I don't see why some people find the need to break the brand name obsession in people, especially in young girls like me.
I, personally am a designer brand lover, not only of Louis Vuitton but many other things as well. Louis Vuitton may seem too high classed for me because I do not have rich parents and I buy these luxury items using my own money. At the moment I admit I could not afford a Louis Vuitton handbag, but I do own quite a lot of labels, like Louis Vuitton (wallet), Chanel, Dior, Coach, Levi's or Lee, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tiffany&Co, Converse, Adidas, Nike... I buy into brands simply because I like their cutting edge fashion design and style much better than those label-less items - be it handbags, shoes, clothings etc. Taking handbags for example, I simply do not see anything I like in Collette, Mascotte, Strandbags etc and I doubt their quality. I'm not snobby, that's just my preference and fashion choice, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?
I know these things can be overpriced. But I am not just blindly paying for the label. I reckon a designer product is worth every cent because of its quality, durability and timelessness and I'd like to just briefly share my experience that led me into thinking this way.
As I've said, I don't come from an incredibly wealthy family, neither of my parents buy into brands. For the both of them, shopping for clothes for example means to go to places in Taiwan like hangten, gap etc, just those really general brands out there in the market. And of course, at the time my wardrobe constitutes of these mediocre brands as well. Then I figured that these either shrunk or fade over about three washings. Most of them were thin and scratchy, poorly made, a bad fit or don't hold their shape after several washes. Then there is this corner of my wardrobe which constitutes of the clothes my aunt bought me (she doesn't have a daughter, and she loves shopping), and they never go bad like the clothes my parents buy. Then I found out that the clothes she bought me were all from department stores like sogo, shinkong mitsukoshi etc. So then I started to think that these cheap artist clothes available in the market are simply not quality identical dwellings compared to the brands.
It is believed that designer handbags will boast better durability. Nobody can really answer to what extent this is true unless they went on to do an experiment by taking a brand-less wallet and a Louis Vuitton wallet and make use of them for the same amount of time, then compare the results. I doubt anyone would do that, though. However, surely Louis Vuitton as well as many other brands have been well-recognised for their durability and can outlast non-branded products. Louis Vuitton claim that all of their products made in the French house have been machine-tested for their ability to withstand stretch. And a lot of consumers who own Louis Vuitton bags say that theirs last for a decade or two and it's still in good condition. I know for the fact that whether or not you can use the bag for ten years depends on how you take care of it. And exactly, if you bought it expensive, chances are that you will take better care of it, hence it lasts longer.
There are heaps of preowned Louis Vuitton bags out there that people are selling and the price are usually still quite unfriendly, unless it's very old or fake. Genuine designer brands do not drop in their dollar values. They never go obsolete. They are make good investments compared to other bags.
A lot of people think I own designer brands to flaunt, to show off, to get this sense of pride and stuck-up confidence within myself. Get over yourself man. I love them for their quality that comes off with the designer styles: classic monogram or young Damier, signature C...... I admit I also like the fact that these labels just never lose shine among the masses but I do not own them for pride and I'm not superficial or snobby. I don't despise anyone in anyway for whatever bag or clothes they wear. I only care about what's on me - what I wear, what I walk in, what I carry in my hand. I wear Levi's jeans not because I want the logo displaying on my ass, I want its durability and quality. I've worn this pair of Levi's for four years now and it's still in good condition compared to this other pair from Carrefour which is stretched and faded and it's only been in my wardrobe for 1.5 years. I don't think Levi's, in the case of jeans, is an unwise spending nor is it wasteful in any way. Only the best material, threads, zippers are used to leave a powerful statement for many years.
Yeah, so the thing with going designer brand, there are people on polarised ends of the opinion scale with one end saying it's definitely not worth the money and that it is WASTEFUL.
Think: Does buying ONE pair of Levi's jeans seem more wasteful than buying THREE pairs of Kmart jeans? I think the latter is more wasteful, and I can say this from my own experience. Not only are you wasting your money on something that's not of good quality, but also your time in shopping and trying out those jeans at Kmart. In environmentalist's perspective, you are definitely taking up more factory labour and resources as well as putting more pollution into the environment associated with manufacturing that three pairs of jeans you buy.
We all have an idea of what's "wasteful" but what might be wasteful for you might not be according to my means, and vice versa. Just because you would feel like I was wasting my money if I bought that stuff doesn’t mean that there isn't any value in it.
A waste of money can be defined in three ways.
1. Something becomes a waste of money when it is bought but never used.
If you bought a Xbox, no matter how much you wanted it at the time, if you hardly play on it coz you realised you have no time or w/e, then it's money down the drain. If some girl bought all these handbags but never use any of them, she'd be wasting her money (unless she was into collecting them). I do not exercise consumerism waste because I take my Coach bag out; I wear my Chanel earrings.
Hmm, I also think my designer bag has the versatility to be used with a number of outfits in a number of different situations - be it for casual outings, parties, dinners or w/e.
2. Something is also a waste of money if bought it when you can’t afford it.
If I was going into some kind of financial debt for a Louis Vuitton, I would be wasting money. That money would be better used to pay down debt, buy necessities, or save. But I'm not going on an overdraft to get any of these, so it's not wasteful.
3. Something is a waste of money when you buy it just because everyone else is but you don’t really love it.
Louis Vuitton seems to be the trend now. If I didn't really like it but just bought it to fit in with the trend, I would be wasting money. My money would be better spent buying something I love, not something I'm “supposed” to love.
I love everything I own.
What is a waste of money to one person may provide a lot of value to another. We cannot judge something as a waste of money just because we don’t understand it. Only the people who own the item can judge whether or not they wasted money on it. So when you’re out amongst your friends and you see something that you consider a waste of money, bite your tongue and don’t criticize. They may be thinking the same thing about your most treasured possessions.
I'm only using Louis Vuitton for most the examples because despite what everyone had to say about the brand, Louis Vuitton’s rich history and influence on the global luxury market cannot be disputed.
Sorry this is such a long rant, but hope I've made my point across and hope you enjoyed it hahaha.
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