Dumb Money: I'm Done Buying New Luxury Handbags
The math stopped making sense. So did the bags.
During a remodel, our home was broken into over a long holiday weekend and ransacked. They took all of my purses in the house, including a Gucci shoulder bag in a great denim print with patent leather, and a Stella McCartney snakeskin crossbody with a chunky gold chain.
They also took all my business cards and ID badges that I’ve saved from my jobs over the years. Those aren’t replaceable. But I can buy a new purse. I’ve tried. A few different times. But I just haven’t been able to pull the trigger on something new.
I just haven’t been able to pull the trigger on something new.
My “Needs”
In the past, I’d walk into a brand boutique, try on a few styles, and leave with my prize. But now, I keep leaving empty handed, feeling a bit like Goldilocks. Nothing is quite right.
I want a crossbody big enough to hold everything, including my oversized eyeglasses case, and have it still zip properly. But not so big that it feels like I’m hauling around a piece of luggage.
And then there is the price. What used to be $1,500 is now $3K+. That’s money that can buy a significant piece of jewelry, a great vacation or half of a chin lift. Buying a purse goes from treating yourself to starting to feel like a financial decision. And one that’s uncomfortable. Like when you start considering houses that exceed your stretch budget.
Indecisive, I look around. Every Real Housewife, celeb and influencer is now wearing the bags I’m considering. That didn’t used to be the case. The images only appeared as part of ads. But now celebrity gossip is marketing everything they’re wearing, much of which they got for free and they’re way wealthier than me.
“I’m not like these people. If this is the purse they’re buying…maybe it isn’t the bag for me.”
I’m not like these people. If this is the purse they’re buying…maybe it isn’t the bag for me.
Price Gouging
Take Louis Vuitton’s Pochette bag. When it first came out it was cute and felt like a justifiable high few hundred dollars. But since 2019, the price has tripled — to $1,710.
Between 2020 and 2023, Dior raised prices 51%, and Chanel 59%. That means a $2,000 bag became $3,180.
A $2,000 bag became $3,180
Brands have gotten greedy, to the point they are gouging us. It feels like a cash grab straight out of our wallets. And we’re balking at the ballsiness.
It’s why sales at LVMH fell 2% during the first quarter this year. Overall, luxury bag sales are down 10% from the peak in 2023, data from Bain shows. That equates to a loss of $8 billion, very real dollars.
Last year the luxury handbag market hit $35 billion. If this downcycle continues, the market will never grow to the $61 billion size projected by 2035.
Brands are starting to get the hint that we’re not willing to pay more just for the honor of carrying the right brand of bag.
Recognizing that bottom line growth won’t continue with price increases alone, some labels are trying to quietly shift the narrative. You’ll notice they’re talking about quality and improvements, as if to give a quiet nod suggesting that’s what’s triggered the higher prices. Think Gucci and Dior.
Brands will continue to lead us to believe certain “it” bags are an investment with intrinsic value. It’s a smart marketing move, getting us to think of a bag as a “safe” investment instead of a purchase.
Recently I wrote about selling some of the purses that didn’t get stolen to FASHIONPHILE. I ended up with $1,600 in gift cards for Neiman Marcus that I planned to use to buy a new purse. Until I found out the brands I would buy weren’t accepting the gift cards because of the company’s financial troubles. I should have taken the cash. Big mistake.
There are two purses I regret selling: a cream leather giant Gucci shopper. It wasn’t at all practical, too heavy, but fabulous. And the Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama Dots Red Waves Neverfull limited edition. Both are purses that, if I still had today, I’d be wearing because no one else is carrying them.
What It Looks Like IRL
Stylist Kelly Klein shows us what this looks like in practice – vintage Louis Vuitton styled like it was always hers — while shopping in NYC.
“It says she did the work,” Kelly said. “She took time to source the thing, she didn’t just buy the thing. And usually the bag has a little history to it that makes it feel more hers than anything she could have walked in and bought new.”
It says she did the work. She took time to source the thing, she didn’t just buy the thing. And usually the bag has a little history to it that makes it feel more hers than anything she could have walked in and bought new. — Stylist Kelly Klein
Second-hand luxury handbags sales have risen 20% since 2023 on The RealReal. Increasingly, resale platforms and vintage dealers are the places to buy.
As for me, my conviction is getting there. I’m not breaking up with luxury handbags. I’m just not buying new ones. I refuse to keep dropping a few thousand dollars on a bag the entire world is carrying. That move feels like dumb money.
What's the luxury purchase you've quietly stopped justifying? A bag, a brand, a category. Tell me in the comments.
When life stops making sense, we shop. More soon.
The Department Store Is Dying. I Have the Gift Card to Prove It.
I had a $1,600 gift card for Neiman Marcus after I sold two Gucci purses to FASHIONPHILE. My plan was to buy a new bag. When I went to Louis Vuitton to try on different styles, I learned they wouldn’t accept the card for payment. They weren’t the only brand, several stopped accep…