Are you a label whore? Do you enjoy designer items?

Like a Birkin? That would be at least 10k!

Yes R1. I did not ask him how much it was, but it looked an old lady church bag to me. Who am I to judge as it seems to have brought him so much joy, but it got me thinking about how common the fixation on designer items is within the gay community these days (at least in the big metro areas).

I buy top notch brands of everything, down to my dish soap. I'm a minimalist and I like quality over quantity. I could care less what others think. No one cares that my underwear are 40 dollars each because no one but my husband sees it, and yet I do it because I prefer nicer stuff. No one knows that my vaccum is 1000 dollars, because no one but me sees it, but I prefer the usability and how awesome it is. No one knows that I buy wool socks, it’s all for me. You get my point.

R3 I suspect you go for top notch quality which CAN come from top notch brands. But not always. Buying a name or a label without knowing the actual quality is what I would call a label whore. I would describe you as appreciating the finer things regardless of cost.

There is a difference between designer goods and labels. I buy designer goods for the quality of materials and production. I avoid any fashion with labels because I don’t want to advertise for the company and really hate it when people show off their wealth using labels.

But a designer shirt/pants will definitely fit better and last longer and have some basic style. I will never regret purchasing a classic Tom Ford suit, for example.

I like high and low. It's increasingly rare to find a high end men's tailor that has not gone global at insane luxury prices. Most have gone out of business. Knize in Vienna and Battistoni in Rome survive. Stewart Christie in Edinburgh. The famous global luxury brands have destroyed their quality. The companies and volumes are too big and the owners and shareholders are too greedy. I find the value can only be found at the low end - such as Zara, and at the luxury but local end - such as Austrian loden or boiled wool cardigan.

The trick is to find the "fast fashion" lines that ARE good, such as the made in Morocco and Turkey Zara - with good fabrics. Zara actually pays attention to details on some lines. And then you buy it during the sale for even more reasonable prices.

And when you need a "good" item - you look for it at the "local luxury" level, so you pay 1500 for a suit, perhaps on sale, and it's much better than a "luxury" designer suit.

Avoid luxury designer leather shoes. If you're going to plop down the cash for real shoes - buy them from a traditional shoemaker: John Lobb, Weston, Crockett & Jones, etc. The middle range of mass market brands is all dumbed down terribly and you can often get just as good a shoe from the bargain makers. My $100 dollar hiking boots marked down to 50 held up better than my $300 hikers.

Look for resoleable footwear. Good luck.

The only high luxury global brand that maintains quality in ready to wear is Hermès and it's now outrageously expensive and a product that makes sense for the .1%

I guess I am in that I wear designer clothes. Dunhill for dress or work. McQueen for evening events. Prada or Fendi for going out.

I also wear other higher quality Italian labels that aren't big names but are nice.

I shop in Europe where things are cheaper. I really enjoy shopping and I do like the way I look. I do enjoy compliments but I ultimately dress for me.

No.

Gucci, Fendi, Prada - no. Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, Zegna - yes. Not all labels are created equal.

Hermes is on a different level to anything else and folk aspire to it for its quality. The others like Louis Vuitton are mainly fashion brands now as the quality is far from what would be expected from a luxury brand, so I can understand the brand coming before the quality for fashion.

So for well made quality items like your friend’s bag I don’t think “signaling to the world that he can afford it” applies as much, but for the fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, I agree it’s brand label display over quality.

I sprang for the expensive bags and shoes when I was in my early twenties. They do NOT wear any better than mid-grade brands. Hell, I have some Payless shoes that have made it through their first decade. Price/brand isn’t a reliable indicator of durability in most cases. My husband has a fancy watch from the same timeframe. After the first couple years, it sits in a box because it doesn’t have the functionality of his Apple Watch. I had a super nice winter jacket that lasted me about a decade, then one day during a rain storm the coating just gave up, and I was soaked. I didn’t even know there WAS a coating! I still buy nice jackets because you have to cross a certain threshold for functionality (if you’re actually using it for its intended purpose) but I don’t think it’s buying me extra years of wear.

[quote] I buy top notch brands of everything, down to my dish soap. I'm a minimalist and I like quality over quantity. I could care less what others think. No one cares that my underwear are 40 dollars each because no one but my husband sees it, and yet I do it because I prefer nicer stuff. No one knows that my vaccum is 1000 dollars, because no one but me sees it, but I prefer the usability and how awesome it is. No one knows that I buy wool socks, it’s all for me. You get my point.

That you're a retail ice queen, but you keep it private!

oh I don't fucking care about such crap!

I worked for a high end accessory company. They were know for beautiful comfortable driving shoes and they were and they cost a few hundred dollars. The problem was they were exactly that, driving shoes. You could wear them in your car and maybe around the house or on a deck in some fancy vacation home but that was it. Of course people walked in them on the sidewalks and pavement and they wore out in no time. One guy had just bought them and he got caught in a terrible downpour They were completely ruined. Boy was he pissed but it was an act of God so no refund.

Good leather shoes are an investment, but I'm not going to pay more than $200 (at the very high end) for them.

I like to spend more on accessories like sunglasses, watches and wallets. When it comes to everything else, I buy the cheap stuff.

No one is more enviable than a gay man carrying a high-end handbag!

He positively REEKS of class and glamour!

I prefer affordable and practical high quality stuff that will last for many years. Sadly most of the big fashion houses have cut corners in the last 15-20 years.

I always thought neon colored crocodile or ostrich leather purses (that cost enough money to buy several houses) that you have to wait years to receive were pretentious and new money. Also quite garish.

I'm aware there's a whole profitable market and resale market for them but that doesn't change the fact that they're just overpriced tacky looking purses.

It seems that most here are whores

Come on now, it is a KNOWN FACT that a woman DO carry an evening bag at dinner time!

There's no getting around that!

You see it on channel seven, between "All My Children" and "Jeopardy", "Another World", "Dallas", and the whole bit. An evening bag is a must!

Executive realness. So 80s.

Fat whores, to boot.

Your friend is a nasty vulgarian. A purse worth more than a house, the world we are living in makes me sick.

Hermes is very expensive but their bags are hand made and not sent off to a sweat shop. The quality is excellent but I don't care for their styles myself.

Only about some things. Like watches. I like Omega and Zodiac.

I’m not telling.

Loewe is an excellent brand. I've eyed the Hammock Bag more than once.

R27 I have a Puzzle bag and I really love it.

It should be noted that OP is also the OP of the "It's that time of year.. where are you going this summer?" thread, where he posted,

[quote] My husband and I are going to Kauai next week then Switzerland and Spain in June. Snagged a small castle in Tuscany for August.

No. But I like gadgets.

As far as I’m concerned, the flashy labels like Gucci and LV are dead - they’ve gone totally ghetto. Their buyers want logos not quality.

R29 Your point being? I would much rather spend discretionary income on travel than on luxury goods, that’s my personal choice. Memories, not wares collecting dust in a closet.

R15 I don't think shoes are ever an investment.

What about the brand Supreme from a couple years ago. Zero attention to quality. All about the huge logo. Too tacky for words.

OP would like you to know he is NOT a label queen... rather, he is just "confused by luxury handbags"!

But he somehow has [italic]quite a bit[/italic] to say on the topic of Hermes vs. Louis Vuitton and other high-end brands, according to his posts above!

R34 I think they fell off, big time.

[quote] flashy labels like Gucci and LV are dead

The new designer of Gucci introduced a much more toned down, sophisticated aesthetic this season. Unfortunately, the Chinese consumer isn't buying it so they may, in fact, be dead.

I do not wear anything recognizable except by its quality of design and construction.

Displaying a label or having a trademark blazoned on my chest just feels like.... what it is.

I hate exclusive stuff because it can get damaged or stolen. But if I bought it for $2.99 in a thrift store or estate sale, then it's okay.

I peruse the designer sites occasionally to see how the other half shop, if you can afford it, fine & dandy, however, I also think that anyone who spends $900 on a t-shirt needs a CAT scan.

Nope, I just buy stuff that fits, I do find that brands like Levis etc fit better so buy those, but otherwise buy cheap but hard wearing clothes, dont give a shit about labels

R17 he's cute. I wouldnt dress like him but I'd fuck him

A truly stylish sophisticated woman in the evening would never be caught dead going out with a handbag. She would have a high end clutch.

Label whore, no. Do I enjoy expensive brand products, often enough. So far as clothes are concerned, I usually wear a mix of cheap and expensive but not obviously so. I dress for the quality of the fit and fabric and details, not to impress anyone. If the clothes are good, they make me look and feel a bit better, but good can be cheap and well as expensive, though I spend more on everything as I get older. And with age I also buy fewer things because I don't need a work wardrobe and I live in a place where people take care of their appearance but they don't wear obviously showy or trendy things, and with an expectation of quality things lasting.

As far as priorities, I take some care of my personal appearance, but I'm very attentive to how my house looks. It's not to impress anyone else.

I'm a quality whore. There was a time maybe 10-15 years ago when the label meant quality. Now, not so much. Unless you're willing to spend thousands. When I look at clothing, the fabric and workmanship means a lot and I find it cheap and shabby now as compared with 20 years ago.Same with furniture. Today's furniture is mostly crap. If I could spend $7,000 on an item of clothing or shoes, or an accessory, like luggage, etc. why would I? It just seems excessive.