What's behind the reason you buy a bag?

What made you buy the bag?

  • Advertisement (explain type: print or ?)

  • Spur-of-the-moment

  • tPF

  • Planned (and why?)


Results are only viewable after voting.

indiaink

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O.G.
May 3, 2007
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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.
 
I've selected 'Advertising' because I tend to scope bags in the glossies, or on blogs etc. However, I almost never buy new, in-season bags (at full price...) so I'm not a complete sucker for the marketing pitch. But the message goes into my head, and is stored in a special 'encyclopedic bag info segment' of my brain, and then, sometime later, I'll be shopping or browsing on eBay and spot something familiar....and the rest is history.

I just wish I wasn't so fickle. I only buy bags that I (think I) love, but sometimes the romance is short-lived, and then I find myself looking out for a new amour...:rolleyes:

- Lips
 
I selected planned. All my handbag purses have been planned with the exception of literally a couple of impulse buys at Macy's that were clearance *and* I could use a coupon for :biggrin:.

Lately though, I'm rediculously planning out my purchases. We went through financially difficult times and we were able to get ourselves out of that, so I nit pick every purchase and make sure whatever won't be sitting in a closet.

I LOVE expensive handbags, I personally feel "good" wearing a "nice" bag, I've been a bag 'ho ;) for years now.
 
i'm not sure if my answer is as insightful or deep as you seem to be aiming for--

but i love having unique things that are not often seen, not because i mind someone else carrying the same thing; but i hate going for things that are 'pop'. so if i see one person carrying thats okay. but if i see everyone carrying the exact same thing it will bother me.

but i also love things that are beautiful to me in my eyes. i have to admit this wins over the ^ that above; so if i see everyone carrying the same thing i love i would still buy it but i would not wear it, i'd keep it aside and wait for them to be over it before i rock it.

why i like something, what i look for in the design........i have always loved architecture and graphic design..i know those terms are a bit broad but i can't limit myself to only one era or one genre. but usually the bags i'd pick has some sort of unique structure, or good structure to it, has to be well made for the asking price, and because i tend to like things that last a long time i would want to wear it for a long time..so it has to be unique at the same time can blend with a lot. if it really stands out (like hot pink) either it has to be such a good deal it doesn't matter or i love it so much that its consistently on my mind because in my mind its that beautiful.

i just love beautifully made stuff.
 
I'm not sure how to answer the poll, as my answer would be "all of the above." Some purchases are planned and researched, others are spur of the moment, and others are TPF driven. My method doesn't always determine my ultimate happiness with the bag either... A bag I researched and planned and saved for wound up being a huge mistake. On the flip side, a bag I bought on a whim is one of my favorites. Ads definitely introduce me to new styles and designers, although I never ran right out and bought a bag that I saw in an ad. I definitely WANT more due to TPF, and the knowledge I have picked up on TPF definitely influences all my purchases, but ultimately I pull the trigger because I love the bag.
 
Lips: I love your 'special encyclopedic bag info segment' description... but if you're fickle, doesn't that mean that it wasn't planned ... how can your bag love be so short-lived?

Tomsmom: Don't change - now that you've learned to plan your purchase, stick with it - let's screw up the viral marketing agenda we're all a target of!

ms-whitney: Your answer was very insightful, I wasn't looking for anything that deep - just thoughtful responses, which yours is. So you won't carry something that seems to be the "It" bag of the moment... although you'd buy it and keep it for after it falls out of favor if it was a bag that attracted you...

someday: I should have added a poll response "all of the above" - but it's good to know that YOU know you ultimately buy because you love the bag.
 
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: - What a good idea! Giving up the credit cards! I did that a number of years now and only have one that I use regularly. I have a couple of department store cards but those stay in the file and don't get used. I guess the "why" part of "Planned" meant "why did you plan to buy that bag" - for instance, did a particular bag spark your interest, so then you started the plan to purchase... If you plan to buy Bal, do you buy new or used? Whatever you do, it means that you have strength of will to save up that much money, or have a heck of a job!
 
Lips: how can your bag love be so short-lived?

That's the sixty-four thousand dollar question. If I knew the answer to that I would still be rocking the same handful of bags I bought when I was 20....(and I'd probably be about $64k wealthier too...) :biggrin:

Maybe my taste changes? Or, more likely, my eye is caught by the latest shiny-shiny and my head is turned. One thing I will say is that, when I dispose of bags, it's not because I have come to 'dislike' them; rather, I have bought xx other bags which I love more, and so, in order to keep my collection from escalating into the zillions, I whittle and purge (sounds like a law firm or something, Whittle & Purge Inc. :lol:)

I often wish I could stop looking for the next shiny-shiny and just be happy with my lot, but, hey-ho, I'm not perfect... :shrugs:

- Lips
 
I suppose I should answer my own question: I plan, for the most part - but my PLAN is never for a specific bag - what makes my planning odd is that I 'plan' to find the bag that fits the idea I have in my head - and that can sometimes work into a spur-of-the-moment incident. Generally though, it's planning. I know, at this point in my life, what works for me and what I look for in a bag, so - there you have it.

Although recently, I have to admit, it's been more spur-of-the-moment - I was out looking for the 'planned' bag and saw a Dooney & Bourke bag that I ultimately purchased as a 'aha! moment' bag - it was what I wanted but didn't realize it at the time. I was blinded by what I thought I had to have, and wasn't looking outside of that narrow confine.

You all know we can be pretty narrow in our desires, sometimes, hmmm?
 
... Whittle & Purge Inc..

Clever minx. If you copyright it, here's proof that you came up with the name first. :biggrin:

Lips said:
I often wish I could stop looking for the next shiny-shiny and just be happy with my lot, but, hey-ho, I'm not perfect...

I, alas, am not perfect, either. Today I have sworn off handbag purchases for the foreseeable future for the umpteenth time. I am strong at the moment. I hope I can add those moments up to make a freakin' 24-hour stretch of non-purchase time. Curse the Internet!
 
I like this! My initial reaction is I buy what I love. When I give it more thought, I have never found the bag of my dreams yet and stopped looking. Basically, I will see a bag I love and I have to dream about it and keep thinking about it. It's with thanks to my niece (sarcasm) that I started buying premier designer! I used to buy designer bags in the mid $300 range every other year or so. Then my niece, who is very fashion forward, told me to venture and buy one really great high end bag. Well let's just say that one bag led now to three others! Fortunately for funds, and color/diversity of styles, I am done!!! Again, to answer your question, I really buy based on the fact I think the bag is fabulous and I must have it because I know I will wear it for years to come!
 
...I must have it because I know I will wear it for years to come!

I wonder when I stopped thinking I could wear a bag for years to come? Probably about the time I joined tPF? It was normal thinking in my world that if you bought a bag that's what you carried until it fell apart. And then - well, then I joined tPF.
 
I voted "planned." My bag-buying process is this:

1. I see something I like.
2. I check my cash flow spreadsheet to see if it is in the budget
3. I make sure it's not a duplicate or too close to something I already have.
4. I shop around for a good deal (wait to use AMEX points, a sale, an on-line coupon, gently used on the bay--whatever)
5. I buy.

But the reason, hmm. It's true that in the past, I've been bored and will conjure up a "need." I'm working on managing that. These days, it's because I am going for a certain look. That look tends to be (and has been for some time) casual, simple luxe. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes and shoes but I admit to enjoying wearing a nice watch and a nice bag--that's where the luxe part of casual luxe comes in.
 
OMgosh, I guess I'm the only one that's picked tpf.
I have NO stores around me, not even close to me so everything I buy is online. There is NO way I would have made some of the purchases I have were if not for tpf!
Those reveals are a killer!!! :lol: