What Does Your Bag Say About You?

The Purse Forum and The Bag Forum are where handbag enthusiasts gather and discuss brand name and members often post pictures of their bag collection and offer support and advice to other members. The Purse Forum states that they are “the Web’s #1 destination for enthusiasts of authentic designer handbags and accessories” with over “250 000 registered members” (“About PurseBlog”). Both forums’ members are made of predominantly women from a variety of ages and professions and after thorough observation, I categorized the members into the following groups: the recent high school and college graduates group lusting for their first big purchase, the working girls who just started their collection, and the established bag collectors who either invests all their savings in their bags or has a very generous husband (usually the latter is the case). In Lynn Yaeger’s “Carried Away”, she states that “if a serious bag once signified that you were grown-up, now the brand name on your bag signifies what kind of grown-up you are” (Yaeger 1) and members of these forums are perfectly aware and agree that “if you’re carrying a $1000 Christian Dior bag, it doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a jogging suit from Kmart—people will assume you’re wealthy because of the bag” (Yaeger 2).

In my mediated field experiment, I was particularly interested in a section of the forum called “Your Bag Showcase” in The Purse Forum and “Show off your Bags” in The Bag Forum. I decided to closely observe the threads and note any particular patterns as well as start threads and post comments to invite other members to interact with me. In the bag showcase section, members take individual photos of each purse they own showcasing their purse collection. I didn’t understand why members would take the time to post every bag they own to show strangers what they have in their closet. What was the allure of these forums for the members? Why did they choose to look at a stranger’s collection of bags when they can shop online for the same results? After reading several threads, I have realized that there is an unwritten law of how to photograph your bags and only brands that would appear in an issue of Vogue are considered worthy of being posted. For my mediated field experiment, I decided to post pictures of my bag collection in the exact manner other members have done so in order to fit in. Members usually photograph their bags with their original dust bag or box that it came in. For my pictures, I photographed my bags in front of a white backdrop and I included their original dust bag and stuffed the bags to give it shape. Some members group their bags by brand and/or style and put them in one photo to display her collection. While the forums are focused on bags, I have noticed that other members included pictures of small leather goods, such has key holders or wallets, as long as they were brand name so I decided to include anything else I had that was brand named. I posted my bag collection on the Bag Forum and titled it “My Small Collection”. I decided to state that I was a college student in hopes of steering people’s impression of me and getting people to question how I acquired my collection. I didn’t expect a lot of replies because first of all, I don’t own a lot of brand name bags and second of all, the members are avid collectors and Hermes Birkin and hard-to-find limited edition bags are absent from my collection.

My Bag Showcase:

Within 3 days, I got 7 replies and all of them complimented on how much they loved my collection and one even said, “You have a dream team here!” and all of the sudden, complete strangers envied my bag collection and some even gave me advice when I asked what I should get for my next bag. I avoided lengthy captions for each picture to remain anonymous and I wondered how other members judged me based on my possessions as Simmel states that “every property is an extension of personality” (Simmel 84).

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, the author highlights psychologist Samuel Gosling’s study that one can learn a lot about an individual by looking at her belongings. In both forums, members openly invited strangers to judge them based on their bag collection. Gladwell states that “our personal belongings contain a wealth of very telling information” (Gladwell 37). Gosling concluded that a person’s bedroom gives three clues to his or her personality and Gosling’s conclusion can be applied to a person’s closet. The members of the forum strategically choose what they want to display on the forum to mold the character they want to be perceived as. Gosling claims that the following can be concluded based on close observation of a person’s bedroom: identity claim, behavioural residue, and thoughts and feelings regulators. The identity claim based on a member’s bag collection is closely connected to her wealth or her significant other’s wealth. Most members use the Hermes Birkin or Kelly bag as their identity claim to prove that they have made it or their significant other is very generous. The member’s behavioural residue can be judged from the condition of her bags. Are the bags in shape and are in good condition? Are there any scratches? Is the leather dirty? The bags’ condition reflects how much the member values her bags and also reflects her lifestyle. For my pictures, I stuffed my bags to give it shape and changed the lighting on the pictures to hide the scratches. Lastly, thoughts and feelings regulators can be interpreted as accessories used to personalize the bag.

            To the members, a bag was more than a functional object that carried necessities. A bag connotes one’s style, characteristics, and social status that can be easily manipulated with the right bag. In Georg Simmel’s “Adornment”, Simmel states that “adornment gives one’s whole appearance, the sociological charm of being” and “the significance of his status, symbolized by jewels [handbags in this case]… enlarge his sphere of impact… [and] his social power… is transformed into visible, personal excellence” (Simmel 83). Simmel claims that adornment allows the individual to “distinguish himself before others, and to be the object of attention… to the point of wanting to be envied” (Simmel 80). 

Disclaimer for Members

The disclaimer for this thread in the Purse Forum heavily emphasizes that members should not “post fake bags. This showcase functions not only as eye candy for many, but also as a reference. Misleading members with faux bags is not acceptable” (“Rules for the Bag Showcase”). Authenticity is heavily emphasized as anyone can buy a knock-off but only certain people can afford the authentic version. This further emphasizes that “[the authentic bag owners] have something which you do not have” (Simmel 82). In “Adornment”, Simmel’s discussion of genuine material of jewelry can be applied to the emphasis on authentic bags. Simmel states that “their genuineness makes their aesthetic value” and similarly, in John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, the author makes a similar point with art and that an artwork’s market price is said “to be a reflection of its spiritual value” and if “it is authentic…, therefore it is beautiful”. 

Many members on the forum illustrates Thorstein Veblen’s point, in The Theory of the Leisure Class, that “without reflection or analysis, we feel that what is inexpensive is unworthy” and that “a cheap coat makes a cheap man” (Veblen 124). Similar to Berger’s claim that art’s aesthetic value is reflected from its market value, Veblen claims that “we find things beautiful… in proportion as they are costly” (Veblen 124). In the Purse Forum, there is a thread titled “ Do you buy unbranded bags?” and most members reasoned that they buy brand named bags because of its quality and durability—not for its symbolic connotations. I started a thread asking members whether they preferred bags with obvious flashy logos versus ones with subtle designer signature and while I didn’t get enough replies to make a concrete conclusion, one member stated that she prefers the latter because she “like the style to speak for itself”.

Peanutbabycake's Tri-colour Hermes Ostrich Birkin

The emphasis on the bags’ brand name in the forums often overshadow the bags’ aesthetics. One Purse Forum member, Peanutbabycakes, is infamous for her Hermes collection and her tri-colour ostrich Birkin made up of clashing dew green, orange, and red highlights how people think a bag is aesthetically pleasing purely based on its brand. If it weren’t for the bag’s iconic shape and brand, most people would not look at the bag twice. Peanutbabycakes has a thread with 3094 replies and 1 186 965 views over past 3 years and people are still commenting on her bag collection.

Peanutbabycake's Hermes Birkin Collection

Peanutbabycake's Hermes Kelly Collection

Peanutbabycake's TDF Closet

I was in awe when I first came across her thread because she owns currently owns 6 Hermes Birkin and 5 Hermes Kelly in various skins (for your reference, calf leather starts at around $8000 while ostrich and crocodile costs much more). My first question was: how did she afford all these bags? According to her captions, her husband funded her bag collection. Members have showered her with compliments and comments like “your collection is TDF (to die for)” and “I want to be you when I grow up”. Her captions state that her husband funds her Hermes addiction. Similar to Berger’s critique that people immediately place aesthetic value on artwork that has market value, Peanutbabycakes seem to buy Hermes bags for the sake of the brand and the connotations attached to an Hermes Birkin and Kelly. Both the Birkin and Kelly have a long waiting list and cannot be bought by simply walking in an Hermes store.

The Purse Forum and the Bag Forum celebrates materialism and conspicuous consumption but the forums are a mere extension of the plethora of fashion magazines that send the same message. The forums make me question how our personality and individual style is conveyed with a bag that numerous people own the same one. I personally find it vain that people take so much time taking pictures of items in their closet in hopes of being showered with compliments on their material possessions from strangers. By reading thread after thread, I conclude that the aesthetic and practicality of the bag is lost and only the brand matters in the end.

As a side experiment, in your comments on my journal post, I invite you to judge me based on my bags and try to figure out my personality based on my material possessions.

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Bibliography

“About PurseBlog.”  PurseBlog.  Modification Date: 17 March 2008.  Access Date: 24 February 2011.  < http://www.purseblog.com/about/>

Berger, John.  Ways of Seeing.  London: Penguin Books, 1972. 

Gladwell, Malcolm.  Blink. Back Bay Books: New York, 2005.

Simmel, Georg.  “Adornment.”  The Rise of Fashion.  Edited by Daniel Leonhard Purdy.  Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.  1908 (1997).

Veblen, Thorstein.  The Theory of the Leisure Class.  New York: Random House, 2001.

Yaeger, Lynn.  “Carried Away.”  The Atlantic Monthly (April 2007). <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200704/yaeger-handbags>