{"id":1185,"date":"2006-07-04T07:39:00","date_gmt":"2006-07-04T12:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wordpress\/?p=1185"},"modified":"2025-10-18T09:30:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:30:43","slug":"designer-handbag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/designer-handbag\/","title":{"rendered":"Purse obsession: Is having a designer handbag a human right?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Real talk: You have an unhealthy purse obsession if your top goal in life is to own a designer handbag. Let me break it to you: Owning a designer handbag is not a human right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This country wasn\u2019t found on the principle of life, liberty, and the pursuit of Louis Vuitton. During the crafting of the constitution, John Hancock wasn\u2019t like \u201cOh, let me hurry up and sign this little document so I can get in line for the Kate Spade Sample Sale\u201d.&nbsp; Thomas Jefferson wasn&#8217;t like \u201clet\u2019s add another amendment to the Bill of right &#8212; all persons should have to right to bear Birkin bags\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Somehow fighting the British for independence has led to fighting the British for a spot on the Chloe Bag Wait List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question of how to score <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/brand-names-for-less\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"53592\">designer handbags<\/a>, real or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/should-i-buy-fake-handbag\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"53584\">fake<\/a>, is one of the most popular questions on this blog and I\u2019ve always responded with the standard reply (fake is bad, designer too expensive, go for great quality mid price designers like Kooba, Hype, Coach, etc). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the more I think about it, the more I start to formulate a very different answer. An answer that I didn\u2019t verbalize until I was asked a question by an audience member at one of my recent talks. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc.jpg\" alt=\"Woman obsessed with purses looks at a handbag in a designer boutique.\" class=\"wp-image-1640149\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-735x413.jpg 735w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-335x188.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-347x195.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-520x293.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-640x360.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-150x84.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Purse obsession: It&#8217;s about status <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The question was, &#8220;Why are so many women <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/designer-handbag-trap\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"11435\">obsessed with purchasing expensive designer bags<\/a>?&#8221; And my response: &#8220;Handbags in New York are like cars in LA &#8212; a direct symbol of status. Since New York (and cities like London and Tokyo) are such pedestrian cities, the only way to show, or in most cases fake, status is via your handbag (watches for men).&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, that I\u2019ve had some more time to think, I\u2019ve expanded on that answer. I believe our obsession with designer handbags is because handbags are a cheap way to show status. And right now in the U.S. and around the world, showing status (wealth, celebrity, etc.) is what matters. Purchasing a handbag is much cheaper and much more accessible to the average shopper than a BMW or a fancy house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Plus, when you carry an expensive handbag, people think the rest of your outfit is expensive, even if you\u2019re dressed head to toe in Goodwill.&nbsp;Case in point: The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/olsen-twins-prescription-bag\/\">Olsen Twins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, owning a designer handbag is not a human right. I don\u2019t even think it&#8217;s something you should aspire to, unless handbags are your signature piece. Instead, focus on finding bags that fit your personal style. In the long run, the right to personal style is the best fashion right to have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real talk: You have an unhealthy purse obsession if your top goal in life is to own a designer handbag. Let me break it to you: Owning a designer handbag is not a human right. This country wasn\u2019t found on the principle of life, liberty, and the pursuit of Louis Vuitton. During the crafting of&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/designer-handbag\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Purse obsession: Is having a designer handbag a human right?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1640149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2221,127,129],"class_list":["post-1185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion-trends","tag-accessories","tag-designer-brands","tag-handbags-purses"],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":1640149,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/woman-holds-handbag-in-clothing-store-2021-08-29-07-38-17-utc-300x169.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1640149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}