Ever since my obsession with Louis Vuitton became much more prominent earlier this year, I’ve been getting asked the same question by friends and family: What’s the point in having a designer bag? Why do you waste all this money on these bags?!

Well, for me personally, I have my own answer to that unjustified question. I’ve always loved designer things. The style, the quality, and the feeling I develop with these items. Just like how some people like to collect Xbox games, Jordans, cars, jewelry, etc…..I like to collect some nice luxury items – when I can, of course.

I remember being as young as 10 years old, seeing my mom purchase her first Louis Vuitton bag – which was the Pochette Accessoires. She then went on to purchase a few Prada and Gucci items as well. I remember wearing my moms designer bags and pretending I was going somewhere important. I was instantly in love with the items, and even at a young age I could feel how top notch these products were.

When I was a freshman and a sophomore in high school I would wear my moms Prada and Gucci bags to school all the time. I remember classmates tripping out, like “how do you get all these designer bags?!” I was just surprised they even noticed….I honestly never wore these bags to “act rich” or “show off.” I just loved the feeling these bags gave me when I wore them. I felt so accomplished and it gave me a sense of confidence. I definitely didn’t know how to apply my makeup correctly in high school, so these bags were the only form of confidence I had.

After awhile I believe my mom got tired of me constantly wearing her bags, so she began buying me Coach and Juicy Couture bags (remember when those were like the it bags?). They weren’t luxury bags like Prada and Gucci, but they were still high sought after designer bags that could range from $200-$350. I mean, that’s probably nothing these days with all the kids wearing Michael Kors, but back when I was in high school that was a pretty rare thing. While everyone at my school wore Abercrombie, I was strutting around with my Juicy bag. Shoutout to my mom for pretty much spoiling me, haha!

Juicy Couture had become my favorite designer brand throughout my high school years and even after high school, and it was a brand that I could realistically collect and end up affording myself. I always felt complete if my bag was designer. I was fine wearing a completely cheap outfit – but I know my bag had to be designer. I was fortunate that my mom bought me a lot of these items but I also saved up a lot of chore money to purchase a few items as well. I’m very grateful that I was able to be in this situation, but at the end of the day it’s all materialistic items.

Having designer items is not the most important thing in this world of course, but it’s definitely something I’ve always liked and enjoyed collecting. When I was 19 I got my first job, and saved my own money and purchased my own things after that. My parents would gift me with a Juicy sweater here an there of course, but I did work hard for anything I owned as well.

In my early 20’s I laid off designer bags for a couple years. For a moment there I had no desire or money to be spending on these designer goods, so I was forced to stop my obsession. I was OK with it for awhile, until the Michael Kors frenzy came about. I was like “Omg, I need to have an MK bag!” Once I got an MK bag I began to feel that spark of self confidence like I once did. I ended up collecting a few of those bags, only to then sell them once I became obsessed with Louis Vuitton. Dun dun dun dun…..

Of course I’ve always loved Louis Vuitton, growing up seeing my mom wear these bags. I just always knew I would never be able to afford Louis Vuitton anything. I’ve always been googly eyed seeing Louis Vuitton bags, but knew it was always out of my budget. Until I met the pre-loved market.

Throughout my life of loving designer bags, I was so young I didn’t understand the investment prospect of having a designer bag. Not only do designer bags last YEARS (some people have LV bags that are over 20 years old in perfect condition), they keep most of their value if they are taken care of. Back in 2001, some LV bags may have been $600, and now you can buy that same bag pre-owned for the same amount or even more (and if you buy it new it’s well over $1000, because LV prices increase over time).

I became aware of the pre-loved market when I saw a Youtube video of a girl showing her Louis Vuitton items she said she got pre-loved and for such a good price. That’s when I found tons of Facebook groups of women selling their designer items, on eBay, and even consignment shops like The Real Real and Tradesy. Many of the pre-owned items are in such perfect condition, especially with the Louis Vuitton quality, they just last forever.

Once I bought my first pre-loved Louis Vuitton item (which was my PM Agenda!), I instantly became obsessed with LV and also purchased many new items from the brand as well as a few other pre-loved items. Louis Vuitton is definitely my go-to luxury brand at the moment, and I don’t see myself leaving that any time soon…

I’m very satisfied with all the items I’ve collected so far this year, and its great to add my moms vintage LV bags to the collection – which are the best kind. That’s when LV was at it’s peak with the best quality craftsmanship ever! Just being able to have an item that becomes vintage and still valuable is literally amazing! I also currently have an LV wish list that I hope to accomplish sometime in 2017 as well!

Louis Vuitton makes me feel like a confident, classy lady. I may wake up one morning not feeling confident, but once I put on that LV and walk out the door it’s an instant perk of self possession. I am definitely not encouraging anyone to spend tons of money on these materialistic items, because it’s not for everyone. Some people understand the love for designer goods, and some don’t. People like different things and different styles. It’s understandable. But from my point of view, this has been what I’ve always liked and choose to spend my money on. I’m just a normal girl able to save money and sacrifice purchasing certain things to be able to afford something from LV. It works out great and if you sacrifice a few things it may work for you too!

It may sound like I was brought into the life of designer goods because of my mom, but it’s actually the complete opposite. My sister was also ‘brought’ into this designer goods life, being only a couple years younger than me, but she has never had any desire to own designer bags. That was just never her thing, but it was definitely mine! People enjoy many different things in life that may make them happy, and that’s OK! We should all understand that someone may see something as a waste of money, but another person may not. Like the saying goes: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

 

I hope this post helped answer your questions on what the point of having designer bags is all about. These points are definitely how I see it through my eyes, and I also have looked at it through the opposite point of view as well. Always do what makes you happy (as long as it’s ethical and legal!) and don’t judge someone by what they are wearing or by what they like to collect. There may just be a story behind it.