I’ve been purchasing luxury items for a fair few years now and two years ago I purchased my first designer handbag, the Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 in the Damier Ebene print. Since then I’ve purchased many luxury handbags all of which I use and love and in lieu of those purchases, I’ve come across some things to consider before making a luxury buy. Prior to my Speedy, I already had another designer bag from Louis Vuitton that I received as a present for my 18th birthday, however the Speedy was the first designer handbag that I went into the store and bought for myself. The biggest factor when buying luxury items (for most of us) is of course the financial aspect, getting the money to purchase the item you want, but once that’s all taken care of, the rest is a lot easier and a lot more fun!
I’m Wearing – Dress; ASOS. Bag; Balenciaga. Boots; Dune.
| ESTABLISH YOUR BUDGET
By establishing the amount of money you have to spend on a luxury item, you will automatically filter your options. There’s no point in looking at items that cost £2,000, if all you can afford is £1,500. There are some websites that offer discount codes or outlet stores that have already discounted their items, and will make the blow a little less harsh when handing over a substantial amount of cash. Having said that, most of the time, you will have already decided what you want to purchase first, and then save the money to obtain it.
| COST PER WEAR
When making a substantial purchase, most people want to get a lot of use out of their items as this reduces the cost per wear. For example if you purchase a bag that costs £1,000 and you use it around 300 times, over time it would have cost you £3.33 every time you used it, which in effect means you’re handbag was good value for money – although this is subjective to the individual. On the flip side, If you were purchasing a handbag as an investment, you would want to keep it in pristine condition and therefore probably wouldn’t get as much use out of it. I personally like to get, as much use out of my things and therefore, the cost per wear is relatively minimal and personally, more justified.
| RESEARCH
Research the item you’re interested in by watching reviews on YouTube as you can hear what people who already have the item have to say about it, whether they like it, regret the purchase or would recommend it. When I was considering buying my Louis Vuitton Speedy, I didn’t know whether to get the 30 or the 35 and having watched some reviews, I ended up getting the 30, which has been the perfect size for me. Researching your next potential purchase is also great if you’re deciding between two or more bags or just different materials/leathers/finishes in general.
| RESERVE
Whenever I plan on going into store to purchase an item, I always call up beforehand to make sure they have the item in stock. There would be nothing more deflating than planning on making an exciting purchase, going into store and walking out empty handed because they don’t have it in stock. A lot of stores also allow you to reserve the item, however unfortunately for an avid Louis Vuitton fan, like myself, Louis Vuitton don’t reserve items, but they can tell you whether the item you want is in stock in a particular store or not.
