that haunts me until I buy it), and of course TPF is a constant source of all things bags!

Shopping for purses relieves my work stress better than if I stuck purely to "traditional" forms of stress relief, like meditating, sleeping and exercising - which is where the "spur of the moment" spending comes in. Buying purses is something that's purely decadent and appeals to my aesthetic side, and can be used for a lifetime (and beyond!) if they're well-cared for. It's instant - but lasting - gratification. When I wear a beautiful purse and slip on my Louboutins to meet my friends, after a long week at the office (and weekends too) working 80+ hours, cooped up and feeling like an automaton, I feel like a lady, a human again. And I feel like a million bucks too!

I am learning to curb my spending on purses though, and merely ogle. Since I'm holding off until I have money for a large down payment on a condo/townhouse AND my HG - a Birkin - I'm learning to de-stress using cheaper methods (e.g. watching movies with my friends) and rotating through all the purses I have and enjoying them.

Well said :sunnies

 

[Jolajola]

I tend to willing to spend more on something special - well made, unique and as ec-friendly as possible... Long ago ditched all the 'new' leather wares, inported materials ( I am in Canada); opt for unique, recycled and never made in China... That's just me.

 

[cathyfitz]

I voted "planned", but there's a lot of hedge to that.

I don't really "need" a new bag. However, I "want" a new bag as I have yet to find one bag that is PERFECT in all respects. Also, I do "need" to use more than one bag: they serve different functions and are in different colors - for the occasion, the seasons, as well as my clothing. So, although I have enough bags, I never have enough bags - KWIM?

Initially, I'm not on an active hunt. I know what I already own, and I know where I could make use of a different color or a style (as well as what I wouldn't use). Then either advertising or tPF shows me something that appeals to me - it could be a special color, a beautiful leather finish, a new style that has many of the elements that I want in my bags. And I think about where it would fit in with what I have and if it would be used. I also consider the price point vs the use.

Then I research: read reviews, search on tPF, and anaylze. If I find elements that I don't like, I pass. If I still am interested, I hunt. The hunt is a big part of the fun, for me. I search for the specific style, hardware, and color (even linings) that I want, and also search for sales. If it comes along (especially on sale), then I buy.

 

[BgaHolic]

I've answered before, but this time I would answer: "Lust"!

 

[Hurrem1001]

Planned. I was a spur-of-the-moment girl until I gave up the credit cards lol.
As for 'why'....well, I love beautiful things! I have two favourite brands - Balenciaga for the colours and the way the bag changes as it breaks in. I also love Anya Hindmarch for the quality and the outstanding attention to detail, particularly inside the bags.

clevercat, well done with the credit cards, that makes the both of us. Your cat is gorgeous, btw.

I put 'planned' for my reason behind buying my bags, because this last bag I bought, and a couple of the bags I've bought have indeed been planned. As a general rule though, I'm an impulse buyer. I see a bag, I buy it.

 

[qtat43]

Make a choice and then post a deeper explanation, please.

I started thinking about this when a member posted that she felt worthless unless she carried an expensive bag, and that made me start thinking about how we get started on this kind of mindset (that what we own is who we are.)

And that made me start thinking about how we end up buying what we buy...

So there ya go! Have fun, and look deep - be thoughtful - let us get to the root of our buying habits and perhaps help somebody realize that who they are inside is not best represented by the bag they carry. Maybe.

when I buy one normally it's planned, generally out of necessity of size reduction or wardrobe update.

 

[rose60610]

I love beautiful things (don't we all?). I plan pricey bag purchases well in advance. If I know there will be a price increase on something I want I'll get it before the increase takes effect. I like pairing bags with outfits, sometimes I'll get a bag to complete a certain look. Rotating bags is like revisiting old friends.

 

[donnaoh]

Love

 

[crunchy buns]

I voted planned but its really only the budget that is planned. I save and then when I'm ready I go find something I love. Right now I stay home with my two boys so I don't have as much bag buying freedom as I used too.